Monday, December 9, 2013

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Genesis 3:9-15.29; Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12; Luke 1:26-38) 

The gardener held up his trophy.  It was the head of a cobra, the most dreaded snake in his country.  He had severed it while cutting grass with his scythe.  One swoop, done almost by reflex, undid the serpent before it could strike with deadly venom. Once again, the manifest truth of the reading from Genesis today is demonstrated.

The passage stating that a man will strike a serpent’s head while it can only assault a man’s heal intends to give the origin of both the snake’s legless anatomy and the human propensity to cut off its head.  Cutting off a snake's tail would not remove its threat, and its heart is difficult to locate. The surest way to decommission a serpent is to decapitate it.  The reading, however, hints at a deeper meaning than human-serpentine rivalry.  Read from a Christian perspective, it foreshadows how Mary's son, Jesus, will effectively defeat evil by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.  

This implication may sound whimsical as sin is experienced as ubiquitous as dust in a windstorm.  Yet with the fortitude of Jesus’ cross and in the light of his resurrection we can identify evil, ward it off, and root it out.  Mary's Immaculate Conception speaks of the specialness of Christ.  Born of one preserved from all sin, he has enabled us to overcome sin's effect in our lives.

Friday, December 6, 2013

(Optional) Memorial of Saint Nicholas, bishop

(Isaiah 29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31)

One way to corroborate the affirmative answer in the classic editorial “Is there a Santa Claus?” is to refer to St. Nicholas whose feast is celebrated today.  St. Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop legendary for his generosity.  His name was transformed over the centuries to its rendering in Dutch, Santa Claus.  However, the Scripture readings today hint of a better way to think of Santa.

In the first reading Isaiah tells of the day that the blind shall see the work of God in their midst. It will be a time of complete justice when the good will be rewarded and the evil duly punished.  The gospel indicates the fulfilment of the prophecy in Jesus who restores sight to two blind men.  The Lord Jesus may be considered the original referent for Santa Claus.  He brings people what they most deeply want -- light to find their way to salvation.

One of the “O” antiphons sung at the end of Advent recognizes Jesus as the “Morning Star.”  That star is, of course, the rising sun which provides clear light for people to live.  Jesus enlightens our way not just to thrive in daily affairs but to blossom fully in eternity. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21.24-27)

The poor often come to parish offices looking for handouts.  Not untypically, they beg for cash to pay rent or purchase gasoline.  The requests are sometimes denied partly because of limited resources but also because staff members frequently are not sure whether the petitioners are telling the truth.  If the needy were members of the congregation, the staff would likely make every effort to secure assistance.  Today’s Scripture readings indicate why this is so.

The passage from Isaiah and the gospel today are related by the mention of the “Rock” which is the one God on whom the people can rely.  The reading from Isaiah is also connected to the basic gospel message proclaimed by Mary in her canticle praising God’s goodness.  As it says, God comes to upend the arrogant and to lift up of the lowly.  It also says that God provides a strong city with high walls to protect the humble.  The city here can refer to the Church, the community of faithful, who look out for one another.

We remember the poor, especially at this time of year.  Whether or not they are members of our parish, we help them meet their needs so that they too find joy in God’s coming.  But if they are people who kneel with us in prayer, we will naturally exert greater energy.  They would have a prior, although not an exclusive, claim on both our hearts and our bounty.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 25:6-10a; Matthew 15:29-37)

Each Wednesday during Advent the employees of the Diocese of Fort Worth bring food delicacies for an “Advent Table.”  They organize the feast by departments – on one Wednesday it may be the workers in the finance department and chancery who stock the table, on another those from education and ministry, and so on.  The table or tables of delight are placed in the reception area so that visitors may take part in the spread.  Although they do not realize it, Wednesday is the appropriate day because on the first Wednesday of Advent the gospel of Jesus fulfilling Isaiah’s stunning prophecy of the banquet is proclaimed.

The prophecy envisions God providing a kind of Thanksgiving feast for peoples of all races, languages, and nations.  Strife among them will cease.  People will have the veil that obstructs their beholding all men and women as brothers and sisters lifted.  The rich food and wine will cause them to forget forever the enmities of the past.  Jesus’ feeding of the multitude on the mountain fulfills the prophecy and his meal with his disciples the night before he dies carries out its proposition.  That “last supper” has been reenacted millions of times bringing a universal brotherhood to fruition.

We do not have to be reminded that strife still exists.  Some – even those who attend mass regularly – refuse to open their eyes to see Christ among us.  They are not to be pitied as much as to be entreated with sincere affection to see the source of total reconciliation in their midst.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

(Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 10:21-24)

When St. Francis Xavier was a missionary, probably in India, he found the people very receptive of the faith.  One letter home expressed how he exhausted himself baptizing children without reaching anywhere near the majority of people.  He wrote how he fantasized returning to a European university “crying out like a madman” to the men who kept their noses in books.  He would tell them, “…how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you.”

Advent underscores a similar message.  It urges people to wake from their indifference.  It announces that Christ is at hand with salvation for themselves as well as for others.  They must prepare for his arrival by acts of justice and mercy. 

What will it be like when he gets here?  The season picks out the promise of Isaiah that we hear in the first reading today to describe the wonder of his presence.  There will be peace like nothing ever known before: enemies embracing, fear vanishing, and everyone rejoicing in the Lord.