2019년 12월 15일 대림 제3주일(자선 주일)
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
이사야서. 35,1-6ㄴ.10
1 광야와 메마른 땅은 기뻐하여라. 사막은 즐거워하며 꽃을 피워라.
2 수선화처럼 활짝 피고 즐거워 뛰며 환성을 올려라.
레바논의 영광과, 카르멜과 사론의 영화가 그곳에 내려
그들이 주님의 영광을, 우리 하느님의 영화를 보리라.
3 너희는 맥 풀린 손에 힘을 불어넣고 꺾인 무릎에 힘을 돋우어라.
4 마음이 불안한 이들에게 말하여라.
“굳세어져라, 두려워하지 마라. 보라, 너희의 하느님을!
복수가 들이닥친다, 하느님의 보복이! 그분께서 오시어 너희를 구원하신다.”
5 그때에 눈먼 이들은 눈이 열리고 귀먹은 이들은 귀가 열리리라.
6 그때에 다리저는 이는 사슴처럼 뛰고 말못하는 이의 혀는 환성을 터뜨리리라.
10 주님께서 해방시키신 이들만 그리로 돌아오리라.
그들은 환호하며 시온에 들어서리니 끝없는 즐거움이 그들 머리 위에 넘치고
기쁨과 즐거움이 그들과 함께하여 슬픔과 탄식이 사라지리라.
제2독서
야고보서. 5,7-10
7 형제 여러분, 주님의 재림 때까지 참고 기다리십시오.
땅의 귀한 소출을 기다리는 농부를 보십시오.
그는 이른 비와 늦은 비를 맞아 곡식이 익을 때까지 참고 기다립니다.
8 여러분도 참고 기다리며 마음을 굳게 가지십시오.
주님의 재림이 가까웠습니다.
9 형제 여러분, 서로 원망하지 마십시오. 그래야 심판받지 않습니다.
보십시오, 심판자께서 문 앞에 서 계십니다.
10 형제 여러분, 주님의 이름으로 말한 예언자들을
고난과 끈기의 본보기로 삼으십시오.
복음
마태오. 11,2-11
그때에 2 요한이,
그리스도께서 하신 일을 감옥에서 전해 듣고 제자들을 보내어,
3 “오실 분이 선생님이십니까?
아니면 저희가 다른 분을 기다려야 합니까?” 하고 물었다.
4 예수님께서 그들에게 대답하셨다.
“요한에게 가서 너희가 보고 듣는 것을 전하여라.
5 눈먼 이들이 보고 다리저는 이들이 제대로 걸으며,
나병 환자들이 깨끗해지고 귀먹은 이들이 들으며,
죽은 이들이 되살아나고 가난한 이들이 복음을 듣는다.
6 나에게 의심을 품지 않는 이는 행복하다.”
7 그들이 떠나가자 예수님께서 요한을 두고 군중에게 말씀하기 시작하셨다.
“너희는 무엇을 구경하러 광야에 나갔더냐? 바람에 흔들리는 갈대냐?
8 아니라면 무엇을 보러 나갔더냐?
고운 옷을 입은 사람이냐? 고운 옷을 걸친 자들은 왕궁에 있다.
9 아니라면 무엇을 보러 나갔더냐?
예언자냐? 그렇다. 내가 너희에게 말한다. 예언자보다 더 중요한 인물이다.
10 그는 성경에 이렇게 기록되어 있는 사람이다.
‘보라, 내가 네 앞에 나의 사자를 보낸다.
그가 네 앞에서 너의 길을 닦아 놓으리라.’
11 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
여자에게서 태어난 이들 가운데 세례자 요한보다 더 큰 인물은 나오지 않았다.
그러나 하늘 나라에서는 가장 작은 이라도 그보다 더 크다.”
