Christmas- (A) II- Four Lectionary-based Homilies- 2025

Christmas Vigil homily in one page: Is 62:1-5; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [1:18-25] (1-page summary) Introduction: The Scripture readings for the Christmas Vigil Mass remind us how God showed His Mercy to the mankind by choosing Abraham and adopting his descendants as His Chosen People, disciplining them by slavery in Egypt and later in Babylon, making them a prosperous nation under God-fearing kings, then disciplining them again, by Greek and Roman conquerors, when they proved unfaithful, and finally by giving them their promised Savior-King in the form of Baby, Jesus, in Bethlehem. Thus today, at this Christmas Vigil Mass, we are celebrating the fulfillment of our God’s prophecies about sending His own Son to save a sinful world.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah prophesies how the God of Israel will honor the desolate and forsaken Jerusalem and land of Israel by espousing her as a man marries a virgin and makes her a mother. Yahweh does this by sending His long-awaited Messiah into Israel to possess it and rule over it. The Messiah will vindicate Israel and save her. Through His prophet Isaiah, the Lord God wished to inspire the hopeless Israelites, returned from the Babylonian exile, to plant crops and make their desolate land fertile and prosperous so that she might be able to hold up her head again among the other nations. In the second reading, St. Paul recounts the history of God’s mercy to Israel, His chosen people. God showed His mercy to His chosen people of Israel by fulfilling the prophecy about His long-awaited Messiah. He sent His Son as the Savior and the descendant of David. The Gospel reviews the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17), tracing his descent from Abraham through David as foretold by the prophet, then describing his birth as our Savior at Bethlehem (1:18-25), through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel also shows how God resolved the doubts of Joseph by sending His angel, first to reassure Joseph, then to instruct him to name the child Jesus. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yehosua, which means ”Yahweh is salvation.” Just as the first Joshua (the successor of Moses), saved the Israelites from their enemies, the second Joshua (Jesus) would save them from their sins. Life messages: 1) We need to allow the Savior to be reborn in our lives. Let us humbly admit the truth with the German mystic Angelus Silesius “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.” ( https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Angelus_Silesius). So, let us allow Him to be reborn in our lives during Christmas 2025 and every day of the New Year 2026. Let us also show the good will and generosity of sharing Jesus, our Savior, reborn in our hearts, with others as love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and humble service. 2) We need to experience Christmas as it takes place at Christ’s Mass on our altars. Jesus becomes present on our altars to become our spiritual food, to nourish our souls so that we may become his healthy children. Let us worship him by our active participation in the Holy Mass as the angels, shepherds and wise men did in the Gospel story. 3) We need to have a Christmas gift for the Christ-Child because we are celebrating his birthday. Hence, instead of focusing our full attention on giving Christmas gifts to family members, let us give our hearts to Jesus today, filled with sacrificial love, overflowing mercy, selfless caring, and unconditional forgiveness for others.

CHRISTMAS VIGIL(Full text): Is 62:1-5, Acts 13:16-17, 22-25, Mt 1:1-25 [1:18-25]

Homily starter anecdote: 1) Consider Christmas Again: When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in AD 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today? In 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi used a nearby cave to set up a manger filled with straw, and his friend, Vellita, brought in an ox and a donkey,  and a married couple with their infant, just like those at Bethlehem, nobody saw how that novel idea was going to evolve through centuries. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today? There is an unproved legend that Martin Luther is responsible for the origin of the Christmas tree. This story says that one Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through the snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of the snow glistening on the trees. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a small fir tree and shared the story with his children. He decorated the Christmas tree with small candles which he lighted in honor of Christ’s birth. In 2025, burdened as we are by the many wars and economic disasters that plague our world and country, and  we walk through Advent again in the midst of all the excitement, elaborate decorations and frantic commercialization which surround Christmas, we are given another opportunity to pause, and to consider again the event of Christmas and the Person whose birth we celebrate. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2) Kierkegaard has a fable of a king who fell in love with a maid. A king fell in love with a poor maid. The king wanted to marry her. When he asked his counselors, “How shall I declare my love?” they answered, “Your majesty has only to appear in all the glory of your royal raiments before the maid’s humble dwelling, and she will instantly fall at your feet and be yours.” But it was precisely that which troubled the king. He wanted her glorification, not his. In return for his love, he wanted hers, freely given. Finally, the king realized love’s truth, that freedom for the beloved demanded equality with the beloved. So late one night, after all the counselors of the palace had retired, he slipped out a side door and appeared before the maid’s cottage dressed as a servant to confess his love for her. — Clearly, the fable is a Christmas story. God chose to express His love for us humans by becoming one like us. We are called to obey, not God’s power, but God’s love. God wants not submission to His power, but in return for His love, our own(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

