Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

“Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.” (Mark 3:5.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“Now as for the Lord’s saying: “Satan cannot drive out Satan,”3 lest perhaps anyone using the name of some of the lowest powers when driving out a demon should think this opinion of the Lord’s to be false, let him understand the point of this saying: Satan does spare the body or the senses of the body, but he tempts the senses for the purpose [NT Vol. II, p. 42] of dominating the will of the man in question, in a triumph of greater import, through the error of impiety. Satan does not strike for the body as such, but rather for the innermost self in order to work in him in the manner described by the apostle: “according to the prince of the power of this air, who is now active in the sons of disobedience.”4 For Satan was not troubling and tormenting the senses of their bodies, nor was he battering their bodies, but he was reigning in their wills, or better, in their covetousness.” (Eighty-three Different Questions, Question 79)

Collect

God our Creator,
we give thanks to You,
Who alone have the power
to impart the breath of life
as You form each of us in our mother’s womb;
grant, we pray,
that we, whom You have made stewards of creation,
may remain faithful to this sacred trust
and constant in safeguarding
the dignity of every human life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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The sanctity of marriage and the family

Second Vatican Council

An excerpt from Gaudium et Spes, 48.

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Husband and wife, by the covenant of marriage, are no longer two, but one flesh. By their intimate union of persons and of actions they give mutual help and service to each other, experience the meaning of their unity, and gain an ever deeper understanding of it day by day.

This intimate union in the mutual self-giving of two persons, as well as the good of the children, demands full fidelity from both, and an indissoluble unity between them.

Christ the Lord has abundantly blessed this richly complex love which springs from the divine source of love and is founded on the model of his union with the Church.

In earlier times God met his people in a covenant of love and fidelity. So now the Savior of mankind, the Bridegroom of the Church, meets Christian husbands and wives in the sacrament of matrimony. Further, he remains with them in order that, as he loved the Church and gave himself up for her, so husband and wife may, in mutual self-giving, love each other with perpetual fidelity.

True married love is caught up into God’s love; it is guided and enriched by the redeeming power of Christ and the saving action of the Church, in order that the partners may be effectively led to God and receive help and strength in the sublime responsibility of parenthood.

Christian partners are therefore strengthened, and as it were consecrated, by a special sacrament for the duties and the dignity of their state. By the power of this sacrament they fulfill their obligations to each other and to their family and are filled with the spirit of Christ. This spirit pervades their whole lives with faith, hope and love. Thus they promote their own perfection and each other’s sanctification, and so contribute together to the greater glory of God.

Hence, with parents leading the way by example and family prayer, their children—indeed, all within the family circle—will find it easier to make progress in natural virtues, in salvation and in holiness. Husband and wife, raised to the dignity and the responsibility of parenthood, will be zealous in fulfilling their task as educators, especially in the sphere of religious education, a task that is primarily their own.

Children, as active members of the family, contribute in their own way to the holiness of their parents. With the love of grateful hearts, with loving respect and trust, they will return the generosity of their parents and will stand by them as true sons and daughters when they meet with hardship and the loneliness of old age.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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The Kingdom of God

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, hē basileia tou Theou) is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.””

(Mark 1:14.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

What is the “Kingdom of Heaven (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, hē basileia tou Theou)?” Where is the “Kingdom of God?” Is the “Kingdom of God” just another word or synonym in the Gospels for Heaven? “The Kingdom of God” sparks many questions and rightly so. When searching the Gospels for “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven (which appears more often in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew),” one is amazed by the numerous references. Throughout the centuries, believers have pondered the meaning and implications of “the Kingdom of God” and scholars certainly have grappled with the phrase and filled library shelves with volumes of thought-provoking commentaries.

What can and must we do with the reality of “the Kingdom” in our day? In 1975, Pope Paul VI penned the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelizing in our Day). Early in the Exhortation, the venerable Bishop of Rome states: “As an evangelizer, Christ first of all proclaims a kingdom, the kingdom of God; and this is so important that, by comparison, everything else becomes “the rest,” which is “given in addition.” Only the kingdom therefore is absolute and it makes everything else relative. The Lord will delight in describing in many ways the happiness of belonging to this kingdom (a paradoxical happiness which is made up of things that the world rejects), the demands of the kingdom and its Magna Charta, the heralds of the kingdom, its mysteries, its children, the vigilance and fidelity demanded of whoever awaits its definitive coming (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8).” Clearly, Pope Paul VI sees “the Kingdom of God” has the central experience of Jesus’ Public Ministry; so central that everything in His ministry is grounded in “the Kingdom.” Similarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 541 through 556) examines the manifold depth of “the Kingdom” in Jesus’ Public Ministry. Based on these texts as well as other Catechetical Documents, the Roman Missal and the Sacred Scriptures, what follows is a working description (note: not a definition) of “the Kingdom of God” that has been helpful to undergraduates, deacon candidates, seminarians and believers.

