Gospel

In the beginning was the Word,
        and the Word was with God,
        and the Word was God.
    He was in the beginning with God. 
    All things came to be through him,
        and without him nothing came to be.
    What came to be through him was life,
        and this life was the light of the human race;
    the light shines in the darkness,
        and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, 
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
    He was in the world,
        and the world came to be through him,
        but the world did not know him.
    He came to what was his own,
        but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.
    And the Word became flesh
        and made his dwelling among us,
        and we saw his glory,
        the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
        full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying, 
“This was he of whom I said, 
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me 
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses, 
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, 
has revealed him.

Jn 1:1-18

Reflection

Today we celebrate the culmination of all our Advent preparations. Our ANCC online Advent retreat helped center our thoughts on God. The daily reflections on the Advent Gospels provided emphasis on the spirituality of our anchoring ourselves to the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery which brought Jesus Christ into human history. This Christ  event has forever changed everything for us in the world. As we enter into the mystery of the Incarnation allowing the transforming graces to continue to daily remind us of the humility of the crib. 

Theodotus of Ancyra, a 5th century bishop of the Eastern Church reminds, “Do you not see how his lack of worldly goods was a prophecy and how his poverty, accepted for our sake, showed his accessibility to all? No one was afraid to approach Christ, overawed by his immense wealth; no one was kept from coming to him by the grandeur of his royal estate. No, he who was offering himself for the salvation of the world came as an ordinary worker.”

Action

We can try this year to be more conscious of behaving in such a manner that all our actions might join in sharing God’s desire to be one with is with everyone we might, especially those on the margins of our society.

Most Rev. George R. Lucey, FCM | Presiding Bishop
American National Catholic Church

Gospel

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Lk 1:26-38

Reflection

Have you ever wondered how you would react if an angel suddenly appeared to you and said that God has a special assignment for you?  It could happen to any one of us.  Chances are that we would be afraid as Mary was.  But we have the advantage of the New Testament which tells us of God’s working in our lives through His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Mary didn’t know what the future would hold for her.  But we know what the future holds for us if we believe in Jesus and walk in His footsteps with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Action

Tomorrow we will again celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Gabriel tells Mary that nothing is impossible for God.  How true that is!  God loves us so much that He became a man to save us from our sins and to open the gates of heaven to us.  Whether or not an angel will ever appear to us is for God to decide.  But we must decide how to respond to our calling to follow Jesus.  Hopefully we will say yes as Mary did and continue to make Jesus present in how we treat others.  There is a song called “The Secret of Christmas.”  And the secret is: not the things we do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things we do all year through.  

Fr. Anthony Testa

Pastor – Our Lady of Guadalupe

Long Branch, NJ

Gospel

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

Lk 1:57-66

Reflection

The Gospel of Luke 1: 57-66 reminds us of the need for and power of self-reflection throughout our lives, a practice that is principally crucial during Advent.  As we approach the coming of Christ, it is evident that we must be awake to our thoughts, to our expectations, to our beliefs, our faith and to our overall intuition.  During Advent, it is particularly important to develop and/or strengthen our faith.  Do our current attitudes and beliefs support who we think we are as Christians?  Do our actions and our intentions align with our faith?  Does our external presentation that we show to our parishioners, friends and family truly represent who we are internally?  Advent is a time to reflect upon the congruence between our internal and external selves and work to realign them might they be out of balance.  Advent is a time for purification; a time for internal house cleaning, if you will, so that we may bring forth our best self to present to Jesus, as we celebrate our Lord’s birth.  It is particularly important that we learn to listen to our spiritual intuition, to strengthen our resolve to trust our “spiritual gut”, so that we can listen as well as hear God through our hunches, dreams, prayers, and other intuitive experiences, toward renewed spiritual awakening.

In Luke 1:19-20, Zechariah was silenced! The Archangel Gabriel was not impressed by Zechariah’s doubt and cynicism regarding his message that the elderly Elizabeth was going to have a son, so he took away his voice and he became mute.  Without a voice, Zechariah had little choice but to listen.  It was only through nine months of silence that Zechariah moved from doubt to belief, a process that probably only occurred through listening as well as by “hearing” the words of God. He had to move beyond cynicism to acceptance, a process that can be difficult for any of us.  His voice was restored when he surrendered his egoist reality and accepted God’s guidance by validating that their son would be named “John”. This Gospel begs the question, are we listening and are we hearing what is coming to us through the gentle wind of the Lord?  Are we open or has our humanity blocked our connection to God leaving us to just go through the motions this Advent?

