Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10  +  Luke 10:21-24
December 5, 2017

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”

In today’s First Reading, the verbs “judge” and “decide” are each used twice.  The first sentence is negative, in that Isaiah describes how the “root of Jesse” will not judge and decide:  that is, “not by appearance”, “nor by hearsay”.  In the next sentence, Isaiah gives a positive description of the judgments of the “root of Jesse”.  However, these phrases describe not only how he will judge—that is, “with justice” and “aright”—but also for whom he will judge.  He “shall judge the poor”, “and decide… for the land’s afflicted.”

These two brief sentences foreshadow the person of Jesus Christ, the awaited Messiah.  They also describe those who live in Jesus Christ:  those who through the Holy Spirit are empowered to let Christ work through them, and live in them.  During Advent, as you wait for the coming of the Messiah, ask yourself—especially as you prepare for the Sacrament of Penance—to what extent Isaiah’s words today describe yourself.

Do you judge the significance of others’ lives, or even the significance of your own life, according to appearances or by hearsay?  Or do you judge matters “with justice” and rightly?  On your Christmas wish list, have you written the Holy Spirit’s gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge and piety, in order to care more about the needs of the poor and afflicted than your own desires, and even your own needs?

Monday of the First Week of Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5  +  Matthew 8:5-11
December 4, 2017

“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain….”

Our First Reading and Psalm today both describe the image of “the house of the Lord”.  In these Old Testament passages, “the house of the Lord” refers not to Heaven, but to the sacred, earthly city of Jerusalem.  Both passages also mention that Jerusalem sits atop a mountain (not on the scale of the Rockies or Himalayas, but a mountain relative to the Holy Land).  The fact that “the house of the Lord” sits atop a mountain implies an ascent, which in turn implies personal sacrifice.  One must stretch and climb to reach His house.  We can relate this ascent both to the long course of Old Testament salvation history, and also to our own religious practices during the Season of Advent.

Today’s Gospel passage presents Jesus’ response to such human initiative.  The pagan centurion not only shows initiative in appealing to Jesus, but also faith.  This pagan utters the cry that each of us echoes before Holy Communion:  “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”  Jesus responds to him with a prophecy that fulfills Isaiah’s:  “…many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Each of us, even if a member of Christ’s Body from birth, should not presume upon God’s grace, but imitate the faith of the pagan centurion.  Make a two-fold prayer on this first weekday of Advent.  (1) Pray that many others will come to Jesus in Holy Mass.  (2) Pray that you will generously take the fruits of the Eucharist to many others though the sacrifices of your daily life.

The First Sunday of Advent [B]
Isa 63:16-17,19; 64:2-7  +  1 Cor 1:3-9  +  Mk 13:33-37
December 3, 2017

“Be watchful!  Be alert!”

Once there was a man who tried bargaining with God.  “Lord,” he said, “to you quantities are insignificant.  A thousand years are only a minute in your sight.  A million dollars is but a penny.  So, Lord, what would it hurt you to give me a million dollars?” God answered, “Well, OK.  Wait here just a minute.”

As we enter the season of Advent, we need to recall that God’s ways are not our ways, and that God’s time is not our time.  To prepare for the sacred mysteries of the Christmas Season, consider three questions:  1) What do you do to prepare for Christmas?  2) What is it you are preparing to celebrate?  And 3) What should your life look like after you celebrate Christmas?  We can answer these questions by looking at three different persons waiting to celebrate Christmas.  These are certainly stereotypes, but they allow us to ask whether anything in their approaches to Advent is like our own.

The first person is a youngster waiting for Christmas morning.  What does the youngster do to prepare for Christmas?  Nothing, really.  The waiting is simply a time of anticipation.  All the youngster’s thoughts are consumed with the idea of Christmas morning.  Christmas is a moment, a flurry of activity that’s over in the twinkle of an eye.  Once the presents are open, Christmas is over.  The gifts themselves hold the youngster’s attention for very little time, and the celebration of Christmas brings no real change in the youngster.

The second person is a college student waiting for Christmas Break.  He’s working like mad to complete all the projects, papers and tests that are due before he can celebrate Christmas.  Christmas, for this student, is a time of rest.  Advent and Christmas are two opposites for this student:  work, and rest.  Christmas brings about a complete change in the student, but only for a few weeks, perhaps.  After that, it’s back to the books and the same old grind.

The third person for us to consider is a woman waiting for the birth of her child.  As she bears her child in the womb for nine months, her attention is not focused solely on the birth of the child, like the youngster who for a month can think of nothing but opening his presents on Christmas morning.  She will make sacrifices of her self in order to ensure the health and safety of her unborn child, but meanwhile she has other obligations to attend to.  She bears the child within herself as she tends to the needs of others.

She waits for the time of birth, although even the most experienced of doctors cannot assure her when exactly it will take place.  And when the expected time does come, it is neither the youngster’s brief moment of pleasure at opening presents, nor the student’s days of rest from labor.  For the expectant mother, the waited-for moment is itself a time of labor and of pain.  Yet despite the pain, it is also somehow a time of joy.

Somehow.  Somehow the waiting itself is a time of longing for labor and joy.  Is it any wonder that our Blessed Mother Mary plays such an important role in these seasons of Advent and Christmas?  Who was ever a better disciple of Jesus than Mary?  Who has ever been a better example of what it means to long for the coming of the Lord?  There are many scenes which we picture in our minds and which we hear proclaimed during this Advent of the Lord’s coming.  Joyful mysteries such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Immaculate Conception help us prepare for the gift of Jesus.

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Daniel 7:15-27  +  Luke 21:34-36

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy….”

Today is the liturgical equivalent of New Year’s Eve.  With the end of the Church’s liturgical year, there is a note of celebration.  We look back at this concluding year of grace and give thanks to God for the gifts of life and growth in Christ.

Nonetheless, the Church’s liturgical year is never simply about the here and how.  The end of each liturgical year is not simply about looking back at the previous 52 weeks.  Each year looks back far into history; indeed, even back to that time “in the beginning” when God chose to act as a gracious Creator.  Each year also looks forward in hope to the good things that God has promised us.  It’s this looking forward in hope that the year’s end in particular focuses upon.

At first glance, the Scriptures of the Sacred Liturgy at the end of the year may not seem very hopeful.  In fact, they may seem to focus on quite ominous matters.  The “fourth beast” in Daniel’s vision in the First Reading illustrates this focus.  Jesus in the Gospel passage seems to issue a warning about “that day”, which “will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth”.  Jesus also implies, however, that His followers have good reason for hope.  He encourages them to hope for “the strength to escape the tribulations… and to stand before the Son of Man.”