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[Hey, Church fans! How do you know the faith you were taught was not made up by some guy named Ned in the Middle Ages? Your answer is below.

Don’t forget, you can always see the homily on our parish Facebook page by clicking here. ]

     When I am doing lectio divina, my meditations will often fall to the more obscure references in a particular scripture passage. For example, in today’s gospel, we are told that Jesus “taught with authority and not like their scribes.”         Which begs the question—how did the scribes teach? One gets the impression that they were a bit mealy-mouthed. They probably had lots of footnotes. 

       Jesus is different. He does not cite any sources. Rather, he comes preaching himself and the Kingdom. As the Incarnate Word of God, he IS the primary source of revelation. There is no higher authority.

       The expulsion of the demon, done by his own authority, further drives the point home. He appeals to no one. As the divine second person of the Holy Trinity Jesus teaches and preaches and heals and expels demons

       …on his own authority. 

       The people in the synagogue, including his disciples, don’t realize this yet of course. That will come later. In the meantime, they are left to wonder, “What is this all about?”

       To Mark’s mind, it is all about the authority of Christ over all things “in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” (Phil 2:10)

       So here is a question for you.

       Did that authority of Christ end with his ascension into heaven? 

       The obvious answer is, “No.”

       At Pentecost, Christ passed on this same authority to St. Peter and the apostles and to their successors, the bishops. Thus, the Church teaches and sanctifies and governs with the same authority of Christ.

       Why is this so important?

       Well, let me ask you another question.  It’s one you may have even asked yourself at one time.  I know I did, when I was about 15.  The question is this:

       “How do you know?

       How do you know that the faith that you have been taught is authentic – that it is the same faith taught by the Apostle Peter, by the Apostle Paul? 

       How do you know it just wasn’t MADE UP in the middle ages by some guy named Ned Jones, or in the 19^th century by some fellow named Joe Smith?

       What is your guarantee?

       As a believing Christian, it is imperative that you know that your faith is authentic.

So how would you go about getting that certainty?

       If I were you, I would want to get as close to the source as possible. 

       I would try to find out if the very Church that Christ founded was still around,

       and once found them,

              and I would want to make sure that they had                                     some very good safeguards in place

              to make sure that what they taught today is                                  exactly what was taught then;

       Because if they did, they would be the only ones who would have the authority to authentically teach and tell their own story.

       These would be the present day witnesses to the Risen Christ.

       You deserve that kind of certainty…

And here you have it.

       My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish and those who are watching on the livestream or the recorded wherever you are.

       You are indeed sitting in the midst of or watching the local expression of the very community founded by Christ.

       For us in the Roman Catholic Church, we trace our faith in a direct line all the back to the Apostles Peter and Paul, authentic witnesses of the resurrection.

       Paul, whose life was changed forever when  encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus and soon began to proclaim the very Faith he was persecuting,

       Who went to Arabia, back to Damascus, then to Jerusalem, where he his teaching was affirmed by the Apostles,

       then on four missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean, and finally taken as a prisoner to Rome, where he witnessed to the faith, even under house arrest.

       And where, in the persecution of Nero, he was beheaded, outside the city at Tre Fontane, and where his grave is located under the high altar of the Basilica that bears his name.

       Peter, who was with Christ from the beginning, who recognized him as the Messiah, who walked out across the water to Christ in the raging storm, who denied him three times and was three times restored.

       Who at Pentecost received the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the risen Christ to the crowd with such conviction that 3000 were added that day.

       Who healed the crippled man on the steps of the Temple.

       Who led the Church in Antioch and then the Church in Rome for 25 years.

       Who in the persecution of 64 AD was cast into the Mamertine Prison and then crucified upside down on the spine of the Circus of Nero at the foot of the Vatican Hillside and was buried in a simple grave in the necropolis nearby.

       Where today, the Basilica that bears his name is built so that the high altar is directly over his simple grave.

