Faithfulness in the Midst of Imperfection - Holy Family 2013

Location: Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier (Dyersville, IA) – 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Sunday Masses

Date: Sunday December 29^th, 2013 (Feast of the Holy Family)

READINGS:

1^st Reading: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Resp. Psalm: Ps. 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
2^nd Reading: Colossians 3:12-21 (OR 3:12-17 {short form})
Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

 FOCUS: The Christian family is called to be a “domestic church” where children learn the faith.  

FUNCTION: Make prayer a priority in the home; take an active role in teaching the faith to kids.  

            For many of us, family is very important this time of year.  We all have different families, and maybe some our family gatherings are relatively peaceful, while others are perhaps a bit more contentious.  No family is perfect – not even the family we celebrate today, the Holy Family.  St. Joseph often gets the shortest straw when it comes to describing the imperfection of the Holy Family, because Mary was conceived without sin and Jesus is the Son of God and that leaves poor Joseph, the sinner, with all the blame for the Holy Family’s imperfection J  That’s more of a joke than anything, because actually the Holy Family (like all families) experienced not only the imperfection of family life, but also the imperfection of human life, generally speaking.

          Being an imperfect person – such as we all are – is tough; and being an imperfect person who’s also a member of an imperfect family which is living in an imperfect world is likewise tough.  In every family there are differences of opinion and arguments and resentments and unresolved conflict that build up over time; every family faces some measure of dysfunction because none of us are perfect and there is no such thing as a perfect family. 

          Consider the imperfections of the Holy Family – Mary conceived Jesus (through the power of the Holy Spirit) before she was officially married to Joseph; in the Gospel reading for today, the Holy Family had to retreat to Egypt in order to escape King Herod’s persecution and the slaughter of the Holy Innocents; when Jesus was 12 years old He decided not to return home with Mary and Joseph and instead remained behind in the temple talking to the elders, causing his parents much anxiety; Joseph probably died before Jesus began His public ministry, making Mary a widow and one of the most vulnerable members of society; and when He became an adult, Jesus abandoned his money-making business as a carpenter and instead embraced His vocation to be a poor, homeless preacher; Mary watched her only Son suffer a horrible death by crucifixion at the age of 33; and finally, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven and Mary went to live with St. John the Apostle for the rest of her days.

          As you can see, there is all kinds of imperfection present in the life of the Holy Family; they experienced uncertainty about the future, sorrow, anxiety, fear, and so much more; they were a human family, and although we know them now as the Holy Family, they weren’t a perfect family.  And yet, despite all the imperfections they experienced, the Church proposes them to us as a model for Christian family life, not because they were perfect, but precisely because they weren’t perfect and still remained faithful in the midst of it all.

          The Church calls every Christian family to be a “domestic Church.”  That means that the Church envisions the Christian family to be the first and primary setting where children learn to forgive, to share, to respect the property of others, to pray, to worship, and to know God as a loving Father; this is the ideal for every Christian family, although every Christian family struggles to live up to this ideal.

          In describing the family as the Domestic Church, I want to offer a section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; they are paragraphs 1656 and 1657:  

1656) In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith.  For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica.  It is in the bosom of the family that parents are "by word and example … the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation."

1657) It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity."  Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment."  Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous – even repeated – forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

          The Christian family is called to be that place where we not only learn that our parents love us, but where we learn that God loves us, too; the Christian family is called to pass on the faith to children by word and example, to foster within each member of the family the God-given vocation unique to that child, and to be the first center of learning for human and Christian virtue. 

          But what does this look like?  As I’ve said before, I do not come from a perfect family; we have many flaws and imperfections in the Diehm family; but I’m thankful that my family tried hard to be a Christian family – we always ate and prayed together before meals as a family, we went to Church together every Sunday as a family, Mom and Dad always came in, said a prayer at our bedside, and tucked us in every night, and they made financial sacrifices so that my sisters and I could all receive a Catholic education.  I’m positive it all helped lay the foundation for me embrace my vocation to be a Catholic priest. 

