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Christmas Day  Readings: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) | USCCB  Let the light shine  As a child, my anticipation of Christmas Day was intense – the gifts, the cousins I rarely saw, the once-a-year foods. All too quickly, though, the gifts were done, the cousins left, and dinnertime was back to humdrum tuna casserole. How could such a monumental cause for celebration be over so soon?  Today’s Gospel reading reminds us that today is not a singular event to celebrate but a history-upending reality in which we are ongoing active participants. Yes, Christmas represents that moment when “true light” came into our world. But that same reading reminds us about the key role that John played – “He was not the light but came to testify to the light.”  It can be tempting to overlook this aspect of the Christmas story. We are not simply passive beneficiaries of the true light; we are asked to bear witness to it. As Pope Francis puts it, “it is not enough to receive light, one must become light,” for each of us is called to receive “the divine light in order to manifest it with our whole life.”  The Incarnation is God […]

December 22, 2024  Today’s readings: Fourth Sunday of Advent | USCCB    I have been told that all events in Jesus’ life point toward the cross. That includes the happy, holy occasion of Mary’s visitation with Elizabeth as told in today’s Gospel. It also includes Jesus’ humble birth in a stable in Bethlehem, as will be told during the Christmas Eve Mass in just two days.   How can this be? How can these peace-filled moments of Mary’s visit with her cousin and Jesus’ birth – two events that easily capture our imagination and fill our hearts with holy joy – point to Jesus’ crucifixion? Can’t we just “hold that thought” until the hopeful season of Advent and festive season of Christmas are behind us?  Through these profound moments of Jesus’ human nature, we are gifted with a glimpse of the divine heavenly banquet that we pray will one day be ours. The Incarnation – the Word made flesh – is a precious gift to be treasured. But it is only complete through the Son of God’s death and resurrection.  Today’s responsorial psalm serves as a directional or a clue along our path from Bethlehem to Calvary: “Lord, make us turn […]

  Readings: Third Sunday of Advent | USCCB  Jesus accompanies us in our pain – Third Sunday of Advent  Have you ever felt sad or anxious and a friend says to you, “cheer up and look on the bright side,” or “what you need to do to feel better is…”? Despite good intentions to take your pain away, you simply want to be heard and for someone to be with you in your pain.    Today’s readings feel like a friend who tries to “make” you feel better. The prophet Zephaniah exhorts, “Be glad and exult with all your heart…fear not, be not discouraged!”  In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us to “rejoice!” and “have no anxiety at all.”  As much as I would like to “rejoice!” and “have no anxiety at all,” I’m struggling to do so. I am feeling a lot of sadness recently, and I don’t particularly feel like rejoicing. I just want to be accompanied in my pain.   I offer this personal sharing to simply say we all hurt. And sometimes our hurt—due to devastating loss, relationship struggles, injustice, feeling overwhelmed, or whatever it may be—feels immune to being “glad.”    Or is it?    A […]

  Second Sunday of Advent  Second Sunday of Advent | USCCB  Salvation in every time, and in this time  Today’s readings are all about God’s mercy and decisive action – in the past, in the future, and today. They inspire hope in suffering people.  The Book of Baruch recalls the Babylonian Exile, a period of devastating loss and destruction for ancient Israel. But now, God is returning the people to their home, and re-fashioning them into a community of mercy and justice. Baruch calls Jerusalem (and us) to stand up and look for this joyful restoration. Likewise, today’s Psalm describes the overwhelming joy experienced by those rescued from exile and returned home.  In a similar vein, Paul’s letter to the Philippians rejoices “that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6) – even though Paul is writing from prison, and he will soon be executed.   The Gospel of Luke brings this theme of joyful expectation to bear on a very specific place and time: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee . . […]