ALWAYS BE THANKFUL

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY - Colossians 3:12-21

On this Sunday after Christmas, we are invited to reflect on the family, as we look to the Holy Family of Nazareth, that is Jesus’ family. In this present time, the family is under siege, being attacked on many fronts. Family is the foundation of society and when that foundation starts disintegrating, society becomes sick. The love commitment of a man and a woman is at the centre of the human family and it is that committed love that gives them the strength to be at the service of life. Children who are unable to be nurtured in that love will grow up suffering from an injury difficult to heal. However, nowadays, fewer and fewer people are ready to commit themselves to a permanent and stable relationship in marriage. Divorce is like an infection that destroys the immunity of love in marriage. And what we have now is an increasing number of couples who just live together, refusing to tie the knot and assume a public commitment. 

The spread of acceptance and normalisation of homosexual behaviour has led many Western societies to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual committed relationships. However, life cannot be brought forth from those relationships. If that became the rule for most of the men and women of this world, the world would have no future. Being created in the image of God, we are called to be creators of life. When we choose to ignore and despise God’s order, we sow the seeds of self-destruction. With the gender ideology being implemented in schools and forced down our throats, our society is choosing a path that will lead those who act upon it to infertility and the impossibility of constituting a family. As we celebrate the Holy Family, let us accept God’s call to manifest his glory in our families.

In the second reading, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul teaches about basic attitudes to build a community that should be like a family. The commandment of love is the rule that must guide our attitudes: 

“… and you should be clothed 

in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. 

Bear with one another; 

forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; 

now you must do the same. 

Over all these clothes,

 to keep them together and complete them, 

put on love. 

And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. 

Always be thankful.”

May the Lord grant you peace and joy.

And thanks be to God for all his blessings.

THERE IS A CHILD BORN TO US

CHRISTMAS - THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST - Is 9:1-7; Lk 2:1-14

Isaiah gives the tone for this great celebration: there is a child born to us, a son given to us. He is the Prince-of-Peace. In him, the powers of darkness will be defeated.

Let us renew our hope by meditating on the words of Isaiah: 

For there is a child born for us,

a son given to us

and dominion is laid on his shoulders;

and this is the name they give him:

Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

Wide is his dominion

in a peace that has no end,

for the throne of David

and for his royal power,

which he establishes and makes secure

in justice and integrity.

From this time onwards and for ever,

the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this. - Is 9:6-7

And let us sing with the angels: 

Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace to men who enjoy his favour.

To all of you: May the child Jesus grant you a Christmas full of joy and peace, and may He fill you with his blessings for the new year.

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Luke 1:26-38

In the Advent season, through the biblical readings chosen for us by the Church, we are called to have a good look at these important figures: Isaiah, John the Baptist, Joseph and Mary. The prophet Isaiah presents the great promises of God - the promise of salvation which is to be fulfilled by the Messiah, who comes as the prince of peace. The words of Isaiah fill us with hope directing our gaze towards the future and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist invites us to abandon the easy life revolving around ourselves and move to the desert where confronted by God, we have to look at ourselves and accept our fragility and sinfulness. John came to initiate a renewal movement, calling on people to repent and convert, thus preparing themselves for the coming of the Messiah. John put his whole life at the service of the Messiah, giving witness to him with his word and his life. Besides Isaiah and John the Baptist, we are invited to look at Joseph the carpenter who had betrothed Mary of Nazareth. It may seem that he is not important and he appears and goes like a dim flash. Despite his silence, he is always present and, in the most difficult moments, he takes responsibility for the protection both of Jesus and Mary. They could lean upon him and in him find refuge. He was a faithful and reliable man. 

Finally, on this last Sunday of Advent, we are called to look at Mary, the virgin from Nazareth. She was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, the mother of the Lord, as Elisabeth recognised. Being the chosen of God, she was filled with blessings, being indeed “the favoured one” (Lk 1:28): Despite that, she needed the angel to explain God’s plan and will for her, which would make her part of the plan of salvation. Through her, the Saviour of the world would come forth. Knowing God’s will, she accepted it and committed herself to obediently fulfil it. Her attitude is the attitude demanded of every disciple of Jesus Christ: I am the servant of the Lord. I am at his disposal, ready to do whatever he demands of me. May we learn with Mary to accept God’s will and dedicate our lives to carrying it out.