December 15, 2019
Third Sunday of Advent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. Is 35:4)Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD God keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Be patient, brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Gospel
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«No one greater than John the Baptist has come forward among the sons of women»
Fr. Johannes VILAR
(Köln, Germany)
Today, as in last Sunday, the Church familiarizes us with the figure of John the Baptist. He had many disciples and a clear and well-differentiated tenet: for the Publicans, for the soldiers, for the Pharisees and Sadducees... His desire was to prepare Messiah's public life. First he sent John and Andrew; today he sends others so they could know Him too. They ask him: «Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?» (Mt 11:3). John certainly knew who Jesus was. He himself bears witness to that: «And I had no knowledge who He was, but He who sent me to give baptism with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting, it is he who gives baptism with the Holy Spirit’» (Jn 1:33). And Jesus responds with facts: the blind see, the lame walk...
John had a firm disposition about his way of life and about sticking to the Truth, which, eventually, brought imprisonment and martyrdom to him. Even in his prison he expeditiously speaks to Herod. John teaches us how to combine a firm character with meekness: «The one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie» (Jn 1:27); «He must become greater; I must become less» (Jn 3:30); he exults at the fact Jesus baptizes more disciples than him, as he only considers himself as “the friend who attends the bridegroom” (cf. Jn 3:29).
In short: John teaches us to seriously consider our mission on earth: to be tenacious Christians knowing how to behave as sons of God. We should be asking us: —How did Mary and Joseph prepare themselves for Jesus Christ's birth? How did John prepare Jesus' teachings? How do we prepare ourselves to commemorate it and for the second advent of our Lord at the end of time? As Cyril of Jerusalem said: «We preach not one advent only of Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former. For the former gave a view of His patience; but the latter brings with it the crown of a Divine Kingdom».
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In the beginning of today’s Gospel, John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus asking the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
I related to this question, for as I matured on my faith journey, this is a question that I have asked and ultimately ended up deepening my faith in Jesus.
When asked, Jesus’ response included the miracles that he performed, to whom the good news is preached and the proclamation that “blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” This brought to mind two thoughts to me. The first being John 20:29 where Jesus states to Thomas “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” a reminder that we are called to form our faith in the Gospels and not require direct proof from God as to his divinity. The second being, that we are called to proclaim our belief and love in Jesus, in words and in actions. As we are in the midst of Advent this is a good time to remind ourselves to be bold in expressing our joy as the hope, promise, and love that is manifested in Christ’s birth is celebrated, and to also express his words in actions, whether it be in a kind word to someone in need of one, a helping action to someone, or a donation made to a charity.
We all have the ability whether it be the giving of our time, talent or treasure to put God’s love into action this season, and my wish is to you that when this is done, you feel God’s presence as you live your faith, strengthening the belief in the answer to the question that John the Baptist posed, that yes, Jesus is the one who has come.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
COMING UP ROSES | ||
| "They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee." �Isaiah 35:10 | ||
In the Catholic community, we call today "Gaudete Sunday," meaning "Rejoice Sunday." We rejoice because the Lord's Christmas coming is near. Our priests wear rose vestments today to express our exuberant joy. We are flushed with joy because the world's dire circumstances are overshadowed by God's presence. In the shadow of His wings, we shout for joy (Ps 63:8). We rejoice not in the circumstances but in the Lord of the circumstances (Phil 4:4). We rejoice because God is with us (Is 7:14; Mt 1:23). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8). "The blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead men are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them" (Mt 11:5). "Despite the increase of sin, grace has far surpassed it" (Rm 5:20). Therefore, "be patient," my brothers and sisters, "until the coming of the Lord" (Jas 5:7). "You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials; but this is so that your faith, which is more precious than the passing splendor of fire-tried gold, may by its genuineness lead to praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ appears" (1 Pt 1:6-7). | ||
| Prayer: Father, may the joy inside me rise to fever pitch (Acts 8:8). | ||
| Promise: "The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song." —Is 35:1-2 | ||
| Praise: Thank You, Jesus! You were mocked, spit upon, scourged and put to death. Just as You promised, You rose on the third day (see Mk 10:34). Glory to You forever! |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
"They shall obtain joy and gladness"
Why did Jesus praise John the Baptist as the greatest person born of a woman and then in the same breath say that those who enter God's kingdom will be greater than John (Matthew 11:11)? John is the last and greatest of the prophets of the old covenant. He fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets - to be fingers pointing to Jesus Christ, God's Anointed Son and Messiah. John prepared the way for the Messiah and he pointed others to Jesus the Messiah at the River Jordan when he exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)
John saw from a distant what Jesus would accomplish through his death on the cross - our redemption from bondage to sin and death and our adoption as sons and daughters of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. When King Herod tried to silence John by throwing him into prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus after John had heard the reports about Jesus performing signs and wonders and speaking to people about the coming of God's kingdom. John wanted his disciples to hear and see firsthand what Jesus was doing to bring the kingdom of God to those who were receptive and ready to receive his message.
