Christ the Light Conquers the Darkness (Christmas Homily)

READINGS:

First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6

Gospel: John 1:1-18 (OR John 1:1-5, 9-14 – Shorter Version)

FOCUS: The birth of Christ is the beginning of the triumph of light over darkness. 

FUNCTION: Allow the light of Christ to illuminate the dark places of life. 

                                                                                                 

          Today, after four weeks of prayer and preparation during Advent, the time has finally come for us to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Everything we did during Advent has led us to this holy moment, to this sacred night/day. 

          Here and now, as we celebrate this Holy Mass, we discover the deepest meaning and purpose of Christmas.  Here and now, gathered together as the Body of Christ, Christmas expresses its vitality and power. 

          Today, God has revealed His salvation to us in the form of a seemingly ordinary Child lying in a manger.  But we believe that the Child of the manger is no ordinary Child.  The Gospel told us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was With God, and the Word was God.  (…)  And the Word was made flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”  And we believe that Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, the Child that we celebrate today, the only-begotten Son of God.  What a beautiful mystery!  The God of the ages has become one of us!       

          Because of Jesus Christ…the Word made flesh…Christmas is a celebration of the wisdom and the power and the victory of God.  It is the victory of light over darkness, of goodness over evil, of life over death.  The sacred event of Christmas is good news: God has not abandoned us!  He has not left us to our own devices!  He has chosen to be so close to us as to share our very nature, so that we might share in His divine life. 

          Our God is a God who cares about us, who loves us passionately, and who wants to be close to us.  He is not some far off Deity who sets the world in motion and then chooses to step back and let it spin out of control.  No, just the opposite!  When humanity had turned its back on God, God didn’t just dismiss them and let them fend for themselves.  From the very first pages of the Book of Genesis, God promised to send us a Savior, One who would save humanity from the darkness that it chose to embrace.  Endless ages rolled on, and God intervened in many ways during those ages, but only when time had reached its fullness did God send forth His promised Savior. 

          The Gospel tells us, “He was in the beginning with God.  All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be.  What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  Today we celebrate God’s good news: there is darkness in the world, but it cannot overcome Christ the Light!  When Jesus Christ, the Light and the Word of God, was born in Bethlehem, humanity was given new hope. 

          No longer does darkness have to prevail over us.  No longer do we have to give in to its terrible and insidious ways.  Yes, we must admit that there is an awful darkness in our hearts that all of us have to confront.  Choosing to ignore it will not make it go away.  The more we try to ignore it and gloss it over, the more power it gains within us.  And if we never confront it, it will consume us from the inside.

          But thanks to be to God!  Christ has come as the true light which enlightens every heart and every mind.  In the light of Christ, we no longer have to be prisoners of the darkness within us.  If we step into the healing rays of Christ the Light, we can find healing and wholeness.  And there, in the warmth of the Light, God the Father will speak His Word into our hearts, and darkness will be scattered and the Light will make His home within us.

          And we can see lives changed around us.  Let me share with you my personal experience.  I don’t usually share personal stories, but I like to share this.  It’s a part of my vocation story.  When I was in high school, I liked what a lot of high school students liked: popularity, loud music, social parties, romantic relationships, and more.  Maybe it’s just part of being a teenager; I don’t know.  But interiorly, I yearned for something more.  Yes, those things were exhilarating, but they weren’t ultimately satisfying.  I couldn’t lay my head on my pillow at night and say I felt fulfilled. 

          Then, as a senior I was given an opportunity to go on a TEC retreat.  TEC stands for Teens Encounter Christ.  And I can honestly say that weekend retreat changed my life.  I had encountered Christ…in the team leaders, the stories they shared, the opportunities for prayer, and much more.  When I came home, my parents were rather astonished.  They used to hear some pretty loud, kind of dark music come out of my room before.  But after TEC they heard Christian music— the kind of music that would lift me up and make me feel more alive than any of those other activities.  Of course, Christian conversion is always a gradual process, but it was an encounter with Christ that had changed me for the better and put me on the path that would ultimately lead me to where I am today—a priest of Jesus Christ, happy to be able to celebrate this Christmas Mass with all of you.

          Allowing Christ to transform us from the inside doesn’t happen all at once.  It didn’t for me, and it won’t for you, either.  But for all of us gathered here and throughout the world, today’s Christmas celebration can be the beginning of the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil, of life over death.  The birth of Jesus in our world changes everything. 

          No longer do we have to be defined by our past mistakes.  No longer do we have to feel bound by the chains that bind us.  No longer do we have to be slaves to the darkness.  Christ the Light has come, and the darkness has not overcome it!  God wants all of us to tell our own story of how an encounter with Christ the Light has scattered the darkness of our hearts.

          Christmas can’t only be a story about the birth of Christ; it must also be a story about how His birth and life has changed our lives.  Christ didn’t come into the world for His own sake.  He came into this world for ours.

          Maybe you’re here and you’re still not convinced that Christmas really makes a difference.  Maybe you don’t particularly believe in God.  Maybe you’ve experienced some hardship in life that makes faith difficult.  All of that is OK. 

          Today, Jesus wants to meet you where you are and take you to a new place.  Today, Jesus wants to help you celebrate Christmas with your heart.  So let Him, and you too will know the true and the deep meaning of those beautiful words, “Merry Christmas!”                              

Adoro Te Devote (On Eucharistic Adoration)

This is something I wrote WAY back in the day (on September 27th, 2006, to be precise), when I was a seminarian with St. Pius X Seminary at Loras College.  I've salvaged it from a previous blog I had on the now-practically-ancient social networking site, MySpace.  I thought I'd offer it here for your reflection.  I pray it is edifying.  God bless!
     

Adoro Te Devote

by St. Thomas Aquinas

Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee,

Truly present underneath these veils:

All my heart subdues itself before Thee

Since it all before Thee faints and fails.

Not to sight, or taste, or touch be credit,

Hearing only do we trust secure;

I believe, for God the Son hath said it-

Word of truth that ever shall endure.

On the Cross was veiled Thy Godhead's splendor,

Here Thy manhood lieth hidden too;

Unto both alike my faith I render,

And, as sued the contrite thief, I sue.

Though I look not on Thy wounds, with Thomas,

Thee, my Lord, and Thee, my God, I call:

Make me more and more believe Thy promise,

Hope in Thee, and love Thee over all.

O Memorial of my Savior dying,

Living Bread that givest life to man;

May my soul, its life from Thee supplying,

Taste Thy sweetness as on earth it can.

Deign, O Jesus, Pelican of Heaven,

Me, a sinner, in Thy blood to lave,

To a single drop of which is given,

All the world from its sin to save.

Contemplating, Lord, Thy hidden presence,

Grant me what I thirst for and implore,

In the revelation of Thine essence,

To behold Thy glory evermore. 

AMEN.

This particular hymn, by St. Thomas Aquinas, that I took from the book, "Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: Prayers for Eucharistic Adoration" by Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, is probably my favorite hymn/prayer for Eucharistic Adoration.  I'm blessed enough with my schedule to spend an hour each day in front of the Blessed Sacrament (sometimes exposed, sometimes in the tabernacle) and I cannot tell you what a tremendous difference Adoration makes.   I get to pray my Divine Office, pray a Rosary, and pray from this little book every day.  


I wanted to share this hymn with each of you, and encourage each of you, as far as your duties in life permit, to spend an amount of time each day before the Blessed Sacrament.  Many Churches will leave their doors unlocked until the evening hour, so even if you stop into Church on a lunch hour, and spend 15 minutes of your time with the Lord, I promise you it will change your life.

 

My hour with the Lord every day is really my retreat time, where I can escape to be in the Lord's presence, to enjoy His quiet peace, and to recharge myself to face the challenges that lie ahead in life. Eucharistic Adoration gives us grace for living.   It draws us closer to the Lord that we might be better able to fulfill our duties in life, and do so not out of a mundane sense of obligation, but with love- the love that is born of intimacy, born of a personal encounter with that which is our Source of Life, our Hiding Place, our Refuge and our Stronghold.  This is what the Psalmists mean when they call God their Refuge or Stronghold or Hiding Place.  They call God such titles because they had a personal encounter with that Presence which is the fulfillment and consummation of their very existence- the Lord Most High. 


