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Ask Fr. Leo – Do all Dogs Go to Heaven?

Some of the simplest questions can lead to the most profound theological investigations.  Below are a few of them that I have received over the last few months.

Dear Fr. Leo, 

Will I see my dog in heaven? – M

Dear M.,

          Roy Rogers once famously quipped, “If dogs don’t go to heaven, when I die, I want to go where they went!” Not a bad thought, but to help answer this question, I like to invoke the theological principle: “Lex orandi, lex credendi.”  Literally, “the law of praying is the law of believing,” or more colloquially, “As the Church prays, so she believes.”  To this end, I would direct your attention to the Eucharistic Prayer IV. It’s one of my favorites, but it doesn’t get a lot of use, unfortunately. The beauty of the fourth Eucharistic Prayer is its sweeping catechesis of salvation history, from the first moments of creation, through the people of Israel, to the coming of the Christ, to His passion, death and resurrection, to the foundation of the Church at Pentecost, all the way up to the final judgment at the end of the age when as we read in the Book of Revelation, there will be “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Rev. 21:1) In Latin, the Eucharistic Prayer IV refers to our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven with Mary and all the saints, “There, with the whole of creation, (ubi cum univérsa creatúra) freed from the corruption of sin and death, may we glorify you…”  I’m not sure about you, but for me, the whole of creation includes all of creation, not just some of it. This would necessarily include dogs and all other creatures. 

          There is also an argument to made from the famous maxim of St. Thomas Aquinas: “That which is received, is received according to the mode of the one who receives it. (Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.) Thomas presupposes a hierarchy of being with the Holy Trinity at the top, then created beings such as the Blessed Mother, the angelic beings, human beings, animals, plants, rocks, and so forth.  Since the Kingdom of Heaven is primarily about relationships, namely communion, then any given creature’s participation in that Kingdom could be contingent on its ability to relate to other beings. The Trinity, of course, is relationship itself. Then follows the rest of us according to our nature in the order I just described. We human beings relate to God and to one another according to our nature. Likewise, anyone who has spent any time with dogs knows that they are too are social beings, albeit they relate to others according to their canine nature.  So, you could make a case for dogs in heaven based on their ability to enter into relationship according to their nature. The presence of cats in heaven, based on this same criteria, is still a matter of theological speculation.

Dear Fr. Leo,

          How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  – L

Dear L:

          That depends. Do you mean with the four-piece jazz ensemble or with the full Big Band orchestra? 

          This was actually a question asked by the Scholastics in the Middle Ages, primarily as a rhetorical exercise, but it does lead to some fun things. The question as stated is a bit cumbersome because it fails to consider the nature of angelic beings. Unlike human beings, who have a physical body and a spiritual soul, angels are purely spiritual beings. They don’t have a physical body. As such, they don’t take up any physical space.  So, the answer to the question could just as easily be “All of them.” or “None of them.” 

          But let’s take things one step further. If angels don’t have a physical body, but humans do, what are the implications for us in God’s plan of salvation? There is an attractive myth out there in popular literature that when we humans die, if we have lived a good life, we become angels. That’s a nice thought, but that’s not how it works.

          As human beings, we have a body and a soul. In God’s plan of salvation, we don’t metamorphose into something that we are not. Rather, we become fully what God has created us to be, body and soul.  We become perfectly human.

          What’s the process by which this takes place?  The resurrection of body at the end of the age. We know this because of the resurrection of Christ. Remember, Christ was fully human as well as fully divine. He didn’t simply shed his human nature and its physical body when his mission of salvation on earth was done.  Rather, God raised up his mortal body.  The Risen Christ is humanity perfected. That is what awaits us if we remain in communion with him. As St. Augustine said, “The joy of God, is the human person fully alive.”  For us humans, that means “the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.”

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God is my copilot?! I think not!

Happy Trinity Sunday, as Dcn. Mick and Deacons John reminded us, this is the third of four major celebrations, the Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi. 

