Wednesday, December 10, 2020

 (Optional) Memorial of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

(Isaiah 40:25-31; Matthew 11:28-30)

The story of St. Juan Diego parallels today’s readings.  The Mexican native convert was on his way to mass outside the City of Mexico. The decline of the number of his people with the arrival of the Spanish no doubt weighed on his heart.  On the journey Juan Diego was stopped by a beautiful woman near the top of Tepeyac hill.  She sent him to the bishop of the city with the request that a chapel be built on the hill.  Doing as directed, Juan Diego eventually witnessed a sign that the vision was no fantasy.  Being told to bring roses to the bishop, the native was surprised to find them growing in the December cold.  When he released them from his mantle before the bishop, the roses left the Virgin of Guadalupe’s image. 

Today’s first reading from Isaiah shows a spirited prophet addressing a people repressed like native Mexicans.  Jerusalem’s exiles have suffered in Babylon for sixty years.  But their time for liberation is at hand.  For some, however, it is an offering too good to be true.  They wonder if they have the energy to return home.  The prophet assures them that the Lord will be their strength.  The gospel confirms God’s assistance.  Humble people can always look to him for comfort and peace.  He will provide for them in need.

We should look to the Lord for consolation and assistance.  Covid has worn many people down.  Perhaps more daunting, however, believers are readily dismissed today as fantasizers.  Many find Christian worship as inconsequential and even counterproductive.  Undefeated, we turn to the Lord for strength and vindication.  There is no need to doubt.  The Lord has come to save us.

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Genesis 3:9-15.20; Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12; Luke 1:26-38)

Sin like sewerage contaminates everything it touches.  The primordial sin of Adam and Eve rejects God’s authority.  Its perversion  does not end there, however.  Both proceed to wrongly cast blame on others.  The man accuses the woman of giving him the forbidden fruit.  The woman says the devil tricked her into eating it. 

The pollution of sin is not definitively arrested until Jesus dies on the cross.  Even then, as we know, sin seeps through cracks in human make-up.  Mary, however, shows herself in today’s gospel as the one exception to the universal occasion of sin.  Faced with a divine mandate, she has no concern for herself.  Her question about how she was to conceive and bear a son is a call for orders on what to do.  Despite being given an exotic answer, she answers definitively.  She will do what God wants.

Today we ponder the exception of Mary to the universality of sins in human persons.  We may see it in two ways.  First, we notice that what happens to Mary happens to us at Baptism.  Christ frees us from sin so that our lives might, as the reading from Ephesians claims, give him fitting praise.  Second, in Mary’s singular case, sin has not tainted her makeup.  From the beginning, her will is dominated by her intellect which, in turn, is fixed on the Holy.  She can tell the angel in today’s gospel without reservation, “’May it be done to me according to your word.’”

Monday, December 7, 2020

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

(Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5:17-26)

St. Ambrose came from an aristocratic Roman family.  He went to Milan as the Roman governor of the region.  He was so successful that when the episcopacy became vacant, the people nominated him for the ministry -- as a layman!  He succeeded beyond expectation.  One of his greatest accomplishments was securing a right relationship between church and state.  He recognized the authority of the state in matters of public welfare.  But he insisted that governments carry out their responsibilities morally if they were to have church support.  When the Roman emperor had civilians murdered, Ambrose forbade him enter his cathedral.  Only after doing the requisite penance was the emperor allowed to worship with the bishop.

Ambrose’s determination is reflected in today’s first reading.  Isaiah exhorts Judah to resist evil.  He encourages the people to be strong first by promising God’s assistance.  Then he holds out the hope of a better world.  He does not speak of a more equitable distribution of resources but of concrete blessings. He says the broken will be made whole and the wasteland converted into a highway.

