There are essentially three biblical characters who accompany the faithful in the liturgy during the Advent journey. In the first place... Father MICHELANGELO PRIOTTO
 Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "Isaiah. Isaiah is a fellow citizen because he lived here in Jerusalem. He was born here. He lived in the second half of the eighth century, he was a nobleman, had easy access to court, but he was certainly free especially in accordance with the call of God asking him to tell the king how he should behave, what should he say.   At that time, however, Jerusalem was experiencing a constant threat and the policy followed by the king was only material, the biblical scholar explains. But Isaiah proposed absolute trust in God.   Father MICHELANGELO PRIOTTO
 Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "Since the king does not accept the word of the prophet, here is Isaiah announcing the coming of a Messiah. Messiah in Hebrew simply means ‘anointed’ and anointing is also the symbol of the ascent of a king to the throne ".   Isaiah prophesied a quiet, peaceful Messiah who would look like a child born of a virgin... Prophecies of Peace relevant even for today! 
 The second character of Advent is John the Baptist, also born in Jerusalem, in an area called Ein Karem.   Father MICHELANGELO PRIOTTO
 Studium Biblicum Franciscanum  "Luke presents us with this character and says that after his birth he lived in a desert region. It probably alludes to the desert of Judah, the desert that begins in Jerusalem and extends to the Jordan (...). He preaches a baptism of penitence in the sense that he invites us to prepare for the imminent coming of the Messiah whom he feels somehow to be near".    John the Baptist one day saw Jesus getting in line among sinners and asking to be baptised... A gesture that symbolises the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus. The Messiah came above all to free man from sin! 
 The third, but not the least, Advent biblical character is the Virgin Mary. According to a tradition, she was born in Jerusalem, but near the temple.   
Father MICHELANGELO PRIOTTO
 Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "Luke tells us something important, he tells us that the Angel, in the name of God, reveals to Mary his real name. She is not so much Mary, but rather ‘full of grace’, as we invoke her in the Ave Maria. In the Greek text the expression is even stronger: the one that has always been loved by God. This is her name! One of the most beautiful experiences of man is to discover that he is loved by someone. Mary discovers she has always been loved by the Lord ". 
 Mary represents the people of God, the people loved by the Lord... And she who was entrusted by Jesus to John, allows us to reach Bethlehem and welcome the most beautiful gift that humanity has ever received!