3) Gospel Infancy Narratives: In Scripture, the birth of Jesus is only of secondary importance to his death and Resurrection. The meaning of his birth is understood properly only in the light of his life, death, and resurrection.  Luke begins with two Annunciation stories. First, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, an old man whose wife was beyond the age of childbearing, to tell him that Elizabeth would conceive a son. The Old Testament often used the literary technique of saying that someone was conceived by a mother beyond childbearing years to highlight that this person was called by God to a special mission. But if being born of a woman beyond child-bearing years was remarkable, how much more extraordinary, and how much greater the person must be destined to be, who is born of a mother without the intervention of a human father! The story of the two annunciations is a way of highlighting the dignity and importance of Jesus.  St. Luke tells us (2:7) that Mary “gave birth to her firstborn and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.” The thrice-repeated word manager is the most important word in this account. The child laid in the  manger will be found in the manger because it is in the Infant lying there that people will find the sustenance of God. The finding of the child in the manger  tells us that God wants to be found by his people again and to be recognized once more as the people’s sustenance. The Child was wrapped in swaddling clothes that suggest a royal child, a son of King David. Very often the shepherds are presented as devout people who spent their time praying for the coming of the Messiah while tending their flocks. Actually, in the literature of the time, they were looked down on by society and often mentioned with tax-collectors and whores! So, God’s choice of these lowly, despised shepherds for the first visitors to the manger tells us that the Savior of sinners and outcasts has been born. He is a Savior who makes the last become first and for Whom there are no outcasts. The angels’ song, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men with whom He is well pleased,” [“of good will”] is a way of saying that God was present at the birth of Christ who would bring salvation to all people. (Bible Claret) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

4) “Does your Master have anything to declare?”  In the movie, The Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings, there is another scene which attracts our attention. Jesus, after he began his public ministry, had called a few people to become his Apostles. First, he called Peter and Andrew, and James and John. In this scene, we see Jesus walking with them and some of his other followers. As they pass by tax collector Mathew, he asks Jesus, “Do you have anything to declare?” But because of the noise of the crowd Jesus does not hear it. Hence, Mathew asks John, “Does your master have anything to declare?” Immediately John replies, “Yes, his love for you!” As John told Mathew, Jesus has something to declare to us during this Christmas season, and it is his love for us. Yes, Jesus loves each one of us dearly. That is why he was born in Bethlehem and later died for us on the cross in Jerusalem. It is because he loves each one of us very much that he remains with us even today in the form of the Eucharist. Remember, Jesus has a title – Emmanuel — which means God is with us. (Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottyil CMI).

Introduction: The Scripture lessons for today focus on the first Christmas. In the first reading, Isaiah shows us the vindication of Israel by the Lord God. This vindication has found its fulfillment, for all of us, in the coming of Jesus as our Savior. The Refrain for tonight’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 89), has us sing gratefully of this Salvation, “Forever I will sing the Goodness of the Lord!” In the second reading, St. Paul recounts the history of God’s mercy to Israel, His chosen people. That mercy has culminated in the birth of Jesus, the Messiah for Whom the Jews have been waiting for centuries. The Gospel reviews the genealogy of Jesus, tracing His descent from David, then recounts the story of His birth in Bethlehem as our Savior.

