^{Sermon From The
4th Sunday of Advent 2014
✟Father Violette}
This is the last day of preparation for the birth of Christ.  To talk about penance, conversion, and self-purification is not opposed to the joy of Christmas, but necessary for true participation.  Even the Child Jesus had His Passion in mind when He first entered the world.  St. John the Baptist was the holiest man who had ever lived up to that point, yet he was not given power to change the soul through his baptism.  It is only through the merits of Christ that the sacrament of Baptism gives us new life.  Without prayer and penance, we will surely lose our way.
#20141221V