Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 11

Reading 1

2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
“Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”
Nathan answered the king,
“Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you.”
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?’“

"'It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock 
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29

R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

 

Reading 2

ROM 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever.
Amen.

Alleluia

LK 1:38

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

MY BROTHER AND SISTERS,

The Advent Wreath is ablaze with light!  The light shines forth from the wreath out into the world and all of God’s creation. This Fourth Sunday represents that which cannot ever be defeated by the darkness: LOVE. All that has come before, all that is now, and all that will ever be has been brought forth by God by His eternal love for us which revealed fully by the entrance of His beloved Son into this world as a sacrifice for our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. This love for us defines what our relationship with God should be built upon. The Apostle Paul said it best in his Letter to the Corinthians:

 

“So faith, hope, love remain, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”

 

If God did not love us then we would have never been created. If God did not love us then we would have never been given the opportunity to repair our relationship with Him and experience the love He has for us now and throughout eternity. It is no mistake that the Fourth Advent Candle represents Love because it is through Love that Hope, Peace, and Joy are fully realized. Each of these previous concepts is brought to perfection through the practice and experience of Love.

 

When we do not practice love or experience love there is a darkness that creeps forward to fill the void which was created by its lack of presence. When there is no presence of love is when the perchance of sin and evil gain strength. Love is perfection. Any other emotion is inferior to this because the perfection of love is God Himself. If we take a moment to contemplate all the bad things that have happened and continue to happen in the world there is one constant which defines all of it: the lack of love. All these things lose their power when confronted with love. In the same way, when we love, it is impossible for us to sin and do bad things in that moment.

 

The love that we express in our thoughts and actions is a reflection of the love that God has for us. It is also representative of God Himself. Being a reflection of God’s love means it is indeed less powerful than God but it still retains His presence because it has its origins in Him. We are an imperfect vehicle for the perfect but, in an amazing way, we are made better by its presence. We are transformed by it being there and us reacting to it. We benefit from it and those who are the receivers of the actions and expressions produced from it also benefit. In other words all are benefactors of love and no one is left out of the equation. God is love and love is God. You cannot separate the two. This is why, when challenged by Pharisees regarding the greatest commandment of the law, Jesus said:

 

“ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these commandments.”

 

These words cannot be overstated. The whole law and the prophets depend on these commandments. The entire law and the words of the prophets came from God thus their origins are love. They cannot be separated from love. Without love they would not exist. If we do not love and if we cannot be open to being loved then we are separated from God. This is when we sin and only bad things happen. Love is the pathway to God.

 

The Gospel Reading today describes the Incarnation: The Word becoming flesh; Jesus’ physical entrance into the world. It serves as a statement and an expression of God’s perfect love for us. The Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary rises her to the highest of heights in comparison to all men and women who came before her and all of the heavenly creatures: “ HAIL, FULL OF GRACE!” She was in a state of perfect grace untainted by Original Sin. This was brought about by the presence of God and was not of Mary’s doing. Her reaction to the presence of God’s love brought her to acceptance of what was being offered to her: “May it be done to me according to your word.” God’s love brings Mary to perfection and then she expresses love by accepting what is being offered out of love. God offers us love and asks us to live out the presence of His love by doing everyone out of love and with love.

 

Whatever doubts and fears that Mary had were immediately dispelled by what Gabriel had to say when she challenged him.

 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”

 

The Trinity was at work within Mary and she was in active in relationship with it. She was at its center and experiencing the love that permeated from it. Through that relationship no doubt and no questions could remain. Through our own relationship with God we can also experience the same result because nothing is impossible with God. Mary becomes the perfect model of what a relationship with God can bring about. It is through God that we too can be strengthened and be able to do things above and beyond any expectations that we might have had. God’s work within us can slowly bring us to perfection which will finally be achieved when we meet Him face to face. God wants to the do the work within ourselves that we are unable to do alone. He wants to remain within us forever. In order for Him to do this we must be like Mary and mirror the words of that beautiful prayer that we all are familiar with: “Thy will be done.” It is then that His love will pour in.

 

Deacon Tom

 

Deacon Tom,

I was reflecting on how much I miss the Advent retreat at the prison. Please let everyone know I am thinking of them and praying for them. And you of course! Hoping things will return to normal next year. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

Love,

Pam

 

 My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It is God who builds the house!  It is God who sends the Savior!  It is God who comes to Mary and through Mary gives us the Savior.   All comes from God and all returns to God, but the present is the important time because it is now that God and humans are in relationship.

