The angel Gabriel assured Mary, "nothing will be impossible for God."  This was not a one time proclamation, as Jesus himself reassured his disciples in Matthew 19 that "for God, all things are possible".  He is Emmanual, God with us, and as we learn to live more intentionally in the presence of God with faith, wisdom and courage, we will see the impossible bow at the name of Jesus. 

In the Gospel of John we John the Baptist echoing the prophet Isaiah "make strait the way of the Lord".  The Living God speaks these words anew to us in Advent, inviting us into a deeper, more ardent desire for God...a desire that God both gives us and blesses come Christmas with new life in His Holy Spirit.  

From the lips of John the Baptist, and Jesus himself, we hear of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Pope Benedict spoke of this gift as "being aware of what we have received in Baptism and Confirmation."  On our Advent journey prepare, and ask for, an entirely new awareness of God's presence in our lives come Christmas. This is the gift God desires to give us...which points toward God's ultimate desire for us.