1. ‘The “Kingdom of God” is God our Father intervening definitively in the created order through the Incarnation of His Son, Jesus.’ The Kingdom is not necessarily or strictly a specific place, although ‘place’ will be a dimension of the Kingdom as a way of living. The Kingdom is a way of living, an ongoing activity initiated by God the Father in loving concern for human beings created in His image and likeness because we have become addicted to sin in such a way that we cannot break free from its grip by our own power. We have come to enjoy sin too much. Sin’s tentacles have woven deeply into our lives that often we cannot see or think clearly. We may from time-to-time have great desires to rid ourselves of sin, desires that are marvelous but desires that do not contain within themselves the power to effect what is desired. More often than not, however, sin has dulled our senses to Divine Love. Sin has numbed us into complacency and entitlement to the point that we even approach the things of God and Church from a selfish point of view with no regard to the life of faith as engagement with the Divine Persons who call me as an individual and as a community to ongoing conversion manifesting charity and service to the Body of Christ. So powerless over sin, so addicted to the false self we have become that an intervention is needed: the “Kingdom of God.”

2. ‘This intervention is a work of power, a power that transforms and surpasses the power of Creation.’ God the Father’s work is quintessentially a work of restoration, not annihilation. Ask anyone in construction and he or she will tell you that it is often easier to raze a building and start over than to renovate or restore. Renovating an existing structure that does not have a level, plumb or square line in it makes restoration tedious and time consuming, not to mention the ‘surprises’ lurking behind old plaster and lathe. Yet ask any restorer when the project is complete and most likely she or he will tell you that in spite of its challenges and frustrations, it was and continues to be a labor of love. Such is the Kingdom. Neither Creation nor humanity is destroyed. The Creator does not raze the created order and begin anew. Even though humanity makes continuous choices reinforcing the addiction to sin, the Father – with eyes of loves – gazes upon each human person in such a way that each of us are declared “precious.” So precious are we in the sight of God the Father, that none of us are disposable, expendable or useless. Each of us has a particular vocation in the Father’s plan of salvation and our very being is so precious to the Father that the loving, transforming power of His Kingdom calls us from the addiction to our false selves to our true selves as icons of the Father’s love.

3. ‘This transforming power becomes a way of living grounded in the Person Jesus and thus not a specific ‘place’ that one can absolutely pinpoint. You cannot use Google Maps or a GPS device to find the Kingdom. The Kingdom is God the Father’s way of living. It is a way of living that is the Son, Jesus. He lives each moment of His life attentive to His Father’s word and will. Spending nights in communion with His Father, Jesus teaches with His life that Kingdom living is living joined, connected, related – whatever words you wish to use – to God the Father. As a way of living, the Kingdom is a radical embrace of the First Commandment: no one nor no thing nor anything we deem important comes before the Father or interferes with our relationship with Him. Kingdom living is life that provides the essentials to a sister or brother in need (Matthew 25:31-45) and celebrates, praise and thanks the Father for all that He is doing in life (see “Mary’s Canticle,” Luke 1:46-56). It is in this sense that one can speak of the Kingdom as ‘a place.’ Wherever one is when living as the Father commands, there is the Kingdom.

4. ‘The Kingdom, as a way of living, has been prepared by the prophets of Old.’ Many of the prophets called Israel to authentic worship, a message that is still quite valid despite present, misguided and weak arguments that attempt – erroneously – at a division between religion and spirituality. For the prophets, the spiritual relationship formed by the covenant necessarily bound one (religion) freely to observe and practice a continuous, ongoing change-of-heart. The prophets knew that the ‘energy’ required to live justly as a covenant person did not come from within a person by himself or herself. Such living depended upon the mercy of God celebrated and experienced in authentic worship. Such worship then propelled one to be an instrument of charitable service in the world acting, not on one’s own initiative and power, in the name of God.

5. ‘The Kingdom, as a way of living, is now definitely revealed and embodied in Jesus’. Here, all ambiguity concerning the Kingdom is erased. The Kingdom is essentially a Person, the Person Jesus: “only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 426).” The Incarnation makes the Kingdom a reality in the created order to effect the Father’s loving transformation of everything, most especially the human heart. Responding and living the love revealed to us in Christ Jesus is the essential work and live of the “Kingdom of God.”

Is there more to be said about the Kingdom? Certainly – but more importantly the Kingdom is not intended for study but for living — and a specific way of living that is grounded in a Person, the Person Jesus. While some of these reflections may give us some insight, such insight is always directed to worshipping God the Father and serving one another in the name of Jesus Christ with the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

“ When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.” (Jonah 3:10.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint Clement of Rome writes:

“These things, dearly beloved, we are writing, not only to warn you but also to remind ourselves; for we are in the same arena, and the same contest lies before us. For this reason let us abandon empty and silly concerns and come to the glorious and holy rule of our tradition. Let us see what is good and pleasing and acceptable in the sight of our Maker. Let us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ and realize how precious it is to his Father, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world. Let us look back over all the generations and learn that from generation to generation the Lord has given an opportunity of repentance to all who would return to him. Noah preached penance, and those who heeded were saved. Then Jonah announced destruction to the Ninevites and they repented of their sins, besought God in prayer and, estranged though they were from God, obtained salvation.” (I Clement, 7.)


