Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

“I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.  But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, the angel Gabriel appears before Zechariah to announce that John the Baptist will be born to Elizabeth although she is advanced in years. Zechariah’s prayer, Gabriel says, has been heard. Zechariah questions Gabriel by saying, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Whether there was something in Zechariah’s tone that suggested disbelief, Luke doesn’t say. What is clear is that Gabriel saw that Zechariah did not believe him and because of this he was unable to talk until the birth of John. Luke tells us in a later passage how Zechariah came to speak: “Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.” What did Zechariah learn from God while he was mute? How did God speak to him in his speechlessness so that he would open his mouth, blessing God?

God, I believe in you yet fail to believe. My belief is not perfect but a work in progress, always coming into being in an imperfect way. Thank you for the blessing of my faith and for the sacraments, where you work with me where I am in perfecting my faith. I want to know the way to greater certainty of your work in the world and your work in me. Lord, you speak and from your mouth come perfect being and love. Help me today to understand how to quiet my voice—my spoken words and inner voice—so that I come interiorly to know you and bless you.

Lord, be my strength. Quiet my soul today and these few days leading up to the birth of Jesus your Son. “For you are my hope, O LORD,” today’s Psalm says, “my trust, O God, from my youth.” On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength.” Be with me today as you were at my birth and always have been. Strengthen me today to believe you and trust you.

From the O Antiphon for today: O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Fourth Sunday of Advent

“She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

In today’s Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Matthew echoes the words from the first reading of Isaiah, “the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel,” to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, and, as Paul says in the second reading, “the one descended from David according to the flesh.” As the Lord says in Isaiah, “ask for a sign from the LORD, your God,” so he answers through the birth of Jesus through the Virgin Mary. God is with us!

God, you connect the pieces of salvation history—person by person—through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus your Son. There is so much to take in; just as you are present in the cosmos and the grand scale, you are also present in the individual lives of your beloved children. When you speak to Ahaz and you tell him to ask for a sign, you say, “let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!” Lord, the scope of my imagination can’t begin to fathom the depths and heights of the mysteries you spoke from the beginning of time and continue to speak into existence. Grant me the grace to marvel at the wonders of the universe you made while trusting that you, Emmanuel, care for me in every way as one you love and call by name.

Lord, thank you for the gift of your presence. Through the appearance of an angel, Joseph accepted and trusted your will for Jesus and Mary. Let me trust that through your Son that the same intimate guidance is active in my life and in the world. With the “O Antiphons” of Advent for today, I pray: “O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!”

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.

Readings

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

In today’s Gospel reading, Matthew relates the genealogy of Jesus. To read it is to be invited into Jesus’ family history. Many of the names are unfamiliar. Others, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon call to mind key figures in the Davidic lineage. Still others bring to mind that not all people in that family line are models of holiness. It is this human family that Jesus enters into when he took on flesh to live among the people he created in his image. In my own family genealogy, who are the models I look to for growing in my faith? My parents and grandparents come to mind; beyond that, my lineage is swallowed up in all of history, and I flounder to identify who I am and where I came from.

God, you sent your Son to us within a long lineage—part of your plan from the beginning of time—to bring us out of captivity and into everlasting life in your presence. Help me understand, Lord, that just as you had a plan for your Son and for all of history, you also have a plan for me, to draw me ever closer to you.

Be with me today, God. I know you are present, but I am not always mindful. In the people I encounter today, especially my family, and in the opportunities you present to me today, through your grace let me know you are near.

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.

Readings

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

Jesus said to the Jews: “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”

In today’s Gospel reading from John, Jesus expresses an essential truth of his character. What he says the Father sent him to do he does. “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified,” Jesus says. “But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.” Jesus speaks the truth because he accomplishes the will of his Father, who is truth. How do I respond to the Father’s call to live in truth by doing his will?

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Son. You bless us with Him in every way. As the psalmist says, “God, our God, has blessed us. May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him!” Give me the grace to trust your testimony and your every word. I want to understand your meaning by saying, “But I have testimony greater than John’s.” As Saint John Paul II said of John the Baptist: “[He] is above all a model of faith. Following the example of the great Prophet Elijah, in order to listen more attentively to the word of the one Lord of his life, he leaves everything and withdraws to the desert, from which he would issue the resounding call to prepare the way of the Lord.” Through your life, death, and resurrection, Lord, John first prepared the way for us.

Thank you, Lord, for preparing my heart this Advent to receive Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Stay with me today.

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.

Readings

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

Jesus said to the crowds about John the Baptist, “Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom Scripture says: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus has just answered the question the disciples of John the Baptist has asked him: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus makes clear his relationship to those listening by saying of John that he was “more than a prophet,” that he is the messenger that prepares a way for the Lord. The Pharisees and scholars of the law, he says, who were not baptized by John rejected God’s plan for themselves. How is it, God, that I routinely go to great lengths to see and do what is trivial but struggle to bring you into the present moment each day?

God, help me understand the restlessness that the crowds felt is little different from the restlessness I feel each day, whether at work or at home. It takes very little to unsettle me when comfortable habits are disrupted. If I had less to cling to, I’d have less to let go of. What is it about John the Baptist that prepares the way? He lived in the desert, he ate locusts and wild honey, and he lived apart from the comforts of civilization. He lived a life of detachment. Lord, let me know you are with me today. I hear in this the words of Saint Paul: “You must increase; I must decrease.”

Quiet my soul, Lord. See me in the great and small distress of the day. From the first reading, let me keep within my soul this consolation: “But with enduring love I take pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer.”