The first reading today is from the Second Book of Samuel.  What a wonderful account of David and of David’s desire to build a house for the Lord!  The point of this account, however, is that all of us must recognize that God is the center of life and not us.  At one level we can do nothing for God.

That should not stop us from trying to do everything for God!  Even though all we have comes from God, we can still return His love by striving to live for Him and striving to be faithful to all that He asks of us.  This is a normal, natural response to knowing the love of God.

The second reading today comes from the Letter to the Romans and speaks of the mystery of salvation now being revealed.  Only when we believe in a personal God who loves us does any “plan of God” make sense.  Sure God does not have to “plan” the way that we humans do, but God always has our good in His mind and is working to bring about His goodness and love within us.  Part of the “plan” of God was sending His Only Son to save us from ourselves.

Today, many people do not believe in God or in salvation.  On the other hand, if we look around our world at any time in history—if we look today—we see what a mess we humans make of our lives.  In the 1900s there was a large movement that believed that we humans could make everything better and perfect.  That kind of thinking is still around us in those who are convinced that our problems come from political systems or from economic systems or from other causes.  There is practically no recognition today that our problems come from our fallen human nature and that we humans, by ourselves, are unable to fix ourselves and are in need of salvation.

The Gospel from Saint Luke today presents us with Mary saying “yes” to God’s invitation in her life.  This is the dawn of our salvation!  Only in Jesus the Savior will our world ever be at peace.  Only in Jesus as Lord will nations be able to work together.  Only with Jesus at the heart of our own personal lives can we truly serve the Lord in Spirit and Truth.

May God build our house, our Church, our country and our world—and with that hope we await the coming of the Lord!

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Philip

Just listening to the readings, we know that we are very close to the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus. The first reading is so very beautiful and one that all of us should know and keep in our hearts.

So often we are like David: we want to do something for God and we have not really understood all that He has done and is doing for us. The image of God in this reading is so sweet and tender and powerful!

David is now established as king in Israel and his thoughts turn to God. He realizes that he has built all his own physical houses and built up the city but he has not yet built a place that is truly adequate and worthy of the Lord’s presence. Nathan the Prophet, almost without thinking, tells him to go ahead and build a house for the Lord. But that very night the Lord appears to Nathan the Prophet and tells him that David should not build a house for the Lord.

God has Nathan speak to David and tell him: You can’t build me a house! I have built you a house!

This is a play on words and we must recognize it, because the house that God builds for David and which is so important is the house of his descendants: your house and your kingdom shall endure forever!

So we see today another prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. Our first instinct, as was David’s first instinct, is to think that the physical descendants of King David will endure forever. But like all prophecies, the words can be interpreted in more than one way. David’s house endures forever because Jesus Christ is God.

This leads us to today’s Gospel. We have the story of the annunciation. Mary hears the words of the Angel Gabriel and accepts them, but also asks how it could be possible. The high point of the Gospel, of course, is Mary’s reply: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

We see the contrast with David the King! David wants to do something for God—and that is a worthy desire. Mary simply wants to do God’s will. And that is something infinitely more worthy.

As we come to the end of Advent, we can ask for this same grace that Mary had: May it be done according to your word! May my life reflect only God. May my desires be purified so that I can become a person who truly reflects God in every aspect of my life. May Christ be born in me.

 

 

Resistance Podcast 145: What is the Great Reset & What are Their Plans?

Cardinal Burke: Forces of the 'Great Reset' have used COVID to advance '...

 

 

 

Third Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 8

Reading 1

IS 61:1-2A, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
 

Responsorial Psalm

LK 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54.

R. (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R. My soul rejoices in my God.

Reading 2

1 THES 5:16-24

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
 

Alleluia

IS 61:1 (cited in LK 4:18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

JN 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent. 
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. It is on this day that the rose candle on the Advent Wreath is lit and we are encouraged to contemplate joy and what it means in relation to our relationship with Jesus Christ; how He can bring joy into our lives and how he has the capability to have us experience indescribable joy by us entering into a relationship with Him. This Sunday is also referred to as, “Gaudete Sunday,” meaning REJOICE. This is taken from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians where he implores them to, “ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.” This is reemphasized in his Letter to the Thessalonians where the theme continues: “Rejoice always.” This day has its roots in the traditions of the Church when Advent was originally a 40 Day season and had many aspects in common with the Season of Lent: penance, reflection, and sacrifice. Gaudete Sunday was sort of a midway point through the season reminding us Christians that we are a people of joy and that, even in our suffering state, we should be joyous in the knowledge that Christ was near, His coming was imminent, and that soon we would be lifted up into a period of celebration with the Christmas Season.