The first reading, Isaiah: 62:1-5 explained. After their exile in Babylon, the Jews returned to Judah where they had a difficult time restoring their old institutions, their economy, their capital Jerusalem, and their Temple on Mount Zion. They were quite discouraged when the prophet Isaiah received this prophecy from God to restore their fallen spirits (Chapters 56-66.)   Just as we look forward to the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, so Isaiah looked forward to God’s ending of Israel’s shame, and the coming of the Promised Redeemer (though, in God’s plan, the second event would follow the first only after a silence of some 400 years). In today’s text, Isaiah uses imagery to describe the conversion of Israel from gloom to joy. Isaiah compares the dispirited Jewish people to a woman who had thought she would never marry. But she suddenly has found a suitor! It’s Israel, the land of the Jews that the Lord proposes to marry, and, by extension, to make fertile. The prophecy’s goal has been to inspire the hopeless people to plant crops and make their desolate land fertile.   Now, the Lord God says through Isaiah, Israel will be able to hold up her head again among the other nations, who will see her vindication.

Second Reading, Acts 13:16-17, 22-25 explained: This reading is taken from the account of Paul’s first missionary journey, which began in Syria and took him to Antioch in Pisidia.  This is the first of the several speeches of St. Paul in which he tells   the Jews that the Christian Church is the logical development of Judaism.  When St. Paul delivered this speech, the Jews had 1800 years of history behind them. Paul takes advantage of their knowledge to show that the coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of all history.

Exegesis: The genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:1-17):  While Paul presents Jesus as a descendent of David in our second reading, Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy from Abraham. This genealogy not only shows Jesus’ human ancestry, but also indicates that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth of the Son of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Though we often skip over these lists of names, the Gospel writers took great pains to compile the genealogies and to make several theological points in the process. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a line of ancestors whom Matthew arranges into three groups, of 14 patriarchs, 14 kings and 14 princes. The three groups are based on the three stages of Jewish history: i) the rise of Israel to a great kingdom by the time of David, ii) the fall of the nation at the time of Babylonian exile and iii) the resurrection of the nation after the exile. Strangely enough, the list includes a number of disreputable characters, including three women of bad reputation: Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba. Perhaps the Lord God included these women in His Son’s human genealogy to emphasize God’s grace, to give us all hope, and to show us that Jesus is sent to save sinners.  Thus, God’s powerful work of salvation comes to us under the appearance of weakness. From the beginning, Matthew’s account challenges our human expectations as to how God will fulfill our hopes for endless peace, justice, and righteousness. Luke’s account shows us another example of this kind of challenge. The royal child, heir to King David’s throne and bearer of wonderful titles, is born in poverty. He is laid in a manger because there is no room in the inn.

The three-step marriage:   Engagement, betrothal and marriage proper were the three stages of the Jewish marriage ceremony.   The engagement was often made through the parents when the couples were only children. The betrothal was the ratification of the engagement into which a couple had previously (been) enterwife, — legally married, but without cohabitation and conjugal rights for one year. The third stage was the marriage proper, which took place at the end of the year of betrothal. It was during the betrothal period that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus. The essence of God’s story in Matthew is that, in the birth of Jesus, the Spirit of God is seen operating in the world as He has never done before.

Joseph the “father” of Jesus (Mt. 1:18-25): While Luke’s Gospel emphasizes the role of Mary, Matthew’s brings Joseph to the forefront.  Joseph is important to Matthew’s Gospel, because Jesus came from David’s lineage through Joseph (1:1-17).  The Davidic descent of Jesus is shown as both legal and natural. In other words, Jesus is descended from Abraham and David not only by physical descent but also by God’s supernatural action. The Davidic descent of Jesus is transferred not through natural paternity but through legal paternity. Matthew carefully constructs verse 1:18 to avoid saying that Jesus was the son of Joseph. As Mary’s legal husband, Joseph became the legal father of Jesus. Later, by naming the child, Joseph acknowledged Him as his own. The legal father was on par with the biological father as regards rights and duties.  Since it was common practice for couples to marry within their clan, probably Mary also belonged to the house of David. Several early Church Fathers, including St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus, St. Justin, and Tertullian, testify to this belief, basing their testimony on an unbroken oral tradition. Joseph is presented as a righteous man (v. 19), who chose to obey God’s command rather than to observe rigidly a law that would have required him to divorce Mary publicly.   He resolved to divorce Mary quietly in order that he might not cause her unnecessary pain.  In this resolution, Joseph serves as a model of Christ-like compassion.  He also demonstrates a balance between the Law of Torah and the Law of Love. While Luke tells the story of the Archangel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary (Luke 1:26-38), Matthew tells us only that the Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

