CHRISTMAS Christian, Remember Your Dignity Is 52:7-10; Hb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-5, 9-14 From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, Pope

 

CHRISTMAS

Christian, Remember Your Dignity

Is 52:7-10; Hb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-5, 9-14

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, Pope

Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born. Let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.

  

In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he had overthrown mankind. And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvelous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?

  

Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us he took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.

  

Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.

 

Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim peace to men of good will

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU.

The Tabernacle to the Logos (ὁ λόγος) 2 Sam 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38 – (B) 4

 

 The Tabernacle to the Logos (ὁ λόγος)

2 Sam 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38 – (B)  4

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On this fourth Sunday of Advent, the liturgy shifts our attention from John the Baptist to Mary, the mother of Jesus. We read the story of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus. The angel Gabriel’s announcement was the immediate beginning of the building of the holiest tabernacle for Jesus’ birth. The King David said, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent” (2 Sam 7:3). And the compassionate God said, “I will appoint a place for my people Israel and they may live…. and never be disturbed” (7:10). This is the promise of God for all the human family, the new Israel. The appointed place or holiest tabernacle was the womb of mother Mary. He appointed and prepared her womb “in the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4). This is his sure sign for the new Israel. And St. Paul reflects and strengthens our faith who says, “…so that all the Gentiles also might come to the obedience to the only one God …through Jesus Christ forever (Rom 16:27).

Mary was the holy place or living tabernacle for God to become man like us. Mary was given a choice. The mourning creation awaited for her answer to give birth to the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2). She could have refused to allow God’s plan to work through her. She could have agreed grudgingly to the plan, like Zechariah, father of John the Baptist in the Temple. Or Mary could have rejected God’s plan simply. Rightly St Bernard wrote, “The prince of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God, we came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life”. And Mother Mary was open to the Word of God. She allowed the Logos the Word to enter her and transform her from a simple maiden to the mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

All the creatures are subjects to their creator. The creator has the authority over his subjects but still he desired for the permission for him to work in Mary. An ambassador represents the king. When an ambassador represents bringing the king’s message, he brings the own words of the king. When Mary was greeted, “Hail Mary full of grace”, it was not the words of the angel but it was the greetings of God of the armies himself. He sought the permitting words of Mary, “Thy will be done” to bring forth his salvific plan in and through her.    

Today, the Word of God whispers into our ears and calls upon us to bring this divine presence within us to others. We do this by standing up for our faith. We do this by searching out for those who need his strength. So many people are hurt at Christmas time. People who have lost loved ones need special attention. People who are wandering need special care. People who are sick and elderly and wondering if this will be their last Christmas, need the assurance that God’s love will usher them an eternal Christmas. In the exemplary response of our mother Mary to God, can our hearts become the living tabernacles for Jesus? And can our bodies become the living temples for the Holy Spirit to lead his new Israel to God?

 

Called to be heralds of God's Presence (Jn 1:6-8,19-28)

Called to be Heralds of God's Presence

Is 61:1-2a,10-11; 1 Thes 5:16-24; Jn 1:6-8,19-28

Jesus quoted the passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The passage begins: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God”. 

We cry out to God for help when we suffer a crisis or a traumatic event. In the same way, many people all over the world are in continual crisis calling out to God. such as people who are oppressed, people who try to bring their children up in neighborhoods where crime and drugs rule, people who are physically or mentally challenged, people who suffer pain afflicted upon them by an unfaithful spouse, a dishonest business partner or a wayward adult child, people who are hungry for food that cannot be found or who need medicine for their children that they cannot afford. How many times do these people cry out to God? 

John the Baptist was sent to give testimony. The word testimony in the original Greek is marturios, martyr. He was the first Apostle and Martyr. He was the first one sent to proclaim the presence of the Christ. He was the first one to give testimony to the Truth of Christ. He paid with his life for his testimony to Truth. We are called to be like John the Baptist giving witness to the presence of Christ. The world deeply needs our witness to Christ. For many people Christmas has become a pagan celebration. Materialism is their god. They refer to Christmas as the gifting season or fat season with foods. They reject Christ and contort Christmas into a celebration of materialism. But they need the Messiah, where can they find him? The world that has rejected Jesus Christ needs witnesses to his presence. The world needs new John the Baptists to point to Jesus. 

