St. John preached the ‘baptism of repentance’. To covert and do penance is the all important message heralded by the Church just days before Christmas. This is how we best prepare for Christ’s coming. This same message which comes to us from Our Blessed Mother at Lourdes and Fatima. So, pray for the grace to see the deformity of your sin and to detest sin. Just as Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refused hospitality in every home in Bethlehem, so we deny and betray Christ when we sin. Weep for your sins and strive to be in a perpetual sate of contrition and doing penance. Examine your conscience well. And do all this because God has loved you so much. The divine love ought to inspire you to be far removed from sin and to unceasingly fight against it.