When we encounter the Eucharist, we encounter the Divine Presence of Him whom heaven and earth cannot contain. Though Our Lord lies hidden in the form of Bread, yet we see that such was His will and pleasure, that the fullness of God should be pleased to dwell in such lowly circumstances, for in such lowly circumstances we see most clearly the awesome power and splendor of He who is the Risen Lord, the Conqueror of Death, the Resurrection and the Life.

Next time you go to Mass, or next time you present yourself before the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, remind yourself of Who it is that you are appearing before.  This is Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Savior of the World, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.  And you, like St. Thomas Aquinas, will not be able to resist saying, "Hidden God, devoutly I adore thee; Truly present underneath these veils: All my heart subdues itself before Thee, since it all before Thee faints and fails."

Have a blessed day, and remember to take time to visit Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament!

Peace and Love, through Jesus Christ, our Eucharistic Lord,

Fr. Diehm    

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

READINGS:

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 29

Second Reading: Romans 16:25-27

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 

FOCUS: The event of the Annunciation is one of the world’s most important moments ever. 

FUNCTION: Prepare your hearts to receive Christ with joy when He comes.

          You probably wouldn’t think much of the place.  Nazareth didn’t have a great reputation.  In fact, many years later, before he met Him, one of Jesus’ followers would remark, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (see John 1:46).  At the time, no one knew the importance that place would hold for human history.  For it was there…in a little town of Galilee named Nazareth…that the most important meeting to ever happen on the face of the earth would transpire.

          Although we’ve all heard the story, it’s hard for us to really grasp the magnitude of the moment— that moment when the archangel Gabriel first appeared to the Virgin Mary, informing her that God wanted to bring about in her the conception and birth of His only-begotten Son.  It was the newsflash of history!  Imagine the possible headlines, in big, bold letters:

          “Angel Appears to Virgin Bearing Unbelievable News,”

          “Lowly Town Site of Major Message from Heavenly Being,”

          “Angel Promises Virginal Conception: Fact or Fiction?”

          “Lowly Virgin Chosen to be Mother of God’s Only Son.”     

          Suddenly, almost without warning—what had been promised by God to King David a thousand years before—what had been prophesied by so many of God’s prophets—what Moses had prophesied to the people he led out of Egypt— and what had been long-awaited by so many people throughout so many centuries—was finally going to be fulfilled in and through Mary, the lowly and humble Virgin of Nazareth.  Finally, salvation was about to spring forth.  Finally, a new day was dawning for humanity.  Finally, hope was on the horizon.  Finally, God’s promises were about to be fulfilled.   

          The Angel speaks, “Hail, Full of Grace!  The Lord is with you!”

          Mary is confused.  What kind of greeting could this be, she wonders?  Never before had she been addressed in such a grand and important way, and by such a magnificent and luminous being….and at such a young age! 

          The Angel speaks again, “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.”  Mary sighs with relief.  The angel’s words are good news: she has found favor with the God of the ancient covenant, with the Lord of her people.  That’s always been her desire: to be pleasing to God, to find favor with Him through prayer, and to do His will faithfully and without reservation.

          But those first words from the angel aren’t even half of the story.  The angel goes on, “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.”

          Mary is awestruck and humbled in the sight of God.  Did she hear the angel correctly?  She’s been chosen by God to be the mother of WHO, exactly?  Ah, yes, God’s promised Messiah…the One who would liberate Israel and would one day bring peace to the whole world…the One that God promised to send into the world through the mouths of so many prophets.  God chose to give Mary the single greatest honor in the world….the honor of being the mother of the world’s one and only Savior: the Messiah, the Son of God. 

          But there’s a catch.  Mary speaks, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”  Unlike so many of her contemporaries, Mary wanted to remain virginal in the Lord’s eyes, to be entirely consecrated to Him through her virginal purity.  How would it be possible for her to be both virgin and mother?  How would it be possible for her to offer her virginal purity to God and still be the mother of God’s promised Messiah? 

          The angel speaks, “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.”  There is Mary’s answer.  The child would be conceived not through human means, but through supernatural means…through the Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High.  This Child would be no ordinary child.  This Child would truly be the Son of God, a human being who could call on God as His Father in a unique way, and later enable others to do the same.