We are called to be these witnesses. We are called to stand up before friends, families, working companions, or maybe just that idle acquaintance and say, “For me, the Life of Christ is more important than anything the world can offer.” If this reality is present in the core of our being, the Holy Spirit within us will convince others of the truth of our witness. We are the new heralds of the Kingdom. We are sent by God. We are the new apostles. We are the new witnesses. We are the new martyrs. We are the new John the Baptists. We have a responsibility to the world around us to reflect the presence of Christ. Like that of organizations such as Catholic Relief Services or charities throughout the world, proclaim the presence of God in the charitable works with a far greater efficacy then preaching only with words. So many people are hurting. So many people are searching for some sort of meaning to the madness of life. They need us to be heralds of God's presence. 

The third Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, a Latin word which means “rejoice,” is taken from the entrance antiphon for Sunday’s Mass. This theme is echoed in today’s second reading from the first Letter to the Thessalonians. It is a reminder that Advent is a season of joy because our salvation is already at hand. We are called upon to assume the role of John the Baptist, proclaiming a new way of life, a new kingdom.

Repentance Implies Change of Mind and Life (Mark 1:1-8)

Repentance Implies Change of Mind and Life

2nd Advent Sunday (B)

Is 40:1-5,9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8

A certain captain of a ship at sea discovered that by some mistake the steersman was steering the ship directly towards the rocks. How the danger needs to be avoided? By scrubbing the decks or setting the men to the pumps? No! these things are good enough in their own time. But if the ship was to be saved, one thing must be done – the course or the direction of the ship must be changed. Rightly, the captain uttered a few quick words, and the ship turned and fastened away from the danger. In the same way, John the Baptist’s preaching is a call to humankind to turn from the dangerous rocks of sin and to make a way only towards haven. Repentance results in change of action. Just as the whole ship turns in obedience to the captain, so the change of mind produces a change of life. 

John the Baptist was last of the OT prophets and first preacher in the NT. He practiced a life of self-denial. He denounced luxury, soft clothing, sumptuous fare, and he was a living example of the austerity. And how many preachers have been prompted to imitate him! Saints like Martin and Dominic, Anselm and Borromeo have themselves worn the same externals of severity, as the surest way of recommending the self-denial. And though such asceticism is deprecated in the nineteenth century, history bears abundant witness to its power in the past. It was from a hard life in the desert that saints like Gregory Nazianzen and Basil, and Pachomius came forth to preach with such success.  The kings burdened with imperial cares, were eager to seek counsel and direction from a lonely and austere monks and prophets.

Repentance, and self- denial helps us to have a change of mind. Such life leads us to God. It attests the beginning of a new life. John the Baptist is presented to us as a model during Advent. We, too, are called upon to prepare a way for the Lord. Like John the Baptist, we are messengers in service to the one who is greater than we are. 

We are invited to prepare the path for Christ in out hearts. All the valleys of the unspiritual habits and bad values and all the mountains of the prides and spiritual prides should be levelled. The ground in our heart should be levelled well and made it holy for the Messiah to be born in our hearts and he should be able to travel from us to others that they could cherish his Divine presence. The change of mind in repentance will help us deny ourselves and pleases him to be born in us.

Holy Mother Mary

Holy Mother Mary

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is easy to confuse with the feast of Annunciation. That is the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mather Mary through the overshadowing of the Spirit of God. Still more today’s gospel reading makes this  more difficult. The gospel reading is about God’s Annunciation to Mother Mary.

But today’s feast is not about the conception of Jesus. It is about the conception of Mary within the womb of her mother, St. Anne. So why does the Holy Mother Church presents the gospel reading of the Annunciation to Mary the Mother of Jesus? It is because of the first words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, “Hail, full of Grace.” Mary was full of Grace even before she consented to the Word becoming flesh within her. But why was she full of Grace, and how did this happen? These are the questions that the Holy Mother Church answers through the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

For our salvation, God decided to send his only begotten son, in the fullness of time, to be born as One of Us (Gal 4:4). The logos (Word) became flesh (Jn 1:14). The mankind had lost the intimate relationship with God in the garden of Eden. How could the Holy of Holies enter the womb of a person that was not holy? A person would have to be holy from the first moment of her conception. God can do all things. He made Mary holy at the moment of her conception within Anne. And she remained chaste after giving birth to Jesus for – “the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut” (Ezk. 44:3).

