Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke describes the Visitation, Mary’s journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Luke says that on hearing Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth cried out in a loud voice and was filled with the Holy Spirit. “How does this happen to me,” she says, “that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth’s response echoes that of the second reading: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” The joy of God’s presence is palpable, as Elizabeth feels John leaping in her womb. Where is that right response in me today and as the Nativity approaches?

God, bring to my soul that same Visitation that Elizabeth experienced. I know you are present, and I want to know how to disperse the shadows with your Divine light. In Song of Songs, your presence thaws the wintertime of the heart and brings warmth and ecstatic joy upon your springing steps: “For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land.” Look kindly on me, Lord, and grant me the grace to receive you with joy. What is that stirring that Elizabeth felt, even as she faced the day’s ordinary routines and anxieties. Teach me that love!

Jesus, let me make a place for you today as Mary did, the one who first knew that Emmanuel, the Messiah, had at last come. But, Lord, because I will fall short of that, guide my actions today; show me, through Jesus Christ your Son, the way to go.

From the O Antiphon for today: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.

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

Readings

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “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.”

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke follows yesterday’s reading and tells very similar stories. While Zechariah questioned Gabriel and is made speechless until John’s birth, Mary says, “May it be done to me according to your word.” It is not as if Zechariah was punished for what Gabriel called his lack of belief in the message sent from God; it seems instead that God quieted Zechariah for a time and immersed him in the school of interior life to prepare for the birth of John. Mary simply gave her consent, her fiat, saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.” How often in my life, even now during Advent, do I stay behind bars that keep me inside?

When you come to free me, Lord, I cling to bars that confine me as a self-proclaimed master of my own destiny. How do I learn to let go of my own personal glory? Let me learn to take to heart the words of the psalmist: “Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.” Help me understand, Lord, that what seems up is down and what is down, up. As Jesus says, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mary said yes; let me learn to do the same.

For the times when I don’t realize I’m saying no to you, Lord, or for the times when I’m afraid to say yes, stay with me. For the times when it’s hard to let you enter, grant me the grace to find a place for you. Power of the Most High, overshadow me today.

From the O Antiphon for today: O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

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

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Readings

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Fourth Sunday of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

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

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

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

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

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

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

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Readings

Sunday of the Third Week of Advent

Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

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

God, help me take this in and understand it. The kingdom of heaven is coming, and the kingdom of heaven is here now. As Jesus tells the crowds: “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” In Jesus’ coming, I have what no one before him had. Although no one was greater than the forerunner John, the least in the kingdom, in Jesus’ coming, is greater than John. Even today, Lord, you feed the least in your kingdom with the Eucharist and the sacraments, with us until you come again in glory. Be here with me today during the Mass, in receiving the Eucharist, and present in me through the Holy Spirit.

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

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

Readings

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Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The angel Gabriel said to Mary: “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.”

On today’s Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel according to Luke describes a profound moment in human history, where Mary says yes to God. It is the quietest of meetings, Gabriel and Mary face to face. Is it possible that Gabriel knew of Mary’s immaculate conception, observing her life from the time she was born? Born without original sin, at the Annunciation, Mary was able to say yes wholeheartedly and without the same brokenness of spirit that we all confront because of sin. Mary’s yes undid that other conversation between an angel and a woman, the serpent and Eve, that took place in the Garden of Eden. Mary’s question—“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”—shows that for her it was not a question of whether God could make the incarnation happen but how it would happen. What would it take for me to give the same wholehearted response to God as Mary does?

Lord, as Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus will rule over the house of Jacob forever and that of his Kingdom there will be no end and that nothing is impossible for you, wouldn’t it have been understandable for Mary to question this? Wouldn’t any one of us say, “Wait; stop right there. I will bear a son whose kingdom will never end? I need a minute.” Instead, Mary simply says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Almighty God, grant me the grace of complete confidence in your power and glory.

Thank you, God, for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s yes. Her fiat—“May it be done to me according to your word.”— is the royal road to the Incarnate Word, Jesus your Son. Lord, let me know and do your will for the praise of your glory. Blessed Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

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

Readings

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Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites those who hear him to come to him for rest, to take his yoke upon them and learn from him. Jesus doesn’t say he will remove the burden. What, then, does he mean by asking us to take his yoke upon him? Traditionally, a yoke is a heavy beam placed between animals such as oxen to allow them to pull a load together. Jesus offers rest by sharing his yoke with us, to lighten the load, to learn from him to be meek and humble of heart. The yoke Jesus offers is easy; in it, there is no escape from daily burdens but room to come to know who it is that walks beside us. On the feast of Saint Ambrose, a Doctor of the Church, let me remember to be attentive to the word of God in the work I do today and bring Christ into the most burdensome moments. Saint Ambrose, pray for us!

My instinct is to try to escape the yoke of daily routines bring and to lay my burdens down and rest. God, help guide me with the wisdom to know that these inescapable burdens are an opportunity to learn that you are beside me and to rest in the peace of your presence. Give me the grace today to strive in that hope with the yoke you offer me.