Jesus the Messiah performs the signs of God's kingdom power
Jesus confirmed for John that the miracles and healings which he performed were in direct fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies announced by Isaiah some 700 years previously. Isaiah had prophesied that when the Messiah would come to save his people he would "open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, the lame would leap, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy" (Isaiah 35:5). Jesus' miracles are a demonstration of the power of God's kingdom at work in the midst of his people. When God acts to save his people he turns their sorrow and weeping into joy and singing, and their fear and weakness into strength and hope.
The greatness of John's life and witness of the Messiah
When Jesus had answered the disciples of John, he in turn asked them a question."Why did you go out in the wilderness to see John the Baptist?" "Did you go because you were hungry for the word of the Lord?" Jesus said that John was more than a spokesman for God. John was the faithful witness and friend of the bridegroom who pointed others to the coming of the Messiah in their midst. Jesus contrasted John with the image of a reed shaken by the wind. Unlike a reed which is weak and spineless and can be easily crushed or bruised, John stood as a pillar of strength and truth in the face of opposition and persecution. No demonic force could weaken or crush John in his unswerving trust in God and his word.
Jesus offers us abundant life and joy to be his witnesses
Jesus knew that what the Father in heaven had sent him to accomplish for our sake would supersede all that the prophets had done and foreseen in the past. Jesus' atoning death on the cross cancels the debt of our sins and sets us free to live as citizens of his kingdom. He gives us pardon, healing, and abundant life through his Holy Spirit, and the promise of unending joy with him in his everlasting kingdom.
John the Baptist paid the ultimate sacrifice of his life for speaking God's word and preparing the way for Jesus the Lord and Savior of the world. The Lord Jesus offers us the same assurance of faith and the strength to stand against every force that would try to rob us of our conviction and courage to live and proclaim the good news (the Gospel) of God's kingdom. Do you know the joy, strength, and power which Jesus gives to every one who puts their trust in him and the power of the Holy Spirit? Ask the Lord Jesus to increase your faith and hope in his promises for you.
"Lord Jesus, strengthen my trust in your word and my hope in the saving power of your kingdom. Free me from everything that would hold me back from pursuing your kingdom and your will for my life."
Psalm 146:1-10
1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish.
5 Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: John fulfills Elijah's prophetic ministry, by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.
"Jesus knew the mind of John who sent them, for he knew, as God knows, our inner thoughts. There he was, actively healing the blind, lame, and many others. He healed not to teach John, who was already convinced, but those who had come to him doubting. Having healed them he said, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.' And then he added pointedly, 'And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.' By saying this Jesus implied that he knew even his questioners' unuttered thoughts. For if he had said simply 'I am he' this would have fallen short of overcoming their unstated sense of being offended. And it would have given fuel to some Jews who were already saying to him, 'You bear record of yourself' (John 8:13). Hence he answered nothing directly concerning his identity but left them to learn of it from the miracles, freeing what he taught from suspicion and making it plainer. Then Jesus gently chided them for being silently offended in him. He made their case for them, leaving it to their own conscience alone to judge, calling no witness of his reprimand other than they themselves who knew what they had been thinking. For it was of their own inward offense that he was thinking when he said, 'Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.' In this way Christ drew them all the more closely to himself." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 36.2)
http://www.homilies.net/
3 Advent
Third Sunday of Advent - A Cycle - Matthew 11: 2-11
College students placed a mural outside their dorm window. Pictured were a school of fish swimming in the same direction.