       St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, whose authority was passed to his successor Linus,

       and Linus to Cletus,

              and Cletus to Clement

and so on, in an unbroken line of apostolic succession,

       to a man named Francis, the 265th direct successor          to the Apostle Peter,

              whose first task is to hold and teach the Catholic Faith, whole and entire, without corruption

       who second task, in communion with the bishops

              the successors of the apostles,

       is to interpret and proclaim that Faith in the modern world.

       So what’s our guarantee here in 99504?

       Well, here in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau, we have an archbishop named Andrew Bellisario, who was appointed by the very same Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ,

       Before he came to us, he was subjected to a process of scrutiny that lasted almost a year and a half.

       In due time, the personal representative of the Holy Father, the Papal Nuncio, came to Anchorage for the installation.

       And before Archbishop Bellisario was installed, the question was asked of him, “Do you have the Papal Mandate?”

       What the heck is the papal mandate?

       Simply put, it is a letter from the Holy Father, to the people of the Archdiocese stating without question that the man who currently holds the office of Archbishop of Anchorage-Juneau holds and teaches the same faith the Church has held and taught and preserved since Christ founded it. 

       The Nuncio held up the letter from the Holy Father for all to see.

       If you would like, you can go to the Archbishop’s office and take a look at it. 

       This papal mandate is your guarantee that the faith you have received as a Catholic in 99504 in 2021 is the same faith as the apostle Paul, as the apostle Peter.

Jesus taught with authority. 

       The Church teaches with the same authority.

              The Apostolic Succession is our guarantee that                    the witness we have received is true. 

       May our lives reflect that truth.

[Howdy, Church fans! Today, Deacon Mick took us on a very good meditation on some various aspects of discipleship as presented in the Sunday readings. As always, you can see the video of the Mass by clicking here.

Our readings today are about calls to discipleship. 

They focus on the dynamics,

the dignity and the drama

of living and being a follower of Christ.

The first reading

from the Old Testament Book of Samuel

describes God calling young Samuel

in the middle of the night. 

In the Gospel,

Jesus calls Andrew

and it’s Andrew who brings Peter to Jesus

for the first time. 

Here we see something the dynamics of discipleship

that still continues today.

Some people

are called directly by God like Samuel. 

They can say,

“Here I am Lord, I have heard you calling in the night.” 

Most of us, however,

have been brought to the Lord

by people like Andrew in today’s Gospel reading. 

We were baptized as infants

and brought to the church by others. 

We grew up in the Church

and were taught truths of the faith by others. 

We were encouraged

to follow Christ in everything we do by others. 

The Lord called us through others

just as surely as he called Samuel in the middle the night. 

There was an ‘Andrew’ in our life that

the Lord used to reach us, to teach us and to guide us. 

That’s something of the dynamics of discipleship,

how people receive the call. 

Some receive it directly in the middle of the night;

most receive it through others.

Then —— there is the dignity of discipleship.

What prompted Jesus to call Andrew & Peter?

What did Jesus see in Peter and in Andrew? 

Of course, Jesus saw them as they were but

I believe — he also saw what they could become. 

When we look at people,

we often see them only for what they are right now. 

Jesus saw more. 

He saw their potential.

Show a entrepreneur an empty city corner

and he sees a future store. 

Show a sculptor a stone

and he visualizes the image it can be. 

That’s how the Lord looked at people. 

The Lord does the same today. 

He looks at each of us

and through the Church ——

he shows us what we can become. 

That’s the dignity of our discipleship.

Finally there is the drama of discipleship

in how we give witness to the teachings of Christ.

St. Paul is writing about this in today’s second reading. 

Unfortunately, we live, as did the Corinthians,

in a sex-saturated society,

a society that trivializes the sacrament of marriage

a culture —— uncaring for the lives the unborn and the elderly. 

Today, I want join with St. Paul

to focus on the dignity of the body,

of how sexuality gets trivialized.

Now, some say that the Catholic Church is preoccupied with sex. 