The Divine intervention through the angel: Luke tells us of Mary’s obedience (Luke 1:38), and   Matthew tells us of Joseph’s obedience.  This is the first of four occasions on which an angel appears to Joseph in a dream.  In each instance, the angel calls Joseph to action, and Joseph obeys. He is told   not to be afraid of his fiancée’s pregnancy, nor of the opinion of his neighbors, nor even of the requirement of the Torah that Mary be punished.  He is not to hesitate, but is to wed Mary. “She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Mary’s role is to bear a Son, and Joseph’s role is to name Him.  By naming Him, Joseph makes Jesus his Son and brings Him into the house of David.

Jesus the Savior as the fulfillment of prophecy: The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehosua, which means “YHWH is salvation.” Just as the first Joshua (successor of Moses), saved the Israelites from their enemies, the second Joshua (Jesus) will save them from their sins.  The Jews, however, did not expect a Messiah Who would save them from their sins, but one who would deliver them from their political oppressors. Matthew stresses the fact that the birth of Jesus as Savior is the fulfillment of a prophecy by Isaiah (7:14): “’Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name him ‘Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.'” The fulfillment of the prophecy is important to Matthew’s first audience, Jewish converts, which is why Matthew mentions the fulfillment of eleven prophetic statements about Jesus in his Gospel.  The context of the verse taken from Isaiah is the dilemma of King Ahaz in the eighth century BC.  Jerusalem was under siege, and it appeared that both the city and the nation might be destroyed.  Isaiah’s prophecy was that a boy-child would be born and that, by the time he reached maturity, the threat from the enemy would have passed.  We do not know that boy’s identity, but the city and nation were both spared. Some scholars suggest that King Ahaz’s successor in Judah, King Hezekiah, who was faithful to the Lord God (as his father had not been), was the partial fulfillment of this prophecy. “The Church  has always followed St. Matthew in seeing the transcendent fulfillment of this verse in Christ and His Virgin Mother,” declares the NAB note on this verse.

Emmanuel born of a Virgin: The NRSV correctly translates ho parthenos as “the virgin” rather than “a virgin.”  In other words, the original uses the definite article.  Isaiah referred to a young woman (almah), but Matthew’s ho parthenos clearly refers to a virgin.  That is why the Church has always taught Mary’s perpetual virginity. “‘They shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.'” In Hebrew, El is a short form of Elohim, a name for God.  Immanu-El, therefore, means “God with us,” a meaning which Matthew spells out for non-Hebrew readers.  Emmanuel is not a second name by which friends and neighbors will know Jesus.  “Jesus” is Our Lord’s true name, and   Emmanuel describes his role.  Thus, Matthew begins his Gospel with the promise that Jesus’ role-name means “God-with-us.”  He will end his Gospel with Jesus’ own promise that He will be with us “always, to the end of the age” (28:20).

Life messages: 1) We need to look for Jesus in unlikely places and persons.   During the Christmas season we, like the Magi, must give our most precious gift, our life, to Jesus.  We will learn to discover Him in the most unlikely places and in the most distasteful people –- in those who live in suffering or in distress, in poverty, or in fear. The message of Christmas is that we can truly find Jesus if we look in the right places –- in the streets, in the slums, in the asylums, in the orphanages, in the nursing homes –- starting in our own homes, workplaces, and town. We need to look for Him in people that we might otherwise ignore: the homeless, the sick, the addicts, the unpleasant people, the rebels, or the people of different culture and lifestyle from us.  True Christmas is about celebrating the coming of God among the poor, the homeless, and the disadvantaged, with a message of hope and liberation for these sufferers in our world.  It is about our responsibility to be part of that liberating process.  It is about working to remove from our world the shameful blot of poverty, discrimination, and exploitation that is the lot of too many in our environment of prosperity. God challenges us to be like the shepherds who overcame their fear in order to seek out Jesus, or like the Wise Men who traveled a long distance to find Him. Then we will have the true experience of Christmas – the joy of the Savior.

2) We need to allow the Savior to be reborn in our lives.   Let us humbly admit the truth with the German mystic Angelus Silesius: “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.”( https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Angelus_Silesius).   So, let us allow Him to be reborn in our lives during Christmas 2025 and every day of the New Year 2026. How should we prepare for Christ’s rebirth in our daily lives? As a first step, John the Baptist urges us to repent daily of our sins and to renew our lives by leveling the hills of pride and selfishness, by filling up the valleys of impurity, and by straightening the crooked paths of hatred. Our second step in preparing for Christ’s rebirth in our daily lives is to cultivate the spirit of sacrifice and humility.   It was by sacrifice that the shepherds of Bethlehem and the Magi were able to find the Savior. They were humble enough to see God in the Child in the manger.   We, too, can experience Jesus by sharing Him with others, just as God shared His Son with us.  Let us remember that the angels wished peace on earth only to those able to receive that peace, those “people of good will,” who possessed the good will and largeness of heart to share Jesus, our Savior, with others in love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and humble service.

JOKES OF THE WEEK

1) A 4-year-old boy was asked to give the blessing before Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes– even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited–and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, “If I thank God for the broccoli, won’t He know that I’m lying?”

2)  Mrs. Oppenheimer decided to get away from the often inclement weather of New York and spend Christmas in the Deep South. Being unfamiliar with that part of the world she wandered into a “restricted” hotel and said “Hi. I’m Mrs. Oppenheimer and I’d like a room for the next week.” “I’m very sorry,” said the manager, “but all our rooms are taken.”  Just as he said these words a customer came to the desk and unexpectedly checked out. “How lucky!” responded Mrs. Oppenheimer, “Now you have a room for me.” “Look, I’m very sorry,” said the manager, “but this is a restricted hotel. Jews are not allowed here.” “Jewish! Whaddya mean Jewish? I am a Catholic.” “That takes some believing,” said the manager. “Tell me, Who was the Son of God?” “Jesus.” she replied. “Where was he born?” “In a stable in Bethlehem….. simply because some bigot like you wouldn’t rent a room to a Jew.”

3)  A family celebrated Christmas every year with a birthday party for Jesus. An extra chair of honor at the table became the family’s reminder of Jesus’ presence. A cake with candles, along with the singing of “Happy Birthday” expressed the family’s joy in Jesus’ presence. One year on Christmas afternoon a visitor to the home asked the five-year-old girl, “Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?” After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, “No, but it’s not my birthday, It’s Jesus’ birthday!”

 (“Scriptural Homilies” no.7a by Fr. Tony (akadavil@gmail.com)

Midnight Mass (A)2025 1-page summary: Is 9:1-6; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 

Introduction: Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, which occurred some 2,000 years ago.  Looking through the telescope of Christ’s Resurrection, the New Testament authors, as well as the Fathers of the Church, reexamined foreshadowings of the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, in the writings of the prophets, and they identified Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.

Scripture readings: Following the death of the Assyrian monarch in the late 8^th century B.C., the Lord God, through  His prophet Isaiah, promises relief for both the northern and the southern kingdoms of Israel through a new king and his descendant in the line of David, in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the child Isaiah’s prophesy calls the “prince of peace.” “Sing to the Lord a new song!” the Psalmist urges us in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 96). The second reading, taken from the “pastoral letter” of Paul to Titus, tells us that it is only by the saving power of God in Christ that we are enabled to live virtuously in the present with hope for the future.  The Gospel for the midnight Mass tells us how Jesus was born in Bethlehem and how the news of His birth was first announced to shepherds by the angels.  Since David was a shepherd, it seems fitting that the shepherds were given the privilege of visiting David’s successor in the stable. Further,  since shepherds cared year-round for the Temple sheep and lambs meant for daily sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem, how suitable it is that shepherds were the first to see the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!

Life messages: We need to reserve a room for Jesus in our heart: Christmas asks us a tough question. Do we close the doors of our hearts to Jesus Who is looking for a place to be reborn in our lives? There is no point in being sentimental about the doors slammed by the people in Bethlehem, if there is no room in our own hearts for the same Jesus coming in the form of the needy.  We need to reverence each human life, and to treat others respectfully as the living residences of the Incarnate God.  To neglect the old, to be contemptuous of the poor, or to have no thought for the unemployed and the lonely, is to ignore those individuals with whom Christ has so closely identified Himself.  Hence, we all need to examine ourselves daily on the doors we close to Jesus.