As many of you may have realized, I gave the staff the last week off. Then I decided, heck, why don’t I give myself the week off too!  So, I did.  Joy and I loaded up in the little airplane and flew across the Inlet to my little cabin at Alexander Creek to spend a few days. 

Joy is good little flyer.  She did not like the airplane at first but now that she is familiar with how it works, she doesn’t mind at all.  In fact, I’ve even begun to train her on how to keep us on course in the straight and level. That way I can take a little nap. She’s quite good at it. Indeed, DOG is my copilot!

Speaking of traveling, did you catch what is going on between Moses and the Lord.

       Is it me, or does Moses’ request seem a bit odd? He asks, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company.”

       At first glance, it seems like a fair request. Who wouldn’t want God as a traveling companion, whether you are journeying through the desert or journeying through life?   Why wouldn’t you want God as your copilot?

But think about it for a minute.  What’s wrong with this picture…

       Wouldn’t it be better to for one to want to go along in God’s company?!

       I’m reminded of what Abraham Lincoln said once when someone in the crowd said that it was good that God was on their side. Mr. Lincoln looked at the man and replied, “Rather, my dear friend, let us hope that we are on God’s side.” 

There is wisdom in Mr. Lincoln’s response.

       Like the Israelites, we can become a stiff-necked people. They are wandering the desert, headed this way and that, and they want God to come along in their company. They’ve got it backwards.   

       Yet we sometimes do the same thing. How often we go about our lives, doing our own thing, making our own decisions and expecting God to simply come along for the ride and perhaps bless this wonderful mess we have made for ourselves.

       How easy it is to pray, “MY will be done,” instead of “THY will be done.” 

       We need to let God be in charge. God knows what is best for us. 

       Rather, let us pray, “Lord, help me to want what you want for me.”

Simply put: If God is your copilot, you are in the wrong seat! 

       It is not a bad thing to want God to come along in our company, but how much better that we should go along in God’s company!

Because THAT is the invitation that is offered to us. Nothing less than to share in the very life of God.

       Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, the sacred notion that our God is a Trinity of persons in perfect, co-eternal communion. The Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, and that co-eternal relationship between the two of them, the Holy Spirit, so powerful that it radiates out like the warmth of a great fire. Our God is perfectly united being. Our God is relationship itself.

       Like any other relationship, we can be invited to share in it. God is very jovial and invites us to come along in his company.

It happens at our baptism.  We are called and invited by name to share in the very relationship that is God.

It happens at our confirmation, when we are invited to

share in the fullness of that relationship, with all of its gifts, and fruits and charisms.

It happens most especially here in the Eucharist, as we gather, share the Word, break the bread, and commune with God and one another before we are sent into the world to tell the good news.

It happens in the confessional, when we acknowledge that we have sinned against the relationship with God and with others, either injuring or severing the bond of Holy Communion.  Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit, power of God’s love, is more powerful than any sin we may have committed, and we are healed.

It happens when our body lies in sickness, or infirm with age, when the Holy Spirit is there to help us in our need, to strengthen us in mind, body and spirit.  It happens when we are called by God to Holy Orders or consecrated life when we are called to share in the love of the Trinity, and give our life in singular devotion to Christ and his Church.

It happens in Holy Matrimony when we are called to share our lives with another in perfect imitation of the love of Christ for his spouse, and thus build up the Church and transform the world. 

This is the life and the love into which we have been invited to share. To LIVE a life with purpose and meaning, invited into and proclaiming to all we meet, by what we say,

       but more importantly, by what we do, the LOVE of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is at once too much and never enough. It is infinitely ancient and eternally new. 

This is the life to which the Christian is called.  This is the love into which we are welcomed.  It is all that we could ask for and more than we can imagine.  It is beyond our greatest desires and more powerful than our worst mistakes. 

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believe sin him might not perish, but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

This is the invitation of grace, to share in the very life of and love God and to partake of the very mystery of such a perfect communion

from now unto eternity.

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The Holy Spirit – The Power of God’s Love

[Hi, Church fans! Like I said, until Microsoft simplifies their video editing software, I’ll just be posting texts. Leave it to corporate bobbleheads in Seattle, that bastion of common sense, to fix something beyond usable interface. Perhaps someday they will see the error of their ways and repent of the evil they have done. Here’s the column.]