 

Joy remains the central theme on this Sunday. It is much more than just a feeling. It is a state of being which can be achieved through a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ. We are encouraged toreact  to His presence in our lives. Keeping Jesus Christ central in all of our thoughts and actions opens a pathway directly to the Father and clears away all of the obstacles that this world has created which prevents us from fully experiencing God. Much of our lives can be spent in conflict; fighting these things which blur our relationship with God and making Him less accessible. By focusing on Jesus and strengthening our relationship with Him through prayer, worship, and living by the precepts of our faith we can push out the bad and let the good flood in; that which comes from God. When we do this we then are able to experience true joy.

 

God has the power to make everything right. In any circumstance that we find ourselves in joy can be experienced if we walk with Him. He can give us the direction and the strength that we need in times of trial if we just let Him do the work within us that is necessary. He has the power to overcome all things. We do not have this power and we were not created by Him to live our lives separate from Him. As long as we do not turn away from Him or ignore Him all things can be overcome. It was through Jesus Christ that even death was conquered so why would it ever be thought that we could not be guided through our own trials if we only ask for His help? God is our Father, Christ is our advocate, and the Holy Spirit is the paraclete. Acknowledging this brings about a new way of living and a new way of  understanding the world around us; an understanding that brings us in line with God. That is where we can experience joy.

 

Being guided by our relationship with God will allow us to make proper decisions in our lives and everything will be made better as a result. Proper discernment of what is good and bad will aid us in a constant improvement of our lives. This may be challenging at times, especially when we are confronted with a decision that may prevent us from feeding our earthly desires in the short-term, but through repetition and prayer it will become easier; especially when the long-term results outweigh any short-term stimulation we may experienced if we chose wrongly. We find this in Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians:

 

“Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

It is through this process that we are naturally made holy. It is through holiness that joy is encountered. And where there is joy there is God.

 

Just as John the Baptist proclaimed the Coming of Jesus Christ and time of repentance we all should be in a constant state of preparation and focused on that day when we will meet Jesus Christ. This will happen either when we die or sometime during our earthly existence. Either way, we will meet Him and will be united with him forever. Knowing this should be comforting to us and should encourage us further to engage with Him now. What Jesus promises can be experienced now by embracing that promise and living it out through our thoughts, actions, and our spirituality. This is what is meant when Paul tells out to step out of the darkness and into the light. We are Children of the Light and the Light is Jesus Christ. There is joy in the light. That joy is found when we believe it and accept it.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Prophet Isaiah gives us the theme for reflection today: “In my God is the joy of my soul.” When that is true in our lives, we are walking the road and we know the truth of these words from the same Prophet: “He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.”

This great Prophet Isaiah believed with his whole being that God would send salvation and redemption for His people. Each one of us can have that same trust and confidence in God: God loves us and will bring us salvation. God invites us to live according to His laws and His wisdom—let us walk the way of the Lord!

This is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and called “Gaudete” Sunday in Latin. It is a Sunday of rejoicing. The entrance song for some centuries was always from the Letter to the Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say, rejoice!

The second reading this Sunday picks up the theme of rejoicing: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.” We need to hear both of these realities: rejoice and pray! We can only rejoice always if we are praying without ceasing. God is not asking the impossible of us. We are able to walk through a normal day while keeping Him always in our heart. It is not easy and we shall fail but when we see that God is not in our heart, we can invite Him once more to make us aware of His presence. In that way, we can rejoice and pray all the day long.

The Gospel from Saint John today brings us back to Saint John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a central focus of the Gospel last Sunday and once again is here for us to consider. We should note that John the Baptist is not at all concerned about being considered great or important. His one concern is to point to Jesus Christ: the One who is to come, whose sandal strap he is unworthy to untie.