2) We need to experience Jesus as Emmanuel: Actually, the  real meaning of Christmas is Emmanuel, God-with-us –- God coming down to us; God seeking us out;  God coming alongside us; God revealing Himself to us; God bringing us forgiveness, healing, comfort, moral strength, and   guidance — God dwelling within us. Each one of us has, deep down in our soul, an incredible hunger — a hunger for purpose and meaning; a hunger to feel and celebrate the redeeming, forgiving, sustaining love of God; a hunger to be in the presence of God. Christmas is special because it reminds us concretely that God is, indeed, with us. In every circumstance of life, even when we are frightened or lonely or in sorrow, God is with us. So, let’s go home to the heart of Christmas and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT (2025): Full text:  Is 9:1-6; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 

Homily starter anecdote: 1) “Don’t go! You can have my room.” Nine-year-old Wally was in second grade when most children his age were fourth graders. He was big for his years, a clumsy fellow, a slow learner. But Wally was a hopeful, willing, smiling lad, a natural defender of the underdog, and he was well-liked by his classmates. His parents encouraged him to audition for the annual parish Christmas play. Wally wanted to be a shepherd. Instead, he was given the role of the innkeeper. The director reasoned that Wally’s size would lend extra force to the innkeeper’s refusal of lodging to Joseph. During rehearsals, Wally was instructed to be firm with Joseph. When the play opened, no one was more caught up in the action than Wally. And when Joseph knocked on the door of the inn, Wally was ready. He flung the door open and asked menacingly, “What do you want?” “We seek lodging,” Joseph replied. “Seek it elsewhere,” Wally said in a firm voice. “There’s no room in the inn.” “Please, good innkeeper,” Joseph begged, “this is my wife, Mary. She is with child and is very tired. She needs a place to rest.” There was a long pause as Wally looked down at Mary. The prompter whispered Wally’s next line: “No! Be gone!” Wally remained silent. Then the forlorn couple turned and began to slowly move away. Seeing this, Wally’s brow creased with concern. Tears welled up in his eyes. Suddenly, he called out, “Don’t go! You can have my room.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 Introduction: The season of Advent is past, and the period of anticipation is complete.  Now it is time to commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, which occurred some 2,000 years ago.  Looking through the telescope of Christ’s Resurrection, the New Testament authors, as well as the Fathers of the Church, reexamined the writings of the prophets and found many foreshadowings of the coming of Jesus, the Messiah there.  Today’s first reading is one of these, taken from one of the greatest of the prophets, Isaiah. “Sing to the Lord a new song!” the Psalmist urges us in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 96).  The second reading, taken from the “pastoral letter” of Paul to Titus, tells us that it is only by the saving power of God in Christ that we are enabled to live virtuously in the present with hope for the future.  The Gospel for the midnight Mass tells us how Jesus was born in Bethlehem and how the news of his birth was first announced to shepherds by the angels.

First reading, Isaiah 9:1-6, explained: In the late eighth century BC, God’s people in the Promised Land had become divided into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah.  Assyria was the dominant power in the region, particularly oppressing the northern kingdom.  In the eighth century BC, the source of the “darkness” was the Assyrian invasion under Tiglath-Pilesar III.  But following the death of the Assyrian monarch, the prophet declares that in the darkness, Light has shone!  Hope for endless peace, justice, and righteousness has been kindled and burns brightly.  Isaiah prophesies relief for both northern and southern kingdoms in the person of the new king who will come to the throne in the southern kingdom, Judah, and will see to the reunion of the north and south and the expulsion of the Assyrians from the north.  The king whom Israel saw as fulfilling the prophecy is, interestingly, Hezekiah, the successor of King Ahaz.  So “the people once in darkness” are the dwellers in Israel oppressed by Assyria.  The “child/son born to us” is the new king in Jerusalem in Judah.  Hezekiah inherited the throne of David whose glorious reign, roughly four centuries earlier, was still the source of national pride and hope. Some 2700 years later, we see Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God and Son of David, the Redeemer and Savior of the world, as the final fulfillment of the prophecy of this promised King.