          I’m not saying every family needs to be like mine; but I think we all need to find a way to imitate the example of the Holy Family and embrace the call for our families to become domestic churches, where children grow up knowing that they’re loved by their parents and by God.  Start with regular prayer in the home – pray together before meals and before bed; teach children basic Catholic prayers or pray a Rosary together as a family once a week; and pray for specific family, parish, or community prayer intentions.  Read Bible stories or stories from the Lives of the Saints together as a family.  Encourage children to think about and pray about their vocation, especially a possible religious vocation.  When children have questions about their faith, help them find the answers by reading together a children’s catechism.  But most importantly, take an active role in passing on our Catholic faith to the next generation and remember that Christian parents are the first and primary teachers of their children in the Christian faith.     

          With the help and intercession of the Holy Family, may our families become sanctuaries of faith for our children; and may God continue to bless our families, today and always.                    

      

The Longing for a Savior - Christmas 2013

Location: St. Joseph Catholic Church (Earlville, IA) – 4 p.m. Saturday – Christmas vigil

                  Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier (Dyersville, IA) – 12 a.m. (Midnight) & 10:30 a.m.

Date: Wednesday December 25^th (Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord; “Mass during the Night”)

 

READINGS:

1^st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13

2^nd Reading: Titus 2:11-14

Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

 

FOCUS: The birth of Jesus is good news; it brings with it the promise of a new life.  

FUNCTION: Come regularly to Sunday Mass; live in relationship with the Lord.  

 

          An ancient promise. An unexpected and unusual pregnancy. A long journey. An anxious young couple.  A strange and unique place for birth.  An angel from heaven announcing good news.  A choir of angels singing praise to God.

          This is the stuff of Christmas.  It’s all part of the story commonly called, “The greatest story ever told.”  But for all of us here today (tonight), it’s more than just a story – it’s the truth of our Christian faith.  We don’t gather every year to celebrate a fairy tale like Peter Pan or Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland or any other such story; what we celebrate today (tonight) isn’t the stuff of children’s bedtime stories – it’s the stuff of history.  Today we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s plan to send us a savior.

          The longing for a savior is written on our hearts; it takes on many variations in pop culture, but it’s the same desire – the desire for someone to come and be the hero we need, the hero who will save us from our wickedness, the hero who will conquer darkness and bring forth the light of victory.  Think about the popular versions of the story of a savior – maybe it’s Maximus from the movie, Gladiator, or William Wallace from the movie, Braveheart, or Neo from the Matrix trilogy, or comic book heroes like Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman; I’d argue that all these characters are a product of the human desire for a savior.  These people represent a desire for a special, “anointed” person – a hero who will pull us back from the brink of destruction, restore order, and establish peace.  We love these stories because they fill us with hope and they help us believe that good can conquer evil, that light can gain the victory over darkness.  

          And we have this desire because, deep down, we all know we need a savior; when we look around us, it’s easy to see that we’re living in a fallen, sinful world, and that’s why war, hatred, violence, disease, racism, bigotry, and death all exist in our world – we’re surrounded by imperfection because we’re living in an imperfect world, a world in need of a savior.  And when we take a good, hard look at our hearts, we realize that we, too, are capable of great evil – many of the things I just mentioned exist because of our capacity for evil.  We are capable of committing terrible atrocities like the WWII Jewish Holocaust, or the 9-11-01 terrorist attacks, or the WWII bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or any of the other awful things we might see on the evening news.  Deep down, we all know we need a savior. 