In fact, it’s our society that is preoccupied with sex. 

Sex is a subject of humor, discussion, gossip,

entertainment, novels, movies, news,

all the media and advertisements. 

A person can’t watch television

for a brief period of time

without encountering sexual innuendo in some form.

And let’s not even begin the discussion

about the excess of pornography on the internet.

The proliferation of “secular experts”

and books about so-called “sexual liberation”

have all left society in shambles

and families broken apart. 

This liberation has taken down politicians,

religious leaders, and the average man and woman. 

This liberation has made multiple marriages & divorces acceptable

and living together before marriage

the common reality in this sex addicted world.

My brothers and sisters,

St. Paul is teaching us about

sexual responsibility and sexual integrity. 

Sex is not a demon. 

It’s part of human life,

but only a part. 

There are other,

more important dimensions to what a person is

and the most important is our baptism in faith,

our vocation to our life as Christians,

and our call to discipleship. 

Every part of our life

needs to be integrated in our vocation as a Catholic Christians. 

Our commitment has to be complete and total.

Our Catholic faith, belief and teachings

are not a Catholic cafeteria or buffet line

where we can pick and choose what we like

because a secular society says it’s OK!

If Jesus is not Lord of every part of our life,

we can end up as a spiritual Jekyll and Hyde. 

We pray one way and live another.

Our witness to the world today

must be that the seal of love,

the expression of love

belongs to those who have made a public

lifelong commitment to each other

that we call marriage. 

Outside of marriage,

the sexual expression of love is irresponsible and wrong. 

That’s the immorality to which St. Paul refers

and it’s as common today as in Corinth. 

My brothers and sisters,

the key to happiness – to maturity

comes not from sexual experience alone

but from the commitment, the fidelity,

the loyalty, and the family life

it was designed by God to imply. 

Not only has sex without marriage not brought happiness,

it has led to the use, abuse and distortion of people’s lives. 

And history has shown us that

a degeneration of morality

has lead to the downfall of almost every major empire or civilization.

In this kind of world,

we disciples of Christ

must bring a message of hope

and respect for sexuality. 

We must believe and profess that

our bodies are more than biological units. 

They are temples of the HolySpirit.  

Here, at Mass,

the Church calls us to the truth that

we don’t have to settle for the lowest

but can aspire to the highest.

Every Sunday,

the Lord calls us to live in the image of God

we were created to be. 

We can be peacemakers,

we can respect the commitment of marriage

(our own and that of others),

we can honor the sanctity of human life and love,

we can learn to reconcile, to forgive,

to build a civilization based on the Gospel. 

At ever Mass,

the Lord looks at us, as he did Peter and Andrew. 

He sees us as we are

and each Sunday,

he shows us once more what we can become. 

The dignity and drama of our discipleship

is not to settle for what we are

but to aspire

to what each of us can become in Christ.

[Deacon Mick is at it again. This is his homily from the Feast of the Holy Family. As always, you can catch the livestream at www.facebook.com/stpatsak/]

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.

There was a 98 year old Grandfather from Ireland who was dying. The family gathered around his bed trying to make his last journey comfortable. They gave him some warm milk to drink but he refused. Then one of the his sons, remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, took the glass back to the kitchen, he poured a generous amount of the whiskey into the warm milk. Returning to his Grandfathers’s bed, he held the glass to his grandfathers lips. Grandfather drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, he had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. “Grandfather,” the family asked with earnest, “please give us some wisdom before you die.”

Grandfather raised himself up in bed and with a smiling but pious look on his face said, “Whatever you do, don’t sell that cow!

Well as I said, today we celebrate Holy Family Sunday

and it’s an opportunity for us

to reflect on family life, our family’s life. 

On December 8th, the Holy Father declared this year

dedicated to St. Joseph — who is the patron of families,

Fathers, expectant mothers and the Universal Church.

You see, family life

is something we had in common with Jesus,

something Jesus shared with us,

and, like Jesus,

we are all profoundly influenced by our families.