Saint John the Baptist is a saint of joy because he points always to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We also can become people of joy when our lives point to Jesus our Lord. We don’t have to be perfect but we do have to keep pointing to the Lord. Just as in the life of John the Baptist, the more we decrease, the more the Lord may increase. It is a challenge for us to live in such a way that we are always witness to the presence of God and God’s love.

The Offertory in the Latin Mass is clear: “Lord, you have blessed your land. You have forgiven the iniquity of your people.” It is because God loves us and forgives us that we can rejoice and be glad. It is because Jesus invites us to live His life that our lives can be witnesses to Him. Let us rejoice and be glad this Sunday as we delight in God’s love.

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Philip

The Church’s Old Testament “prophet of choice” for the Advent season is Isaiah, from the 8^th century before Christ. And the choice of Isaiah is obvious. The Prophet Isaiah consistently announced the mission he had received from God, to proclaim the good news of liberation for God’s people. “The Spirit of the Lord” rested upon the prophet, we are told, indicating that God’s power had been given to the prophet to direct and strengthen him as God’s spokesman. The Advent message is likewise centered on liberation of the human race by the coming of Jesus Christ.

Speaking in the name of and with the authority of the Covenant-God who always remains faithful is an awesome responsibility. Even so, Isaiah rose to the occasion and referred to as being anointed, a term that throughout the Bible means possessing a very specific mission for the good of God’s people.

Another way to express the notion of anointing, which may or may not include a ritual action with oil, means to be chosen, dedicated and appointed, by God. In the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah was entrusted with a divine mission. Christians often think of the same word “anointed” in relation to Jesus Christ, God’s Anointed, as the Redeemer of the human race.

Advent is the time of year when we are encouraged to contemplate the mystery of our salvation, found in no one else than the Lord of Lord and King of Kings, Jesus Christ. In the synagogue of Nazareth, as Jesus began his public ministry, he read aloud and commented on the same text of Isaiah that we hear this Sunday, regarding being anointed by God and announcing a very specific message: good tidings to those estranged from God, intended for all who “labor and are heavy burdened,” who can find rest in God alone.

Looking at the second Scripture reading for Mass this Sunday, and flowing from what has been said above, we hear Saint Paul advising the Thessalonians with three main points: always be joyful, never stop praying and be thankful in every circumstance of life. These essential attitudes need to be cultivated at all times, in order to replace the human tendencies toward preoccupation, anxiety and laziness. It is God’s grace which enables believers, and each of us, to live up to the call we have been given, in such a manner that, as Saint Paul expresses it, we may be found “blameless at the coming of the Lord.”

The Gospel text for this Sunday contains two sections. The first is devoted to an introduction to the mission of the last of the prophets, Saint John the Baptist, and the second section is concerned with how John the Baptist witnesses to Christ, the Anointed Messiah.

We are told in the Gospel that John the Baptist was a man sent by God, entrusted with a mission like the prophets of old. The life of John and all the divine messengers is characterized by an absolute dedication to the mission they have been given. Their own person disappears behind the One who sent them. In the words of John the Baptist: “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease.

The Baptist completed the cycle begun by the prophet Elijah. Just as Elijah announced the arrival of God’s kingdom, John the Baptist was the first to proclaim God’s promise of the Redeemer Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew name John the Baptist, Jo-hanan, means “God is merciful.” Out of love and mercy God raised up an envoy, John, for a world indifferent and even hostile to the message of salvation. Jesus faced the same in his public ministry. John’s mission was to “prepare the way of the Lord,” which in fact cost John his life. Jesus met the same rejection as well.

In today’s Gospel passage, John is discussing with a group of Pharisees and assures them he is not the Messiah, the Christ. Nonetheless, John was baptizing people in the Jordan River. This is part of the process of preparing for the One already in their midst, Jesus, who would be baptizing in the Holy Spirit, but not yet recognized by the Pharisees and others.

The portrait of John the Baptist in the Gospels is of a prophet completely conscious of the true nature of his vocation, as a forerunner, one who goes ahead, sent to prepare the way, but as a servant, not as the master. John sees himself as ready and willing for the lowest menial service. “I am not worthy to unfasten the sandal of the Master,” he says. The one desire of the Baptist was to prepare hearts for the coming of the Messiah, principally by their fasting and repentance. John points all those who hear him to follow the One Leader, Jesus, not John.