Action

We have a growth opportunity this Advent and for the coming year to be genuine to our idealized Catholic self.  To reach this goal we must live our lives as authentically as possible to our faith.  This involves moving beyond ego and pride, and truly listening for the word of God.  As we listen, we must be open to the subtle spiritual guidance and messages that the Holy Spirit provides to us. As we know, “The holy Spirit shall come upon you” (Luke 1:35) and when this occurs, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

We can reflect upon what we hear and work toward internal congruity between our idealized Catholic self and how we are in the world, or we can jump to a quick conclusion like Zechariah, leading us to be silenced to nine months in the desert.  Let us reflect upon how we may have silenced our own selves by not being authentic to our being.  How has this blocked our divine union with God?  How long will it take us to learn the lessons meant for us, that required Zechariah months to learn?  It took Zechariah nine long months to become a “wiseman.”  It took the three kings just a poignant bright star to lead them to our joyous Savior.  How long do we need to be led to Jesus? It’s not as hard as it may sometimes seem.  As the responsorial psalm (Luke 21:28) proclaims today “Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand”.

Respectfully in Christ,

James M. Conti, Seminarian

St. Joseph of Arimathea and Sts. Francis and Clare

Gospel

Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months
and then returned to her home.

Lk 1:46-56

Reflection

The Gospel for today is a continuation of yesterday’s reading.  In the opening words of this Gospel, Mary proclaims the goodness and greatness of God.  Despite the highly unusual circumstances of her call to be the mother of Jesus, Mary rejoices and proclaims that God has looked upon her with great favor.  She isn’t overwhelmed by fear or panic.

Mary’s immediate and heartfelt response to God’s call makes it clear that Mary had a deep, personal relationship with God.   She must have been somewhat confused by this call, yet Mary trusted the God who called her.  Mary believed that God would guide her and grace her.  While Mary was very young when God called her, she had a depth of faith and trust in God that many people never develop.  What a wonderful gift!

We also can experience the gift of a personal and intimate relationship with God.  Our relationship with God develops in the same way that any personal relationship develops: with time and experience.  I assume that most of us do not place a great deal of trust in someone we have just met.  True trust grows over time.  It’s our personal experience of the person that enables us to begin to trust that individual.  This also is true in our relationship with God. On some days, I thank God for giving me the strength to keep going.  At other times, I am grateful to God for the multitude of blessings I have received.   Sad to say, there also are some days when I forget to thank God.

Action

Take a moment and ask yourself: What is going well in my life?  Do I take these blessings for granted?  Do I thank God for the many blessings I receive each day?  When/if life is painful, confusing, or difficult, do I still praise and thank God?  

Today, let’s ask Mary to give us a share of her faith and trust in God—and of her love for God.  Mary will walk with us and show us the way.

Fr. Jim Jakubowski

Co-Vicar of Clergy ANCC

Co-Pastor Sacred Heart of Jesus Kearny, NJ

Gospel

Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

Lk 1:39-45

Reflection

In this little passage, we only get a small glimpse into Mary’s visit with her kinswoman, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth, thought to be barren is with child.  Mary, who had not been with a man, is also with child.  Here we see two women, two different, but miraculous pregnancies, the destinies of their children are linked, but there is no way that they understood their roles or the roles of their children in salvation history.  It is only with time, that they will come to this understanding.

Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist recognizes something special about the presence of Mary and “leaps” for joy, a foreshadowing of his role in life.  Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, makes a proclamation recognizing Mary as the “mother of my Lord” and thusly acknowledging Mary’s child as Lord. She continues by calling Mary blessed for believing in God’s word to her.

For me, the most mystifying aspect of this encounter is that Elizabeth makes proclamations over things that she has no reason to know, Mary had not yet had time to tell her of her encounter with the angel.  She hadn’t had time to tell her she was with child.  There were no telephones, texts, emails, etc.  The text says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  That’s the key!  And guess what?  That same Holy Spirit resides within us!

Action

We live in a time where it is very easy to forget about God.  When I grew up, there were three stations on tv, if you counted PBS, there were four.  Now we have cable.  Which means, there are 100s of channels of stuff that I do not want to watch.  But there is more.  Many of us carry phones with us that hold music, videos, news, etc.  Where is the silence?  It is possible to be over stimulated.  In fact, many of us may be addicted to this stimulation, perhaps under the guise of needing to be ever more productive.  We need to quiet ourselves?  We need sometime to contemplate our lives and the events of our lives.  I fully believe that God speaks to us, but we need to be listening.  We need to expect that somehow, out of the darkness, God reaches out to us, to lead and guide us.  Just like a parent has a unique relationship with each child, God has a unique relationship with each of us.  No two are exactly alike.  But there are similarities.  Most importantly, we ought to be listening for the voice of God.  Sometimes it is obvious, while other times it is not.  Sometimes it comes through friends, family, relationships at work.  It can come through events.  I encourage each of us to slow down a bit.  Take some quiet time to reflect on what is happening around you.  God most often makes his presence known to us in the ordinary things of life.  Let us slow ourselves down and take a listen.

Fr. Louie Amezaga

Las Cruces, NM

Gospel

In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Lk 1:26-38

Reflection

This Gospel from Luke is one that is very familiar to us.  It’s the story of Mary’s Annunciation when the angel appeared to her and revealed to her that she would conceive and bear a Son.  

Luke says that Mary was extremely troubled at the angel’s news.  She must have had many questions and concerns:  What did all this mean?  How was this to come about?  What would she tell Joseph?  This tale was too fantastic for him to believe!  Would he believe her or reject her?  Yet somehow in the middle of her turmoil, Mary was able to trust God.  And she freely consented to what God was asking of her.  

Mary had to have a deeply personal relationship with God.  And it was this relationship that enabled her to trust and say “yes” to what God was asking her to do.  Mary, from a young age, must have trusted God in all things.  And she would trust God even in this surreal situation.  Yet, how was she to explain her situation to Joseph?  Yet, she had to share this fantastic experience with him.  How would he react?  Would he be angry or humiliated? Would he reject her?   Or would he draw his own conclusions and believe that Mary had “been” with another man?  Imagine the range of emotions that this young Mary must have experienced!

At times, Jesus (and life) also presents us with difficult or painful situations that may stir up a range of emotion in us.  How do we respond?  Do we trust that God will guide and grace us?  

We have a wonderful model in Mary.  Like Mary, we need to keep ourselves grounded in the God we know, trust and love.  If we do this, then we may believe and trust that we will receive the grace and strength we need.  This will bring us peace.  God will bring us peace!

Today let us ask Mary to pray for us.  She has “walked in these shoes.”  She will walk with us always!

Action

Pray and ask Mary to help you to draw closer to God and ask for Mary’s help when God is asking for our “Yes!” in what God asks of us.  Pray the same for others you know, that their faith will be just as strong to say “Yes!” as well.

Fr. Roger Hernandez, Pastor

Nuestra Senora de la Medalla Milagrosa

Germantown, MD

Gospel

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.

Once when he was serving as priest
in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in reply,
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”

Lk 1:5-25

Reflection

Today we hear the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and of John the Baptist’s conception.  In this reading there are echoes of the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would bear a child.  An angel of God appears to Zechariah as he was praying in the sanctuary of God.  The angel tells Zechariah that Elizabeth will conceive and bear a son.   

Zechariah is very troubled by the angel’s message.  For many years Elizabeth and Zechariah had longed for a child and they had never received that gift.  Yet standing before him was an angel telling Zechariah that Elizabeth in her old age would conceive.  The angel also prophesied that this child would be filled with the Holy Spirit and their son would be a prophet, one who would prepare the way for the “One” who would come.

Naturally, Zechariah was very skeptical.  He doubted the angel’s message. Zechariah then asked the angel how this was to come about since both he and Elizabeth were long past child-bearing years.  In response, the angel announced that since Zechariah did not believe the angel’s message, Zechariah would be unable to speak until all these happenings came to pass! If we received a message like this from an angel, how would we react?  Most likely, we also would respond with great disbelief.  And we might wonder if we were going crazy.  Yet at times, God does act in strange and fantastic ways.  Maybe when we are doubtful we should re-read this Gospel passage.  If (when) this happens to us, let us pray to Zechariah and Elizabeth.  They will “come to our aid.”  They will help us trust and believe that God is calling us!

Action

Think of someone you know who may be a “doubting Thomas” or a “doubting Thomasina” and spend some time in prayer for their intentions to remove the obstacles that keep them from believing.

Fr. Jim Jakubowski

Co-Vicar of Clergy ANCC

Co-Pastor Sacred Heart of Jesus Kearny, NJ

First Reading

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”

Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.

Jer 23:5-8

Reflection

“O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.”

“The name of the Most High God, whose true name could not be uttered, and of whom it was said that no-one could gaze the face of God and live. Adonai is the Lord of armies, who will march out to save the people in battle.”

Fr. Vincent Treglio, FCM

Franciscan House of Prayer

First Reading

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

Is 61:1-2A, 10-11

Reflection

Today is Gaudete or rejoicing Sundy.  It gets its name from the first line of the original Latin introit that was used for the third Sunday in Advent. Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.”  This simple phrase marked a shift in the tone for the congregants in those days.  Up until the 9^th century, Advent was a 40 day penitential season similar to Lent.  It was later shortened to the 4 week period that we know today.  But Gaudete Sunday was that “let your hair down” Sunday, a day to hear readings that were about things fun, to Rejoice in God.

Isaiah gives us that tone in today’s reading.  This passage is from the second half of Isaiah.  In the Hebrew scrolls in synagogues, it is in a scroll all by itself.  This is because the tone between the writings is so different.  Isaiah is telling his people it is time to go home.  Rejoice! Rejoice your time in captivity on foreign soil is over look to Jerusalem the city of peace again.

Isaiah’s tone is that we should all want for in the world.  We should all be proclaiming good news to the captive, healing to the brokenhearted, and glad tidings to the poor.  It is after all why Jesus in his ministry echoes those lines. It’s our hallmark.  To be people of good cheer, in proclaiming the word, and in doing the work we have been given to do.  But many of us like the Israelites remain of a mentality of “the captive.” Captive to the four walls of the church for service, captive to our own limitations, captive to our inability to trust in God.

Isaiah’s call is to not be limited but to be limitless in our commitments, and our trust in God and each other in ministry.

Food for Thought:

What ways have you been captive?

What has held you back from answering the call of God?

What has God given you to rejoice about?

All of these are great points to reflect and meditate on this day.  And I pray that they help direct you to the coming year and the coming of the Christ Child.  God Bless+

The Rev. Fr Matthew Schnabel, nFCM

Sts Francis and Clare Parish

Wilton Manors,FL

Assistant Pastor.

Gospel

As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Mt 17:9a, 10-13

Reflection

Advent is not only a period of waiting it is a period of divine anticipation. When the ancient world was mired down in its own sin and ignorance, it was the liberation of Christ that brought hope. Christ was born to the world and brought light to a place of darkness. The world was touched by this light and is forever changed; we are forever changed. Advent is about anticipating grace and welcoming it again and again. Jesus came into the world, came into our hearts and we anticipate His coming again and again.

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and was known for criticizing those who oppressed the poor. He would point out the sins and wrong doing of corrupt priests and merchants. While he would often speak of sin and punishment, he ended his writings with words of forgiveness and hope, much like the season of Advent. He reminds us that God is the Good Shepherd who “removes guilt and pardons sin” “Who does not persist in anger forever but delights in clemency” He will “cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.”(Mi 7:18-19). It is no wonder that the God of the Old Testament would come to transform into the God of the New Testament in Luke. Here we remember the story of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15, 1-3,11-32). God the Father waits on the road for His son to return. There is no punishment, no shame, no “I told you so,” just forgiveness and celebration. We were once dead, and have been given the gift of life. We were lost and are now found.

It is ironic that Advent is the beginning of another liturgical year, when in reality it is the end of our calendar year. When we end another year we reflect on the passing one. We take a moment to reflect and examine our actions. We have accomplishments and we have regrets much like I trust we will have when our lives on this planet are ending. But the God of Hope and anticipation will redeem us and make our joy complete.

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas
Fr. Richard