HE CAME AS A WITNESS

III SUNDAY OF ADVENT - John 1:6-8,19-28

This Sunday’s gospel calls on us to have a good look at John the Baptist, who is presented as a witness of Jesus Christ. Being a witness, he speaks the truth as he finds it. He avoids to call attention to himself at all costs. His mission is to be at the service of the Messiah.  Being the subject of an inquiry, he gave clear answers to the questions presented to him: he is not the Christ, he is not Elijah and he is not the prophet. Upon the insistence of the commission sent from Jerusalem, he defined himself as a voice, a voice that cries in the wilderness. As a voice, he has a message to proclaim: “Make a straight way for the Lord.” He is calling on people to abandon their crooked ways and straighten their lives to welcome the Lord. Unsatisfied with John’s answers, the members of the commission made one question more: Why are you baptising? It is difficult to understand the reason for that question since baptism had become quite common mainly for pagans who wanted to obey the Law of Moses. Certainly, they had noticed that John’s baptism was given as a sign of repentance and conversion, indicating the readiness to accept the Messiah. In his answer, John tells them that his baptism is irrelevant. He is baptising with water, meaning that his baptism must give place to something greater, brought about by Christ who is coming after him and whom he must serve. John accepts his smallness before Christ: “I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap.”

John’s gospel introduces the Baptist with these words: 

He came as a witness,

as a witness to speak for the light,

so that everyone might believe through him.

He was not the light,

only a witness to speak for the light.

As we look at John in the desert, we feel the urgency to put our lives straight, as we wait for the coming of Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Saviour.

In the second reading, taken from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we are given a series of basic attitudes that will lead us to Christ and make us witnesses of Jesus Christ:

• Be happy at all times; 
• pray constantly; 
• and for all things give thanks to God, 
• because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
• Never try to suppress the Spirit 
• or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt;
• think before you do anything – 
• hold on to what is good 
• and avoid every form of evil. (1 Tes 5:16-24)

A VOICE CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS

II SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Mark 1:1-8

The Gospel of Mark opens with a gigantic figure - that of John the Baptist, who initiated a movement of repentance and conversion in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. However, in the gospel, John represents but a passing figure that gives place to the One who had been promised and announced. Mark gives the following title to his book: The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Indeed, the gospel is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

John the Baptist is presented with a quotation from the prophet Isaiah. He is the messenger sent before the Messiah to prepare people for his coming. He is a voice in the wilderness:

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord, 

make his paths straight.

John never pretended to be more than that: a voice. And he put his voice at the service of the Lord. John remained faithful to his call up to the end. He turned his back on the city life and the worship in the temple, preferring to lead a frugal life in the wilderness. “John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey.” Maybe, he was the product of a wider movement of renewal - like the Essenes - that looked with disdain on the priestly class, considered corrupt. However, John would not pass unnoticed and people from Jerusalem and all Judaea “made their way to him”. It was as if in him they could find an answer from God to their plight. Finally, God had listened to their cry for deliverance and was going to send the long-awaited - the Messiah. As a sign of repentance,  “they were baptised by him in the river Jordan” as “they confessed their sins”.The confession of sins is an essential part of our purification and renewal as we prepare ourselves to welcome Christ. We must recognise our sinfulness and entrust ourselves to God’s mercy. As they came to John in the desert, many thought that he was the Messiah. However, being honest and sincere, John would not allow himself to be carried away by popular feelings and he was straightforward in his response to that expectancy: “Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.” John was well aware that he came to be at the service of the Messiah. Between Jesus and John, there is a huge difference. While John baptised with water as a sign of repentance and conversion, Jesus baptises us with the Holy Spirit. He is the giver of the Holy Spirit who makes out of us children of God. The role of John is to take us to Christ, who is the Saviour.

During this advent season, let us join John, thus preparing ourselves to welcome Jesus into our lives.

STAY AWAKE AND WATCH

I SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Mark 13:33-37

As we begin the Advent, we are called to look forward to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are left in no doubt that Jesus will come again. The word “advent” means just that: coming. arrival. The Messiah came the first time, being born from the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, but he will come again at the end of times to complete the work of salvation and establish the Kingdom of God forever. However, despite being certain of his coming, we do not know when he is coming. If we are not careful, it may catch us unaware. That’s why, at the beginning of Advent, we receive this great warning: “Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come.” The warning is repeated three times. Stay awake and watch to welcome the Lord when he comes. 

We should ask ourselves what is the meaning of this warning. In the past three Sundays, we read chapter 25 of Matthew, where we found three parables that deal with the same theme. In the parable of the ten virgins, only those who had prepared themselves for any eventuality, taking with them extra oil, were admitted to the royal banquet. Then, to stay awake means to be prepared. They got tired and slept together with the others, but they had a reserve of oil which allowed them to keep their lamps burning. In the parable of the talents, we find the meaning of the extra oil: those who accepted God’s gifts and made good use of them with hard work, commitment and responsibility were rewarded and the great reward was to share in their master’s joy. The one who did nothing was punished, being thrown into darkness. Finally, in the parable of the last judgement, we discover that those who live by the commandment of love and allow themselves to be touched by the suffering of others are the ones who will enter the Kingdom of God, while those with hearts hardened by selfishness and pride will go to eternal punishment.

As we begin the Advent season, we are called to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord Jesus into our hearts and our lives. If we do so, then we will be ready to join him when he comes.