In their midst was one moving the other way. He was going against the flow. So must we.
"You go tell John," said Jesus, "that former lepers have skin that dermatologists envy, that those once deaf are listening to Mozart, that those formerly blind are enjoying flat screen TV, and those once paralyzed are playing championship soccer." (F Buechner)
It was the year 28. The summer heat was 104 in the shade.
John the Baptizer was finishing the sixth month as a prisoner. His dungeon was located in the fortress of Machaerus overlooking the Dead Sea in southern Palestine.
His jailer was King Herod of Judea. John's crime was that he had publicly accused the king of adultery. His Majesty wanted pay-back time. He threw John into a security cell and "threw the key down a crocodile's throat."
Down in solitary, the Baptist was as restless as a caged lion. Neither the maddening sandflies by day nor the nocturnal rats big enough to ride disturbed him as much as his narrow cell. His home had been the desert that knew no boundaries. He had never lived in a house. Yet, it was more than the confining space that caused his insomnia.
For several years prior to imprisonment, John's job description had called for him to announce the imminent arrival of the Messiah. It was He for whom the Jews had longed for centuries. John had promised his vast audiences that this Messiah would enter their lives like a category five hurricane.
John was convinced too that he had met this Messiah and had even baptized Him.
But never once did Jesus declare Himself the Messiah. Until He did, there could be no major political coup d'etat that would have Him crowned and the millennium begin.
So, John still had one major job to do before he would ship out. He knew he was a dead man walking. He must force or con Jesus into revealing who He was.
His game plan was to dispatch his disciples to search for Jesus in the mountains. They would need no bloodhounds to find Him. They had but to look for a Man surrounded by thousands of groupies. Jesus had a rock star following. Then he would have them put the question, "Are you the one who is to come...?"
John felt Jesus must answer the question, for He could not lie. But John's strategy did not work. The Nazarene did not deny He was the Messiah but neither did He affirm it.
As He would do so often in His own public career, He ignored the question and pursued His agenda. He borrowed the poetical language of Isaiah for His answer. "Tell your leader that the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised."
He e-mailed His answer to John in code. The Baptizer knew that when the Messiah did appear, these miraculous events would occur. Jesus knew that John's disciples would surely tell their guru of the miracles they had witnessed. Christ had performed miracles even Alzheimer victims could not forget. So, Jesus was telling John that the prophecies of Isaiah had indeed been fulfilled in Himself. Implicitly, He fessed up to being the Messiah.
We have no way of knowing John's reaction to the reply. Probably he was ticked off. But, like it or no, that implicit affirmation would have to be enough for himself and us. No person, not even a John the Baptist whom the record shows Jesus admired above all others, was going to write the script for Him. No one would put Him against a wall if He did not want to go there. No one would ever force His hand.
Jesus proposed to reveal His Messiahship in His good time. There would be no substitute for raw faith either for John or anyone else down through the centuries.
John, like all others including us, would have to say of Christ, "I believe even though I look through a glass darkly."
I received this note from a young man dying of pancreatic cancer. He died shortly after he wrote it. "I am so happy to tell you I have complete faith in God. He will take complete care of me in life or death. It is such a wonderful feeling to turn the burden over to Him." That is the kind of faith the Christ wants us to have in Him.
Faith is not being sure where you're going but going anyhow. (F Buechner)
This Advent go against the flow.
Frjoeshomilies.net
3 Advent
Msgr. Joseph A. Pellegrino
Third Sunday of Advent: Whom Are We looking for?
