One of the great landmarks, especially for people travelling to the USA, is the statue of liberty off the East Coast of America (which was donated by the French to commemorate the 100th. birthday of America). Barry Fitzgerald, an Irish Actor who was in the quiet man, going my way and Darby O’Gill and the little people, remarked in his ‘brog’ on one occasion, ‘Oh what a marvellous sight and to think that the Irish people donated this to the American nation’. In our readings today three words for me stand out: wilderness, witness and hope. In the gospel we hear how the Word of God came to John in the wilderness. Since last March all of us have been in a wilderness, a wilderness caused by a minuscle virus called covid 19. This has been and continues to be a very challenging time for all of us in different ways. Like the word of God that came to John in the wilderness, the word of God came to our front line workers and they have responded admirably. The word of God has come to each one of us in different ways as well, and we as a community and as a nation have responded and continue to respond responsibly. The second word is witness: What exactly does witness mean? Many times we have seen in films about court room drama, the evidence of key witnesses. A witness is a person who has seen and heard what others have not seen and heard. But he/she is so convincing that people believe what he/she is saying without any doubt. Today in the gospel we find John the Baptist, who was a very courageous and faithtful witness. A faithful witness not only with his words but with his way of being. We are all called to be key witnesses. We don’t have to live where John lived, we don’t have to dress the way John dressed, but we must never forget that we are christians, and we must show this with the moral example of our lives. Ask yourself today, what kind of witness am I? Make a resolution to be a better witness as you prepare for Christmas. The third word today is hope and the second reading of our mass today is full of hope. We all know with the announcement this week of numerous vaccines on the horizon, that 2021 will be a much better year for all of us. We still have a journey to make before we emerge from this wilderness, but with the witness of our lives, we can rekindle the flame of hope in each other and experience the true joy of Christmas.