Today’s Readings



Scripture for Jan. 13. Wednesday, 2010. Year 2. Lectionary # 307. ISamuel
3:1-10.19-20. Psalm 40:2-5.7-8.8-9.10. Mark 1:29-39.

Praying not only relaxes us and prepares us for doing things, it also
motivates us to do them with enthusiasm. We are blessed today with three
readings, including the Psalm and its response, that can easily motivate us
this day. First, there is the call story of the young Samuel who is in the
Temple prescincts not far from the presiding elderly priest Eli who is
disturbed three times by the boy who thinks it is Eli who is calling him.
It is however Adonai, the Lord, who summons Samuel to get ready for his
prophetic role in Israel. This young Samuel fuels our own prayer with his
openness to the Lord, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

The Psalm response is a mirroring of this response and helps us to continue
deepening our own motivation from the call, the vocation, that we have
received. Our response is the same, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your
will.” (Psalm 40:3).

Mark’s selection contains two reflections about Jesus. The first shows us
Jesus as continuing his healing in the presence of his first four
disciples. The one who is the beneficiary of this healing is Peter’s
mother-in-law. Like Samuel Peter, Andrew, James, and John are learning to
listen to the Lord and to see how he is manifesting himself by his healing
and his power over evil.

Mark then ends with one of the most compact and masterful summaries of what
Jesus does as a day is ending. He continues to heal those who come to the
door of the lodging where he is and he cures, heals, and casts out demons.
Finally, exhausted, he separates himself from the crowd of people in order
to commune privately with God his Father–he has no Father but God in
Mark’s Gospel. He prays and is absorbed in it but when finished he must
continue on to bring the Good News to other towns and villages filled with
people who are hungry for food but also yearning for God. “So he (Jesus)
went into their synagogues preaching the good news adn expelling demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.” Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 306. Jan. 12, 2010 (MMX in Roman Numerals). I
Samuel 1:9-20. I Sam.2:1.4-5.6-7.8. Mark 1:21-28.

Mark’s Gospel is so fresh with the air of the fields and hills of green
Galilee with a touch of the water from the nearby lake that we are led into
the early days of Jesus which were so familiar to him and to his mother
Mary who formed him to be the young vigorous preacher that he now is. He
is a man come to full stature. He now leaves her and the home he was so
accustomed to and from where he learned to be the excellent story teller he
now is. He leaves to begin the work of God as God’s chosen one, the
Messiah and the Redeemer. His humble origins and the simplicity of the
thirty years with Joseph and Mary have made him ready for this moment. He
no longer fits the pattern of a royal or military messiah but rather is a
prophetic proclaimer of the kingdom of God who is a Servant of the Lord
according to the princely prophet Isaiah. God’s promises will be
fullfilled in quiet and surprising ways. Something new is happening and
Jesus creates it.

Jesus begins teaching with authority in a gathering place called the
synagogue. It is in the little village of Capernaum not far from the lake
and his own town of Nazareth. His authoritative teaching comes directly
from his innermost self and from an undivided heart. God has favored his
only begotten Son as we have learned just after he was baptized by John who
is no longer on the scene. While in the synagogue, probably after reading
the Haftorah or the selection from the prophet, an individual possessed
with an evil spirt shouts out–breaking the messianic secret– “I know who
you are. Why do you come to destroy us?” Jesus simply tells it “Be Quiet.”
And the secret is restored. He has silenced the demon and expells it
thereby confirming that he does teach with God’s authority and his own
inner strength.

Mark will continue his messianic secret theme for the first half of his
Gospel. It is about the suffering dimension of the messianic reality found
in Jesus of Nazareth. Even his closest followers will struggle with this
secret but gradually will learn through the incessant questions that Jesus
will douse upon them in their travels together. Isn’t that the role of a
mentor? Only the demons will continue to know or suspect is the better
word that he is the messiah.

In our having been baptized with Jesus in his light and cleansed of the
memory and sting of the first fall, we no longer need to keep this secret
of Jesus. We are called to witness to who he really is and to speak about
him clearly and boldly. Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture for Monday of Ordinary Time, year 2. Lectionary # 305. I
Sam.1:1-8. Psalm 116:12-13.14-17.18-19. Mark 1:14-20.
Firsts, beginnings, initiations, and birthdays are important in our
lives. We can learn how to make them even more important by living them
out in the perspective we gain from what we know from Jesus through the
liturgical readings and from our faith development through study and
pondering over the word of God. On this first day of ordinary time, we
learn that Jesus immediately (one of Mark’s favorite words) begins his
active ministry realizing that the role of John the Baptist is completed.
John is now in prison and soon will be a martyr. The long awaited and
recently anticipated arrival of the one who is to come, now is on the scene
and starts his ministry with vigor and determination. The short active
life of Jesus begins with what we hear today in Mark. Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Mary, begins doing the will of God by proclaiming that the
kingdom of God is here and that we all, who want to be a part of it, must
reform, renew, and invigorate our lives with a profound change in our way
of judging and thinking. Mark captures this by telling us throughout his
Gospel that we are to think the thoughts of God and not our own or others
human thoughts. Priority is part of conversion.

Through our baptism and our own following of Jesus we are enlightened by
the Presence of Jesus in Word and Sacrament. Like his first four disciples
in this Gospel–Peter, Andrew, James and John, we are called to begin anew
our dedication to Jesus in this ordinary flow of liturgical time. We enter
into the mystery of Jesus primarily through the liturgy and the sacraments.
We are fortunate this year to start with the earlies memories of Jesus from
the fresh green hills of Galilee as Mark narrates his active ministry. We
are startled that this time came upon us so fast after the nostaligic and
even sentimental memories that Christmas and Epiphany bring into our
lives. Now something deeper and special is happening in our love
relationship with Jesus.

