The Renaissance artist Michelangelo is famously quoted as saying, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” This thought is repeated in his other statements when he said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it,” and also, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”   

   These quotes from Michelangelo reveal how God desires to help us chip away all the imprisoning excesses in our lives that hide, restrain, and impede us from living fully the life of discipleship to which the Lord has called us. This time of Advent is a graced opportunity for each of us to cooperate with the Lord’s grace so that we can be freed from our attachments to sin, our disordered priorities, and our mistaken values so as to live in the freedom of God’s children. This is the hope and joy of Advent that the Lord has come to set us free. Free to be the people God has created us to be. What can you do during these remaining days of Advent to cooperate with God’s desire to set you free? 

   The rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath and the rose-colored vestment I will wear for the third Sunday of Advent is the color of joy and hope. The Lord is near! The one who will save us and set us free with his love and mercy.