The Fourth Sunday of Advent [A]
Isaiah 7:10-14  +  Romans 1:1-7  +  Matthew 1:18-24
December 18, 2016

“… behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream….”

Saint Joseph has a lot to teach us, if we only watch him.  The reason we have to watch him is because in the whole of the Bible, not one word that Saint Joseph ever spoke is recorded.  He’s not just a man of few words:  according to the Gospels, he’s a man of no words.  We are never told anything that he ever said to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Christ Child, or even—in the case of today’s Gospel passage—to the angel that appeared to him. Continue reading →

Late Advent Weekday — December 17
Genesis 49:2,8-10  +  Matthew 1:1-17
December 17, 2016

“…Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.”

“Late Advent Weekday” is the term that describes the last eight days of Advent, beginning on December 17.  The Sacred Liturgy—from the Divine Office to Holy Mass—shifts slightly in tone as the Church’s preparation for the Messiah intensifies. Continue reading →

Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Isaiah 56:1-3,6-8  +  John 5:33-36
December 16, 2016

“‘John was a burning and shining lamp….’”

As the first half of Advent concludes, Jesus fittingly speaks to the Church’s transition to Advent’s latter half in today’s Gospel passage.  He speaks to the relationship of John the Baptist to Himself. Continue reading →

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Isaiah 54:1-10  +  Luke 7:24-30
December 15, 2106

“‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you….’”

St. Luke the Evangelist ends today’s Gospel passage ends with a long parenthetical statement.  The contrast he makes there frames not only today’s passage, but the whole of Advent. Continue reading →

St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25  +  Luke 7:18-23
December 14, 2016

“‘…should we look for another?’”

The Season of Advent is full of dichotomies.  We wait in darkness for the dawn of a great light.  We wait for the deaf to hear and the lame to leap.  We reflect on the Old Covenant of God’s Chosen People as we await a birth that will give rise to a Church founded on a “new and everlasting covenant”.
Continue reading →

The Third Sunday of Advent [A]
Isa 35:1-6, 10  +  Jas 5:7-10  +  Mt 11:2-11
December 11, 2016

“Take as an example of hardship and patience, brethren, the prophets who spoke….”

“Hardship and patience” don’t come easily to most of us.  Still, at least patience we can see the value of more easily than the value of hardship.  We know from daily experience how much we need the virtue of patience in order to get along in this world (not to mention in order to have a shot at Heaven!).  As we grow up, we need patience with our brothers, and with our sisters.  Within one’s family, parents need patience with their children, and children with their parents.  Employees need patience with their bosses, and bosses with their employees. Continue reading →

St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
Zephaniah 3:1-2,9-13  +  Matthew 21:28-32
December 13, 2016

 “‘Which of the two did his father’s will?’”

Jesus applies His parable of the two sons to tax collectors and prostitutes on the one hand, and to the chief priests and elders on the other.  As a parable proclaimed at Holy Mass during Advent, the Church likely wants us also to consider this parable in terms of the two Testaments of the Bible. Continue reading →

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Zechariah 2:14-17  +  Luke 1:26-38
December 12, 2016

“‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers….’”

Today’s Responsorial is not taken from one of the psalms, but from the Old Testament Book of Judith.  The verses of the Responsorial, by which the Church praises Mary today, in their original setting praise the Old Testament heroine Judith.  In the thirteenth chapter you can read of Judith beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes, thus freeing her people from foreign control.  The praise that follows, which we hear in today’s Responsorial, is offered by Uzziah, the king of Judah. Continue reading →

The Third Sunday of Advent [A]
Isa 35:1-6, 10  +  Jas 5:7-10  +  Mt 11:2-11
December 11, 2016

“The desert and the parched land will exult….” 

No one is prouder of his home state than I am.  But although I was born and reared as a Kansan, as I’ve had the chance to travel through other parts of the country, I’ve had to admit that the beauty of our state is not the same as that of other parts of the country.  The beauty of Kansas is simple, subtle, and understated.  It’s no wonder that when the first explorers came to this part of North America, their report to those back east labeled this area “The Great American Desert”. Continue reading →