Theologians would call this prevenient grace, grace that anticipated the redemption of man by Jesus. When Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary made a new life, Mary’s life was made holy by God. That is the Immaculate Conception. That is why the angel said to Mary, “Hail, Full of Grace.” Mary was fully human. She was not a goddess. But she was human. She was someone who was made holy by the extraordinary grace of God. She had the ability to choose God’s way or to reject God’s way. When she said to the angel, “Be it done to me according to your will,” she was acting on the Grace she had received at her conception. This is what we celebrate today.

Many of us wear the miraculous medal. This was the image seen in a vision by St. Catherine LaBoure on Nov 27, 1830. Around the image of Mary are the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Because of her holiness, Mary has a special place among our spiritual brothers and sisters in heaven. She is the best of us. We do not worship Mary. We celebrate her place in heaven as we ask her to intercede for us. And so we say the Hail Mary and we pray, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” We are asking Mary to intercede for us with God at all times but particularly at the point of our death. We need to trust that she will intercede for us with her Son.

Patience: A Gift To The Powerful (Mark 13: 33-37)

PATIENCE: A GIFT TO THE POWERFUL

First Sunday of Advent (B)

3 December 2023 – Sunday

First Reading: Isaiah 63: 16b-17, 19b; 64: 2-7

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Second Reading: First Corinthians 1: 3-9

Alleluia: Psalms 85: 8

Gospel: Mark 13: 33-37

Today we begin the season of Advent. The Advent indicates the beginning of a new liturgical year of the Church. It is a new year of the Church. The Liturgical year of the church is different from that of the January 1st that marks the beginning of the new solar calendar or the Gregorian Calander. As the Gregorian calendar highlights the various events and occasions of every country in it’s own way, so also the church has it’s own liturgical Calander celebrating her various occasions through the Biblical readings. In a liturgical year the readings for Sunday Masses are arranged on a three-year cycle. Each year features a different Gospel—Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Readings from the Gospel of John are interspersed throughout all three years. On the first Sunday of Advent of this year, we begin cycle B of the Lectionary, which focuses our attention on the Gospel of Mark. This week and next week, our readings from Mark’s Gospel present two important Advent themes: the Lord’s return at the end of time and John the Baptist’s preparation for Jesus. 

On the whole, Advent is the season of hope for every Christian. The Scripture readings in this season teach us about the fulfilment of the promises prophesied by the prophets. The Messiah will come to return the whole universe and the humankind to God’s original plan. The thirst of the whole creation longs eagerly for the revelation of the Messiah (Rom 8:19). And that will be quenched by the celebration of his birth and life within our own lives. For this, we await, we watch, we prepare to celebrate. Preparation for the second coming of Christ is more important than celebrating Christmas day. And celebrating Pascha is far more important than the celebration of the Christmas. That’s why St Paul says, If Christ has not raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17).

The Season of Advent reminds us of the three-fold waiting for Jesus’ coming. We know that Jesus has already come in history and we remember that during the week before Christmas our waiting changes to waiting for our celebration of the birth of Jesus. We also wait for his final coming at the end times when he will take all to himself.  We also experience his daily coming into our life through the Eucharist, word of God and also in the various persons and events of life.

Scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel was written around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. Mark’s audience consisted of Christians who were living in difficult social and political times, times of conflict. They were likely beginning to face persecution as followers of Jesus. In this difficult time, it helped to recall that Jesus had foretold of such difficulties. Early Christian communities took courage from Jesus’ warning to remain alert and watchful, and diligent. They found in his words a way to persevere through suffering and patience. Today’s Gospel reminds us to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man and be alert and watchful in today’s struggles of our mother church and difficulties in our personal lives. We watch for the divine healer to come and lead us into his Love. We watch for the opportunities to unite ourselves closer to his love through prayer and sacrifice. The Gospel reading teaches us to have patience in spiritual tensions and not losing the temperament in the midst of hardships.

A tale is told about the Buddha, Gautama (563-483BC), the Indian prince and spiritual leader.  It is said that one day as usual he went for begging food in a village. At a gate of house, he said, “Mata bikshandehi, Buddham saranam gacchami, Sangham saranam gacchami. The lady of the house because of her irritation in the family, rushed out and shouted at him saying, “what is this new sense early in the morning”. Buddha said to her, “Mom, if you give me a little food and if I do not accept it, to whom does it belong?” Of course, it remains with me”, said the lady. “And if I do not accept your shouting to whom does it belong?” The lady could not respond. The realization was given to her.  Whenever a person tries to irritate us or unload their anger on us in the time of our waiting for Jesus, we can choose to decline the anger. The irritative words go back to the giver. Preparing to be watchful for Christ’s coming in this advent, Jesus asks all of us to be composed and diligent. To be on watch is to be aware each day, through prayer and reflection that the ‘today’ of salvation is here and now.

PERPETUAL KING OF THE UNIVERSE SAVES US

Solemnity Of Christ The King (A)

Ez 34:11-12,15-17 1st Cor 15:20-26,28  Mt 25:31-46

PERPETUAL KING OF THE UNIVERSE SAVES US

The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and is observed on the last Sunday of the liturgical year as it helps us to meditate on Christ the King and on his second coming, at the end of the world. Jesus Christ is  the King of Kings. His Kingdom does not follow the model of kingdoms of the earth. He is a conquering Messiah and his army is spiritual, not physical. He battles to restore life, not to destroy life. He came down from heaven to bring us to heaven. 

The great Anglican scholar C. S. Lewis wrote humorous essay about what would be our experience if we were admitted into heaven. He wrote that there would be a triple surprise, rather a triple shock. First, Lewis wrote, we would be surprised at the people in heaven, i.e., we would be shocked that there would be people who we never expect them to be there. The second surprise would be the shock at realizing that there would not be people we expected to be in heaven. The third surprise would be that we would be there with all our sins!! 

What surprises us in his serous essay mostly is that the people whom we do not expect would participate in God’s kingdom!! Because they are of good will and the Spirit of Christ. They reach out to others in charity, and in doing so, reach out to the very presence of Christ in others. There will be many in heaven whom we would not expect to be there.

The souls of those who did not expect to be in heaven asked Jesus in today's gospel, “But when have we seen you hungry or naked, or ill or imprisoned, Lord?” the Lord responds, “I was present in those who reached out to you for help,” Their exposure to Christ's presence in others afforded them the capacity for receiving his presence in themselves. 

There were two men who found this parable blessedly true. The one was Francis of Asissi - he was wealthy and high-born and high-spirited. But he was not happy. He felt that life was incomplete. One day as he was riding, met a leper, in the ugliness of his disease. Francis dismounted and flung his arms around the wretched sufferer, and in his arms the face of the leper changed to the face of Christ. 

The other was Martin of Tours. He was a Roman soldier and a Christian. On a cold winter day, as he was entering a city, a beggar stopped him and asked for alms. Martin had no money. But the beggar was blue and shivering with cold, and Martin gave what he had. He took off his soldier's coat, worn and frayed as it was. He cut it in two and gave half of it to the beggar. That night he had a dream.  He saw in it the heavenly places and all the angels and Jesus in the midst of them. And Jesus was wearing half of a Roman soldier’s cloak. One of the angels said to him, “Master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?” And Jesus answered softly, “My servant Martin gave it to me.”

Now, at the conclusion to the year we beg Jesu to help us recognize him in our world and to acknowledge his presence by reaching out to him in others. We seek the mercy of his continual grace drawing us out of ourselves and into his presence in the needy of his kingdom. Christ is our King. May we be true members of his Kingdom.

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, “Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.” The little girl said, “No, Dad. You hold my hand.” “What’s the difference?” asked the puzzled father.  “There’s a big difference,” replied the little girl. “If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.” Let us ask our king and savior to hold us well to face many hurdles in this new Liturgical year. Let us acknowledge the Kingship of Christ with the voice of Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro of Mexico who voiced strongly at his Martyrdom “Viva Cristo Rey”.