The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, coming from the Latin words, “everyone rejoice!,” which are the opening words of the Entrance Antiphon at Mass this Sunday. Advent is half way over and there is a theme this day of not being discouraged or afraid, even amidst setbacks, including the current world crisis.

Everyone needs to know that our God will surely come to save us. Even if discouraged along the way, we strive never to give up on the one true God, who never leaves his flock unattended. We greatly and gladly rejoice, for our salvation is near at hand. As baptized and committed believers we never finish growing. It is a life-long process, but we never do it alone. For this we give thanks and bow before the Majesty of God.

Abbot Christian Leisy, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 5

Reading 1

IS 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Reading 2

2 PT 3:8-14

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

Alleluia

LK 3:4, 6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MK 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

The Second Week of Advent opens with a Reading from the Book of the Prophet of Isaiah which emphasizes what Jesus Christ brings to this world and to the lives of all peoples within. It also offers a promise of things to come which is also the subject of the Second Advent Candle that is lit on this Sunday of Advent: PEACE. The world as built by us is filled with dysfunction, evil, and sin. It is impossible to encounter a perfect world with perfect people because no one is perfect which means that anything that has as its origin with us will not be perfect. We all have an attraction to evil and to doing wrong things which brings about conflict in our lives and those around us. The good news is that God has a solution to this and a different way of living that we can partake in that will naturally force out all that is negative and bad. The Prophet Isaiah announces that it is through the revelation of Jesus Christ that the time of self-inflicted punishment and suffering can come to an end.

 

Throughout the entire Book of  Isaiah there is a common theme of self-inflicted punishment, forgiveness, and love. There are warnings of what is to occur if a relationship with God is ignored and the possibility of redemption and healing when God is recognized. A comparison of a life with God and a life without God can be examined. The Book also focuses on the love that God has for us including Him wanting to forgive us for all of our wrongdoings and short-comings. What was revealed then to the Jewish people serves as guidance and promises for all of us today. The words set down back then have as much importance today. It is through an acknowledgment of God and the acceptance of the revelation of Jesus Christ that all of God’s creation will be healed and perfected. The process starts from all of us as individuals and spreads out into the world with us being the flashpoint which ignites the light which will dispel all of the darkness. Receiving what God has to offer and receiving Jesus Christ into our hearts makes us instruments of peace and unifies us with our creator in a relationship solidified by love.

 

The Apostle Peter tells us not to focus on the Coming of Jesus Christ but instead to focus on ourselves and our relationship with Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ comes again it will mark a New Heaven and a New Earth with the Old Heaven and the Old Earth passing away. This means that Jesus’ Second Coming in the physical sense will mark the completion of a transformative process that is occurring right now. We are a part of this process. Everything in this physical world is changing and moving towards this moment. Jesus Christ is within us guiding us towards this end goal. Spirituality we have the capability of uniting with Him and can recognize this process as it happens; enjoying each moment as the moment comes to pass. When we do this we can encounter a certain peace which is a byproduct of what is occurring. This peace becomes manifest as all of the bad is pushed out of us making space for the good. The Love of God then pours in. We are more than witnesses to this New Heaven and New Earth. We are responsible for its creation. When acting out our mission we will encounter peace and then, as a direct result, that same peace will flow forth into the world.

 

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”

 

Just as Isaiah proclaimed the coming of Saint John the Baptist and it was through John that Jesus’ Coming was revealed, we have been commissioned to proclaim that we are now in a time of preparation for His Second coming and it is everyone’s responsibility to participate in this constant state of readiness. This is for the benefit of everyone. We must keep attention to our self-improvement and the improvement of others. We need to build. When we prepare and build upon the changes in ourselves and those whom we interact with then we are moved mentally and spiritually towards a deeper relationship with God. Peace then becomes the new state of being we find ourselves in; free from the bonds of our past brokenness. Eventually we will be ready to encounter the New Heaven and the New Earth promised to all. We can then finally meet Jesus as He hands the Kingdom over to The Father.

 

This is out story. This is the full Creation Story that we are all participating in. To ignore it means we would be ignoring ourselves. Jesus Christ is the light which shows the way to inevitable peace. It is “Peace of God,” as the Apostle Paul says, “that is beyond all understanding.”

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

A QUICK NOTE:

 

Please pray for Sue and Jack.