A reflection on the Kingdom of God for this Sunday.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions
according to Your good pleasure,
that in the name of Your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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The pure oblation of the Church

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from his Against Heresies (Book 4)

Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

The oblation of the Church, which the Lord taught was to be offered throughout the whole world, has been regarded by God as a pure sacrifice, and is acceptable to him. Not that he needs sacrifice from us, but the one who makes the offering himself receives glory in his offering, provided that his gift is accepted. Through a gift both honor and love are shown to a king.

The Lord wants us to make our offering in all sincerity and freedom from sin. He declared this when he said: When, therefore, you offer your gift at the altar and remember that your brothers holds something against you, leave your gift before the altar, and first go and be reconciled with your brother; and then come back and offer your gift.

We must offer God the first fruits of his creation, as Moses said: You will not come empty-handed into the presence of the Lord your God. In showing gratitude to God for his gifts man is to be accounted pleasing to God, and so receive the honor that comes from God.

It is not oblations as such that have met with disapproval. There were oblations of old; there are oblations now. There were sacrifices among the people of Israel; there are sacrifices in the Church. Only the kind of oblation has been changed: now it is offered by freemen, not by slaves. There is one and the same Lord, but the character of an oblation made by slaves is distinctive, so too that of an oblation made by sons: their oblations bear the mark of freedom.

With God there is nothing without purpose, nothing without its meaning and reason. Thus the people of Israel used to dedicate tithes of their possessions. But those who have been given freedom devote what they possess to the Lord’s use. They give it all to him, not simply what is of lesser value, cheerfully and freely because they hope for greater things, like the poor widow who put into God’s treasury her whole livelihood.

We must make oblation to God, and in all things be found pleasing to God the Creator, in sound teaching, in sincere faith, in firm hope, in ardent love, as we offer the first fruits of the creatures that are his. The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator when it makes its offering to him from his creation, with thanksgiving.

We offer him what is his, and so we proclaim communion and unity and profess our belief in the resurrection of flesh and spirit. Just as bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, made up of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly, so also our bodies, in receiving the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, for they have the hope of resurrection.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

“David’s servants said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you: I will deliver your enemy into your hand; do with him as you see fit.” So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s robe...” (1 Samuel 24:5.)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa (part 2 of the background of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is found here) offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Mass Psalm:

“When, therefore, he was alone and had removed his robe and laid it down somewhere beside him, the light from the mouth of the cave made him visible to those hidden within the darkness. All of David’s companions wanted to rush upon the enemy and avenge themselves on the one who had come to kill them, since God had given the enemy into the hands of those who were being pursued for slaughter. But David forbade them to attack, considering an assault against their king unlawful. He drew his own sword from its sheath and imperceptibly stood behind Saul. There was no witness to his undertaking against Saul, for the darkness in the cave concealed his appearance and prevented scrutiny of what was happening. When, then, he could have driven his whole sword through Saul’s heart from behind with one blow, he neither touched his body nor was he about to. But he secretly cut off the end of his robe with his sword, so that the garment might be a witness later of his clemency toward Saul and prove the power that he had had to strike a blow against Saul’s body by means of the cut at its end.

By this it became obvious that David had been trained in forbearance. When he held the bare sword in his palm, and the body of his enemy lay under his hand, he had the power to kill him, but he conquered his anger with reason, and his power to strike the blow with the fear of God. Not only did he become superior to his own anger, but he also restrained his shield bearer who was eager to murder Saul, addressing him with that saying famous in song, “Destroy not the anointed of the Lord.” (On the Inscriptions of the Psalms, 2.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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All our love must be for God

Saint Diadochus of Photice

Bishop

An excerpt from On Spiritual Perfection

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

No one who is in love with himself is capable of loving God. The man who loves God is the one who mortifies his self-love for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of divine love. Such a man never seeks his own glory but only the glory of God. If a person loves himself he seeks his own glory, but the man who loves God loves the glory of his Creator. Anyone alive to the love of God can be recognized from the way he constantly strives to glorify him by fulfilling all his commandments and by delighting in his own abasement. Because of his great majesty it is fitting that God should receive glory, but if he hopes to win God’s favor it becomes man to be humble. If we possess this love for God, we too will rejoice in his glory as Saint John the Baptist did, and we shall never stop repeating: His fame must increase, but mine must diminish.

I know a man who, though lamenting his failure to love God as much as he desires, yet loves him so much that his soul burns with ceaseless longing for God to be glorified, and for his own complete effacement. This man has no feeling of self importance even when he receives praise. So deep is his desire to humble himself that he never even thinks of his own dignity. He fulfills his priestly duty by celebrating the Liturgy, but his intense love for God is an abyss that swallows up all consciousness of his high office. His humility makes him oblivious of any honor it might bring him, so that in his own estimation he is never anything but a useless servant. Because of his desire for self abasement, he regards himself as though degraded from his office. His example is one that we ourselves should follow by fleeing from all honor and glory for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of God’s love, for he has loved us so much!

Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God. In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. When this awareness is keen it makes whoever possesses it long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones. He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God.