I would like to speak to you today about the prophets. The Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, is full of dynamic leaders. There is Noah and Moses, Abraham and David. There are kings and queens, male and female judges, patriarchs and matriarchs. But of all the people in the Hebrew Scriptures, the most dynamic are the prophets: Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and so many others. They challenged the world and drew people to listen, to change, to follow. Some stood up to the King in support of justice, "How dare you put Uriah to death so you can have Bathsheba his wife," Nathan said to King David. "How dare you put Nabaoth to death so you can steal his vineyard," Elijah said to King Ahab.
Some prophets were so powerful that they would determine who would reign as King. The prophet Samuel was told by God to anoint Saul to be king, and then he was told to reject Saul and anoint the youngest son of Jesse, David. Some prophets drew the attention of the entire nation yet spoke in symbolic ways like the prophet Hosea who married Gomer, a woman of ill repute, as a sign of the way that God's people had treated him. Others spoke directly to the people of God's power, his compassion and his love, like Isaiah in our first reading for today. Some prophets were mystics like Ezekiel. Some were on the inner loop with the king, counselors like Jeremiah. Others were just common everyday people, like Amos, a dresser of trees.
The prophets were all very different one from the other, but their message was the same: Repent and reform. Return your lives to your God, and the Lord will come and be with his people. Nothing, not torture, not death, not even money would turn the prophet from his message or tempt him to abandon his faith. In difficult times, the prophet would tell the people, "Hold on to your faith, the world will be transformed by the Lord when he comes."
Sometimes their message was frightening, such as their predictions of the sufferings of the evil at the end of time. Sometimes their message was consoling, like the message of the first reading for today, when Isaiah speaks about the desert blooming, the blind seeing and the deaf hearing. But always their message to the people was to be strong in their faith. The people needed to be ready for the Lord's coming.
The ancient people believed that as long as there was a prophet among them, they were blessed. God was communicating to his people. If there was no prophet, then that was a sign that somehow the people's sins had turned God away from them.
By the time of Jesus' life, it had been two hundred years since the people of Israel had last had a prophet in their midst. Two hundred years. Two hundred years of no intimate communication with God.
And then, John the Baptist appeared. He was dynamic. His message wasn't new: he told the people to repent and reform and prepare for their God. That was the same as all the prophets. But there was a power these people had never seen before in his words. And John added something; He said that God is coming now. The Kingdom of God is at hand. People were drawn to John. It was obvious to them that God was once more blessing his people.
John did not offer people a semi-spiritual semi-emotional experience. He demanded that the people remain faithful to their traditions. He followed Isaiah's first reading for today, "Strengthen the knees that are weak, the hands that are feeble, and say, "Be strong, fear not. Here is your God." John was not a fad. He was not a reed in the wind, changing the way it leans with every new gust of air, every new whim. John was a rock anchored on his faith in God. His infectious dynamism led people to a strict adherence to their faith. They accepted his baptism as a sign of their participation in a new world order, the Kingdom of God.
We modern people are also looking for a prophet. But what type of prophet are we looking for? What type of prophecy do we seek? Are we looking for a prophet like John who is going to tell us to hold on to our faith, change those hidden parts of our lives that are self-destructive? Maybe he will tell us to give up that grudge we love to nourish, or perhaps it is that secret little vice that is only a secret from our conscience but quite apparent to all around us. Are we looking for someone to tell us to stand up for our faith, or are we looking for a reed shaken by the wind? We have got to admit it, there is a part of all of us that would love to hear someone tell us that certain of our secrets are now no longer sinful. We'd love to hear someone say, "These are modern times, this or that is OK now, even if it was unacceptable before." We'd love to follow a reed that is bent by the winds of moral decay. But then we would not be listening to a prophet. We would not be listening to God's dynamic voice. We would only be hearing our own selfishness.