Lord, thank you for the gift of the burdens of this day that you give me to draw me closer to you, to have me work beside you. Stay with me! In the words of Saint Ambrose, “Let us take refuge from this world. You can do this in spirit, even if you are kept here in the body. You can at the same time be here and present to the Lord.”

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

Readings

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Jesus said to his disciples, “In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the lost sheep. He asks their opinion of whether a shepherd would leave his ninety-nine sheep to go in search of the one gone astray. And if he finds it, Jesus says, “he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.” He says this to teach the disciples about the extraordinary love of the Father for his beloved children. Rather than pity the ones who are lost, I have to think about the times that I have gone astray and waited for God to come in power to save me. As the Gospel acclamation says: “The day of the Lord is near; Behold, he comes to save us.” As we celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas today, I’m reminded of his generosity through his life of service to the needy, the sick, and the suffering. Is Santa real, I have to ask myself? As long as we celebrate the life of Saint Nicholas among the communion of saints, yes, Santa is real.

Help me understand, Lord, the words of the Our Father in daily life: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Life passes quickly, and the strength and resolve of youth is transitory. Isaiah’s beautiful words in the first reading calls this to mind: “All flesh is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it. So then, the people is the grass. Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever.” Keep me in your care, God, and close to your word—to the word made flesh.

Jesus, Good Shepherd, help me stay close to you today. I know I will go astray. As Saint Paul says, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” Through your grace, keep me from the temptation that leads to sin and let me instead see and do your will. And when I fail, come find me and bring me back to you.

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

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Readings

Monday of the Second Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

In today’s reading, as Jesus is teaching the Pharisees and scribes, the friends of a man who was paralyzed lowered him through the roof because they couldn’t make their way through the crowd. As soon as Jesus sees the man, he says to him: “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes and Pharisees see this as blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. But Jesus says to them: “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” And immediately the man stood up and walked. As the Son of God, Jesus speaks reality into existence. He said to the man “Rise and walk,” and he rose and walked. The same goes for sins. As he speaks, so it is done. Sins are forgiven.

God, help me understand the power and authority you gave to your Son to release me from sin. As the Gospel Acclamation says, “Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth, and he himself will lift the yoke of our captivity.” Sin and death bind and enslave, but through your Son they no longer have the last word because he destroyed death and canceled sin, restoring us to communion with you. And just as the crowd recognizes in the last words of today’s Gospel, I can also take in and respond to with joy: “We have seen incredible things today.”

Lord, give me the grace to carry that joy with me throughout the day. As Jesus the Divine Physician spoke healing and forgiveness into reality out of great love and mercy, I can choose to recognize that as the events of today unfold. As Padre Pio prayed in his prayer after Holy Communion: “Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.”

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

Readings

Sunday of the Second Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “"”You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, “‘We have Abraham as our father.’”

In today’s Gospel reading, John the Baptist was preaching the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, the coming of Christ. Matthew says that people from the whole region around the Jordan were coming to John to be baptized. John, known as the forerunner of Christ, chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees to repentance, to make a complete turnaround: “For I tell you,” John says to them, “God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.” Some commentaries on this passage suggest that the stones and dust of the earth are the dust from which God created man and woman. Their reliance on Abraham as their father, then, is not to replace the coming of the Son of God. What are the tenuous beliefs I hold onto that keep me from an authentic relationship with God?

Help me see clearly, Lord, my own overreliance in what is not you—adherence to beliefs that fail to lead to you. I want to understand that the Pharisees and Sadducees are not so remote in world history that they are irrelevant. Help me learn from them that pride in my own particular path to holiness is a dead end, is sin, the chaff that you separate from the wheat. As John says of you, Lord: “Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Guide me in keeping with Christ so that with one voice with one another I may glorify you.

Jesus, as I receive you in the Eucharist today, let me give glory to your name. Be with me so that I can keep today holy. As the first reading beautifully describes the Kingdom of Heaven, fill me with the gift of your presence: “There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.”

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

Readings

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Saturday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

In the Gospel for today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Francis Xavier. On this last day of the first week of Advent, Matthew describes Jesus’ entry into towns and villages as he proclaimed the Kingdom of heaven and cured every disease and illness. “At the sight of the crowds,” Matthew tells us, “his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Who is this whose heart is moved with pity? It is the same God in the Responsorial Psalm who tells the number of the stars and calls each of us by name. It is the same God in the first reading who guides us from behind and whose voice we hear say: “‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you would turn to the right or to the left.” Then, Jesus asks of me what he asks of the Twelve: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons.

God, help me understand you are not some ideology or philosophy to comprehend and apply to daily life. You are the creator of the universe; you are Christ the Son; you are the Holy Spirit. And you are asking me, whose name you know, to proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. How is it possible that I am able to do all you ask of me, especially the impossible? When I think of curing the sick and driving out demons, I bring it down to size. Be loving, help give healing to brokenness, welcome the ones who feel alienated, and go to Confession and invite others. But there is more to that. You really did give Peter and the Twelve the authority to raise the dead and cure the sick. Let me not underestimate the power you entrust me with that comes through faith in you. As that other great Francis, Saint Francis of Assisi, said: “First do what is necessary. Then do what is possible. And before you know it you are doing the impossible.”