Such a man lives in this life and at the same time does not live in it, for although he still inhabits his body, he is constantly leaving it in spirit because of the love that draws him toward God. Once the love of God has released him from self-love, the flame of divine love never ceases to burn in his heart and he remains united to God by an irresistible longing. As the Apostle says: If we are taken out of ourselves it is for the love of God; if we are brought back to our senses it is for your sake.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot

“Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.” (Mark 3:5.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” Then he challenged the Pharisees as to whether it would be lawful to do good on the sabbath. Note the tender compassion of the Lord when he deliberately brought the man with the withered hand right into their presence.6 He hoped that the mere sight of the misfortune might soften them, that they might become a little less spiteful by seeing the affliction, and perhaps out of sorrow mend their own ways. But they remained callous and unfeeling. They preferred to do harm to the name of Christ than to see this poor man made whole. They betrayed their wickedness not only by their hostility to Christ, but also by their doing so with such contentiousness that they treated with disdain his mercies to others.” (The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Homily 40)

Collect

O God,
Who brought the Abbot Saint Anthony
to serve You
by a wondrous way of life in the desert,
grant, through his intercession,
that, denying ourselves,
we may always love You above all things.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

“He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?” (Mark 2:25.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“It is foolish to believe the Evangelist’s account that he ate and not to believe that he was really hungry. Yet it does not follow that everyone who eats is hungry. For we read that even an angel ate, but we do not read that he was hungry. Nor does it follow that everyone who is hungry eats. He may either restrain himself due to some obligation or lack food or the means to eat. Now, just as the fact that Jesus ate food is unintelligible without a body, so the fact that he felt hunger is impossible without a soul.” (Against the Apollinarians, Question 80)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading
of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon...” (John 1:39)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The statement “We have found the Messiah” affirms that the report about him was circulating and came from the time of the Magi; it was renewed by John who had baptized him, and by the witness of the Spirit. Then he was again left alone in his fast of forty days. For that reason, the souls of the chosen ones were filled with a desire for a report concerning him. They were indeed his instruments, as he said, “You were chosen by me before the world.” He chose Galileans, a people without education, whom the prophets proclaimed as “dwellers in darkness,” for they had seen the light, so that he could bring reproach on those who were learned in the law. “For he chose the foolish of the world, so that through them he might put the wise to shame.”” (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron, 4)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading
of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

“Therefore all the elders of Israel assembled and went to Samuel at Ramah... ” (1 Samuel 8:4.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Second Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“To some, indeed, who lack patience, the Lord God, in his wrath, grants them what they ask, just as, on the other hand, he refused it to his apostle, in his mercy. We read what and how the Israelites asked and received, but, when their lust had been satisfied, their lack of patience was severely punished. And when they asked, he gave them a king, as it is written, according to their heart, but not according to his heart. These things are written that no one may think well of himself if his prayer is heard, when he has asked impatiently for what it would be better for him not to receive, and that no one may be cast down and may despair of the divine mercy toward him if his prayer has not been heard, when he has, perhaps, asked for something which would bring him more bitter suffering if he received it or would cause his downfall if he were ruined by prosperity. In such circumstances, then, we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” (Letter 130)

Collect

Attend to the pleas of your people
with heavenly care,
O Lord, we pray,
that they may see what must be done
and gain strength
to do what they have seen.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Baptism of the Lord, Feast

“So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“For my thoughts are not like the thoughts of human beings, and as far as the heaven is from the earth, so much are my thoughts separated from the thoughts of human beings. For I am extremely gracious and very much for forgiving — so that once I have promised and it has come out of my mouth, it will not be void, but everything will be completed through its efficacy.” According to the anagogical sense, there is a double meaning here, because the Word of the Lord or he about whom it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.”16 God’s word does not return to him void, only through his doing the will of his Father as he filled all things on account of which he had become embodied and reconciled the world to God. He is the One who is said to proceed out of his mouth and out of the womb and vulva, not that God has bodily parts like that but so that we learn the nature of the Lord through our words. Or it indeed could be said that the word of gospel teaching may be called “rainstorms” and the rain that the spiritual clouds pour over the good earth, where the truth of God has reached.” (Commentary on Isaiah, 15)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
Who, when Christ had been baptized
in the River Jordan
and as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him,
solemnly declared him Your Beloved Son,
grant that Your children by adoption,
reborn of water and the Holy Spirit,
may always be well pleasing to You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

God became man so that man might become God

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from Sermon 13 in the Christmas Season

Christmas Weekday, Saturday before Epiphany

Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal creator of all things, today became our Savior by being born of a mother. Of his own will he was born for us today, in time, so that he could lead us to his Father's eternity. God became man so that man might become God. The Lord of the angels became man today so that man could eat the bread of angels.

Today, the prophecy is fulfilled that said: Pour down, heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just one: let the earth be opened and bring forth a savior. The Lord who had created all things is himself now created, so that he who was lost would be found. Thus man, in the words of the psalmist confesses: Before I was humbled, I sinned. Man sinned and became guilty; God is born a man to free man from his guild. Man fell, but God descended; man fell miserably, but God descended mercifully; man fell through pride, God descended with his grace.