We are most deeply shaped, mentally, emotionally,

and spiritually by the people in our families

and by family events

such as births, deaths, marriages and illness. 

The family is the most important community

to which we will ever belong.

Our readings today

emphasize three points about the family,

first – the family as a bridge,

second – as a factory

and third – as a living cell.

SO!  Let’s explore those points——

The first reading from the Old Testament Book of Sirach

speaks about human life

as connected across generations. 

We have responsibilities and relationships

with the generations before us as well as those after us.

In our modern world,

we hear a great deal about

our responsibility to the future generations

but what about our responsibility to those

who have gone before us:

to respect and care for our parents

as they become older, weaker, more easily distracted. 

Sirach writes,

“My son, take care of your father (and I will add “and mother”)

when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. 

Even if his mind fail,

be considerate of him;

revile him not all the days of his life;

kindness to a father will not be forgotten…” 

While we think about our responsibilities to the next generation,

we need to remember the generation that preceded us. 

We are to be instruments

of Christ’s care and love to them as well. 

The family is a community in which

one generation cares for another.

That’s the wisdom of Sirach for us on this Holy Family Sunday —

the family is a bridge that

connects generation to generation to generation.

Second – The family is also a spiritual community,

a community of faith. 

St. Paul writes to the Colossians in today’s second reading

about the virtues that hold a church or family together:

patience, forgiveness, and joint prayer.

It would be nice to say that

with our Baptism,

the whole of Christian life sort of unfolds automatically. 

But it doesn’t happen that way. 

None of us is on a spiritual auto pilot.

We need to learn what it means to be a Christian. 

We need to learn how to pray,

how to be patient,

how to reconcile,

how to be bridge-builders. 

The family is where those lessons about life are started. 

The family is the factory of love.

Now, in my lifetime

I’ve worked in factories

and factories are not neat and clean places. 

and families are a little like that as well.

They are not always neat and clean places because

growing-up and growing in the Lord

are not parts of a neat and tidy process.

The family is where

we start to learn the virtues of patience,

responsibility, cooperation,

self-discipline, self-control

and dealing with authority. 

The family,

that first Christian community to which we belong,

is really the beta test site,

the testing-ground for how deep our discipleship really is.

It’s a real factory of faith where

the rough edges get smoothed,

where shape and structure come into our lives,

where we start to learn what it means to follow Christ

and just how far ———- we may have yet to go. 

The family is a community where

we can learn to grow in Jesus Christ. 

That’s the wisdom of St. Paul on this Holy Family Sunday,

the family as a factory of faith.

Lastly, in the Gospel,

we have Mary and Joseph

bringing Jesus to the Temple for Passover. 

By rituals such as this,

they are joining their family to the their larger family of Judaism.

When people come to Church as a family,

they are joining their family

to the larger family life of the Catholic Church. 

Here, in Church,

we come to see the Church’s mission as our mission,

to see the Church’s concerns as our concerns. 

Each family is a living cell of the huge Body of Christ. 

That’s part of the wisdom of this Gospel scene for us of the

Holy Family coming to the Temple together. 

The family that prays together grows, unites and stays together.

The family is the living cell of the larger Church.

My brothers & sisters — Today, we lift all our families

including our Church family

to the Lord in prayer

to ask for healing, grace, and strength because

family life is not easy today in this world in which we live.

During this year dedicated to St. Joseph – Patron of Families

and especially on this Holy Family Sunday ——

we have a chance not simply to reflect on family life in general,

but to make a decision

on how we can strengthen our own family’s life in the coming year,

on how to make it a stronger bridge that connects generations,

on how to make it a more effective factory of faith,

and on how to make it a vital, living cell of the Body of Christ.

I leave you with one simple suggestion,

in this year dedicated to St. Joseph

there is a powerful opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence.

Take advantage of this great gift    

AND do it —— as a family.

Merry Christmas…Day 3! 