 

Sue and Jack have been volunteering at MCI Concord, MCI Norfolk, and several other prisons for decades. At MCI concord that have run the Tuesday Rosary Group for a countless amount of years and have also participated in various advent and REC Retreats. Jack has been diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer and is at home in hospice. He is without pain and in good spirits. He is surrounded by family. He is preparing to go home to God. Both Sue and Jack send their prayers and their love.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Advent pulls our hearts to the Lord!  Advent is a time to begin anew.  Advent is a time to be still and listen again to the Word of the Lord.  All of this is to say that we must prepare the way of the Lord in our lives and in our hearts.

The first reading today is from the Prophet Isaiah.  We have to understand this word as originally aimed at the Jewish people who had been taken out of their own land and were living in a foreign land without must capacity to celebrate their own faith.  These people longed to return to their own land and to rebuild the temple of the Lord.  As in any community, we can be sure that not everyone wanted to return because they knew that returning would be even worse hardship than staying where they were.

This is a parallel to our own lives today.  We are in exile from the Lord because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.  Not everyone today wants to turn to the Lord because the Lord makes demands on our lives.  The words of the Prophet Isaiah can be addressed to us if we long to live according to the Word of the Lord and recognize that we cannot do that without the grace and mercy of God in our lives.

If we have tried to be faithful and find ourselves failing over and over, then surely the words of Isaiah speak to us!  Comfort, give comfort to my people!  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.  Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.

When we are using our energies to seek the Lord, these words of Isaiah can bring tears to our eyes and open our hearts so much more to the presence of the Living God, who is seeking us.

The Second Letter of Saint Peter, from which is taken the second reading today, repeats this lesson to us:  “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  It is God Himself who wants to give us comfort but can only do so insofar as our hearts are open and waiting for Him.  It is God who invites us to be patient and who reminds us:  “Beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.”

Advent is a time to stir up our desire for God, to stir up our hope in the Lord, to deepen our awareness of His love for us.

The Gospel of Mark today gives us the account of John the Baptist, a man seeking the Lord with all his strength.  Mark recognizes that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy that speaks of the one who will go before the Lord to prepare His way.  John himself speaks this way in the today’s passage.  And John is so completely humbled by his task that he sees himself even unworthy to untie the thongs of the sandals of the Lord who comes.

Everything in and about John the Baptist points to the One Who Is To Come, the Savior, the Messiah.

May our lives become so focused on God and His ways in our lives that we become like John the Baptist:  our lives only giving witness to the love and mercy of God and drawing others to that love and mercy.

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Philip

 

Background on the Gospel Reading

Today’s Gospel is taken from the beginning of Mark. Unlike Luke and Matthew, Mark does not include any details of Jesus’ birth. Instead Mark begins with the appearance of John the Baptist in the desert. On this the Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect upon the role of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus and the salvation that he would bring to us.

Mark’s description of the appearance of John the Baptist highlights John’s continuity with the Jewish prophetic tradition. Mark combines quotations from the Old Testament books of Malachi, Isaiah, and Exodus. Mark’s description of John as an ascetic, living in the desert, clothed in camel hair, and eating locusts and wild honey, is reminiscent of the description of the prophet Elijah found in Second Kings. The people of Judea and Jerusalem flock to him, listening to his message of repentance and forgiveness; they also come to him to be baptized. Mark’s Gospel is clear, however, that John the Baptist’s role is only to prepare the way for another who will come, one who is greater than John.

Many scholars believe that the Gospels reflect the tension that likely existed between followers of John the Baptist and disciples of Jesus. Each of the four Evangelists report on John’s preaching and baptizing, and they each emphasize the importance of Jesus’ baptism by John. The four Gospels also explain that John was sent to preach in preparation for another. In the Gospel of Luke, the question is raised as to whether John the Baptist was himself the Messiah. Just as in today’s Gospel, however, John speaks quite explicitly that the Messiah was to come after him.

In today’s Gospel we hear John the Baptist contrast his baptism of repentance with the baptism that Jesus will inaugurate. John says that he has baptized with water, but that the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism was not yet a Christian baptism, but a preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism through which sins are forgiven and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received.

John the Baptist is presented to us as a model during Advent. We, too, are called upon to prepare a way for the Lord. Like John the Baptist, we are messengers in service to one who is greater than we are. Our Baptism commissions us to call others to life as disciples of Jesus.

Loyola Press