On this second Sunday of Advent time, the word of God is characterized by a tone of peace and consolation.
The Lord asks: Console, console my people.
God wants our consolation.

In these difficult times, faced with the discouragement that often dwells in our hearts, we receive words that, like balm, heal our deep wounds and allow us to see the miracle of God's presence among us.

We know how poor, how small, how ineffective is the consolation we can give each other in the course of our lives. Mutual understanding, especially in moments of pain and difficulty, comes only up to a certain point. Only the Lord can console us, to the depths of our hearts.

In today's readings we have the very heart of God opening, tearing itself open: He wants to speak to our hearts to console us, He wants to enter into intimate dialogue with us to recreate us, to regenerate us in newness with His tenderness, and with His boundless and strong love.

From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah we hear: "Console, console my people. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her tribulation is complete, her guilt is taken for granted.

Speak to the heart of Jerusalem.
The only consolation is the consolation that speaks to the heart. Only that which gushes forth from the heart has the power to speak to the heart of another person, to bring him or her true, profound consolation.
Isaiah still says that: The Lord is like a shepherd, he makes the flock graze and with his arm gathers it; he carries the lambs on his chest and gently leads his sheep.
It comforts us to know this, because despite the slowness of our answers He waits for us patiently, He gathers us, takes us on His chest, on His arms and leads us gently.
Here is the beginning of good news... Jesus, the VENIENT is the beautiful and good shepherd, who speaks to the heart, who reaches us in our innermost depths. All the others are voices that come from outside, his is the only one that sounds in the soul.
Here is the concrete action to prepare the way for the Lord: to speak to the heart, to dialogue with Love.
We are encouraged to seek in dialogue the way of encounter and proclamation, to use words that edify for good. Because words make us rejoice, amaze, move, accelerate the rhythm of the heart, soothe wounds. By pronouncing words we weave relationships, nourish communion and in the encounter with others we increase our being. When we dialogue, we choose life because our words are not enough and they dispose us to go out of ourselves.
Pope Francis, in the Encyclical Brothers all writes: "To meet and help each other we need to dialogue, to speak. Persevering and courageous dialogue does not make news, yet it discreetly helps us to live better".(n.198)

Can we ask ourselves: At this moment in my life how do I use my words?
The Holy Spirit prepared the way of the heart to give flesh to the Word and to give life to our words.