     One of the great things about being Catholic is that for us, Christmas is not just a day, but a whole season. This year Christmas lasts until the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord on January 10th.  That’s actually 17 days of Christmas.  So don’t take that tree down yet!

     This week, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. A central focus of the feast is the family as the first expression of the Church. Indeed, it’s vitally important for us to remember that Church exists first at home. If it does not, then what we do here on the weekends will have limited impact.

So how do you raise a Catholic household?  How can each of us be a “holy family?”  Simple.  In the Church we sanctify (set aside for God) three things: 1) People, 2) Places, and 3) Time.  So start with the basics:

1. Sanctify the members of the family. In the Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers there are lots and lots of blessings that parents can impart at certain times of the year. I particularly like the blessing of children as they leave for school each day.  There are also blessings for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, and just about anything else you can think of. 

2.  Set aside a special place in the house that is dedicated to family prayer. You have a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to watch TV.  Where in the house will you make a place to pray? As a child, I remember kneeling around our parents’ bed to pray the Rosary. Make sure there is a crucifix prominently displayed in the main part of the house. Does every bedroom have a crucifix above the bed or the doorway.  Have a depiction of the Last Supper in your dining room.

3. Make sacred family time.  Make the Church calendar, your family’s calendar. The parish calendars that we hand out can help in this regard. Celebrate all the liturgical seasons at home. Decorate with the liturgical colors.  Advent calendars and Advent wreathes are great for preparing for Christmas. Leave the Nativity Scene and other Christmas decorations up until the Baptism of the Lord (some will even do so until Candlemas on February 2nd.) Set aside a certain time each day for simple family prayer. 

4. Learn your faith and have resources on hand for quick reference.  Here are five essential Catholic books in every household: 1) New American Study Bible (Revised Edition), 2) Catechism of the Catholic Church 3) Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers. 4) Flannery’s Documents of Vatican II, Volume I. 4) Butler’s Lives of the Saints (Revised). 5) The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom by John Hardon, S.J.

  Raising a holy Catholic family is not rocket science, but it does take some planning and resolve. The traditions established in the home now will pay dividends for generations.          

          Did you ever play the Game of Why with a three-year-old? It’s a fascinating intellectual endeavor and one which you are not very likely to win. It is also a good reminder to us that we should never stop asking the question, “Why?”, especially then it comes that what really matters. Faith needs to seek understanding. Asking “Why?” helps us get there. 

       Let’s take the Incarnation for example. Last I checked Almighty God could do pretty much anything he wanted.  So why would he become human? That would be like you or me becoming canine to save all of Dogkind. (A totally pointless endeavor, incidentally, since all dogs go to heaven and are not in need of redemption.)

It boils down to the way relationships work and the demands of justice. At the Fall, we humans had seriously injured our relationship with God. So much so, that we were incapable of restoring it on our own. Human nature was marred by sin. Sin is the deliberate separation of oneself from God. God is the source of all life. Thus, separation from God, “sin,” results in death. Not all at once, mind you, but the end result is same. 

Now, since humanity did the sinning, humanity has to pay the price. And this is essentially what went from the Fall right up to the Incarnation. Humanity was subject to sin and death. 

But this was not God’s intention when he created humanity. God had much bigger plans for us. And while sin kept those plans from happening right away, nothing can defeat the will of God in the end. So, if humanity had to pay the price, God who can do anything he wants, would simply become human, pay the price for sin once and for all, and then humanity would be free once again to enter into full communion and eternal beatitude with God. As the saying goes, “Christ paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”

Of course, the first step in becoming human is to be conceived. In this, Christ is no different from the rest of us. But God never does violence to us; thus, the free cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the special grace she received for her unique vocation as the Mother of God.  After conception, its nine months in the womb, and finally, if we are lucky, birth. 

It’s the birth of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, that we are celebrating today.

