THE ADVENT OF CHANGE: WEEK 2

THE ADVENT OF CHANGE: WEEK 2

PEACE: PREPARE THE WAY

FROM AWAKENING TO READINESS

Last week, in Week 1 of The Advent of Change, we reflected on Hope, the sacred awakening that begins when the pain of staying the same finally outweighs our fear of change. Hope is where God stirs us, wakes us, and invites us to notice the places in our lives that feel heavy, stagnant, or unfinished.

This week, we step into the second movement of Advent: Peace.

Advent unfolds through Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. It is a divine rhythm through which God forms the human heart. If Hope awakens us, then Peace prepares us. Hope opens our eyes. Peace opens our interior space so we can receive what God desires to give.

But before we explore how to prepare the way, we must ask:

What do we really mean when we talk about peace

WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PEACE

When many people think of peace, they imagine calm circumstances: low stress, order, quiet, or the absence of conflict. But the Christian vision of peace is far deeper, richer, and more transformative.

Human Forms of Peace

On a natural level, peace can look like:

• the absence of conflict or turbulence

• the presence of safety, justice, and cooperation

• emotional steadiness and clarity

• relationships marked by honesty and repair

These are good and necessary, but they are only the threshold.

Peace as a Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Christian peace is not a mood or personality trait.
It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, the supernatural effect of God dwelling within us.

This kind of peace cannot be manufactured.
It grows where the Holy Spirit is welcomed.

The Peace That Surpasses Understanding

This divine peace:

• remains in suffering

• anchors us in storms

• steadies us even when nothing externally has changed

Jesus says:
“My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” (John 14:27)

If this is the peace Christ longs to give, then we must ask:

How do we receive it

Scripture gives us the answer:

We prepare the way.

“PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD”

MATTHEW 3:1–12

If Week 1 awakened us, Week 2 invites us to prepare.

The Gospel begins with a voice crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make His paths straight.”
Matthew 3:3

John the Baptist appears as the forerunner, the lamp before the Light. His mission is simple and urgent:

Clear the path.
Remove what does not belong.
Make room for the Messiah.

Here I draw upon reflections from Fr. John Bartunek, LC, particularly from his spiritual commentary The Better Part.

Fr. Bartunek writes:

“The brightest of all lights follows the lamp that goes before Him.
The Word follows the voice in the wilderness.”

John’s cry is not a threat.
It is an invitation.
A call to interior preparation.

Christ the Lord

In ancient times, workers prepared roads before a king traveled. They smoothed, cleared, and straightened the path.

John uses this image deliberately:

Christ the King is coming.
Prepare His way.

This leads us to ask:

• What in my interior life needs clearing

• What obstacles, such as fear or resentment, are blocking grace

• Where has my heart become tangled or overgrown

Christ the Teacher

John also shows us how preparation unfolds:

• repent

• confess what is hidden

• release what blocks grace

• bear fruit through real change

Fr. Bartunek writes:

“Clearing the road means first repenting, and then bearing the good fruit that proves our repentance is real.”

Preparation is relational.
Preparation is practical.
Preparation is embodied.

Christ the Friend

John can announce the need for repentance.
Only Jesus can heal.

Jesus is Lord and Teacher, and He is also Friend:

• forgiving

• strengthening

• restoring

• and never tired of beginning again with us

Fr. Bartunek reminds us:

“Jesus never grows tired of forgiving.
What greater gift can we offer Him
than to take His hand and start again.”

This is the essence of Advent preparation:

Not perfection, but surrender.
Not performance, but honesty.
Not spiritual tidiness, but readiness.

HOW PSYCHOLOGY DESCRIBES INTERIOR PEACE

Psychology affirms what Scripture reveals:

Interior peace is not the absence of problems.
Interior peace is the presence of integration.

Peace emerges when the mind, heart, body, and spirit begin to align, not perfectly, but truthfully.

Here are the foundations of psychological peace:

Emotional Regulation

A peaceful person can feel emotions without being overwhelmed by them.
Emotions become information, not threats.

Acceptance Instead of Resistance

Resistance creates inner war.
Acceptance creates inner space.
Acceptance is the clearing of the interior path.

Internal Alignment

Peace emerges when values, choices, behaviors, and relationships begin to match.

Internalized Safety

A heart that feels held becomes a heart capable of peace.
Christ’s promise mirrors this truth:
“I am with you always.”

Quieting the Inner Critic

A harsh inner critic suffocates peace.
A gentler internal voice makes space for the Holy Spirit.

Living in the Present Moment

Presence calms the mind and steadies the heart.

Freedom From Compulsion

Peace grows when we act from freedom and not fear.

Meaning and Purpose

Meaning anchors suffering.
Purpose steadies the soul.
Peace grows where life has direction.

WHEN GOD CLEARED THE PATH IN MY LIFE

Almost twenty years ago, Rob and I lived in Los Angeles with our three children.
On the outside, life looked full and successful.
But beneath the surface, we were a family in constant motion: geographically, emotionally, and spiritually.

We were wanderers without roots.
We were “Sunday Catholics,” present at Mass but without a deeper faith rhythm.

Inside, something was fraying.

I was running a business, raising children, trying to keep pace with a fast environment, and holding up the image of stability.

Then came the breaking point.

Rob’s start-up collapsed.
We had overextended ourselves financially.
The pressure was relentless.

Resentment began rising in me, both toward circumstances and toward God.

One day, surrounded by boxes and bills and noise, I finally said:

“We cannot keep doing this.
I cannot keep doing this.”

That breaking opened the door to surrender.

Rob accepted a job in New York.
He moved ahead.
I packed the house and moved three children across the country.

It did not feel peaceful.
It felt like surviving.

But God was clearing our path.

Once we resettled in Greenwich, something inside me exhaled.
The Holy Spirit began to rebuild us from the inside out.

I returned to daily Mass.
I found a spiritual community.
I attended my first silent retreat and made a general confession.
I surrendered the illusion of needing to hold everything together.

Peace entered, not because life became easy, but because my interior path was finally open.

It was our wilderness moment and our John the Baptist season:

“Prepare the way.
Something new is coming.”

And something new did come.
Not in our circumstances.
In our hearts.
A reversion to living the fulness of the faith.

PEACE COMES THROUGH THE SPACE WE MAKE

Peace is not something we achieve.
Peace is something we receive.

Advent invites us to:

• clear the debris

• release what does not belong

• lay down what blocks grace

• make room for what God desires to give

Peace does not wait for perfect circumstances.
Peace comes when the heart is surrendered.

When we clear the interior path, Christ fills the open space with the peace beyond understanding.

The peace strong enough to hold us.
The peace the world cannot give.
The peace that lasts.

Where is God inviting you to clear the path this Advent

Attribution Note

Reflections from Fr. John Bartunek, LC are quoted from his spiritual commentary The Better Part, used here with gratitude.