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

When the men came to the Lord, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind.

In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus responds to this question from the disciples of John in a matter-of-fact way: “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” In the first reading from Isaiah, God who sent his Son to be the Incarnate Word, proclaims “I am the LORD, there is no other; I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe; I, the LORD, do all these things.” In this is the Lordship of Christ—his majesty as the one who is to come; there is no other. As the psalmist says, “ 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.” What is there in this day that would obstruct me from the depth and breadth of joy in these words? “I am the LORD, there is no other.”

Be with me today, Lord, to aid me in taking all of this in. I am subject to many diversions the world offers, and I easily stray from hearing your word and living by it. Grant me the grace to fear being far from you; as the words of today’s Psalm proclaim, “Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him.”

Father in heaven, you form light and make well-being. Blessed are you, Lord; there is no other. Lord, as you say to the disciples of John the Baptist, say to me in my heart: “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the chief priests and elders the parable of the two sons. The father said to the first: “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” He said, “I will not.” Afterward, he changed his mind and went. He gave the second son the same order. He said, “Yes, sir,” but did not go. Jesus then asks them, “Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Which of these sons am I most like? How often do I enthusiastically respond to God’s call but then falter?

God, help me understand the Gospel reading. Tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus says, are entering the Kingdom of God before the ones—myself included—who first say yes and then don’t go. Is it that because of their sins, they no they have greater need for your grace and mercy? Grant me the grace, Lord, to hear and respond to you, as in the words of the first reading: “But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: the remnant of Israel.”

I feel the constraints of time today and a stubborn drive to accomplish the work that lies ahead in my own way. Lord, through your presence, let me hear you and go where you want me to go. Show me how to do it your way. You are my father, and you ask me to go out and work in the vineyard today, in the things I do and with the people I meet. Let me humbly accept the work you give me and find peace in following your will.

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.

Readings

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

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.

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke tells the story of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In it, we see Mary betrothed to Joseph, who is of the house of David. The angel Gabriel was sent. Although the passage doesn’t say, who but God would have sent Gabriel to Mary. Therefore, everything the angel told Mary was “God sent.” When Mary was troubled at his appearance, he said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” In a similar way, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego near Mexico City who was traveling outside a town on his way to a catechism class and Mass. Mary told him in his native Nahuatl language, “For I am your merciful Mother, to you and to all mankind who love me and trust in me and invoke my help.” Our Lady asked Juan to build a shrine in that same spot. When Juan visited the Archbishop to tell him, he didn’t believe him. So when Our Lady appeared to Juan again, she asked him to pick some flowers. It was winter. Nonetheless, Juan found many flowers of a type he had never seen. The Virgin placed them in Juan’s tilma. When Juan returned to the Archbishop, he presented the tilma. The flowers, Castilian flowers not found in Mexico, fell out. The tilma had been imprinted with a miraculous image of the Virgin. From that moment, within the span of seven years, eight million natives converted to Christianity.

God, help me understand through today’s liturgy of the word and through the actions of Our Lady of Guadalupe that you care for your people, for the health of body and soul, and that you want us to know peace in your presence. Mary said to Juan Diego concerning his dying uncle: “Do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain.” I want to have that kind of trust as I face the trials of the day.

Lord, I know you are near. When I find myself becoming afraid of the tasks of this day, let me remember the words of the angel Gabriel and Our Lady of Guadalupe: “Do not be afraid.”

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.

Readings

Sunday of the Third Week of Advent

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.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus responds to the disciples of John the Baptist who ask him if he is the one to come, the Messiah. In Jesus’ response, there is what is heralded in each of the other readings and the Responsorial Psalm. Of the coming of God, Isaiah says, “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.” Similarly, the psalmists says, “The LORD gives sight to the blind; the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.” And in the second reading from James, he encourages his brothers and sisters to wait patiently as a farmer waits for “the precious fruit of the earth” because “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” What does that mean to me that God’s kingdom is amid the ordinariness of each day and certainly amid the extraordinary joyful expectation of this day, Gaudete Sunday?

God, help me take this in and understand it. The kingdom of heaven is coming, and the kingdom of heaven is here now. As Jesus tells the crowds: “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.” In Jesus’ coming, I have what no one before him had. Although no one was greater than the forerunner John, the least in the kingdom, in Jesus’ coming, is greater than John. Even today, Lord, you feed the least in your kingdom with the Eucharist and the sacraments, with us until you come again in glory. Be here with me today during the Mass, in receiving the Eucharist, and present in me through the Holy Spirit.

God of all, you heal us in mind, body, and spirit through the saving power of your Son. Help me see and hear you today so that I can do your will to give you glory.

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.

Readings

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

“Elijah will indeed come and restore all things,” Jesus said, “but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to his disciples as they come down from the mountain after the Transfiguration. By referring to John as Elijah who had come and faced rejection and suffering, Jesus foreshadows his own rejection to come: “So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” How do I recognize the coming of the Son of Man today and every day of this Advent?

Help me understand, Lord, the significance of this question of the disciples who had just witnessed Jesus’ Transfiguration. Elijah will come, and Elijah has already come. In the same, way Jesus has come and will come again. God, give me the grace to understand that you exist outside of time. You are the alpha and the omega—always and forever present in love and mercy.

In the Responsorial Psalm, the refrain is “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” The disciples saw God made Man face to face in the Transfiguration. Let me turn back to you time after time in the fog and frenzy of the day’s activities. Stay beside me, Lord!

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.

Readings

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY