The First Sunday of Advent

The First Sunday of Advent

predmore.blogspot.com

December 2, 2018

Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37

To begin Advent, the Gospel reassures us that we should hold our heads high because our salvation awaits us, even though we sit through dark times. This time is about waiting patiently knowing that God’s invisible work will eventually be seen in the world. Embedded in all these wishes is that God’s promise will be realized. In the meantime, it is good for us to recognize our blessings that might seem invisible to us.

         A good way for us to start is to take the advice given by Paul in the second reading. Paul asks us to strengthen our hearts, and to increase our capacity to love each other because our charity will ultimately solve our greatest problems. Like God’s invisible work, our acts of love are often invisible or even taken for granted, but they are important steps for creating a culture of caring.

         Small acts of kindness reshape our attitudes and determine whether we have a good day or not, but we have to balance our generosity of heart with setting healthy boundaries. Consider the gifts we can give each other with minimal ease: a wink or a reassuring smile, a deserved complement, a listening ear, a bit more patience, or even mercy that is undeserved. The good will that is generated from these simple gestures will have exponential consequences. We pay it forward and generate positivity that is easy to sustain. All we have is one another, and when we care for others, we make the burdens of life lighter for them and for us, and we begin to see the extraordinary generosity and care that sustains this world, and we come here to give thanks.

         Setting our personal boundaries can also be acts of charity to oneself and others. Consider the woman who silently dreads the holidays because has never spoken up to her husband or children to call them to better behavior. She toils, bakes, cleans, and smiles outwardly, but inside feels disconnected from her family and from herself. She feels fortunate for many reasons but is not able to be her whole self to the family because she has inadequately revealed how she feels to them. Learning to respect personal boundaries will give us freedom and courage to be very connected with our needs and wants. Then, we make choices that contribute to our happiness.

         We increase love when we put our feelings into words even if we fear others will reject our tender revelations. When we admit our vulnerabilities to loved ones, they will likely give you the reassurance you need while repaying your affection in kind. If it does not happen, then a straightforward conversation is long overdue. Mostly, though, each time we tell our loved ones how much they mean to us in no uncertain terms, we ensure that they will be there for us in our times of need and support as we strive to grow out of our vulnerabilities into confidence. A good partnership is born of dialogue, healing, affectionate touches, words of support, and constant kind gestures.

         Advent is about the small, simple moments. Let us acknowledge that life is hard and that moments of happiness can be fleeting. With that in mind, take advantage of Advent to appreciate the twinkling lights of candles and trees, sing old fashioned carols that bring up happy childhood memories, sample that gingerbread cookies that is not on your diet as you have a coffee with a friend, and take a walk to see the beauty of nature and the fine ways people have decorated their lawns. Liturgical purists might get upset that you are spoiling Advent with Christmas themes, but (1.) the Commercial Christmas is a disguised Advent. All the popular songs speak about that blessed day that is to come, and (2.) if it makes you a little happier, gives you a respite from your worries, or lifts your spirits a bit, then celebrate well. Bring a little light and good cheer into the world.

         Raise your heads. Hold them high. Look around at the amazing people who are making the world better through their hope and gestures of good will. Watch how this goodwill expands as Advent deepens. Be amazed at the insignificant, subtle gestures that teach the world how to love better. Be the one who gives hope to one who is just hanging on. I’m sure God is proud of you, and God’s heart is swelling with delight, and that your love is filling the heavens with happiness. Thank you, my friends, for committing to love so well.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Isaiah 4) On that day, the branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel.

Tuesday: (Isaiah 11) On that day, a shoot shall sprout from Jesse’s stump, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.

Wednesday: (Romans 9) If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Thursday: (Isaiah 26) On that day, they will sing this song: A strong city we have to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith.   

Friday (Isaiah 29) Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard into a forest. Out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The deaf shall hear.  

  

Saturday (Isaiah 30) O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 8) When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and said, “My servant is lying at home, paralyzed, suffering dreadfully. Come and cure him.”

Tuesday: (Luke 10) I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you had hidden these things from the learned and the wise, you have revealed them to the childlike.

Wednesday (Matthew 4) Jesus saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, casting a net into the Sea of Galilee. He said to them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Thursday (Matthew 7) Jesus said to his disciples: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father.

Friday (Luke 21) Consider the fig tree. When their buds burst open, you see summer is near. Learn to read the signs of the times. All these things will pass away, but my words remain.

Saturday (Matthew 9) Jesus taught in all the towns and villages proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.

Saints of the Week

December 3: Francis Xavier, S.J., priest (1506-1552) was a founding member of the Jesuit Order who was sent to the East Indies and Japan as a missionary. His preaching converted hundreds of thousands of converts to the faith. He died before reaching China. Xavier was a classmate of Peter Faber and Ignatius of Loyola at the University of Paris.

December 6: Nicholas, bishop (d. 350), lived in southwest Turkey and was imprisoned during the Diocletian persecution. He attended the Council of Nicaea in 324. Since there are many stories of his good deeds, generous charity, and remarkable pastoral care, his character became the foundation for the image of Santa Claus.

December 7: Ambrose, bishop and doctor (339-397) was a Roman governor who fairly mediated an episcopal election in Milan. He was then acclaimed their bishop even though he was not baptized. He baptized Augustine in 386 and is doctor of the church because of his preaching, teaching and influential ways of being a pastor.

December 8: The Immaculate Conception of Mary is celebrated today, which is nine months before her birth in September. The Immaculate Conception prepares her to become the mother of the Lord. Scripture tells of the annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel. Mary's assent to be open to God's plan makes our salvation possible.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Nov 25, 1584: The Church of the Gesu, built in Rome for the Society by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, was solemnly consecrated.

·      Nov 26, 1678: In London the arrest and imprisonment of St Claude la Colombiere. He was released after five weeks and banished.

·      Nov 27, 1680: In Rome the death of Fr. Athanasius Kircher, considered a universal genius, but especially knowledgeable in science and archeology.

·      Nov 28, 1759: Twenty Fathers and 192 Scholastics set sail from the Tagus for exile. Two were to die on the voyage to Genoa and Civita Vecchia.

·      Nov 29, 1773: The Jesuits of White Russia requested the Empress Catherine to allow the Letter of Suppression to be published, as it had been all over Europe. "She bade them lay aside their scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their remaining in status quo.

·      Nov 30, 1642: The birth of Br Andrea Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in 1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the church of San Ignacio so that it would look as though there were a dome above. There had been a plan for a dome but there was not money to build it. His work is still on view.

·      Dec. 1, 1581: At Tyburn in London, Edmund Campion and Alexander Briant were martyred.