         

          And the good news of Christmas is this: God has sent us a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ.  Christ is a title that literally means, “Anointed One,” and Jesus is the “anointed one” sent to us from God above to save us from our sins.  Consider the angel’s words said to the shepherds from the Gospel we just heard – “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For today in the city of David a Savior has been for you who is Christ and Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 

          And we need to understand that the child Jesus is not simply one savior among others, because no other “savior” has ever been identified as the Lord, the maker of the heavens and the earth.  God didn’t just send us a savior; God Himself became our savior by becoming a human being in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  He chose to take on our humanity that He might save us not from the “outside-in” but from the “inside-out” – He took on our heart in order to transform our heart; He took on our eyes in order to transform our eyes; He took on our hands in order to transform our hands; He took on everything about us (except sin) in order to transform us from within; anything less would have been like putting a Band-Aid on a mortal wound.  Jesus, our Savior, is one of us, but He is also the best of us, because not only is He the Son of Man, He is also the Son of God.

          The first reading said, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon His shoulders dominion rests.  They name Him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”  Jesus is the fulfillment of that ancient prophecy – He is the child lying in the manger, the newborn King, the infant Savior of the world. 

 

          It is Jesus – only Jesus, always Jesus; He was born in a crib for us so that He might one day carry a cross for us; He was born in a manger where animals feed so that He might one day feed us with His Body and Blood; He was born an infant so that He might grow up and show us what it means to be a man; and He was named Jesus (which means “The Lord saves”) so that He might be our Savior.

 

          Dear friends, Christmas is good news for us – the Savior we desire has been sent to us by God; He is Jesus of Nazareth; and He was born in a lowly stable more than 2,000 years ago because God loved the world so much that He didn’t want to see us die because of sin, but wanted to give us eternal life in His kingdom.  This is the good news of Christmas – God has not abandoned us or forsaken us; He has loved us so much that He sent us His only Son to be our Savior. 

          This is the real meaning of Christmas.  The infant child – Jesus of Nazareth, the babe lying in the manger – is God’s greatest gift to us; we give good gifts to others because God gave His best gift to us.

 

          How might we respond?  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born among us and became a man so that we might become more like God.  What can we offer Him in thanksgiving?  What gift can we give to God, who gave His Son to us?  The best gift we can give is our very life; only our heart and soul, which He created, is a fitting gift back to the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

        This Christmas, if you’ve been away from Church and from God for a while, we’d like to invite you to come back – come and worship with us on Sundays; come and listen to His word speaking to your heart; come and find new hope in the midst of the craziness of life; come and discover God’s gift of peace by forming a relationship with the Prince of Peace, born for us this Christmas.                                                   

 

 

  

A Lively Faith - Our Gift to the Lord (Epiphany Homily)

Homily for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (January 8th, 2012)

READINGS:
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

FOCUS: Let us offer to Jesus the gift of a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.

FUNCTION: Practice the Catholic faith in thanksgiving to God for the gift of Jesus. 

           There’s a rich history around gift-giving during the Christmas season.  Some of it is connected to the tradition surrounding Saint Nicholas, a 4^th century Greek bishop of the city of Myra in Lycia (part of modern-day Turkey), whose feast day we celebrate every December 6^th.  Saint Nicholas was known as a secret gift-giver, doing such things as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him.  No doubt, that’s why people still put their shoes out for Saint Nicholas to fill with gifts on December 5^th, the night before his feast day. 

          And certainly some of the history around the gift-giving that happens during the Christmas season comes to us from the feast we celebrate today: the Epiphany of the Lord.  Today, we honor the coming of the Magi from the east to do adore the new-born Jesus.  They came bearing sacred gifts, fit for royalty: gold for one who would be a king; frankincense for one who would be a priest; and myrrh, for one who would offer His life as a sacrifice.  These gifts are rich with cultural, social, and religious significance.  They speak depths to us about the identity of who this new-born baby, the Son of Mary, really is.  It was only fitting that the new-born Son of God should be adored by the Magi, who were also supposedly Kings, rulers of the gentiles.  This “Epiphany of the Lord” is really a Divine revelation of God’s promised salvation to the gentiles in the form of a little Child – the Child Jesus – poor and meek, humble and lowly.    

          Several passages from the Old Testament foretold this sacred event.  Speaking in reference to Jerusalem, the first reading told us that “…the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of the nations shall be brought to you.  Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”  What a prediction!

          And the psalm mentioned that “The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.  All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.”  And of course the second reading gave us the meaning of all these things: “…the gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  The message of the Epiphany is this: God’s promised salvation is not exclusionary; it is open to all people, to Jews and gentiles alike.  No wonder, then, the Magi from the east brought their gifts before the feet of the new-born Jesus!  God’s gift of Jesus was not an exclusive gift; it was meant to be received by all people.

          While we’re on the subject of gift-giving, we might think about what gift we want to lay before the feet of the new-born Lord Jesus.  What gift do we have to offer to the new-born Christ child?  What offering might we bring before His feet?  The Magi offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Those are fine gifts, and they say a lot about both the faith of the Magi and the identity of Jesus.  But they are probably not the best gifts to offer to God’s promised Savior.  So what would make a better gift?  I’d like to propose this: we should offer the Savior the gift of a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.

          That’s the kind of gift that will really put a smile on Jesus’ face.  Jesus doesn’t need gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  He is God: all that’s in the world belongs to Him.  But what does not belong to Him – what belongs uniquely to us – is the gift of our faith and how we chose to put it into action.  The only worthy gift that we can give to Him is the same gift which He first gave to us.

          Think about it this way: if you gave your loved one a brand-new car, the best response from that person would be for them to put that car to good use.  If the car only sat in the driveway for your loved one to admire from afar, you’d probably wonder what was wrong.  After all, cars are made to be driven, not just admired!  If your loved one only admired the car and never drove it, you’d probably think they didn’t really like it or care for it that much.

          The same thing is true of our faith!  We have this great gift of faith that sometimes, for whatever reason, we prefer to admire from afar rather than put into action.  This Christmas, God has given us the best gift that we could ever ask for: the gift of a Savior – the gift of Jesus Christ.  And God has also given us this gift of our Christian faith.  The best thing to do with it is put it to good use!  We must not let our faith just sit on a shelf and collect dust.  We must not come here to Mass and simply go through the motions.  We must not live in the world practically indistinguishable from atheists.

          The best gift that we can offer the Lord on this Feast of the Epiphany is a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.  That’s the best response we can make to God for giving us the gift of a Savior.  If we profess to be Christian, but are Christian in name only, then our faith is a sham and we are no better than liars.  Faith that is living is a faith that uses the gift that God has given; living faith then becomes our offering to God, in thanksgiving for what He has given us.

          And so living faith, for instance, means avoiding tendencies towards gossip in ourselves and/or gently correcting the same tendencies in others; it means appropriately coming to the aid of people who ask for our help; it means actively contributing to the needs of the parish so that the parish can continue to shine forth the light of Christ to others.  Living faith means standing up for that which is morally good; it means being steadfastly opposed to those things which are morally evil; it means making prayer a priority in the home and wherever; it means only supporting those public policies that are consistent with our Christian values.  Living faith means reaching out to others – our family and our friends – in a spirit of Christian charity and service; and it means proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world by our words, and most importantly, by our actions.    

          That’s what we can offer the Lord on this Feast of the Epiphany!  That’s the gift that means so much more than gold, frankincense, or myrrh.  And, oddly enough, that’s exactly what the Lord asks of us and that’s what the world most desperately needs in our day.  Saint Catherine of Sienna, great Dominican mystic and Doctor of the Church, once said, “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!”  And even though we’re Catholics and not Evangelicals, our response should be a rousing “Amen!  Yes!  Let it be!”  The world is in need of our active witness to Christ by living intentionally in the world as Christians.  If we do that, there’s no telling how many lives could be changed.      

          So what do you think?  Does this any of this sound possible?  It may be difficult, but it’s definitely doable.  So let’s allow our Christian faith to be a lively faith that reaches out to others in love; let’s allow that to be the gift we offer the new-born Jesus on this Feast of the Epiphany.                                                           

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!”                              

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!