Whom do we go out to the desert to see? Someone who will give us a lovely emotional experience while permitting us to compromise on morality. Or do we go out to the desert to see someone who will encourage us to stand up against the pressures our society places upon us to compromise our consciences. We come to Church not for entertainment, not to see our beautiful children, but for the strength to be ready for the Lord to enter our lives.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
3 Advent
God Has a Plan
(December 15, 2019)
Bottom line: What looks random does have behind it a plan - and a Planner.
As you can see from our Advent Wreath - and from my vestments - today's color is pink, symbol of rejoicing. I've noticed this at gender reveal parties. If blue balloons come down, the parents try to look happy, even jump up and down, start hugging each other. Still, they are thinking: maybe we'll do better next time. (smile) Blue is OK, but pink is the color of rejoicing.
on my pink vestment you can see an appropriate saint: Rose of Lima. Next week I'll be visiting her shrine. It has a famous well where people can drop notes with prayer intentions. I'll be taking yours.
This year I'll be at the Mary Bloom Center for Christmas and New Years. Part of the reason is so college students and teachers can take advantage of their winter break. Replacing me at St. Mary of the Valley is a fine priest - Fr. Alfredo Velazquez. The last five months he has served at St. Pius in Mountlake Terrace. We are blessed to have Fr. Fredo.
With Christmas near, today is a day to rejoice.
It does seem ironic that on this day of rejoicing we have the Gospel about St. John the Baptist is prison. John appears sad, even despairing. About Jesus he asks, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Even John wavers. Commenting on today's Gospel, Bishop Daniel Muggenborg observes:
"To a person of faith, the witness of God's love and providence is abundantly clear. To a person who lacks faith, life is nothing but chance and coincidence."
If person concludes that everything is random chance, it's bound to have an effect. So many people feel like they are living in a dark prison. You can see it in the increase in addictive behavior: drugs, porn, gambling. These things promise peace and maybe even provide a moment to forget one's problems. In the end they bring increased emptiness.
This happens also with social media. Sean Parker, one of their billionaire investors, acknowledges that Facebook and other platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive.
I admit I spend time on Facebook. When I am in Peru it's one of my main ways of communicating. It's free and it works pretty well, but I know it can absorb a lot of time and work like a drug.
Along with addictions comes depression and for some, suicidal thoughts. In spite of our abundance, freedom and opportunities, suicide has increased dramatically - even among young people who have everything to live for. There's a lot of reasons but much of it involves what Bishop Mueggenborg points out - a lack of faith that leads to despair. What's the answer?
Let's consider Jesus response to John: Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
During Advent we focus on connecting with the downtrodden and afflicted. We had things like the Christmas Giving Tree, Catholic Community Service testimony, St. Vincent de Paul commitment renewal. Outreach has formed part of our youth program both for Confirmation candidates and Ignite Nights. When we reach out to the afflicted - even in our own families - it turns our hearts to God.
St. Teresa of Calcutta, when she noticed her sisters showing signs of sadness, would say "get out with the people".
You don't need an addiction-free life to come to Jesus. Some saints struggled all their lives with addictions and terrible depression. Like John the Baptist, however, they recognize that what looks random does have behind it a plan - and a Planner. God has a plan, a providence we can know by faith.
Young people want that faith, that trust. You can see it in this year's most popular Scripture verse. I was going to conclude with it, but I will save it for a Flocknote this week. Instead let's listen again to St. James' inspired words:
"Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth... You too must be patient." Amen
Alexmcallister.co.uk
3 Advent
Third Sunday of Advent
Last week we heard about the ministry of John the Baptist and the text we read was taken from the very beginning of St Matthew's Gospel after the section we call the Infancy Narrative and just before the account of Jesus' Baptism.
Today the Gospel jumps forward to Chapter Eleven and describes an incident which took place right in the middle of Jesus' public ministry. By this time, John the Baptist was languishing in prison and it wouldn't be too long before he lost his head at the hands of King Herod.
John the Baptist wants to know if Jesus really is the Messiah whom he has prophesied about. So he sends his disciples to Jesus to quiz him and to discover if he was the one foretold. Jesus gives them this message to take to John the Baptist, 'the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raise to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor.' These words would surely bring great joy and satisfaction to John the Baptist. on hearing them he would realise that his mission was now fulfilled, that the Messiah had truly come into the world.
