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.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Monday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 4:2-6; Matthew 8:5-11)

Why is a gospel passage glorifying faith used on the first weekday of Advent, the season of hope?  Perhaps it is to show the intimate relationship between the two virtues.  The centurion comes to Jesus believing that God has given him the power to heal his sick servant.  He does not even insist that Jesus see the sick one but only to pronounce a word of life.  Of course, he is not disappointed.

Many pilgrims come to Lourdes almost desperate – that is, almost giving up hope – but with a faith that approximates that of the centurion.  The experience of common need which the pilgrims share often transforms them.  It confirms their faith and lifts their hope to a higher level.  Being cured is no longer of paramount importance.  What they now desire is to accompany the Lord.

Faith and hope would be illusions without love.  Love for his servant brings the centurion to Jesus, the incarnation of love.  Both ask nothing for themselves but only to assist others.  We believe in Jesus because he has demonstrated his love for us.  And because we hope to encounter him, we demonstrate the same love for others. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Daniel &:2-14; Luke 21:29-33)

In its July issue The Atlantic magazine asked a number of experts when and how the world would end.  The answers varied from relatively soon by means of a smashing asteroid or a volcanic eruption to five billion years from now when the sun expands to take the earth and other planets into its core.  People are always curious about these things.

In today’s gospel Jesus hints that the end will take place before his generation ends.  It sounds then like Jesus is wrong in his prediction as everyone else who has foretold an imminent end.  However, his term “generation” is really indefinite.  A generation may be as long as an epoch or as short as a score and ten years.  The point is of lesser importance to Jesus than the assurance that his words will be remembered forever.

We, Jesus’ followers, must concur with his promise.  Whether the world ends before our life’s candle burns down or, more likely, we die before the earth falls apart, we must keep faithful to Jesus’ words.  When we meditate upon them and put them into practice, we are assumed into eternal life where queries about the world’s end fade before the more real concern of how to make the world a better place for all.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

A number of years ago University of Texas quarterback gave a stellar performance in the Rose Bowl.  He scored a number of touchdowns and was chosen as the game’s most valuable player.  In a post-game interview, the young player did not brag of his accomplishment. Rather, he gave credit for his success to others.  He praised his teammates for their cooperation and thanked his family for their role in making him into the player he was.  In displaying such gratitude Vince Young emulates the Samaritan who returns to Jesus giving thanks.

The gospel passage is unique to Luke.  Jesus heals ten lepers and sends them off to the priest for inspection so that they may once again participate in society.  One of those healed, however, on noticing that he has indeed been cleansed of the dreaded disease returns to thank Jesus.  When he expresses gratitude for full health, Jesus bestows on him the richer blessing of salvation.

Today Americans and all living in the United States have the opportunity to thank God for the blessings bestowed on this great country.  When we do so from the heart – that is, not just by gathering to eat turkey or by even sitting in prayer around the table – but by a change of course as dramatic as the Samaritan’s who returns to Jesus, we also can count on his blessing of salvation.