Perhaps one of the blessings the pandemic is the absence of much of the noise that comes with “the Holiday Season.” We are less distracted these days and can pay more attention to the true meaning of Christmas.

Come, let us adore him. 

[Deacon Mick hit another one out of the park this weekend. Here’s his homily on the Third Sunday of Advent. Enjoy.]

Welcome to this third Sunday of Advent in the Church’s liturgy

is called “Gaudete Sunday”

or the Sunday to rejoice because

it marks the halfway point of Advent.

The vestments get a little lighter – a little brighter –

and the rose candle on the Advent wreath is lit. 

This Gaudete Sunday celebration goes back to a time when

Advent was a period of deep penance and fasting.

It was a time for spiritual reparation and preparation for Christmas.

So the halfway mark was a relief,

Time to take a break, and a time to rejoice.

So, how do we feel this Sunday? 

Is the nearness of Christmas

a cause for some deep joy in our life or

haven’t we have the time to even think about it? 

Are we anxious about getting everything done in time? 

Getting the Christmas cards out?

Putting up all the decorations? 

Getting everyone just the perfect gift?

Personally, with doing all the Christmas stuff,

I’ve lost sight of what this time of Advent was for.

Today, in our society, in our culture,

Advent is spent sending cards, buying presents,

attending pre-holiday parties even if by Zoom

and then, Christmas Day happens

and suddenly,

the day after Christmas, it’s all over. 

The Christmas carols stop,

the gifts beneath the Christmas tree disappear,

and everything is now geared toward the New Year.

Most probably —— things are already set in motion for this year, but

maybe we should give some thought

to Advent and Christmas of next year,

You know —— to let Advent be Advent

and then let the Christmas season really be a season.

The Christmas season is 12 days in duration

from Christmas Day to the Epiphany

We sing about the 12 days of Christmas 

“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…….”

SO ——— Do all the Christmas cards have to arrive by December 25th? 

Why not throughout the entire Christmas season? 

Do all the gifts have to be given on December 25th? 

Why not throughout the entire Christmas season? 

Do all the Christmas gatherings and celebrations

have to happen by December 25th? 

Why not throughout the entire Christmas season?

So let’s think about it —

Does our personal Advent and Christmas celebration

leave us better off spiritually? 

Is our faith deeper? 

Are the bonds friendship and community with the Church stronger? 

Do we come out of these seasons renewed

or relieved that it’s all over for another year?

The Advent season

doesn’t have to be an exhausting round of frantic activity,

a build up to something that’s gone in one day. 

It can be a glorious time of revival and renewal if

we let Advent be Advent.

On this Gaudete Sunday, or Sunday to rejoice,

there are some deep truths that

might trigger a deep joy in us

despite this frantic Advent season.

The first truth is that

Christmas can be a time when we realize that

the most important things in our life are spiritual ones —

things like

the assurance of God’s love

and his ready forgiveness that

comes to us in Jesus Christ

and the mass is the assurance of that love and forgiveness. 

And that there are friendships, loyal associates,

a faithful spouse, loving children,

caring people we know who are the

real assets, the real joys in a person’s life.

There is a second truth that

should lead to a deep joy at this time of year. 

The power of Christmas centers in the truth that

not only has redemption occurred but that

it has continuing power in our life

as Christ calls us to begin again,

to awaken to his grace,

to open our eyes and ears to his presence.  (pause)

What has been in our life;

does not have to be in our future. 

A new life,

a new way of living is available to us in Jesus Christ.

The power of his cross and Resurrection is never exhausted;

it never runs out of steam.  

And it’s always summoning us to new life. 

As Isaiah says in today’s first reading,

“the Lord comes to set us free,”

to bring liberty and release from everything that

binds us emotionally, spiritually, personally.

A third truth, a third reason to rejoice

is the number of people in RCIA programs

who are preparing to join the Church at Easter. 

It shows us that

we are not part of an historical preservation society

but of a community of faith that

is growing each day, each week, each year.