The Irish, like every great and noble people, have many proverbs and sayings. One of my favorites is, “May the love of God warm your heart like a great fire, so that a friend may come and warm himself there.” 

     I think this is a very helpful image when we try to understand the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and in the world. The Holy Spirit is seen manifested in many ways in sacred scripture. In the New Testament, the Spirit is seen descending upon Jesus at his baptism as a dove would swoop down to its perch. At Pentecost, the Spirit is perceived as a noise like a driving wind and as tongues of fire which came and rested upon each of the apostles and the Blessed Mother. Artists often depict this as a tongue of flame above their heads, but I tend to think it rested more around their hearts. It seems to make more sense to me,  especially when I think of the two apostles on the road to Emmaus who said, “Were not our hearts burning within us…?”

The Holy Spirit has many titles: Advocate, Counselor, Paraclete.  But it all boils down to the fact that the Holy Spirit is the power of the love of the Triune God radiating out through the Church and into the world. The Holy Spirit has been revealed to us as the love of God between the Father and the Son. The very essence of God is to be, and more specifically to be in relationship. The beautiful thing is that like any powerful, loving relationship, others spring from that relationship and are in turn invited to share in the warmth of that relationship. The most obvious example of this in the world is a husband and wife. It’s no mistake the expression of their covenantal love for one another is so powerful that nine months later, they have to give it a name! In a similar way, the Holy Spirit is that coeternal relationship between the Father and the Son. It is the power of that love that sang the world and all of us into being, sustains us in love, and sanctifies us in love by inviting us ever deeper into that holy communion with God and one another.  The Holy Spirit is the power of the love of God alive in the world. May the fire of that love set our hearts ablaze so that others may come and warm themselves there.

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To Eternity…and Beyond!

[Just a note. Now that Microsoft has made it impossible to edit videos in less than 2 hours, I’ll just be posting my columns and textual summaries of the homilies. If you want to seethe vid, go to our parish FB Page: www..facebook.com/stpatsak/ . Sorry for the inconvenience. – Fr. Leo]

While I am very rooted in the sacred Tradition of the Church, I’m not what many would call a “traditionalist.”  Still, I wince a little bit when we celebrate the Ascension, not on Ascension Thursday, but on the following Sunday. There are many good reasons for doing so. Foremost is that since it is on a Sunday, more people can celebrate this very important Solemnity in the Church. There’s a lot going on at the Ascension.

   First, why did Jesus ascend? Why didn’t he just stick around in his resurrected body up to the present day? Wouldn’t that make the resurrection a bit more credible? At first glance, I suppose that it would, but it would also severely limit the scope of his ministry and the ministry of the Church. Think about it. If the resurrected Jesus was walking the face of the earth today, where would you want to be right now?

   How much better that Christ has found a way to be truly and substantially present in all times and to all people through his Body, the Church. Remember, Christ did not leave us a book, he left us a Church. There is no separation between the head and the body. The same Spirit that animates the life of Christ animates the life of the Church. While this is true in the life of every Christian, it is especially true when we gather in the Sacred Assembly for the Eucharist. To commune with Our Lord, all who have gone before us in faith, and with one another is the most profound prayer there is.

       Finally, think about the implications for all humanity that Christ, who is truly human and truly divine, returns to the Father. There is no separation between the head and the body. Where Christ goes, we go. The relationship between God and humanity could not get any more intimate. No wonder Leo the Great exclaimed to the newly baptized in Rome, “Christian, remember your dignity!”  May we carry that dignity unstained into the world and into eternity. 

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Emmaus Revisited – Third Sunday of Easter

[Hey, Church fans! Until Microsoft fixes their stupid video editing program, there will be no embedded more videos. You can catch the vid of the homily off the Livestream at https://www.facebook.com/stpatsak/. The text is below.]