Today’s passage in Isaiah 9 completes a prophecy begun in Isaiah 8:1. In spite of all the doom and gloom that surround Israel and the evil that darkness portends, there will eventually be Light and restoration for Israel.  The yoke and bar, (verse 4), represent enslavement and oppression.  Those will be cast off vigorously as in the days of Gideon and the Midianites (Jgs 8:10-12; Ps 83:9-11).  The prophecy concludes with the now-famous words: “For a child has been born for us, a son given for us…..”  What follows is a description of the yet-to-be-realized Kingdom of Christ (verse 6).  Notice the many titles given to the coming child: Wonderful Counselor — counsel, as in advice; Mighty God — an image of power and majesty; Everlasting Father — one Who will not diminish, expire, or fade away: an eternal relationship of nurture and trust; Prince of Peace — not war-like, but reconciling.

Second Reading, Titus 2:11-14:  The books of Titus and 1^st and 2^nd Timothy are called “pastoral letters” because they are instructions to the pastors dealing with Church life and practices.  This reading is an interesting choice for Christmas Midnight Mass because it focuses on the other coming of Jesus, at the end of time, and on the changes that we are called to make in our lives.  It reminds us that we are enabled to live virtuously in the present with hope for the future by the saving power of God in Christ.  The theological plainness and moral starkness of this letter make it a worthy counterpoint to the sentimentality that dominates Christmas.

Exegesis: The origin of the Christmas celebration: Many scholars believe that Christmas came to be placed on December 25^th in order to counteract a pagan celebration called the Birth of the Unconquered Sun, a feast established by the Roman Emperor, Aurelian, in AD 274.  Since December 25^th was near the date of the winter solstice (the year’s shortest day, after which the days begin to lengthen again, showing the victory of the sun over darkness), it was chosen as the date of rejoicing.  When Christianity was approved as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Church chose this day to celebrate the birth of the true Sun – the Son of God Who conquers the power of darkness.  Another theory gives Biblical support for celebrating Christmas on the 25^th of December.  It claims that the Annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah occurred during the feast of Yom Kippur, around September 25^th, placing the birth of John after nine months on June 25^th.  Since the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth is in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the Annunciation event and the conception of Jesus took place around March 25^th, leading to Jesus’ birth after nine months, around December 25^th.

The Christmas event: While Matthew places the birth of Jesus against the background of Herod’s reign, Luke places it against the background of the Roman Empire.  It is generally accepted that Jesus was born in 4 B.C.  Luke begins by making a subtle contrast between Caesar Augustus who failed as an inaugurator of peace, and Jesus the Savior and bringer of peace.  Both Tertullian and Justin Martyr (c. 165) state that in their time the records of the 4 B.C. census still existed along with those of 28 B.C., 8 B.C. and 14 A.D.  In the Roman Empire, a census was taken periodically with the double object of assessing taxation and of discovering those who were subject to compulsory military service.  Another hidden aim was to find out the true descendants of King David who had a claim to the throne as the king of the Jews.  Luke’s purpose in mentioning the census was to provide God’s reason for, and means of, getting Mary and Joseph the roughly eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, wherein the promised heir of David was to be born, as prophesied by Micah (5:1).  Bethlehem was commonly thought of as the city of David because of David’s birth and childhood there. Since travelers brought their own food, the innkeeper provided only fodder for the animals and a fire for cooking along with a spot to sleep within his walls.  A manger is a feeding trough (food box), and it symbolizes the sacrificial meal that Jesus becomes, which provides sustenance for the whole world. Father Raymond Brown in his masterful book on the Infancy Narratives says that these stories are theologumena, not so much literal history as stories with a theological point – the other gratuitous and revolutionary impact of Jesus’ birth, life, and death. The important thing to remember is that they are stories of God’s love and Jesus’ role in history and that’s what counts, not historical details.