Yes, we have heard this early proclamation of Mark many times and it will
be used often in Lent, but today it is new and exciting. Our prayer life
is enhanced and our ministerial concerns are motivated with renewed energy
coming from within our souls. We are summoned like the four to be aware,
alert, and responsive to the calls of Jesus. We are to bring him directly
into our work, our ministry, our apostolic endeavors. Let us listen
carefully to these words of Jesus: “This is the time of fulfillment. the
reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the Good News.
That is a “beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark
1:14-15; Mark 1:1). Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 218. I John 5:14-21. Psalm 149:1-2.3-4.5-6.9. John
3:22-30.

We may think that John in his epistles is speaking in terms of an I-Thou
relationship. We know of this expression from the great book of Martin
Buber which speaks so effectively and eloquently of this personal
relationship that is possible for us as persons. John, however, does this
with our relationship with Jesus, however, he insists that we work and live
as a community of beloved disciples. There is where our energy goes as we
look out toward the same goals that are to be accomplished for the sake of
the kingdom.

Through our Baptism we have entered into the relationship with Christ and
through the Community we have learned how to live and work with others.
Personal concerns and personal relationships are not separated from belong
within the community. We learn today that even sin is to be eradicated
through interaction within a community setting. “Anyone who sees his
sister or brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, should petition God
and then life will be given to the sinner.” John shows us this is not
“deadly” sin but the sins we normally commit. The deadly sin he is speaking
about occurs when one separates and leaves the community of the beloved
disciple.

When we have a sense of belonging there is no fear of committing the deadly
sin of schism. John recognizes like Luke in the Acts of the Apostles that
“koinonia” is friendship within a community of believers who witness with
boldness to others and to one another about the gifts and graces God has
given to the community, the Church, through Jesus Christ.

Finally, we may learn from the Gospel how to do this through the life and
disposition of John the Baptist who probably was at the origin of the
community of the beloved disciple. His total self-giving to God and then
to Jesus was expressed in this simple formula of personal and community
living: “He must increase, while I must decrease.” Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: lectionary # 217. I John 5:5-13. Psalm 147:12-13.124-15.19-20.
Luke 5:12-16.

Epiphany continues through the readings of this week; they manifest Jesus
in colorful ways, especially through his miracles of nature and those that
heal persons. We turn to Luke today who is the Evangelist of the kindness
of Jesus, the prayer of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit working through Jesus.
John’s Gospel has also manifested Jesus during the days of Christmas and
Epiphany; his is the theme of love and light. No one does it better on
these two themes than John.

Jesus performs his miracle on the man who has leprosy. It happens in an
unnamed town of Galilee–remember we are in the early part of his ministry
according to Luke. Not only is the leper cured but he is sent to the
priests so that the healing may religiously and ritually be approved. Jesus
does not take away from the standard procedures of religious laws. This
will enable the man to enter into the full worship as a devout Jew in the
Temple. Jesus fulfills even the minutiae of the Mosaic Law as we have
learned from him in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus
never acts as a charlatan in whatever he does nor as a magician in these
extraordinary works of mercy and healing. As we listen to Luke narrate
this miracle we find that at the end he tells us that Jesus retires to a
deserted place to pray. If Jesus prays, then we have no execuse for not
praying!

We are summoned to have faith in Jesus as the leper did. He addresses
Jesus in this manner, “Lord, if you wish you can make me clean.” Jesus
then stretches out his hand and touches him and says, “I will do it. Be
made clean.” Confident faith in Jesus responds to the touch of Jesus in
his life. We may not have physical contact with the Lord but we do have
him touch us in the Eucharist and in the healings of the sacraments and his
word. Friends also help to heal our inmost problems and struggles with
daily life. This too is the healing touch of Jesus on whatever ails us.

Jesus shows us that not only can he heal us but that we need faith that is
strengthened by prayer. Luke lets us know that Jesus prayed often.

We conclude with a thought from the first reading where John says, “I have
written this to make you ralize that you possess eternal life–you who
believe in the name of the Son of God.” (IJohn 5:13). Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary 204. 6th day of Christmas. I John 2:12-17. Psalm
96:7-8,8-9, 10. Luke 2:36-40:

We all admire our grandparents and especially our grandmothers who seem to
know how to reach us even in the realm of the spiritual life. We often
learn much from their simple faith and untiring commitment to model for us
and our parents how one can pray and honor and praise God. Many of them
have a special devotion they cherish and pray quietly each day. We can
tell them many things about ourselves that we would not share with mom and
dad! Today’s reading offers us a type of model for us that may help us to
appreciate our grandparents especially our grandmothers. Anna is the woman
who comes into the temple and may be 84 years of age, depending upon how we
read and interpret Luke’s text, or she may even be older. Hesychius whom
heard of yesterday linked Psalm 84 in his homily for the meeting of Simeon
and Ann. We can follow him since he is much closer to the time of Jesus
than we are and actually lived in Jerusalem.

It is Anna who closes the earliest days of Jesus the baby presented in the
Temple. The next scene will be when he is twelve years old again in the
temple and Anna is no longer mentioned. It is a wonderful tribute to her
that Luke mentions her name and tells us about her religious behavior:
“Anna was constantly in the Temple, worshipping day and night in fasting
and in prayer. She is giving thanks to God and talking about the child
(Jesus) to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” (Luke
2:37-38).