       Sometimes, we don’t pick up on the subtle cues and can miss what is going on right in front of us.  Here’s a good example:

     I did a lot of downhill skiing as a kid.  Every Saturday morning, Dad would load all of us eight kids in the in rig and we would head up to Arctic Valley. Mom would always stand on the porch and wave to us as we drove away for a day of fun on the slopes. I always thought it was sad that she never got to come along with us. It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I finally figured out what was really going on. Dad was giving her a break by getting us all out of the house! Who’d have thought?

       I get the impression that a similar thing was going on with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. I’m not saying that they were not bright, just that they were preoccupied. So much so that they didn’t really pick up on what was really going on for some time.

       We can forgive them for this. Their entire world had just been rocked.  All their hopes and dreams had died on the Cross with Jesus. They just wanted to get away. Emmaus was about a two and a half hour walk from Jerusalem.  Can you imagine their conversation along the way?  Then this strange guy shows up and walks with them. 

       I’ve written before on an old blog post about how this whole experience between Jesus and the two disciples on is a really good description of the Mass. You can see that at: https://frleowalsh.com/recognizing-jesus-emmaus-the-eucharist-and-covid-19/

Think about it. What happens at Mass?

       We gather.

       We share our stories.

       We break the bread.

       And we are sent.

In liturgy speak, these are called the        Gathering/Introductory Rites.

       The Liturgy of the Word

       The Liturgy of the Eucharist, and

       The Dismissal or Sending Forth.

Let’s take a look at each of these:

Step I:  We gather.  The Introductory Rites

       Those who have been to one of my slow Masses can readily answer the question: When does Mass begin?  The answer is simple: When the second person shows up! Why? Because Jesus said: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.”

       The Second Vatican Council in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Par. 7) is very clear. “When the people gather” Christ is present. 

       Here, on the Road to Emmaus, the two disciples are gathered. Of course, Jesus would be there with them.

Step II:  We share our stories. The Liturgy of the Word.

       I can’t help but think that the conversation with Jesus on the road had to be one of the most intense Liturgies of the Word in the history of Salvation.

       Here you have the Incarnate Word of God, explaining the word of God in the Sacred Scriptures. 

       Yeah, our hearts would be burning too.

       And I hope yours is today.

Again, the Council is very clear. “In the proclamation of the Word” Jesus is present.

Step III: We break the bread – The Liturgy of the Eucharist

       Luke tells us, “He took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.”

       Does this sound slightly familiar?  It should. It is right out of the Third Eucharistic Prayer. (Actually, it is the source of these words in the Third Eucharistic Prayer.)

       The reference to the Eucharist at the table in Emmaus is unmistakable. This becomes even more evident when one learns that the early Church used the words “fractio panis” or the “breaking of the bread” as a codeword for the Eucharist.

       Again, the Council is unequivocal in their language, “(Christ) is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister… but especially under the Eucharistic species” of bread and wine.

       As we know, the Eucharist is the source and summit of all what the Church is and does. Everything that we are and do leads to the Eucharist and everything that we are and do flows from the Eucharist.

       No wonder they recognized him “in the breaking of the bread.”

       Which makes me wonder…do we? 

       More importantly, what about others who wander in our church?   What is going on in their hearts and minds?

       Can they recognize him in our midst as we gather? In the way we treat each other?

       In the way we treat them?

       Are they welcomed? Do they feel like they may have a place here?

Are our hearts burning within us as the scriptures are proclaimed and explained?

       If not, then how can we expect their hearts to be burning within them?

       Finally, is he recognizable in the breaking of bread?

       And can they recognize him, the Risen Christ, as we do so? 

       I pray that it is so.

       At one time or another at Mass and in life, I think we are all like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Sometimes we get so wrapped up with our own situation that we miss what’s really going on.

       I pray that we are a parish family whose hearts are so on fire with the love of God that those encounter us

       Whether within these walls

              Or in our schools or in our neighborhoods

              Or in our places work, or in the public square

                      or in our homes…

       I pray that they would recognize him

The two disciples show us that what we experience here cannot, must not be contained within these walls.

       The dismissal is one of the most essential parts of the Mass,

       That’s why it is so short:

       “The Lord be with you.

       And with your spirit.

              May almighty God bless you…NOW GO! 

Grab a donut and go into that part of the world where God needs you most right now!

       Proclaim the Good News of the resurrection of Christ and the forgiveness of sins.

       May your every word and action echo those of those two disciples, saying in ways small or profound,  

       ‘WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!!

       And how he was made known to you

              In the breaking of the bread.    

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From Darkness to Light

Gosh, it’s been a while. I recently served three terms on a grand jury. That was quite an experience, but it took all my time! So, I’m back. Here’s the latest. Also as a bonus I’ll post our parishes rendition of the Lorica (Breastplate of St. Patrick in a subsequent post.

https://youtu.be/SqBwdz5KTK8

     I hate daylight savings time. One would have to search high and low to find a more absurd and universal way of disturbing everyone’s life. It is especially absurd in subarctic latitudes such as our own where the sun shines 20 hours in the summer and 4 hours in the winter.

       Reminds of that trial they were having in Utgiavik, (Barrow).  The lawyer looked at the defendant and said, “So, where were YOU on the night of November through March?!”

     Then again, the Good Lord seems to make a habit of bringing blessings out of absurdity. Perhaps it is our extreme daylight shifts that make us more receptive to what the Gospel has to say about moving from darkness into light, especially when we understand it as moving from the darkness of sin into the light of grace.

     Take a good look at the whole of John’s gospel and you will see how the themes of darkness and light are everywhere. Today’s story about the man born blind is one such passage. It’s of special note that the man is not named. This is a common literary device used in scripture. The reader is invited to place themselves in the role of the unnamed character.

       In ancient Palestine, blindness was seen as a curse resulting from sin, either by oneself or one’s near ancestor. That is why the man was held in contempt by the elders and considered steeped in sin from his birth.

       In a way, each of us is very much like the blind man. We were all subject to the effects of original sin and the curse which came with that, which is death. But thanks be to God that Christ redeemed us by paying the penalty for our sin by his own death on the Cross. In baptism, we enter into the light of grace won for us in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

       The final irony of the story is that the elders who think they are the ones who are in the light, show by their obstinance that they really are not. They see Jesus as a threat to the status quo and to their power base. In rejecting Christ, they reject the light.

       Christ has said that we are the light of the world. This Laetare Sunday, let us shine with the light and the joy of the gospel to all those we will meet this week.

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I’m Back.

Hey, Church fans! Sorry for the long break. Two things at play. First, in the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category, Microsoft in their wisdom has decided to take a very simple process of trimming a video and make it exceedingly difficult and time consuming. Second, I have been pretty busy on Sundays between Masses when these things usually get done.

That said, I’m not preaching this weekend, but here is my column for the week. You can always get them on the parish website: https://www.st.patsak.org or our parish Facebook page: stpatsak .

Primed and Ready.

 When I was Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese, I was always fascinated by the story of the call of the first disciples as depicted in the second part of today’s gospel reading. On the one hand, you have to admire the faith of the first disciples leaving everything to follow Jesus.  At the same time, it does seem a little quick. In the real world, successful business owners like Peter, Andrew, James, and John do not simply just get up and leave everything, no matter how attractive or compelling this Jesus was.  Also, we can read of several others (the rich young man, for example) who received the same invitation as they did and yet did NOT leave everything to follow him.  There has to be more to the story.

Our insight comes from the Gospel of John (1:35). Here we see that Peter, James, John and Andrew were not just quietly going about their business before Jesus showed up in their lives. Rather, reading John it becomes clear that they were very active in their faith.  They were expecting the Messiah and were anticipating his manifestation.  They were waiting for him.

Their faith made them ready. So when Jesus does show up, they could respond in faith. I suspect that they had already said “yes” in their hearts. Only this interior disposition would make possible such a whole—hearted response. 

The lesson for us is clear. We all want to be like Peter, James, John and Andrew.  The key is to prepare ourselves interiorly so that when, through the Holy Spirit, Christ does call us to some work for the Church, either big or small, we can respond with all our heart, soul, and strength. Daily prayer is an essential element of this spirituality of vigilance. Only then can we “await the joyful hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

Welcome Fr. Bill Hanrahan and Fr. Scott Garrett! Fr. Bill will be covering for me while I am out of town getting a little post-Christmas R&R. Fr. Scott will be sharing with us how we can support his mission to bring the gospel to the far western reaches of the Archdiocese. See you in February!

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The Faith of Joseph

[The deacon was preaching this week, so no vid. Here are my thoughts on this week’s gospel. I’ll be in Girdwood at Our Lady of the Snows this evening for the 6:00 Mass if you are in the neighborhood.]

       If there is any time in society when we needed strong dads, it is now. Of course, it was not all that different in the days of Jesus either. God knew the times and he knew the situation into which the Word would be made flesh. He knew that Jesus would need a strong dad.  He found such a dad in Joseph. 

       We don’t know much about Joseph’s personality from the scriptures, but we can learn a lot about him from his actions. 

       I’ve often preached that “Life is messy, and God is faithful.” Nowhere is this more true than how Jesus came into the world. It could have been neat and tidy.  He could have waited until after Mary and Joseph were married.  But he didn’t. He showed up early. That was messy! The precept of the law that is often referred to in this situation is Deuteronomy 22:16-22. Although it is unclear if or how this could be enforced, this precept says that the woman was to be dragged before her father’s house and stoned to death. Regardless, we know that Joseph was kind because he did not wish to expose her to shame.

       But like dreams of Joseph the Patriarch, the dream of Joseph assures him that this is the Lord’s doing, that God’s plan is unfolding in his midst, and he has an essential part to play in that plan. He acts in faith. There is a Yiddish expression that says, “Man makes plans…God laughs!” It was certainly true for Joseph, and it is true for each of us. How many times have we thought we had it all figured out only to have our plans change in ways that we could not imagine. Often it is only in looking back in reflection that we see how the hand of God was guiding not to where we wanted to be, but rather to where we needed to be. 

       We need the faith of Joseph in our world today. This is the faith that prayerfully perceives the plan of God unfolding in our lives and realizes that we each have a part to play in that plan. I want that kind of faith.  I want the faith of Joseph.

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Gaudete Sunday – He Who is to Come

Hey, it’s Gaudete Sunday, where we take a break from the penance of the season and put on the ROSE (not pink) vestments.

    It reminds me of that fellow who was chatting with his neighbor.  He was saying that he was worried that he was getting forgetful, so he was taking a memory course.

    “That’s very interesting,” his friend says, “What kind of course is it?”

    “It’s associative,” he replies. “If I want to remember something I associate it with something else. That way I don’t forget it.”

    “That’s very interesting,” his neighbor says, “What’s the course called?”

    He stops for a moment and says, “I knew you were going to ask me that. Hold on, it’s like a flower, long stem, thorns, and a bud on the end.”

    “You mean a rose?”

    “Yeah…hey, Rose! What’s the name of that course I’m taking?”

    You laugh, but I’ve got my 40th high school class reunion coming up this summer…right in the middle of fishing season!

    But reunions are a great way to get reconnected with old classmates. 

    How many times has this happened to you?  It’s a few years out of school, and you run into someone from high school. You recognize each other. But the conversation goes like this…

    “So…it’s great to see you!  How are you doing? Yeah, I’m great.  Are you living around here?  Great….great…yeah, me too….yeah, great.

    And you keep stalling because you just can’t remember their name!!!

    It looks like John the Baptist is having a senior moment . In Chapter 3, at the Baptism of Jesus, there is the voice from the cloud that said, “This is my beloved Son…”  Now, here in Chapter 11, he doesn’t even seem to know who Jesus is. “Are you ‘he who is to come?’”  What’s up with that?

     Our clue, of course, is in Jesus’ reply to John’s messengers. The blind regaining their sight, the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, the poor having the good news proclaimed to them…all these are definitive signs of the Messiah.  Jesus could simply answer them, “Yep, I’m the guy.”  Instead, he lets his actions do the talking.