There are many reasons to rejoice this Sunday

but they can get lost

in the frantic preparations for Christmas. 

John the Baptist say’s in today’s Gospel reading that

the Messiah is one among us

who is not recognized. 

It can be a real tragedy,

with all the colored lights around us,

to miss the true light. 

Advent is the time of year when

we can learn once more to see,

to appreciate, to recognize

the ways the Lord is present among us

even in this time of Covid-19.

If we use the Advent season

to learn once more

to see the things of God among us, then

the Christmas season

will be a time to celebrate Christ’s grand presence

and glorious power at work among us. 

I will be a time to celebrate family:

a time to celebrate friendships;

a time to celebrate the joy of God’s presence in our life.

My brothers and sisters,

take the time to let Advent be Advent

and then Christmas will truly be Christmas ——

not only for a day but for a season of rebirth

and renewal in Christ.

    John the Baptist is an interesting figure. He is at once frightening and compelling. Frightening certainly in his appearance. He must have been quite a sight with his disheveled locks, camel hair shirt. His diet was a bit odd as well, although I suppose honey-covered locusts could be tasty given enough hunger.

       He was compelling in that people may have recognized in him the figure described in Isaiah, as the voice that “cries out: in the wilderness make straight the way of the Lord!” (Is. 40:3). It’s important to remember that there was great expectation in the land in those days of the coming of the Messiah. People had their “Messiah goggles” on. They were primed. They also knew their scripture well enough to recognize John for what he was. The herald of the Messiah who called people to repentance before he arrived to deliver them from oppression.

       In a way, it is not all that different for us today. Since March we have been living under the specter of the corona virus. It has altered almost every aspect of life and brought fear and uncertainty in its wake. Now, as it seems to be at its worst, the prophet Fauci has heralded salvation in the advent of not one, but three effective vaccines. (Incidentally, all of which are morally acceptable for Catholics to receive.) Once again, all the people are filled with great expectation. Salvation, and perhaps a return to normalcy, is at hand.

       I guess my point is this. The coming of one or more vaccines and salvation from the current pandemic is nothing compared to the coming of Christ in glory at the end of the age. As excited as we might be for a vaccine, we should be filled with even greater expectation for when Christ returns with salvation for his people and the renewal of all creation. What need have we of vaccines then? 

       We await relief from the pandemic. We await even more the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.  

(Right this very minute!)

     I could use a little Advent right now. 2020 has been a bit rough on us all. Any chance for a fresh beginning is most welcome. That’s exactly what Advent gives us. 

       The word itself comes from the Latin advenire, meaning “to reach, to arrive”.  In recent decades the penitential nature of Advent has faded a bit in favor of a more general sense of “preparing the way of the Lord.” This is not such a bad thing as long as we remember that prayer and penance are an essential part of doing just that.

       The rhythm of the season helps us. It’s a lot like getting the house ready for Christmas.  You have to clean the home and get things in order before you can put up the decorations.

       For the first three weeks of Advent, we are encouraged to meditate of the coming of the Lord at the end of time. The readings and prayers of the Liturgy help us in this regard. In this sense, Advent should be a time of simplification, of purging the physical and spiritual clutter out of our lives. An easy place to start is by tidying things up around the house. Clutter is bad. What are you holding onto that needs to be out of your house and out of your life. The advertisement is right: “Less junk—more happiness!” (I wonder if they are Catholic?) I suggest starting small, perhaps with the “junk drawer” and moving on from there.

       Next, get working on the spiritual clutter. Step 1: get to confession. This year, in addition to regular confession times and in order to make it easier and more safe, we are having three little penance services on December 15,16, and 17. Pick a time that works for you.

     Once we have gotten our physical and spiritual house in order, so that we are ready to welcome the second coming of Christ in glory, then we can begin to prepare to celebrate his first coming in humility. You’ll note that the emphasis of the Liturgy does just that

       We could all use a little Advent right now. It couldn’t come at a better time. Maranathá! Come, Lord Jesus