My brethren, what miracles! What prodigies! The laws of nature are changed in the case of man. God is born. A virgin becomes pregnant with man. The Word of God marries the woman who knows no man. She is now at the same time both mother and virgin. She becomes a mother, yet she remains a virgin. The virgin bears a son, yet she does not know man; she remains untouched, yet she is not barren. He alone was born without sin for she bore him without the embrace of a man, not by the concupiscence of the flesh but by the obedience of the mind.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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Saint John Neumann, Bishop (Feast in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia USA)

“To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some...” (1 Corinthians 9:22, Reading proper for the Feast)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“He who did not think it robbery to be equal with God took the nature of a slave. He became all things to all men to bring salvation to all. Paul, an imitator of him, lived as if outside the law while remaining accountable to the law. He spent his life for the advantage of those he wished to win. He willingly became weak for the weak in order to strengthen them. He ran the race to overtake them.” (Letter 54)

Collect

O God,
Who called the Bishop
Saint John Neumann,
renowned for his
charity and pastoral service,
to shepherd your people in America,
grant by his intercession
that, as we foster the
Christian education of youth
and are strengthened
by the witness of brotherly love,
we may constantly increase
the family of your Church.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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A mystery ever new

Saint Maximus the Confessor

Abbot

An excerpt from his Five Hundred Chapters

Christmas Weekday, Wednesday before Epiphany

The Word of God, born once in the flesh (such is his kindness and his goodness), is always willing to be born spiritually in those who desire him. In them he is born as an infant as he fashions himself in them by means of their virtues. He reveals himself to the extent that he knows someone is capable of receiving him. He diminishes the revelation of his glory not out of selfishness but because he recognizes the capacity and resources of those who desire to see him. Yet, in the transcendence of mystery, he always remains invisible to all.

For this reason the apostle Paul, reflecting on the power of the mystery, said: Jesus Christ, yesterday and today; he remains the same for ever. For he understands the mystery as ever new, never growing old through our understanding of it.

Christ is God, for he had given all things their being out of nothing. Yet he is born as man by taking to himself our nature, flesh endowed with intelligent spirit. A star glitters by day in the East and leads the wise men to the place where the incarnate Word lies, to show that the Word, contained in the Law and the Prophets, surpasses in a mystical way knowledge derived from the senses, and to lead the Gentiles to the full light of knowledge.

For surely the word of the Law and the Prophets when it is understood with faith is like a star which leads those who are called by the power of grace in accordance with his decree to recognize the Word incarnate.

Here is the reason why God became a perfect man, changing nothing of human nature, except to take away sin (which was never natural anyway). His flesh was set before that voracious, gaping dragon as bait to provoke him: flesh that would be deadly for the dragon, for it would utterly destroy him by the power of the Godhead hidden within it. For human nature, however, his flesh would restore human nature to its original grace.

Just as the devil had poisoned the tree of knowledge and spoiled our nature by its taste, so too, in presuming to devour the Lord’s flesh he himself is corrupted and is completely destroyed by the power of the Godhead hidden within it.

The great mystery of the divine incarnation remains a mystery for ever. How can the Word made flesh be essentially the same person that is wholly with the Father? How can he who is by nature God become by nature wholly man without lacking either nature, neither the divine by which he is God nor the human by which he became man?

Faith alone grasps these mysteries. Faith alone is truly the substance and foundation of all that exceeds knowledge and understanding.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

“... he [Simeon] took him [Jesus] into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word...” (Luke 2:28-29)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:

“The Son came to the servant not to be presented by the servant, but so that, through the Son, the servant might present to his Lord the priesthood and prophecy that had been entrusted to his keeping. Prophecy and priesthood, which had been given through Moses, were both passed down, and came to rest on Simeon. He was a pure vessel who consecrated himself, so that, like Moses, he too could contain them both. These were feeble vessels that accommodated great gifts — gifts that one might contain because of their goodness but that many cannot accept, because of their greatness. Simeon presented our Lord, and in him he presented the two gifts he had, so that what had been given Moses in the desert was passed on by Simeon in the temple. Because our Lord is the vessel in which all fullness dwells,15 when Simeon presented him to God, he poured out both of these upon him: the priesthood from his hands and prophecy from his lips. The priesthood had always been on Simeon’s hands, because of ritual purifications. Prophecy, in fact, dwelt on his lips because of revelations. When both of these saw the Lord of both of these, they were combined and were poured into the vessel that could accommodate them both, in order to contain priesthood, kingship and prophecy.

That infant who was wrapped in swaddling clothes by virtue of his goodness was also dressed in priesthood and prophecy by virtue of his majesty. Simeon dressed him in these and presented him to the one who had dressed him in swaddling clothes. Then, as the old man returned him to his mother, he returned the priesthood with him. And when he prophesied to her about him: “This child is destined for the downfall and rising,” he gave her prophecy with him as well.

So Mary took her firstborn and left. Although he was visibly wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was invisibly clothed with prophecy and priesthood. Thus, what Moses had been given was received from Simeon, and it remained and continued with the Lord of these two gifts. The former steward and the final treasurer handed over the keys of priesthood and prophecy to the one in authority over the treasury of both of these. This is why his Father gave him the Spirit without measure,16 because all measures of the Spirit are under his hand. And to indicate that he received the keys from the former stewards, our Lord said to Simon, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”17 Now how could he give them to someone unless he had received them from someone else? So the keys he had received from Simeon the priest, he gave to another Simeon, the apostle. So even though the Jewish nation did not listen to the first Simeon, the Gentile nations would listen to the other Simeon.” (Homily on Our Lord, 53)

Collect

O God, Who were pleased to give us
the shining example of the Holy Family,
graciously grant that we may imitate them
in practicing the virtues of family life
and in the bonds of charity,
and so, in the joy of your house,
delight one day in eternal rewards.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

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When is “an inn” not “an inn”?

