Thursday, December 9, 2021

 (optional) Memorial of Saint Juan Diego of Cuauhtlatloatzin 

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

Today the Church, especially in Mexico, celebrates the feast of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatloatzin.  He was the humble indigenous man who received the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Under orders of the Virgin, he reluctantly visited the bishop of Mexico.  He told the hierarch to build a church for the indigenous on the hill where many lived.  This simple man can be compared and contrasted to John the Baptist in today’s gospel.

Juan Diego had none of the force of John.  After their first encounter, he tried to avoid meeting the Virgin.  He also served in the church that was eventually constructed on the site of the Virgin’s appearance.  Juan Diego was one of “’the least in the Kingdom…greater than John.’”  Like John the Baptist, Juan Diego completed his mission of announcing the coming of the Lord.  The Virgin should be taken as sign that the Lord is near.  Indeed, one of the characteristics of Our Lady of Guadalupe is that she wears a ribbon of pregnancy around her waist.

Humility becomes anyone.  All of us must become humble if we are to enter the Kingdom of God.  The world of “selfies” and Instagram will take issue with this truth.  But we know that John humbled himself before Jesus.  We too must dwell less on ourselves and more on the Lord.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

Martyrs are celebrated throughout the year.  They are the heroines and heroes of the Church.  But Advent particularly favors martyrs.  After all, they reflect the hope which characterizes the season.  They hoped for the eternal life Jesus promises as they died in witness to his Lordship. St. Lucy was an early Sicilian martyr.  As with most martyrs of antiquity we know little about her.  She stands out almost exclusively for the fact of her martyrdom.

In today’s gospel Jesus praises John the Baptist who suffered a martyr’s death.  He calls him the greatest of the prophets because John announces the coming of the Messiah.  Yet he did not know Jesus as the Messiah.  For this reason Jesus says that anyone who knows himself, the embodiment of God’s Kingdom, is greater than John. Those who have known him like St. Lucy and all who believe in the gospel should be ready to die for him.

Is this asking too much of us?  To be sure, it is not asking that we seek to be killed by extremist haters of Christianity.  But it is demanding that we give witness to the Gospel by dying to ourselves.  It means that we always do to others what we would want them to do to us. It also means that we desist seeking our own importance, wealth, and pleasure.  But it means as well that we find joy in Jesus’ company – one that will last forever.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

There is a charming story of St. Thomas Aquinas that may help us appreciate Jesus’ appraisal of John the Baptist in today’s gospel.  As a student of St. Albert the Great, Thomas was ridiculed by his colleagues as “the dumb ox.”  Albert, however, recognizing his student’s genius, commented, “We call him the dumb ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world."

When Jesus says of John “…the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” he does not mean to belittle him.  He merely says that John lies outside the Kingdom because he has not yet committed himself to Jesus.  Although he has announced an ambiguous “one coming after me,” John still sees Jesus as a kind of “dumb ox” who must prove himself.  Of course, Jesus does that repeatedly once John is arrested.  Most wondrously, he shows himself the long-awaited Messiah by his self-surrender on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Advent is a busy but also a holy season.  Some of us find ourselves overcommitted and needing more time.  Others feel satisfied that Christmas greetings have all been mailed and Christmas presents all bought and wrapped.  In both cases we need to step back a moment and realize that the purpose of the season.  It is to recognize the coming of the one who saves us and not about our doing for others, much less for ourselves.  We pray that we may encounter Jesus more deeply and witness to him more convincingly now than ever.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Memorial of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

There is a charming story of St. Thomas Aquinas that may help us appreciate Jesus’ appraisal of John the Baptist in today’s gospel. As a student of St. Albert the Great, Thomas was ridiculed by his colleagues as a “dumb ox.” Albert, however, recognizing his student’s genius, commented, “We call him the dumb ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world."

When Jesus says of John “…the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” he does not mean to undermine John’s importance. He only wishes to say that John is great because he announces the coming of the Messiah who has arrived in Jesus himself. Jesus sees John as outside the Kingdom because he has not yet committed himself to Jesus. For John, Jesus is the “dumb ox” who has to prove himself. Of course, Jesus does just that repeatedly but most wondrously by his self-surrender on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Advent is a busy but also a holy season. Some of us find ourselves overcommitted and needing more time. Others feel satisfied that Christmas greetings have all been mailed and Christmas presents all obtained and wrapped. In both cases we need to step back a moment and realize that the season is about the coming of Jesus, not about human desires. We pray that we may encounter Jesus more deeply and witness to him more clearly now than ever.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Thursday of the Second Week in Advent

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

When the elderly woman was told that she might enjoy reading a popular spiritual writer, she dropped her eyes in humility. Then she explained that she only went to school for a couple of years and never learned to read well. Most of the world, in contrast, is fortunate to have at least a basic education. People may not read enough, but at least they have the basic skills. Likewise most people in the world have access to medical care and hygiene which has dramatically increased the average life span.

If we count our blessings in this way, we can understand why Jesus calls “the least in the kingdom of heaven” greater than John the Baptist. The “least in the kingdom” includes all of us. We are blessed in a way that John was not because we have experienced the fullness of the Kingdom in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Of course, we were not there to witness these events, but in participating in the liturgy of the Church, especially the Eucharist, we encounter for ourselves the risen Christ.

Although John did not witness the Kingdom in its fullness and could not appreciate the extent of God’s love that it brought, he was certainly aware that an experience of God demands human response. John’s constant message was repentance. We must change our sinful ways if we are to benefit from the Kingdom’s blessings. John is the central figure of these middle weeks of Advent because he reminds us that the king who is to come will require some sacrifice on the part of his subjects as he transmits to them the fullness of life.

Homilette for December 13, 2007

Thursday, II Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

(Matthew 11:11-15)

When I suggested that the pious elderly Italian woman might enjoy some spiritual reading, she dropped her head in sadness. Then she confessed that she only went to school for a couple of years and never learned to read well. Most of the world is fortunate to have at least a basic education. We might not read much but we have been taught to read well enough. Likewise we are privileged to live in this era when one can count on growing old. Medicine and hygiene have inverted the average age of death over the last hundred years. In 1900 people died on the average at forty-seven years; in 2000, that number was seventy-four.

If we count our blessings in this way, we can understand why Jesus calls “the least in the kingdom of heaven” greater than John the Baptist. The “least in the kingdom” refers to his disciples, not limited to the inner twelve but all who follow him, including ourselves. We are blessed in a way that John wasn’t because we have experienced the fullness of the Kingdom in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Of course, we were not there to witness these events but the graces that have flowed from them have been manifested in achievements of Christianity from the apostolic community’s holding everything in common to the sister’s of Mother Teresa picking dying people off the streets this morning.

Although John did not witness the Kingdom in its fullness and could not appreciate the love of God that it brought, he was very aware of the effort that it demands. His constant message was repentance. We must change our sinful ways if we are to benefit from the Kingdom’s riches. John is the central figure of these middle weeks of Advent because he reminds us that the king who is to come will require sacrifice of his subjects as he transmits to them the fullness of life.