          And in case there’s any doubt that God could accomplish this, the angel offers another newsflash: “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.”  Amazing!  God helped the old woman Elizabeth conceive a son, even though she was formerly infertile and childless.  Mary thinks, if God could accomplish that, He can accomplish anything!  Indeed, God has demonstrated that nothing is impossible for Him!

          And after all that, there is a moment of silence.  It seems to go on forever.  While Mary only experiences the presence of this one angel, she doesn’t realize that there are countless others, practically holding their breath, waiting in silence, waiting to her the Virgin’s response.  The hosts of heaven know that God gave humanity the gift of free will for a reason, to choose to follow God freely, to say yes to His will not because they had to, but because they chose to.  It all came down to this.  Mary paused, drawing together all her courage and all her sincerity, and spoke the words that the whole universe waited to hear, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”

          In His goodness and His graciousness, God willed to include humanity in His plan of salvation.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell from God’s grace through a free choice.  And so God willed that humanity would not be saved, except through another human’s free choice.  And when God proposed His plan of salvation, Mary said yes.  Her reply was humanity’s “yes” from humanity’s best -- the lowly and humble Virgin of Nazareth.

          Mary’s yes made His conception and birth possible.  We know that He would later go on to preach and teach and heal, and eventually to suffer and die, and on the third day, be raised to new and eternal life.  And as the world’s one and only Savior, He must be received again and again, as Mary received Him. 

          Salvation is God’s free gift.  God forces His gift on no one.  No one is forced to be saved.  On Christmas day, God will invite us to receive the most beautiful gift ever: the gift of Jesus!  It is the gift of a poor Child lying in a manger, the gift of an itinerant preacher, teacher, and healer from Nazareth, the gift of a Savior.

          So as Christmas draws near, don’t neglect either to give to others or to receive from God the greatest gift of all— the gift of God’s love for the world— the gift of Jesus.        

                                           

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

READINGS:

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11

Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28

FOCUS: How are we preparing to celebrate the imminent coming of Christ? 

FUNCTION: Celebrate Christ’s imminent coming among us with great rejoicing.

            Things are a little different on this Third Sunday of Advent, also known as “Gaudete Sunday.”  “Gaudate” is a Latin word that means “rejoice,” and is taken from the entrance antiphon for today’s Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!  The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5, 5b).  The Latin translation is “Gaudete in Domino semper.”       

          Today, the liturgical colors also switch from violet to rose.  This rose color only gets used on two Sundays of the year: on this Third Sunday of Advent, aka “Gaudete Sunday,” and on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, aka “Laetare Sunday,” another Latin word which also means “rejoice.”  In both seasons, the Church celebrates a unique Sunday to rejoice in the nearness of the coming celebrations: during Advent, the coming of Christmas, and during Lent, the coming of Easter.  We’re more than half-way through the Advent season, and the Church is rejoicing in the nearness of the coming Christmas season.  The time to celebrate the birth of Christ is not yet here, but is very close.  And for that reason, we rejoice.

          Advent has been a good opportunity for us to make an examination of conscience regarding our spiritual readiness to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Do we have our priorities in order?  Are we praying like we should?  Have we taken the opportunity to receive God’s mercy in the sacrament of Reconciliation?  Have we trained our eyes to recognize the ways in which Christ comes to us?  Have we spiritually prepared ourselves to celebrate Christmas?  These are good questions for us to ask ourselves during the Advent season.  We only celebrate Christmas once a year and we want to celebrate such a great occasion by living as we should.  And so we have our present Advent season to prepare our hearts so that we might worthily celebrate the birth of Christ.

          On this Sunday, we rejoice that Christ is coming soon.  But maybe we shouldn’t let up on the Advent examination of conscience too much.  The Gospel gives us a great witness and messenger in the person and ministry of Saint John the Baptist.  One thing we can appreciate about the Baptist was his powerful witness to Christ: “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.” 

          That’s great, but what is testimony, and does it mean to testify?  The first thing we might think of is courtroom testimony.  TV courtroom dramas like “Law and Order” come to mind.  A witness takes the stand, swears an oath, and then answers questions from the prosecution and the defense.  Witnesses are put under oath and promise to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”  They report on what they personally experienced, their area of expertise, or what they believe about a given person or subject.  The whole point of having a witness testify or give their testimony is to bolster the case of either the defense or the prosecution.  Witness testimonies are meant add credibility to law cases and help jurors decide either for or against the defendant.  And as we know, sometimes it’s the testimony of witnesses that can either make or break the case.   

          Like a witness in a courtroom, Saint John the Baptist came as a prophet to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus the Christ.  He came to testify to Christ the Light, helping people to believe that God’s promised Messiah was coming soon.  His goal and mission was to prepare people to believe in Jesus as the Savior who would lead Israel and the whole world to salvation.  Saint John the Baptist was a great witness: he testified to Jesus as the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy about the Christ, the Son of David, the King who was to come.

          Answering the Pharisees, Saint John the Baptist said, “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.”  There’s one part that really gets me: “…there is one among you whom you do not recognize…”  Unfortunately, the Pharisees didn’t recognize the Christ living among them in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  Apparently they didn’t think that a lowly babe lying in a manger, the supposed Son of a carpenter, could be designated by God as the world’s Lord and Savior.  And so when Jesus began His ministry of preaching and teaching, they were hesitant to believe in Him as God’s promised Messiah.

          Saint John the Baptist makes an excellent point.  Have we trained our eyes to recognize the presence of Christ among us?  Sometimes we see Christ quite clearly with eyes of faith, and sometimes we fail to recognize Him in our midst.  Have we been willing to share with others our testimony about Christ the light so that people who do not know Jesus as the Christ might come to faith?  Or have we been unwilling to share the good news of His birth among us out of fear or a desire to be “politically correct”?

          In the second reading, we heard St. Paul say, “Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.  (…)  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.”  That’s the best advice and the best prayer that Saint Paul could offer us on this Gaudete Sunday, in which we are urged to rejoice in the nearness of Christ’s coming.  

          The Lord is coming, and He is very near!  This is good news, the kind of news we cannot keep to ourselves!  And so we rejoice, we pray, and we continue to prepare our hearts for His coming.  And like Saint John the Baptist in the Gospel, we must not be afraid to testify to Christ and to claim our spiritual heritage as Christians, as Catholics. 

          And likewise, we must not allow the sacred event of Christmas to be made into another secular holiday, devoid of its intrinsic Christian meaning.  As the popular saying goes, “Jesus is the reason for the season!”  We know that there would be no Christmas without Jesus the Christ, our Lord and our Savior. 

          We have exactly 14 days of the Advent season left until we celebrate the birth of Christ beginning on Christmas Eve.  Are you prepared?  Is your heart ready to celebrate the birth of the Savior, the Son of God and Son of Mary?  Don’t let this important time of spiritual preparation pass you by.  Today, let us rejoice, for the Savior comes!                    

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent

READINGS:

First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 89:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

FOCUS: Prepare the way of the Lord in your life through the sacrament of Reconciliation.

FUNCTION: Make an Advent examination of conscience in preparation for Christ’s coming. 

            Recently, I was able to see the new movie, The Way, starring Martin Sheen and his son, Emilio Estevez.  Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen’s character) is an eye doctor who has a good practice, but is rather estranged from his son, Daniel Avery (Emilio Estevez’s character).  They each have different views about the way they’re living their life.  Daniel feels the need to go out and see the world, while Tom, his father, is content staying at home and working as an eye doctor. 

          Without giving away the rest of the movie (because I encourage you to go see it for yourself!), the movie follows the dynamics of Thomas’ journey (and that of his traveling companions) along the famous route known as “El Camino de Santiago,” aka, the Way of Saint James, a journey that often starts in the northern part of France and continues to the northern part of Spain, with the ultimate destination for many pilgrims being the Cathedral of Santiago de Compestela, where the body of Saint James the Apostle is believed to be buried.  The film is a moving story of the human struggle to find healing and meaning in the midst of personal brokenness.

            The Camino itself is a test of endurance and strength, as it often demands long hours and miles of hiking and is physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding.  It is a popular pilgrimage route that takes pilgrims through many interesting and scenic places in France and Spain.  Pilgrims make the Camino de Santiago for many different reasons: some make the Camino for health reasons, some for religious reasons, and some for simply personal reasons.  The Camino is challenging, but it is ultimately rewarding.  And the challenge, no doubt, is what makes it rewarding. 