Jesus then goes on to tell the people of the importance of John the Baptist. He acknowledges that John was a tough messenger who distained his own personal comforts for the sake of the message he came to proclaim. He tells them that there is no one greater than John the Baptist but adds the words, 'Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.' By this Jesus emphasises the importance of heaven as the true goal of every follower of his. He stresses that those who ultimately gain admittance to the Kingdom are indeed blessed.
Heaven is our true destiny, it is for this that we were created in the beginning. But God does not want us to arrive in heaven simply because it is our destiny. No, his desire is that we get to heaven as the result of exercising our own free will. He wants us to get to heaven because at a certain point in our lives we have made a decision and we chose to reject sin and to embrace his Gospel of love.
We can draw a useful distinction between us and the animals. The animals do not exercise free will, they live their lives at a purely instinctual level. There is a gradation, however, since some animals exist in a very primitive state and seem to operate at a very simple level. We could take the earthworm as an example. It simply lives in the soil feeding and excreting and mating and doing little else.
Other animals such as the family dog seem to have much more about them. Dogs, for example, have a range of highly developed senses, they have a memory and they exhibit admirable qualities such as loyalty and they are even able to express emotions such as joy and sorrow.
Although dogs can show ｅxpression through barking, which certainly conveys a certain level of meaning, they have not developed language which they would need in order to express a deeper range of feeling and thought. So although dogs are fine animals and make wonderful companions for us they do not have the capacity to exercise free will.
The exercise of free will requires self-consciousness as well as the ability to use language and to master higher thought. It is important that we are able to reflect on our state of being and be able to evaluate our actions and make decisions to adjust them as well as being able to adhere to a moral code of conduct.
Without these abilities we cannot make truly free choices in life and even with them we are sometimes subject to unconscious desires and other limitations which take a deal of effort to break free from. Humanity is certainly one of the greatest of God's creations and it is his desire that, when our time on this earth has come to an end, we are able to share in his life in the eternal realm.
We need to be also clear that when Jesus says that the least one in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist we should not take this as meaning to put John the Baptist down since the Church acknowledges that he is among the greatest of all the saints. This is simply Jesus' way of helping us to realise to just what a high place God wants to raise us at the moment of our death.
An important thing to remember is that God works in history. This should be no surprise since it was God who created history and we should regard time itself as one of the greatest of God's creations. God, of course, exists completely outside time but since our human life is contained entirely within time it is impossible for us to comprehend his state of being.
Having created time God uses it to bring to fruition his plans for our salvation. He waits centuries before he intervenes in time in order to send his Son into the world. It takes a long period of development until humanity eventually reaches an understanding that there is only one God and is ready to accept that he is a God of love. only when we have arrived at that point are we are ready to receive the Messiah.
And once Jesus completed his work of salvation and returned to the Father we know that we will wait also for a very long time until God decides that everything is sufficiently ready so that he can bring creation to its final culmination on the Last Day.
This brings us back to Advent with its twin themes of waiting: waiting to celebrate the anniversary of the Birth of the Messiah and waiting for the Last Coming—the final Day of Judgement. But this waiting is not an idle thing because while we are waiting we are also preparing. We are preparing for a great religious feast but also preparing ourselves to face judgement on that final Day of Days.
We are half way through Advent already; we will soon be moving up a gear as we arrive at the period of the immediate preparation for Christmas. Let us not get so caught up in the festivities and all the Christmas fripperies that we neglect the real meaning of this beautiful season of Advent.
Let us not focus so much on making New Year's Resolutions which tend to be rather secular, far better for us to make some Advent Resolutions. In this holy season let us make some decisions in the spiritual and moral areas of our lives, decisions that will really make a difference to our eternal welfare. A good way of doing this is to take advantage of the Penitential Service on Monday.
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