Luke is moving quickly through these early scenes and tells us that Jesus
returns with his parents to Nazareth in Galilee where he continues to grow
in wisdom and the grace of God. “When they had finished everything
required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own
town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and
the favor of the Lord was upon him.” (Luke 2:39-40).

Isn’t it true that we need the life experiences in wisdom and grace like
our grandmothers and grandfathers have? Elderly people seem to have lived
through much of what we will come to know. In reflecting on these good
persons they can often serve us as well as the canonized saints. Many of
the latter lived very short lives, whereas, our grandparents usually have
weathered longer storms in life and are practical models for us in the life
of faith without being out of reach. They are real and alive with us and we
do well to learn much from them in the areas of faith and devotion to God.
We take time on this sixth day of Christmas to bless the Annas and Simeons
in our life. Amen.

Today’s Readings


Scripture: I John 2:3-11. Psalm 96:1-2.2-3.5-6. Luke 2:22-35:

Hesychius of Jerusalem has written several homilies on this passage of the
Gospel. In Greek the feast is called the Meeting or Hypapante. Simeon is
the one who announces to Mary both the good things that will happen to her
and her child and the sorrowful ones. They meet in the Temple and Simeon
even has the joy of taking the baby Jesus into his arms! The first person
to do so after Joseph and Mary. All who are in the Temple for this
religious ritual of circumcision are blessed with the presence of the Holy
Spirit, hence, they are able to understand the miraculous happenings that
will occur in this child. Simeon will also be inspired to say a Temple
prayer which we now use at Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours…It is
called the Nunc Dimittis, Now you dismiss your servant… All who are
gathered around the child are the holy ones, the righteous ones who have
lived in the service of God by observing the precepts of the Lord and even
the religious rituals of their day that normally take place in the Temple.

There is hint that these “little people” are the ones that John has in mind
when he addresses his First Epistle to his community and to us. They
observe the commandments of God and thus “truly the love of God is made
perfect in them.” (I John 2:4).

We too experience the gift of the Spirit in our sacraments and in the
liturgies we participate within our churches and chapels. We like Simeon
and Ann sound the depth of this event surrounding the baby Jesus. Like Mary
we ponder over Luke’s words within the context of the whole Infancy
Narrative. Heart speaks to heart. Perhaps, we may wish to take a few
minutes this evening to pray with Simeon his inspired prayer:

Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for the glory of your people Israel.
With the beauty of Christmas lights on a tree or with a candle lighted, we
can close out this fifth day of Christmas with a great Christmas prayer
inspired by the Holy Spirit in Simeon. Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 698. I John 1:5-2:2. Psalm 124:2-3.4-5.7-8. Matthew
2:13-18:

I John is a remarkable epistle based on the two themes of love and faith
throughout. From this inspired writing we learn that God is love! Today I
John leads us into our liturgical feast of the holy martyrs, the Innocents
who lost their life under Herod the Great’s son. John calls the listeners,
“my little ones.” The theme of Jesus’ love is seen in the fact of Jesus
shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins and for our reconciliation
with one another. We learn from Matthew alone that these innocent children
shed their blood because of the power hungry puppet king who was threatened
by the news of a baby king who had been born recently. The Psalm captures
the silent prayer of the innocents and their mothers in one of its verses,
“Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

Matthew narrates how the wisemen (the Magi) prudently depart from the
territory of Herod and keep the whereabouts of the new born king from the
tetrarch. Joseph and Mary take the child to Egypt till they will hear the
news of Herod’s death. But before he dies this tyrant has martyred the
children that were male and under two years of age. Matthew captures the
sorrow of the mothers by citing a passage from the prophet Jeremiah which
historically laments the exile of the northern tribes of Israel to Assyrian
tyrants. In the prophecy we learn that Rachel weeps because of their loss;
they are her progeny. Matthew sees a similarity to what Jeremiah says in
the slaughter of the holy innocents. Rachel represents all mothers who
lose their sons and daughters through violence, abuse, or kidnapping and
often through murder.

According to the later rabbinic commentary on the passage from Jeremiah
(Rab.Gen.82:10), Jacob buries Rachel in a tomb near Bethlehem on the way to
Ramah–the place Matthew is assigning to the martyrdom of the innocent baby
boys under two. Jacob knew that his descendants would travel this road
into exile. Rachel is weeping for her children to return home. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Sunday, Holy Family.  Scripture: Lectionary # 17. Sirach 3:2-6.12-14. Psalm
128:1-5. Colossians 3:12-21. Luke 2:41-52.

We celebrate this joyful feast of the Holy Family while being mindful of
all who are parents or have been parents and are now with God.  Cycle C of
the liturgy gives us the final account of Jesus childhood coming to an end
in the beautiful yet puzzling passage of the conclusion of Luke’s Infancy
Narrative.  It is the story of Jesus being separated from his parents on
the feast of the Passover and his remaining in the Temple area for three
days as they search for him with great sorrow.  Jesus stuns them when they
find him and he says, “Why did you search for me?” His short answer is too
direct and mysterious.  They did not grasp what he said to them. The story
ends with his going down to Nazareth with them and living out his youth
while growing into manhood with them.

