Tag: Advent

“You have revealed them to the childlike.” | Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:21-24)

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”

As the seventy-two disciples sent out to proclaim the kingdom of God return, Jesus praises his Father for their childlike faith. What is hidden from the wise and the learned, God reveals to his servants. What prophets and kings could only dream of seeing and hearing, God blesses with the supernatural vision of faith in his Son. “No one knows who the Son is except the Father,” Jesus tells the disciples, “and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” In being sent out, the seventy-two put faith into practice and see God’s kingdom being established as Jesus reveals to them his Father.

God, in humble obedience the first disciples followed Jesus throughout his ministry. Help me rely less on myself and live more simply for you as a disciple of your Son. Give me understanding to see the limited value of human wisdom and open my eyes to the revelation that you are the limitless source of all truth. In Jesus is the truth, and the person of Christ is truth itself. As the disciples were blessed in seeing Jesus in person, Jesus blesses me with his real presence in the Eucharist and in the Blessed Sacrament. In childlike faith, give me the grace to recognize the gift given by you and the humility to understand the words of Jesus: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.”

From the responsorial psalm: “He shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” Spirit of the Lord, rest upon me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Only say the word.” | Monday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 8:5-11)

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

We hear these words of the Roman centurion at every Mass when we say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” The centurion, who understands the authority behind a command, demonstrates great faith in Jesus in trusting him to heal his servant with his word alone. “For I too am a man subject to authority,” he says, “with soldiers subject to me.” Amazed at his faith, Jesus states that he has not found such faith in all of Israel, emphasizing the inclusion of all in God’s Kingdom. The servant at home paralyzed, suffers dreadfully. In response to our prayers or the prayers of others, Christ comes under our roof to say the word and heal our souls.

God, in the mystery of suffering I often fail to see you or to find a way to see you. The story of the centurion is an example of why sight fails me at those times. Is it that when I look inward at my own suffering I fail to see the suffering of others? For the sake of his servant, the centurion sought out Jesus as he entered Capernaum, as if to suggest the centurion was keen for his arrival. To be certain, a handful of sufferings will come this day, taking my attention away from the needs of others close to me. Help me remember throughout the day that in praying that you free others from their suffering, you free me from the isolating paralysis of self-absorption. Heal me, Lord, from anything that would prevent me from seeing how badly others need you to come under their roof to save them.

From the Gospel acclamation: “Come and save us, LORD our God; Let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Lord, guard me today with your word and by it bring your healing presence.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Be watchful! Be alert!” | First Sunday of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (MK 13:33-37)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

Jesus compares watchfulness for his second coming to a man who travels abroad and returns at an unexpected time. While away from home, he places his servants in charge, each with work to do, and orders the gatekeeper to keep watch. Because the time of Christ’s return is unknown, it calls for constant vigilance and devotion to our faith—a perpetual Advent longing here on earth—to prepare us for the life of the world to come with God. That Jesus addresses not only the disciples but all of us is startlingly clear when he says, “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch.'”

God, help me remain alert always but especially as Advent unfolds, where you reveal your love in sending all of us the Christ child, Emmanuel. So much of each day is taken up by routines and planned time, absorption in the moment at hand followed by absorption in the next planned moment at hand. Give me the grace to experience the coming of Christ, not by counting down the calendar to close another year, but with the kind of childlike faith and wonder that can’t wait to see what comes next. It is you I’m looking for, Lord, and most of the time I’m not aware of that. Let me watch for you with joyful expectation and be ready to come out to meet you in the midst of this day.

From the first reading: “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?” Lord, give me the work of keeping watch for your return.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Monday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, 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.”

As the centurion approaches Jesus in today’s reading, he appeals to Jesus to help his servant, who, as the centurion says, “is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” Jesus offers to go to him and cure him, but the centurion tells him: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Jesus is amazed at his faith and heals his servant. I notice how the centurion refers to Jesus as Lord. The term comes from the Greek word kyrie, meaning “supreme in authority.” By calling Jesus “Lord,” the centurion acknowledges that Jesus, not the emperor, has supreme authority. Jesus describes the faith of the centurion as nothing he has seen in all of Israel. It is his Father, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who has the power and authority to draw all to him.

God, help me follow the example of faith of the centurion. At every Mass, we repeat his words: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” I want to comprehend that such power and authority as the centurion had over others in no way prevented him from recognizing his helplessness in a desperate situation, where he sought the good of the other.

Jesus, let me rest in you today as if I were before you, present in the Blessed Sacrament, even amid the day’s clamor. Let me give my cares to you freely so that I can know the joy of anticipation of your birth. Through your grace, keep me attentive to your word so that I can know and do your will. Like the centurion, let me be unafraid to appeal to you for help, whatever the need.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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