          What’s this talk about the Camino de Santiago got to do with the readings we heard this weekend?  The answer is found in the Gospel we just heard, in which the words of the prophet Isaiah which are often put on the lips of Saint John the Baptist: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”  Obviously, Saint John the Baptist was a polarizing figure.  On the one hand, he stood in the tradition of the great prophets of old, who announced the will and the words of the Lord.  On the other hand, he made people very uncomfortable because he didn’t soften his message about the need for repentance.  Of course, in St. John’s day, it was not “politically correct” to tell people that they were sinners in need of repentance.  And, of course, it’s not “politically correct” to tell people the same message today.

          So, I hope you’ll forgive me, but I don’t plan on being “politically correct” today either.  My dear brothers and sisters, we, too, are sinners, and we, too, are in need of repentance.  Saint John the Baptist had a powerful message: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”  How are we preparing the way of the Lord in our lives?  Like the people in the new movie, The Way, we, too, are imperfect and broken, sinners in need of salvation. 

          Sometimes we fall into the seven deadly sins.  We get prideful or vain and begin to think more of ourselves than we should.  We can become envious of the good things that others have.  We can easily get angry or wrathful over the things people say or do to us.  Sometimes we can become gluttons in our desire for food or drink or other goods.  We’re all too familiar with a greedy desire to acquire more and more material goods.  We know how it feels to become apathetic and uncaring and generally slothful about the things we know we should be doing.  And we’re familiar with the lust that rises up in us for certain persons or things.  These are the seven deadly sins.  And they’re called “deadly” because they lead to the death of the soul; they are like prisons out of which it can be difficult to escape, if not aided by God’s grace.

          But with God’s grace, we can overcome these seven deadly sins with what we might call the seven lively virtues.  We can overcome pride when we realize that there’s nothing that we have that we’ve not received, and thus grow in the virtue of humility.  We can overcome envy when we learn to be kind to others and realize that God has given all of us many gifts and blessings.  We can overcome anger or wrath by praying for and practicing the virtue of patience.  We can overcome gluttony by practicing the lively virtue of temperance, and using all good things in moderation.  We can overcome the apathy of sloth by being diligent about doing those things we know we should, even when we don’t feel like doing them.  We can overcome the power of greed in our lives by donating to charity and giving to others when they come looking to us for help.  And we can overcome the desire of lust by praying for and practicing chastity of body, mind, and heart in all of our relationships.  It’s these seven lively virtues that are able to overcome and conquer the seven deadly sins. 

          So how can we prepare the way of the Lord in our lives?  One thing we can do is go often to the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Coming up next weekend, we’ll have our first communal penance service here at the Basilica at 4 p.m.  It will be an excellent opportunity to overcome the seven deadly sins and to pray for an increase of the seven lively virtues.  If we think, “Everything’s fine; I’m OK, you’re OK,” we’re deceiving ourselves!  We need to be honest: Everything’s not fine, and I’m not OK, and you’re not OK.  If everything was just “hunky dory,” we wouldn’t need a Savior and God wouldn’t have sent us one.  But we do, and so God did: His name is Jesus Christ, and He is our Lord and Savior, who has come to save us from the sin in our hearts that threatens to eat us alive.

          One of the best ways that we can “Prepare the way of the Lord” this Advent is to repent of our sins and ask God for His mercy and forgiveness.  Going to the sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the best things we can do, and it helps us stay spiritually healthy and strong.  It helps us grow in humility, which also helps us overcome the principle deadly sin of pride.

          So do not be afraid!  God’s mercy is waiting!  His forgiveness is available for you to receive!  He holds nothing back.  His mercy is like a vast ocean, and His forgiveness reaches to the deepest depth and ascends to the highest height.  His power and love knows no bounds.  There is no sin He can’t forgive and no obstacle His grace can’t help you overcome.

          All of us this Advent are traveling along the way, much like the pilgrims who travel on the Camino de Santiago.  It’s a challenging way, but ultimately rewarding.  And God has sent His messenger to us, crying out: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”

          So there’s only one question that remains: how will you prepare?