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“ … and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and “… and laid (ἀνέκλινεν, aneklinen) him in a manger (ἐν φάτνη, en phatne), because there was no room for them in the inn (ἐν τῷ καταλύματι, en to katalumati).”

(Luke 2:7.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

For many reasons the account of Jesus’ birth, as recorded by the Evangelist Saint Luke, is the sine qua non of Scripture at this time of year. Many who will participate in the Christmas Mass During the Night will hear this familiar proclamation and others who particiate earlier or tomorrow will hear at different Gospel proclamation and wonder, ‘what about the stable and manger’? Saint Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth is deeply engrained in the Christian psyche and courtesy of the tradition most probably begun by Saint Francis of Assisi and the first ‘Nativity Scene,’ images of the Christmas characters are well known to many who will celebrate the Christmas mysteries. But this familiarity does pose a unique challenge, namely, a thought or an attitude ‘Oh, I know this one ...’ and then drift off in a distracted thought or two. Knowing and being familiar with a Gospel episode is good — AND (not but!) — in grace, we also must permit ourselves to be drawn to a deeper consideration of the inspired Word of God.

Various scholars have noted that the evangelist Saint Luke employed 2 distinct Greek words in the Gospel when it came to “an inn.” In the parable popularly titled The Good Samaritan, the man who fell among robbers was brought to “an inn.” “Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn (εἰς πανδοχεῖον, eis pandocheiov) and cared for him.” An inn (πανδοχεῖον) in the biblical era served multiple functions. It was a place where hospitality was offered to all people but particularly travelers and those not familiar with the area. An inn (πανδοχεῖον) also served as a ‘stopping place’ where one could find lodging for a period of time, similar to our experiences of B&B’s (Bed and Breakfasts). While an inn (πανδοχεῖον) would not be one’s permanent place of living, there was no stipulation on the amount of time one could stay, provided one could pay for the accommodations. Finally, as an extension of hospitality [biblical hospitality, similar to biblical mercy, is an act providing all the minimal necessities needed for life], an inn (πανδοχεῖον) could serve as a place of healing and recuperation, somewhat similar to our experience of a hospital. In the parable, the inn (πανδοχεῖον) served as a place for healing the victim’s wounds and enabling him to become whole once again because the Good Samaritan and innkeeper intervened on his behalf. As far as Saint Luke’s inspired writing of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, however, Mary and Joseph do not stop at an inn (πανδοχεῖον). The ‘inn’ that has no room is not an inn (πανδοχεῖον) but more precisely a room (κατάλυμα, kataluma).

True, there is good scholarly support to translate κατάλυμα (kataluma) as “inn” but it is ‘an inn’ with a slightly different sense than πανδοχεῖον (pandocheion). When κατάλυμα (kataluma) is translated as a type of lodging space, the emphasis is decidedly temporary and the space is not one’s own. Hence in Greek antiquity, κατάλυμα (kataluma) more often referred to a ‘dining-room’ or a ‘guest room.’ Elsewhere in the Gospel, Luke used the term κατάλυμα (kataluma) to describe the place of the Last Supper (as did the evangelist Saint Mark) “... and say to the master of the house, ‘The teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room (κατάλυμα, kataluma) where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ (Luke 22:11) Here, the ‘room’ is both temporary (Jesus and His ‘guests’ will only be there for a short period of time) and used as an eating place. In this way, the dual understanding of κατάλυμα (kataluma) is found throughout the pages of the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel, for example, Samuel invites Saul into a room of guests, seats him at the head and then has food brought to them, they lodged there for the night and then went on their way the next day (1 Samuel 9:21-27). Again the emphasis appears to favor eating in a temporary space. If resting, sleeping or lodging happens it will be for a short time period.

So, how do the ‘dots connect’ when all of this is applied to Mary and Joseph? Permit an additional examination of κατάλυμα (kataluma). As a Greek verb, καταλύω (kataluo) conveys a sense of ‘stopping an action,’ ‘halting progress,’ or ‘interrupting - particularly when it comes to a journey.’ Even when using the translations ‘stopping, halting, or interrupting’ the original sense of the Greek καταλύω (kataluo) is that these actions are not final. Hence, stopping will be accompanied by re-starting; halting will be complemented by continuing and interrupting will eventually give way to an ongoing journey. As far as Saint Luke is concerned, the verb καταλύω (kataluo) and the noun (κατάλυμα kataluma) offer a penetrating insight into Jesus’ birth.