The United States and, in some sense, the world is now preparing for new leadership.  We hope that President-elect Biden will follow a moral design for a strong society.  We pray that his tenure will be marked by human development and mutual respect among people and nations.  May he follow St. Ambrose’s regard for both the moral and spiritual sensibility of civic governance.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, December 6, 2020

(Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11; II Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8)

Imagine for a moment that it is the middle of the first century. We live near Rome and are members of a community of Christians. We have suffered a lot in recent years. First, they persecuted us for having set the city on fire. It was a lie, but the persecution caused the death of many good people. Saints Peter and Paul were martyred during that wave of persecution. Now the authorities threaten to make us renounce our faith.

Then the community scholar – a man named Mark - announces that his book is finished. He calls his work "euangelion" which means “gospel” or “good news.” The word reminds us of what the prophet says in the first reading today. God has directed him to announce to Israel "glad tidings." But in our case the “good news” is Jesus, the Christ, who has been anointed to establish the kingdom of God. He also calls Jesus "the Son of God." But what does this term mean? Isn't every human person a “child of God”? Of course, but Jesus has a closer relationship to God than any other human. He is the one who has suffered death in perfect obedience to God the Father. Also significant, God raised him from the dead. Now we wait for him to save us from the danger in which we find ourselves.

The Gospel read at Mass today comprises the first verses of this Gospel according to Mark. Interestingly, they do not highlight Jesus but John the Baptist. John is so famous that people come from far away to hear him. They wonder if he is the messiah all Israel has waited for. But his message is clear. He is not the expected one but his harbinger. As important as John is, he can't compare to the one who is to come. He is like an alley cat compared to a tiger or a candle compared to the sun.

John says that when he comes, the liberator will baptize people with the Holy Spirit. He will strengthen them with holiness. Fortified with the Spirit, first century Christians can face death without abandoning their faith. The Spirit fortifies us for another purpose. He gives us charity to testify to Jesus with works of love, even on behalf of those who despise us.

As Israel waiting for its deliverer and as the community of Mark waiting for its savior, we today await Jesus. We count on him to alleviate the many afflictions plaguing afflicting our world. Pope Francis has named these problems "the shadows of a closed world." Among others, the pope has listed the return to the prejudices of the past. Many focus more on claiming the superiority of their own race, nation, and religion than seeking the unity of all peoples. The pope also laments the treatment of human persons as disposable. He has in mind indifference to the dire poor, abortion of babies, and abandonment of the elderly.

We don't wait for Jesus just to justify our horror at these things. There is something much bigger at stake. We want him to show the world that the path to peace passes through forgiveness, justice, and the recognition of all as brothers and sisters.  This leads us to our hope in Advent: that all peoples collaborate to create a better world.

For a whole year we will be reading from this Gospel according to Mark. We are going to hear the the powerful words of Jesus comfort us in affliction. We are going to see how his disciples, as sometimes we do, misunderstand and fail him. And we are going to witness his giving up everything, even his sense of closeness to the Father, for our sake on the cross. Like all the gospels, the one Mark wrote has its own purpose and beauty. It is worth coming every Sunday this year to hear.

Friday, December 4, 2020

 Friday of the First Week of Advent

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

Today’s gospel, as most during Advent, ostensibly fulfills the prophecy in the first reading.  Jesus makes “the eyes of the blind…see.”  The world has likewise experienced steady progress in the elimination of blindness.  One expert has said that if it were not for diabetes, blindness might be extinct today.

But physical blindness is not the only concern of the prophet.  He is taken up with spiritual blindness as well.  He rails against the arrogant whose faces are puffed up with conceit.  These people fail to see how their lifestyles hinder the development of a just world.  Pope Francis analyzes how this blindness comes about in his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.”  He says that communication technology has allowed people to become more selective in the news they receive. They in turn become more convinced of biased arguments and form factions to secure privileges for themselves. 

Our hope for a just world is everlasting because Jesus, the eternal king, is its basis.  During this season of Advent, we hope to see tables turned, at least a little.  We long to see a more equitable distribution of wealth where everyone has basic needs met.  We want the poor to prosper spiritually as well as economically.  We hope that our lives too may prioritize a concern for others rather than a preoccupation with self.