Do we search for Jesus as intensely as they did?  Are we led to ponder over
our searching and our not grasping what he is all about?  Do we search for
him in our sorrows, our joys, and our dull times?  Do we eventually find
him in all of these after searching as Joseph and Mary did? Or do we give
up the search and remain within our own boundaries while never risking to
take up the search again and again till we find him?  It took Mary and
Joseph three days to find him.  We probably need more time than that; maybe
even years before we really find the Lord Jesus.

Jesus returned with them to Nazareth where he grew into maturity both in
the sight of his neighbors and in the sight of God. He listened to his
mother and father and learned from them while progressing in wisdom and age
(his humanity) and grace (his divinity) before God and before our own eyes
as we read this Gospel.
One of the simplest and finest meditations on this mystery of the Finding
of the Child Jesus by the Holy Family is that of the highly intelligent and
holy Pope Paul VI:  “How I would like to return to my childhood and attend
the simple yet profound school that is at Nazareth! How wonderful to be
close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life,
learning again God’s truths. But here we are only on pilgrimage.  Time
presses and I must set aside my desire to stay and carry on my education in
the Gospel, for that education is never finished.  But I cannot leave
without recalling, briefly and in passing, some thoughts I take with me
from Nazareth.”  (Selection from Paul VI address of Jan. 5, 1964).

Today’s Readings


Dec. 26: Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr ( 32-35 A.D.). Scripture:
Lectionary # 696:  Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59.
Psalm 31:3-4.6.7-8.17.21.  Matthew 10: 17-22.

Jesus words in today’s Gospel are a perfect prediction and promise that
help us to understand why St. Stephen is a very devoted person and a
martyr.  The Holy Spirit gives him the gift of inspired speech which leads
to his being stoned to death by those who could not stand hearing his
revelatory message from the Holy Scriptures that were so familiar to them.
He lived them out in the Spirit while they studied them and tried to
control their meaning.

Stephen is the first of the seven deacons who are named by the apostles to
help distribute food and provisions to the widows of the Hellenists both
Jew and Gentile and especially from the synagogue to which Stephen belonged
that of the Roman Freedman (that of the Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria,
Cilicia, and Asia)–those who spoke Greek and used the Greek translation of
their Scriptures (the Septuagint version).  Stephen’s conversion to Christ
and his devoted service as a deacon made him a leader and many listened to
him.  He preached about Jesus as the fulfillment of salvation history which
he outlines from Abraham through the patriarchs down to David and his
successors.  He probably was a radical prophet in the eyes of some of the
members of his group and synagogue and this earmarked him for conflict,
controversy, and eventual martyrdom.

Stephen was thoroughly under the influence of the Holy Spirit and
interpreted the Scriptures from the Spiri who guided him.  His sermon was
one of the lengthiest in the Scriptures except for Jesus’ Sermon on the
Mount. We are amazed to find his entire life in the seventy lines that Luke
writes sequentially about him from chapter 6:8 of the Acts to chapter 8:3
of the Acts of the Apostles. Seventy lines give us the story of Stephen and
these are what we call a primary source for us.  His last words are powerful
in forgiveness and trust in the Lord.  “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And
falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Lord, do not
lay this sin against them.” And with these words he fell asleep.”  Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 201. II Samuel 7: 1-5, 8-11,16. Psalm
89:2-3,4-5,27.29. Luke 1:67-79.

During this Advent we have introduced the Magnificat with the singing of
the O Antiphons from Dec.17th till today, Christmas Eve. They help us to
approach the Scriptures from a faith perspective put into beautiful song
through the antiphon before and after the Magnificat. Perhaps, today’s
Scriptures need to be read in the light of all of them. The initial story
of David wishing to build the temple while it was God who had given the
exact demands of it and reminded David that he had shed too much blood to
be the builder of God’s sanctuary. Nathan the prophet is David’s
intermediary and fortunately David is attentive to his prophetic advice
throughout his kingship. God”s Wisdom is seen in this (Antiphon 1: Wisdom
of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: teach us to
walk in the paths of knowledge).

The Psalm and its response is a covenantal psalm and does apply to both
David but to all of God’s people. (Antiphon 2: Come, Leader of ancient
Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: rescue us with hour mighty
power). And since it also speaks of the covenant with David the next two O
antiphons fit the Psalm: (Antiphon 3: Come, Flower of Jesse’s stem (David),
sign of God’s love for all his people: save us without delay! and Antiphon
4: Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal kingdom, free prisoners
of darkness.)

Then in the beautiful prophetic hymn of Zehariah called the Benedictus we
have an echo of Antiphon 5: Radiant Dawn (Jesus), splendor of eternal
light, sun of justice: shine on those lost in the darkness of death!
We are easily led to reflect on this Morning Hymn, the Benedictus, on this
day called Christmas Eve. We keep both David and John the Baptist in mind
as we also remember the next Antiphon 6 for the One who is to come is nigh,
Come, King of the nations, source of your Church’s unity and faith: save
all humankind, your own creation.,

Finally, the presence of Jesus is felt as we realize all of the holy
persons who have led us through this Advent bring us to the Mother who is
now with her child whether in a stable, a cave, or a home. We sing the last
antiphon 7: Emmanuel (God-with-us), God’s presence among us, our King, our
Judge: save us, Lord our God. Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 200 Malachai 3:1-4,23-24. Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9. 10.14.
Luke 1:57-66:

Zechariah patiently awaits the help of the Lord and it happens once he
accepts from Elizabeth the giving of the name John to his son. His own
lack of trust was offset by that of Elizabeth; she remaining faithful to
the Lord in the promise of a child though she was barren tells those
present at the circumcision of the child that his name is John (the graced
one). The event of circumcision is a confirmation of the covenant that God
makes with his people Israel. Zechariah will break into his own blessing
and praise of God’s fidelity in the hymn that we call the Benedictus. This
has formed the Morning Prayer of the Church throughout the centuries and
reminds us of God’s covenant and the role that the child born of Elizabeth
and Zechariah will be to witness and proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

We all like the people gathered would have probably thought it best to name
the child after Zechariah, but Elizabeth who has been filled with the Holy
Spirit says that her child is to be named Johannan. Her husband asks for a
tablet and writes “John is his name.” His tongue is immediately released
and he begins to praise God who has mercy on him and given him this child.
The righteousness of both parents was declared by Luke and now it is
confirmed. Elizabeth in cooperating with the Holy Spirit is prophetic in
naming the child but also in what she had said of her cousin Mary upon
greeting her. Blessedness is a word that sums up the events of the
circumcision of John and also recalls how Mary too was with child and would
name him Jesus according to the narrative of Luke.

Both Mary and Elizabeth are with us this day as we continue to look forward
to Christmas Day and all that it means for the world. We pray to the
prince of peace that God’s message through the angelic choir will be ours
as we approach a New Year: “All at once there was with the angel a great
company of the heavenly host, singing praise to God: Glory to God in
highest heaven, and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.” Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 199. Tuesday, Dec. 22 of Advent. I Samuel 1:24-28.
I Sam.2:1.4-5.6-7.8. Luke 1:46-56:

Our continued reading from St. Luke brings us into another literary and
theological masterpiece–the Magnificat of Mary. It is similar to a Psalm
of Praise but contains selections from all parts of the Tanakh (Hebrew
Bible)–the Torah, the Prophets,and the Writings. Luke gives Mary a voice
for the first time in the Scriptures of the New Testament and we now hear
it almost every evening in the Vesper Service or the Evening Prayers said
in churches and chapels. Spiritual books, doctorates, and musical
compositions have benefitted from this as an outstanding resource. We hear,
see, read and enjoy the voice of Mary through many media and it is good
that we do. We learn how to pray through these words of Mary and how to
continue the redeeming work of God in today’s world. She was a very
courageous and strong woman to have prayed in this manner.

Just a few days ago we learned how to ponder over things with Mary as we
listened to the narrative of the Annunciation. This reflective mode of
prayer will also be seen as she mulls over the coming of the shepherds and
also when she finds Jesus in the Temple and leads him back home to
Nazareth. She is always focused on her son and is a superb teacher of
prayer. At the end of her journey we will see her gathered in prayer in an
upper room with the apostles and followers of Jesus. She is, so to speak,
the Church at prayer as well as the Church in mission. Rightly has Paul VI
declared her Mother of the Church.Why not? if she is Mother of God then
Mother of the Church is appropriate. She does not hurt us nor her son Jesus
by being this. In fact, we are again sustained by our spiritual mother
whether we like it or not.

Through her response to Gabriel we have learned how to say “yes” to the
call of God and to the daily surprises of God’s grace. She helps us in our
needs and in our prayers. No wonder the Hail Mary has the following: “Holy
Mother of God, PRAY for us sinners NOW and at the hour of our death.”

With only three short days till Christmas we allow ourselves to have Mary
as our guide in this last week of Advent. We are led to experience the
birth of Christ into our human history that now becomes graced with
salvation. Sin, death, and evil are being erradicated through this baby who
will give every moment of his life for us to lead us back to our Creator
and to him as our Redeemer. Mary helps us to open our hearts to be atuned
to the Word of God present within her and soon to be born in time. This is
so human that it is truly divine. The reality of the Incarnation ( the
Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us) helps us realize that we too are
called to give birth to God’s words within our hearts. Christmas should
happen everyday. So, come let us adore this Word of God become one with us
because a simple believing and trusting woman from Nazareth said yes to
God’s call. This world has never been the same because of this historical
event that is so common in the birth of a child. It seems that God
continues to trust in our human nature despite our failings for the miracle
of childbirth continues on. God works until now! Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 198. Choice of either Song of Songs 2:18-24.
Zephaniah 3:14-18. Psalm 33:2-3,11-12,20-21. Luke 1:39-45:

Since Mary becomes a guiding light for us during this last week before
Christmas, the selection from Zephaniah is more appropriate for the reading
of the Gospel which features Mary and her cousin Elizabeth in the
visitation narrative. Besides the light of revelation in which we see Mary
as the Daughter of Zion, there is also the gift of joy in these readings on
this first day of winter. They bring us inner warmth. The passage from
the Gospel is like a diamond surrounded by the precious stones of the other
readings from the prophet and from the psalmist. There is the cry of joy
and the emotion one feels when there is this great gift of God’s
blessedness upon someone–a sign of personal cooperation with God and
therefore the person is happy or blessed. Mary is that person who is joyful
and this is seen also in her cousin Elizabeth who recognizes her
blessedness and praises her faith in cooperating with the salvific plan of
God.

Mary’s haste is also another sign that she is hurrying to bring help and
joy in the announcement she will make. The meeting is sublime and totally
human in its expression of love between the two women who are graced by God
with a child within their bodies. Elizabeth’s child stirs within her and
it seems the two children join in the joy of their mothers. The mother of
the messiah brings the good news to the mother of the precursor or herald
of the messiah. Both women are women of profound faith in the mysteries of
God’s love which is always fruitful. “How is it that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?” These words of Elizabeth are revelatory and help us
see the tradition that will soon be proclaimed about Mary as the Mother of
God, the Theotokos or God-bearer. Even one hundred years before the
Council of Ephesus this title was used by several of the Church theologians
known as Fathers of the Church.

We Catholics call Mary our Blessed Mother. This is based on what Scripture
tells us in St. Luke in the passage we have as our liturgical reading from
a Gospel. We do well on these few days before Christmas to take some time
to read both the Infancy Narratives of Matthew and Luke in their first two
chapters. There is the historical and literary foundation for what we
celebrate on Christmas Day. We remember that the first part of the most
famous prayer after the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, is contained in
Luke’s narrative. Millions of these prayers are said each day by the
faithful reciting the rosary or just saying a few Hail Mary’s during the
day. We are called to share in these holy women of joy and blessedness as
we prepare for the birth of the Messiah. The mother of the Messiah is thus
the “cause of our joy.” Amen.

Today’s Readings



Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 20, 2009 in the C cycle:

Scripture: Lectionary # 12, Dec. 20, 4th Sunday of Advent (C). Micah 5:1-4.
Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19. Hebrews 10: 5-10. Luke 1:39-45:

Micah is well known to us through the words from his sixth chapter: “You
have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your
God.” (Micah 6:8). Micah is the sixth of the Minor Prohets and is a later
contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He is however from a lowly background and
thus fits well the origins of Jesus the Messiah born of Mary of Nazareth.
We have heard much from Isaiah throughout Advent, this will be the only
reading from Micah. It, however, has been noted in the Constitution on the
Church’s eighth chapter which is dedicated to the role of Mary in the
Church and in relationship to her son Jesus, the Christ.(Lumen Gentium #
55). The verse that helps us to reflect upon the birth of the Messiah is
“When she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of the children of
his brethren, shall return to the children of Israel.” (Micah 5:2). In the
very first line we also have the mention of Bethlehem of Ephrata (the
origins of the Davidic family and where David himself reigned for thirteen
years). In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus it will be that he is
born there in the home of Joseph.  As we have seen before the Magi will
come and worship the newborn king there when the find the child with his
mother Mary– a perfect foundation verse for Marian theology.  All of what
Micah is saying has been confirmed by the more royal prophet Isaiah whose
prophecy about the Messiah is the issuing of that Anointed One from the
shoot out of the stock of Jesse. (Isaiah 11).

Our Responsorial Psalm shows the expectancy and longing for seeing God and
we are led to see the face of God in the birth of Jesus. We thus pray in
responding to the word of God, “Lord, make us turn to you, let us see your
face and we shall be saved.”

In reflecting on the reading from Hebrews we see that Mary has also
responded to the Lord and says through her acceptance of Gabriel’s words
the will of God.  Thus we see in the words an echo of her “yes.”  She too
is saying, “I have come to do your will, O God.”

All of this is confirmed by her journey made with haste to her cousin
Elizabeth.  This is an excellent reflection for Advent because it is so
tender, so hopeful and so filled with love.  Elizabeth enables us to praise
the blessedness of the mother of the Messiah by her praise of Mary,
“Blessed are you who trusted that the Lord’s words to you would be
fulfilled.”  One scholar notes that Elizabeth is thus the first theologian
of the New Testament.  His Marianist Congregation also has a listing of the
effect of the second joyous mystery of the rosary- the Visitation– as love
of one’s neighbor.  We all can thus practice this mystery in our journey of
faith by being attentive to the practice of actually loving our neighbors.
Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 196, Dec. 19th. Judges 13:2-7, 24-25.  Psalm
71:3-4,5-6.16-17. Luke 1:5-25.

We are enjoying the readings from the Infancy Narratives of Luke and
Matthew. This helps us in appreciating the great historical event of the
birth of Christ in Bethlehem and the events that precede his birth as well
as those that immediately follow it.  This is the only authentic historical
record of those early years of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and are the primary
source for all later theological writings about it as well as those that
are more imaginative and sometimes ridiculous; they are also the foundation
for the major teachings about Mary in our Church–her virgin birth, her
divine motherhood, her perpetual virginity.  The Immaculate Conception and
the Assumption are also profound reflections on the Scriptures in the light
of faith and in the guided teaching of the Church through the Holy Spirit.
Those these are mysteries of the faith they do have a foundation in reality
and are based on the Scriptures.

We enter the Infancy Narrative of Luke without his marvelous periodic
sentence that shows his own interest in handing on what he has received and
doing that with as much accuracy as is possible for this inspired writer.
Cardinal John Henry Newman was famous for long descriptive periodic
sentences. In the first four lines of Luke, the Evangelist surpasses the
cardinal in this literary masterpiece.  Luke is considered to be a literary
artist, a theologian and a divinely inspired Evangelist. We are blessed by
his writings and especially by his narrative in the first two chapters
which are a display window for the rest of the Gospel in its themes and its
beauty of giving us the kindest portrait of Jesus among the Evangelists.
Luke is the one who leads us to Mary as we approach the last week of
Advent.

Our reading for today is the annunciation of the conception and birth of
John the Baptist to his father who is a priest serving his duty in the
Temple of Jerusalem at the hour of incense and prayer.  The people outside
of the Holy of Holies and the sanctuary are waiting for him.  He does not
appear for quite some time because of the vision he has from the Angel
Gabriel who stands before God and now at the right side of the altar. The
text shows us that unlike the wife of Manoah in the first reading,
Zechariah is incredulous and hesitates in accepting the announcement of
Gabriel–an angel that one should not contend with because Gabriel is the
strength of God as his names indicates.  The woman of Zorah was not given
the name of the angel for she had reverential fear and did not dare to ask
his name reserved only for God or God’s given messenger to give. The
contrast of the mother of Samson with Zechariah is wisely chosen for our
liturgy and helps us to see that there are such Annunciations in both the
Old Testament and the New Testament on a given number of times. Zechariah
should have known better that to be so hesitant and doubtful. For that
reason he is mute till the time he and his wife Elizabeth name him John.
He thus had time to ponder over the mystery while seeing the pregnancy of
Elizabeth as a confirmation of the Angel’s words.  He resisted a surprise
grace of God, but God had mercy upon him and released his tongue once John
was named.  He then returns to his true self and righteousness in the sight
of God while breaking forth into the beautiful Benedictus that we use for
Morning Prayer.  It now matches the Magnificat of Mary and has many similar
themes but focused on the role that his son John will have in salvation
history.

During this season of Advent this narrative takes on the great expectation
of Elizabeth who is the firm believer in this story as we will see in her
meeting with her relative who is pregnant with Jesus the Messiah.  Her
husband agrees with the name given by her to the child and writes it on a
tablet saying “John is his name.”  We admire Elizabeth who recognizes in
Mary the work of the Spirit just as Elizabeth experienced the same work of
the Spirit withiin her body.  The meeting of the two women is one of the
most beautiful scenes in the Bible and has inspired great artists to give
us some of the most compelling paintings of the warmth and love of the two
women for each other and for what God has done within them. It rightfully
is the second joyous mystery of the rosary and Elizabeth is one of the
first to believe in the Incarnation that is to ensue.

In his Infancy Narrative all those who are open to the Holy Spirit
experience this great joy of the births.  We see this in Elizabeth and her
husband Zechariah; then in Simeon and Anna; then the shepherds, and, of
course, in Mary and Joseph.  Advent is thus a work of the Spirit and we do
well to be mindful of the Spirit in our prayer, our reflections, and our
celebrations in the liturgy.

There is also consolation in the fact that the youthful virgin-mother is
seen in relationship to the elderly and once barren woman Elizabeth.  Luke
paints his portraits with great grace and superabundant joy. Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 192. Fri of 3rd week of Advent. Isaiah 56: 1-3.6-8.
Psalm 57:2-3.5.7-8. John 5:33-36:

Today’s Gospel from the Fourth Evangelist sends us back to his prologue
which gives us the call and role of John the Baptist. This week has
emphasized John as our guide for Advent reflection and it is mostly based
upon what Jesus is telling us about John the Baptist and his call to
renewal and repentance. In this mystic Gospel John’s role is clearly
depicted as one of a witness (martyros in Greek). His total witness is to
the one who is coming after him and who ranks ahead of him. The Evangelist
tells us this in the sixth line of his Gospel:”There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so
that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he
came to testify to the light.” Verse 15 also tells us this:” This was he of
whom I said,”He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before
me.” These lines are the only ones in the Prologue that are not centered on
the Word of God that was made flesh. They are more prose than the rest of
the lines which are poetic. The hymn serves as a grand overture for the
whole Gospel and helps us each time we read it to understand the rest of
the Gospel. It used to be said at the end of each Mass before Vatican II.

John the Baptist has together with the prophet Isaiah led us through their
words and through the Scriptures themselves; now we will be turning to a
more familiar person who will lead us to the very birth of Christ and that
is Mary of Nazareth, the one who is pregnant with the Word of God that is
her flesh and blood–totally human because and only because of her. Both
are there to help us deepen our faith in the person of Jesus the one who is
to come. This belief will be developed as the story of Jesus continues in
the Infancy Gospels of Matthew and Luke as we will see in the coming days
before and after Christmas.

Our turning for today to the Gospel of John allows us to see the one who is
to come in a new way, namely, as the Word of God and as the Revealer of God
through his words and actions. Mary becomes part of the mystery of God’s
loving kindness in the plan of salvation in the all important verse
fourteen: “And the Word was made flesh(Mary’s flesh and blood) and lived
among us, and we have seen his glory as of a father’s only son, full of
grace and truth.” Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Today’s Readings

Scripture: Lectionary # 191: Isaiah 54:1-10. Psalm 30:2-4.5-6.11-12.13.
Luke 7:24-30:

We all need others to help us on our journey of life and this includes
those who are supportive of our spiritual journey toward the realm of God.
Jesus needed his cousin John the Baptist to prepare his way. John was
active in gathering people who came to the border of the desert and
listened to his call for right living in their dealings with one another
and baptism in water through forgiveness. Sinners, soldiers,
tax-collectors and good people were in the crowd that followed him and many
listened and changed their lives because of his preaching. His main task
however was to herald, to witness, and to prepare the way for the Lord who
was coming into this world and already was in the “world.” (see John 1:1-18
especially verses 6-8, 12-14).

In accepting the baptism of John the plan of God was coming about for those
who believed the Baptist. Soon they would learn that he was really
announcing the time of the Lord, the Messiah, the One who is to Come. He
was the first one to give us the spirit of Advent. Those who listened to
John would certainly listen to the one he was announcing and preparing for,
namely, Jesus of Nazareth.

Renewal is part of the story of the Baptist and Jesus too in Mark’s Gospel
declares this at once as he starts his active ministry: “Now after John was
arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and
saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:14).

Repentance and renewal are not to be feared. God is a God of love and
peace. We listen to Isaiah describing who God is, “My love shall never
leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord, who has mercy
on you.” (Isaiah 54:10).

As the center of salvation history begins Jesus helps the crowd who
experienced the preaching of John the Baptist to come to know that John is
that voice crying in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” They did
not go out in the desert to see someone who was a wisp of the wind shaking
a bush, nor someone who was clothed likely the lilies of the field. No
they found a true prophet of justice, peace, and mercy. They move from
curiosity to conviction and from conviction to belief in both John and
Jesus. John is certainly that messenger who was sent ahead to prepare the
way for the one who is the truth, the way, the justice,and the peace that
we all yearn for. We do well in this third week of Advent to know and
accept the role of the Baptist in this moment of renewal and repentance.
We are being prepared to follow Jesus on the way but first we must await
him as we do in Advent. John showed us how to wait for the one who is to
come. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Scripture: Lectionary # 190. Isaiah 45:6-8.18.21-25. Psalm
85:9-10.11-12.13-14. Luke 7:18:23:

“Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.”  This verse
comes from the Psalmist who gives us these words while we ponder it in the
light of the Psalm Response.  Often we learn we can pray the other two
readings with the help of the responsorial psalm.  In the words kindness,
truth, justice, and peace we have the biblical virtues that are so
important for us whether we be Christian or Jew.  They make the season of
Christmas and Hanukkah alive with human response and personal relationships
with others more meaningful.  They help us grow in the graces God gives us
each day; but we must put them into practice.

Our reading joins the first two in the symbol of a kiss–one of the most
intimate and tender of signs with in a relationship.  The virtues are thus
bound together through the psalmists “personification” of them.  This is
more than just a stroke of literary genius; it is divine revelation coming
from someone inspired by the God of love, the God of the Israelites and the
God of Jesus.  The Psalms are the most frequently cited verses of the Old
Testament in the New and we can be sure that Jesus knew them all and prayed
them often.  God’s words come to us in our limited human language but
sometimes they jump out and enter our hearts because they are so real. Far
from being prosaic, this psalm and the other readings are poetic and
powerful for us.

In the Gospel we return to two real historical figures of monumental
importance in religion: John the Baptist and Jesus.  Both are central to
what is being said in Luke’s narrative. John is searching and discerning
for he is an authentic prophet who knows what truth is and practices
justice very vigorously.  He sends his disciples to ask Jesus whether he is
the anointed one of God, the messiah that John is to announce.  Jesus
speaks openly and truthfully by telling them what he is doing. His works
are those already predicted in Isaiah for the deliverer of Israel.  There
have been some already but he is the one who delivers from death, sin, and
Evil personified in Satan or the Devil.  Jesus, the Word, is the fulness of
truth.  John’s disiciples have enough evidence about the “Lord” when they
return to their master John. He, in turn, will eventually let his disciples
follow Jesus rather than himself.

Both Jesus and John therefore are bringing about the reality of what the
Psalm says. Kindness and truth have met each other and have kissed in order
to seal their commitment to one another. Peace and justice do the same.
Shouldn’t we?  Amen.

Today’s Readings



Scripture: Lectionary # 189. Tue of 3rd week of Advent. Zephaniah
3:1-2,9-13. Psalm 34:2-3,6-7.17-18.19.23. Matthew 21:9-13:

There is a beautiful insight of Paul about Jesus that helps us to frame the
reading from the Gospel today. Here is the citation in a more complete form
from Paul, “Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready
to say “Yes, yes” and No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is
faithful, our word to you has not been “Yes and No.” For the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was
not “Yes and No;”but in him is always “Yes.” For in him everyone of God’s
promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the
“Amen” to the glory of God.” (II Corinthians 1:17-20).

Jesus is teaching the priests and leaders through a little comparison of
two sons who were asked to serve their father in the vineyard. The one
said “yes” but never entered into the work of harvesting the grapes; the
other, first said “no” but then changed his mind and went and helped those
others who were in the vineyard. We are familiar with this kind of
behavior in ourselves and maybe in children from time to time so Jesus is
also teaching us about an important lesson. Through the context of the
comparison and what follows Jesus is showing us that the Baptist brought
sinners, prostitutes, and tax collectors to repent from their no and to
come to say yes to the Lord. Jesus is doing the same on a much larger and
more demanding level. He is calling for a “metanoia” or change of behaviror
and sinful patterns. It is a call to conversion and then to helping the
Lord in the vineyard.

Advent calls us to a change of heart and an openness to seeing things of
God in a new and brighter way. We can learn from the prophet Zephaniah
that as a remnant faithful to this call of saying yes to God we are on the
right path and are following the will of God. Then in our Psalm response
we realize that as the remnant, that is as the poor of God, we are being
heard. “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

During this third week of Advent Jesus is asking us to say yes and to mean
it. We are to listen to the call to change and to change often and not
force God out of the picture through our own will and control devices in
prayer and in our interaction with each other. Remember that egoism comes
from the EGO (or I in Latin) and it can serve as an anacronym for “Edging
God Out” while Advent means to let God arrive and to enter into our hearts.
We are to “edge God in.” John the Baptist is mentioned again and he was the
primary archetype of how to make the Lord increase while we decrease. We
therefore lay aside our “no’s” to the Lord and say Amen, Yes, and I believe
to the Lord who is coming soon. Amen.