Mary and Joseph are no doubt on a journey, a journey the Sacred Text states is to register. But that journey is interrupted (καταλύω kataluo) by the impending birth of Jesus Who is “Savior” (Luke 2:11) and “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). It makes sense to stop and nature will even demand that Mary stops to give birth. Yet while “no room for them in the inn” seems inhospitable, cold, callous and downright rude, it does make sense in light of this study. Mary and Joseph cannot interrupt their journey at and in this inn (κατάλυμα kataluma) for lodging because Mary’s Son IS rest, comfort and refreshment (consider Psalm 95, Hebrews 4:1-11 and Matthew 11:25-30). Mary and Joseph cannot halt their journey at and in this inn (κατάλυμα kataluma) because Jesus is not a temporary guest. He is the permanent Host Who invites all to His Table to be reconciled to His Father and one another (the theme of Table Fellowship so abundant in the Gospel according to Saint Luke). Mary and Joseph cannot stop at and in this inn (κατάλυμα kataluma) to eat food, because Mary’s Son IS the “Bread of Life” (John 6) a point intensified by the fact that once Jesus is born He is placed in a feeding trough, a vessel that provides food for all the animals (see a previous year’s reflection).

We can rejoice this Christmas that there was “no room in the inn.” While our lives will be interrupted more times than we can count, many of which are beyond control, we do have control over where we will ‘stay’ when life gets interrupted. Will I seek a place that offers me a ‘quick fix’ of temporary pleasure so that I can feel good? Will I seek the ‘junk food’ of sin and selfishness that judges and objectifies others so that I feel good about myself? Hopefully the interruption in life that brings you to a Church this Christmas will be the Encounter with Jesus, the Lord of Life and Love Who promises - with His own life - an eternal, permanent love grounded in His Real Presence no longer in a feeding trough in Bethlehem but in the very Sacrament of Himself so mind-bogglingly made available to us as His ultimate Christmas gift to each of us!

Solemnity of the Nativity of The Lord (At the Vigil Mass)

“Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations...” (Matthew 1:17.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

“This particular number of generations, totaling forty, is a sign of that laborious period in which, under the discipline of Christ the King, we will continue to fight against the devil. The same number was foreshadowed in both the law and the prophets, who had already solemnized a fast of forty days for the humbling of the soul (this pattern was firmly set in the narratives of Moses and Elijah, each of whom fasted for forty days). The Gospel narrative itself then again foreshadowed this same number in the fast of the Lord himself, during his forty days of temptation by the devil. What else does this narrative show than that condition of temptation which pertains to us through all the space of this age? Christ bore this temptation in the flesh when he condescended to take upon himself our own mortality.

Add to this also that after his resurrection, it was his will to remain with his disciples on the earth not longer than forty days. During this time he continued to mingle his resurrected life with theirs in the form of human intercourse. He shared with them food, which mortals need for life, even though he himself would never die. All this was done with the view of signifying to them through these forty days that although his presence would be later hidden from their eyes, he would yet fulfill what he promised when he said, “I am with you, even to the end of the world.”

There may be other and subtler methods of accounting for the length of this age, but the most apparent anticipations within the natural order of this number are the seasons of the years, which revolve in four successive alternations. Note also the fact that the world itself has its bounds determined by four divisions (which Scripture sometimes designates by the names of the winds, east and west, north or south). The number forty then is four times the cycle-completing number ten. The number ten, of course, is itself made up by adding one, two, three and four together.” (Harmony of the Gospels, 2)

Collect

O God, Who gladden us year by year
as we wait in hope for our redemption,
grant that, just as we joyfully welcome
Your Only Begotten Son as our Redeemer,
we may also merit to face Him confidently
when He comes again as our Judge.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Fourth Sunday of Advent

“And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you...” (Luke 1:28)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“The angel greeted Mary with a new address, which I could not find anywhere else in Scripture. I ought to explain this expression briefly. The angel says, “Hail, full of grace.” … I do not remember having read this word elsewhere in Scripture. An expression of this kind, “Hail, full of grace,” is not addressed to a male. This greeting was reserved for Mary alone.” (Homilies on the Gospel of Luke, 6)

Collect

Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord,
Your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom
the Incarnation of Christ Your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by His Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Saturday of the Third Week of Advent - 23 December: O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,
desire of the nations, Savior of all people,
come and set us free, Lord our God.

“Now I am sending my messenger — he will prepare the way before me; and the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire — see, he is coming! says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Someone else will appeal to the text, “Let us make man according to our image and likeness,” and maintain that whatever is made according to God’s image and likeness is man. To support this, numberless instances are adduced to show that in Scripture “man” and “angel” are used indifferently and that the same subject is called both angel and man. This is true of the three who were entertained by Abraham and of the two who came to Sodom. In the whole course of Scripture, persons are styled sometimes men, sometimes angels. Those who hold this view will say that since persons are styled angels who are manifestly men, as when Zechariah says, “The messenger of the Lord, I am with you, says the Lord almighty,” and as it is written of John the Baptist, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,” the angels (messengers) of God are so called on account of their nature. Scripture confirms this view that the names applied to higher powers are not those of species of living beings but those of the orders, assigned by God to this and to that reasonable being.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 2.)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
as we see how the Nativity of your Son
according to the flesh draws near,
we pray that to us, your unworthy servants,
mercy may flow from your Word,
who chose to become flesh of the Virgin Mary
and establish among us his dwelling,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Monday of the Third Week of Advent