     Just this past week I got a good lesson in the old adage: “People will seldom remember what you say, but they will never forget what you did and how you made them feel.”  So it was with Jesus.  So it should be for us.

    In the second part of today’s gospel passage there is a line that just leaps out at me, “…among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

    Sometimes we might feel like we are the least in the Kingdom.  It amazes me that Jesus would say that even at times like that, folks like us are greater than John the Baptist was at that time. 

    Still, it makes sense when you think about it for awhile. The Church firmly believes that all old testament prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.  John was the last and greatest prophet of the old covenant. He even preached its fulfillment in the person of Jesus and got to see Jesus with his own eyes. Even so, the new covenant of grace is of such a higher order that even the least of those of us who are baptized into Christ would be considered greater than John the Baptist.  Mind blown! 

    Gaudete Sunday is a day to rejoice. John saw the fulfillment of his hope in the person of Jesus and he leapt in the womb for joy. Advent calls us to rejoice that the fulfillment of our hope is near as we await the coming of the Lord in glory at the end of the age.

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John the Baptist and Advent

John the Baptist and Advent

[The painting the church joke.] 

     John the Baptist just fascinates the heck out of me.  He is at once terrifying and compelling. Like that scene in the movie you just don’t want to see, yet you cannot look away, even as you squish yourself deeper and deeper into your see and cover your eyes. Why is this so?

       Let’s put him into context.  John was the last and the greatest of the prophets. To understand him, it’s important to understand what prophets were all about. First of all, it’s important to remember that while prophets prophesied, their primary vocation was not to tell the future. Rather, they were seen literally as the mouthpiece of God. God spoke through them. The kings and rulers of Israel were anointed by God through the prophets. (See 1Samuel 16 , 1-13.) The prosperity of the kingdom depended on fidelity to the Covenant.  Therefore, eccentric as prophets were, they had complete access to the halls of power. The primary role was to be the conscience of the nation, the voice of God calling the leaders and the people to fidelity to the Lord.

       Sometimes the leaders of the people were not faithful. At this point the prophets would chastise the leaders to amend their ways or, they prophesied, God’s people would face dire punishments. These punishments were imposed so that the leaders would reform their lives and society and return to the Lord. When they did, the prophets would prophesy great benefits for the people and the return of a true, just, and righteous king. As much as the leaders and the people may or may not have wanted to hear what the prophet had to say, their faith in God compelled them to listen to what God was saying through him.

       Now let’s fast forward to the setting of today’s gospel passage. 

It was a tough time for the Jews in the days of Jesus. Palestine had been under Roman occupation for several generations. Now the people were once again looking forward to deliverance, and the coming of a new Messiah who would establish the Kingdom of Israel once again. 

       Enter John the Baptist.

As the last and greatest prophet, John is doing what prophets do. He is announcing the coming of the ultimate Messiah, exhorting the nation to fidelity to the Lord. Thus, he urges the people to get their lives in order in preparation for his coming, especially the religious leaders – “to make straight the way of the Lord.”

John’s message to them is a good message for us this Advent. What are some of the ways we can “prepare the way of the Lord” in our homes and our hearts. We do so in two ways, practically and spiritually.     

Practically, I always advocate the “Advent Purge.” Get rid of all the physical clutter in your dwelling. Are there good coats you have not used in a year or two? Donate them to the warm clothing drive. Are there things that have been taking up space in your garage for years? Give them away or get rid of them! At the very least, clean out the junk drawer in the kitchen!

Next, get rid of all the spiritual clutter in your life. Start first with a good confession. We have several confessors coming the third week of Advent who have no idea who you are. What a great opportunity to avail yourself of the sacrament.

After that, take a good inventory of your time. Are there things that are stealing your time so that you don’t have time as a family or as an individual to pray? If so, it’s time to make adjustments, no excuses.

       Make no mistake, the Lord is coming again in glory, maybe even before Christmas. The time is short. We need to be ready. Now is a good time for a good practical and spiritual inventory. Let us prepare our parish, our homes and our hearts so that Christ may find us ready to welcome him when he comes.