Lord, let me quietly take in the love you have for me. The authority you first gave to the Twelve by your authority as Lord of all you also give to me. It’s humbling to hold in my being that you love me as a laborer sent out to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. Stay with me today, stay behind me, guiding which way to go to accomplish your will.

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

Readings

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

Friday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

The two blind men who approached Jesus first cried out to him and then followed him. The passage doesn’t say that the blind men asked Jesus anything. Jesus simply knows their needs: “Do you believe that I can do this?” Just as God spoke creation into existence, Jesus says “let it be done” and it is done. He tells the blind men that it is done according to their faith. Countless times every day, I make plans in my head as if I could speak them into fulfillment, as if by my own interior light I see ahead in the dark. How far am I willing to say of each plan “let it be done” according to God’s will?

God, let me stop and consider the power behind the words of your Son: “Let it be done.” In coming to Jesus, the blind men poured out their hearts to him, saying, “Son of David, have pity on us!” The extent of what I might accomplish today, Lord, can be summed up in two words: God willing. What can I hope to accomplish today without believing that you work with me and through me to do your will? Lord, touch my eyes today with your presence and give me the grace to remember to come to you in trust, and let me hear you say: “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

Jesus, open my eyes of faith today to your presence in the Blessed Sacrament and in the Masses said throughout the world at every minute of the day. I know you delight in me and love me. Help me realize that when I fall short. Take pity on me when I fail to love you and all those I encounter today as I should. Advent is here, and you are coming. Open my eyes to that joyful expectation. I know you are near!

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

Readings

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

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

The words of Jesus from today’s Gospel strike the ear with his repetition of “Lord” and the warning of utter ruin that follows from building on a foundation of anything other than doing the will of the Father. When I hear Jesus saying, “Lord, Lord,” I feel accused. Lord, shouldn’t I call out to you at all times? The Gospel acclamation says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call him while he is near.” Jesus issues a kind of challenge in his words by directing us to the will of the Father.

God, help me understand the will of the Father, as I hear Jesus inviting me to remain authentic in my relationship with him: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” Lord, you are, as Isaiah says, the eternal Rock. Thank you for the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, for his words that encourage me to lay down my own will and know and do yours instead.

Father in heaven, when I am restless and distracted today, quiet my soul. Teach me your will, and let me not be discouraged by failure to accomplish it but resolved all the more to trust in your mercy and grace. Let me have childlike hope in you, in your guidance. When I call out to you, let it be from a longing that only your love for me can fulfill. Prepare me through your gift of this day to enter your kingdom.

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

Readings

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites two pairs of brothers to follow him. He first finds Peter and Andrew, in the midst of their daily work, casting their net into the sea. Next he sees James and John and calls them as they are mending their nets. Only God knows why Jesus chose these first apostles over others. What is clear is that he chose them from their very livelihood—at work in the world—inviting them to work anew with their nets to draw people from the world into the kingdom of God. It’s hard for me to imagine what God sees in me that makes me suited to witness to his truth. What does he see in me as he looks at me as he did Peter, Andrew, James, and John? Why is it that Jesus calls two at a time, brothers at that? The way of faith—is it meant to be done in solitude or in fellowship?

God, help me comprehend what it means to say yes when Jesus says to me in the unfolding of the day: “Come after me.” It raises fears that I am not all you believe me to be. You know how the day and its responsibilities overtake me to the point that I sometimes forget you. The lyrics from the song “Lord, When You Came to the Seashore” remind me that God is not looking for the smartest or most powerful; he’s looking for me, whom he loved first: “Lord, when you came to the seashore / You weren’t seeking the wise or the wealthy, / But only asking that I might follow.” Let me have the grace, God, to hear your Son throughout the day and respond to his call.

Lord, I want to hear your voice today. This is your day. As in the Our Father, we pray that your will be done, I pray that you take my desire and longing to see you and make it suitable to accomplish your Divine Will. As the Morning Offering calls us to do, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day. Give me the grace to hear your voice and follow.

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

Readings

https://youtu.be/y1uTNd4zbmg

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

After saying these words, Jesus turned to his disciples and told them in private that they are blessed to see what prophets and kings desired to see and hear but did not see and hear. What is the it that Jesus refers to? The Gospel acclamation explicitly says what it is: “Behold, our Lord shall come with power; he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.” Enlightenment for his servants; servants see what the wise and the learned hoped to see and hear. When I consider myself wise, how often have I shut my eyes and closed my ears to the wisdom of God right in front of me? To be childlike in faith, is it to see what is hidden in plain sight? Jesus, reveal the Father to me.

God, help me understand who it is you sent into the world to be seen and heard. You have given everything you have to your Son, and through you I come to know him, and through what he reveals I come to know you. Holy Spirit, help me know the Father and the Son so that I can seek you out and find your dwelling, where as the first reading from Isaiah says, “There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.”

God, you hear my sighs; you see my restlessness and know that I want you near. For you, nothing is impossible. Help me through your grace recover childlike wonder—the blessedness of seeing you as you are—as I come into your presence; help me throughout the day remember to come into your presence.

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

Readings

https://youtu.be/y1uTNd4zbmg