“See, days are coming when I will raise up a righteous branch for David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5)

Pope Saint Leo the Great offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“There was only one remedy in the secret of the divine plan that could help the fallen living in the general ruin of the entire human race. This remedy was that one of the sons of Adam should be born free and innocent of original transgression, to prevail for the rest by his example and by his merits. This was not permitted by natural generation. There could be no clean offspring from our faulty stock by this seed. The Scripture says, “Who can make a clean thing conceived of an unclean seed? Isn’t it you alone?” David’s Lord was made David’s Son, and from the fruit of the promised branch sprang. He is one without fault, the twofold nature coming together into one person. By this one and the same conception and birth sprung our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom was present both true Godhead for the performance of mighty works and true manhood for the endurance of sufferings.” (Sermon 28)

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who are weighed down from of old
by slavery beneath the yoke of sin,
may be set free by the newness
of the long-awaited Nativity
of Your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 
 
 
 

Proclaim the victory of “glad tidings” by care for the poor

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“The spirit (רוּחַ ruach) of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed (מָשַׁח mashach) me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar) 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...

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation (יָשַׁע yasha)
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
nd a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations (Isaiah 61:10-11).”

(Isaiah  61:1-10)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

When was the last time you greated someone with “glad tidings” or a person offered you with the same greeting? The question would be the same if “glad tidings” was substituted by the word gospel. Many Christians tend to think the word gospel is unique to the Christian experience bearing the names Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Historically, the English word that comes to us as gospel has a rich foundation in the cultures of the Ancient Near East as well as the Persian and Greek military empires. In the pages of the Old Testament, glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar) is often associated with war, particularly victory. The victor and citizens sing the “glad tidings” of a new way of living that the victory has effected. More specifically, numerous uses of glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar) in the Old Testament focus on David as victor in battle or protected against the enemies of Israel. Accounts of victorious battles or protection from those who sought to kill him were often couched in the language of glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar).

Around the time of Alexander the Great when a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures occurred (a text known as the Septuagint and commonly abbreviated by the Roman numeral LXX (70) because it is believed that 70 elders were involved in the production of the Greek translation) “to bring glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar)” was translated εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo, gospel) “To announce good news” in the Persian-Greek era was to announce victory over one’s enemy or enemies. In time, the use of εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo, gospel) appeared to be somewhat restricted to news of victory concluding a war. While there were (and still are!) many events that constituted “good news,” Alexander’s time opted for a more restrictive identity of “good news” linked to a victorious end of a war or military campaign.

Prior to Alexander the Great and still within the Tradition of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Advent’s Prophet of Hope made use of glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar), especially in the chapters beginning at 40. In the Isaian text proclaimed last week, “glad tidings (בָּשַׂר bāsar)” was news intimately linked to freedom from captivity, a freedom that resulted from the transformation (not annihilation) of obstacles. “Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings (בָּשַׂר basar); cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news (בָּשַׂר basar)! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care (Isaiah 40:9-11).”

True to his time and culture, Isaiah conveys a sense of the military (“power,” and “rules by his strong arm”) but notice the other aspect: the ‘good news’ of feeding, carrying and leading. These actions are at the heart of living, especially in and on a land that is often hostile to life. These actions became concrete images in the Old Testament describing (never defining, that is, limiting) the experience of salvation (יָשַׁע yasha or yesha [the Hebrew root of Jesus!]). Salvation (יָשַׁע yasha) in the context of the Old Testament is about living on a land that is broad and wide, not hemmed in by a tight space. On this land that is broad and wide, one has sufficient resources for a family to live: sufficient drinking water for family, livestock and crops. One has sufficient food for family and herd. Sufficient clothing and housing offers protection from nature (a scorching sun by day and surprisingly cold night) and criminals. For Isaiah this was all experienced as pure and complete gift from a Providential God of Love.

For Isaiah, this proclamation of glad tidings (בָּשַׂר basar) is an act of creation. It brings into existence and establishes order and harmony that did not exist prior to the proclamation. Glad tidings (בָּשַׂר basar) is power that transforms even the most colossal obstacle into a vehicle of life and love. It is for this reason that one is anointed (מָשַׁח mashach). The concrete image of an abundant ‘rubbing oil into’ (not a passive pouring of drops) equips the recipient with the power necessary to call being into existence. That is truly the work of Messiah whose root in Hebrew is means “anointed.” The Messiah whose birth we prepare to celebrate reminds us that we too have been anointed for mission through Baptism and Confirmation (and Ordination). Following the initiative of and working with the Holy Spirit, we model John the Baptist in speaking a word to burn complacency from our midst as the glad tidings of Divine Love are breathed into a waiting world and longing hearts.

Preface II of Advent

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

For all the oracles of the prophets foretold him,
the Virgin Mother longed for him
with love beyond all telling,
John the Baptist sang of his coming
and proclaimed his presence when he came.
It is by his gift that already we rejoice
at the mystery of his Nativity,
so that he may find us watchful in prayer
and exultant in his praise.

And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim: ...

Collect

O God, Who see how Your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen