Saturday of the First Week of Advent
We usually think of Christmas, not Advent, as the time of giving—but, really, all times are times of giving. Although we may not always realize it, we receive everything that we have as a gift from God. As the Creed insists, we believe in the God who is “creator of heaven and earth, of all that is- seen and unseen.” If we allow ourselves to seriously contemplate our own Faith, we find that we believe that everything stems from God’s giving. If this is true, then all of our experiences find their origin in God, who continuously sustains all things. Everything that we are and everything that we have- all of our lives have their source in the LORD God Almighty, who is the beginning and the end of everything that was, and is, and will be. Our conscious recognition of this tenet of our faith, that all of creation is already the gift of God, serves as an important background for today’s readings. While they might at first appear to speak merely of “future” giving from God (in the first reading) or “past” gifts from God (in the Gospel reading), we must never allow ourselves to forget that God’s gifts are continuous. What the readings are highlighting, then, is not the fact that sometimes God gives—because the very fact that we live and breathe is itself already a testimony to God’s ceaseless giving—but is rather proclamation of how God gives. According to the reading from Isaiah, God wants to comfort us in our weeping and end our cries of pain and abandonment. God seeks to give us the nourishment we need, He wishes to teach us about Himself (which He did to perfection in Jesus), and He intends for us to cooperate with Him in the cultivation of this earth. And, in the darkest days of our lives, when we feel like we may have lost all hope, God promises to bind our wounds, heal our bruises, and gather us to Himself.
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest
The candle on the Advent wreath this week is symbolic of hope, the hope we have that something good will happen even if we have not quite obtained it yet. I think of hope kind of like being on a road trip: when I travel to Iowa to visit my grandmother for the holidays, I count down the miles and towns, and I pore over the maps. I can see, visually, that we are making progress, even if we aren't quite at the destination yet. The continual progress, in turn, gives me more hope and more hope, so that hope reinforces itself.
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
In this first week of Advent, we continue the book of the prophet Isaiah and also continue with readings involving the Kingdom of Heaven, which was a prominent theme in the last few weeks of our liturgical year. Today’s selection from Isaiah speaks of triumph for those who have trusted in the Lord. Those nations who have lived God’s will find welcome in the strong and protected city. These people have lived the truth of God as their rock and hence find security in this rock. Meanwhile, other lofty cities are humbled as they fall to the ground to be trampled by the needy and the poor. We can understand these lofty cities as concerned more with their own success than in fidelity to God and hence charity to the lowest of their society.
Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
Have you ever climbed a mountain? How does the experience of being on a mountain differ from being on flat ground? Mountain climbing certainly can be a physically exhausting process. Yet part of the reason for going up a mountain often goes well beyond the physical. For those who have done it, getting to the top of a mountain is gratifying in an almost surreal way. Being at the top can be a spiritual experience. From the mountain top we see a perspective of the big picture that is often invisible from the valley. In my own experience, the beauty of the mountain top is enlivened by snow, clouds or even a fast approaching storm whose electricity demands our flight.
Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
The story of the calling of the apostles in the gospel reading today is remarkable for at least two reasons. First, it is the story of Jesus calling fishermen to be disciples. It is surprising that Jesus initially chose humble, relatively uneducated people to be his disciples, rather than those who were highly educated in religion. Yet, these disciples, including Peter and his brother Andrew, went on to do great things in spreading the good news and building up the church. This is in fact an inspiring point.
Monday of the First Week of Advent
Yesterday we began our Advent journey in joyful anticipation of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our first readings will be from the book of the prophet Isaiah for these first two weeks of Advent. The book of the prophet Isaiah, of course, belongs to the Old Testament. It was written many, many years before the Incarnation of Jesus and his birth into the humble town of Bethlehem. And yet much of Isaiah is a prophesy precisely about Jesus, the sign of God-with-us, the embodiment of God’s love for his people.
First Sunday of Advent
As we begin the season of Advent, the scripture readings use numerous analogies to prepare us for Christmas. Let me begin with the first reading from Isaiah. The very last sentence is the very crux of today’s message: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Is 2:5) Light is best juxtaposed against darkness. As Paul would say in today’s second reading, “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom 13:12).
Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Appropriately, on this final day of the liturgical year, we have reflections about the apocalypse, or the second coming of Jesus. “Apocalypse” in Greek literally means “revelation” or “pulling back the veil” (Hence the title of the last book of the Bible). We generally talk about “revelation” as the way that God makes Himself known to us—in Scripture, through the Church, and preeminently in Jesus Himself.
Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
I know that the popular take on scriptures like the ones for today's reading is the movie "Apocalypse," earthquakes, tsunamis and terrifying end-of-the-world events. Thinking about the end of time can be scary, partly because it makes us reflect on how much we don't know about our future. But when I meditated on it for this week, all I could think was, "This is just so true - this is the way life is." Life changes quickly - perhaps even moreso in these days of lots of technology. The world changes so fast - healthy people get sick suddenly; economic fortunes come and go; jobs and policies and procedures change. In our day-to-day life, unexpected things happen and we realize, over and over, just how little control we have over our lives and how little we really know about our future.
Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(The reflection is based on readings for the day and not on the readings for Thanksgiving Day Mass)
In these last days of the liturgical year, the tone of our readings continues to rise to one of urgency. Both the first reading today from Revelation and the gospel passage from Luke convey this atmosphere of fear, judgment, and destruction. And yet both also convey redemption and salvation through Jesus the Lamb. This is the hopeful message in the midst of what might otherwise be simply utterly frightening passages in regard to the end times.
Memorial of Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
As the liturgical year comes to a close our readings continue the theme of the end times. There are many ways people react to these end times, especially when it refers to them personally. In my family, we recently buried my mother-in-law. From January 17th until her death on October 25th, she lived in a semi -paralyzed state due to a stroke. At the end of September, her body lost the ability to absorb food and her doctor recommended the cessation of food. These extreme circumstances were a sign that the end was near. To Rosemary’s credit she stayed focused on the things that brought her joy right up until the end. Her joy came from her love of God and family. Despite dire circumstances, her life testified to the Lord and to the life that was beyond death.
Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's gospel reading gives us a vivid description of what is to happen at the end time. Wars, earthquakes, famines, plagues, persecutions, and betrayals will characterize the end times. This scene can be very frightening. But these things do happen. Even in these days, terrible floods, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunami and forest fires to cause huge destruction. Certainly, npne of us thinks that this time, for sure, it will be the end of the world. At the same time, we know that our personal world can end at any time. This can be, for some people, a frightening thought.
Memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr
Just yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King. Today’s readings lead us to reflect on how we all fit into this kingdom as the communion of saints, saved by Jesus the lamb and called to worship him in all we do. In our first reading from the Book of Revelation, we hear John’s description of all those saved by Jesus. The number 144,000 indicates a vast number of people; these people sing hymns of praise and follow the lamb wherever he goes. John describes them as “unblemished,” just as the Lamb has also been described as unblemished.
The Solemnity of Christ the King
Why would the church choose the most shameful moments of Christ’s life as the gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King? When we celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and events connected with our loved ones, don’t we normally focus on the positive? The gospel, on the other hand says about Jesus that the rulers sneered at him, the soldiers jeered at him, and one of the criminals reviled him, saying “Are you not the Christ?” But why does the church want to read this gospel for the feast of Christ the King? Why could the Church not have chosen a reading for this feast where Christ is shown in his splendor – the transfiguration of Jesus or the Ascension of Jesus, for example?
Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus interacting with representatives from some of the various schools of Judaism of His day (of course, we must remember that Jesus was a Jew who observed the requirements of the Jewish Law). Since Jesus was known as a rabbi (or teacher), it would have been customary for him to debate the interpretation of the law with other Jewish leaders. Not surprisingly, these debates often included attempts to undercut and outsmart the other, especially if the authority of opposing party was suspect.
Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The words from today’s first reading (Revelation 10:8-11) are a bit of a puzzle: how is it that God’s words can taste sweet but yet make John’s stomach sour? It is perplexing, too, to turn from that reading to the Psalm (119), which proclaims that God’s promises are sweet to the taste! Surely, if God’s promises and God’s words are sweet, won’t the effect be sweet as well?
Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In both today’s first reading and today’s gospel, our passages open with weeping. The gospel passage from Luke describes Jesus’ reaction to seeing the city of Jerusalem. It is clearly a city that Jesus loves, and filled with people for whom Jesus has great compassion. Here Jesus seems to be prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem which was to come forty years after his own crucifixion. Notice that Jesus does not in any way delight over the impending destruction of the city that failed to recognize him as their Messiah. Rather, he weeps, the most human sign of sorrow.
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious
Years ago, in a class taught by a theologian named Megan McKenna, I learned a principle that has fundamentally changed the way I read or listen to scripture. Her idea is that if there is a scripture that really stands out to a reader or a hearer, that this is where the Holy Spirit is guiding us. Megan went so far as to say that if a scripture really bothers you, God is trying to use those words to provoke a change in your heart. It is a great principle, and when I utilize it, the Spirit nudges my heart to change.
Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The readings for this week look forward to the Solemnity of Christ the King on Sunday, November 21. The theme expressed in them is repentance at the expectation of Christ’s coming. In the first reading, the writer of Revelation warns the churches not to be lukewarm but rather to remain steadfast in faith. The metaphor of the undesirability of what is lukewarm is one that most people can appreciate. In warm weather it is natural for people to drink cold beverages to slake their thirst. And conversely, in cold weather people drink warm beverages to warm them from the inside after they’ve come in from the cold. The problem with lukewarm beverages is that people do not find them to be refreshing either on cold or warm days. No one wants to drink lukewarm soda, or coffee once it has cooled off.
Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s gospel passage from Luke we encounter yet another healing story. In this case it is a blind man who relentlessly calls to Jesus for healing. The blind man was granted this healing, and upon receiving his sight, he followed Jesus giving glory to God, and “When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God” (Lk 18:53). This healing has a symbolic level inasmuch as Jesus comes to bring healing for all of us; he brings us sight that we may see life as it really is and justly praise God.