 The first visitors:  Since David was a shepherd, it seems fitting that the shepherds were given the privilege of visiting David’s successor in the stable. The Temple sheep and lambs, were meant for daily sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem, were under the care of shepherds year-round. How suitable, then, that despised shepherds were the first to see the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!  Shepherding was a lonely, dirty job, and shepherds found it difficult to follow all the obligatory religious customs.  Hence, they were scorned as non-observant Jews.  So Baby Jesus selected these marginalized people to share His love at the beginning of his earthly ministry.  The shepherds expressed their joy and gratitude by “making known what had been told them” (v. 17).  Just as very ordinary people would later become witnesses to the Resurrection, very ordinary shepherds became witnesses to the Incarnation.  Other than the angels, they were the first to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ birth.  Once we have been privileged to experience God’s presence, we, too, have the responsibility and the privilege of sharing that experience with other people – of spreading the word – of proclaiming the Gospel.

Good News of great joy: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is the Messiah, the Lord.’”  Perhaps because Luke was a Gentile convert, he establishes at the beginning of this Gospel that Jesus is for all the people — not just for the people of Israel:  “… a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (v. 11).  The Romans thought of Augustus as savior.  However, Augustus’ peace was fragile.  After his death, other men would assume power — men like Nero and Caligula whose names would be synonymous with treachery and cruelty.  The angels introduced a different kind of Savior — a Savior who would continue His saving work throughout human history.  The Savior of the First Century is also the Savior of the Twenty-first Century.  The Savior of Israel is also the Savior of the World.

 Glory to God and peace on earth: The angels welcomed Jesus’ birth singing: “Glory to God in the highest heaven” (v. 14).  Later, the crowds would welcome Jesus to Jerusalem, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:38 (RSV 2 Catholic). That peace is the shalom of God – the life of grace experienced in all its fullness, richness, and completeness, in accord with the will of God.  The angelic song conveys the message that true peace on earth is available only to those able to receive it, that is with the good will to do the will of God, and thus to give Him glory.

Christmas is not just one day, but a season which lasts for twelve days, concluding on Epiphany (Twelfth Night). The extension of the feast should remind us to continue to share our joy at the comings of the Messiah – the first some 2000 years ago, the last at our death or at the Parousia, the “Second coming,” for which we all pray at Mass (Eucharistic acclamation – “We proclaim Your Death, O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection, until You come again”), and all those occurring between the two, as we live our daily lives.  As we celebrate the Incarnation of the Word of God this Christmas, we might make a conscious effort both to remember that Jesus is always with us in our hearts and in the Eucharist and to share our joy in His presence with others.

Life messages: 1) We need to reserve a room for Jesus in our heart: Christmas asks us a tough question. Do we close the doors of our hearts to Jesus looking for a place to be reborn in our lives? There is no point in being sentimental about the doors slammed by the people in Bethlehem, if there is no room in our own hearts for the same Jesus coming in the form of the needy.  We need to reverence each human life and to treat others respectfully as the living residences of the incarnate God.  To neglect the old, to be contemptuous of the poor or to have no thought for the unemployed and the lonely is to ignore those individuals with whom Christ has so closely identified Himself.  Hence, we all need to examine ourselves daily on the doors we close to Jesus.

2) We need to experience Jesus the Emmanuel: The real meaning of Christmas actually is Emmanuel, God-with-us – God coming down to us; God seeking us out; God coming alongside us; God revealing Himself to us; God bringing us forgiveness, healing, comfort, moral strength, guidance; — God dwelling within us. Each one of us has, deep down in our souls, an incredible hunger: a hunger for purpose and meaning; a hunger to feel and celebrate the redeeming, forgiving, sustaining love of God; a hunger to be in the presence of God. Christmas is special because it reminds us concretely that God is indeed with us. In every circumstance of life, even, perhaps especially, when we are frightened or lonely or in sorrow, God is with us. So, let’s go home to the heart of Christmas and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

JOKES OF THE WEEK

1) A few days before Christmas, two young brothers were spending the night at their grandparent’s house.  When it was time to go to bed, anxious to do the right thing, they both knelt down to say their prayers.             Suddenly, the younger one began to do so in a very loud voice. “Dear Lord, please ask Santa Claus to bring me a play-station, a mountain-bike and a telescope.”            His older brother leaned over and nudged his brother and said, “Why are you shouting your prayers?  God isn’t deaf.”        “I know,” he replied.  “But Grandma is!”

2) The 3 stages of man:

1. a) He believes in Santa Claus.
   b) He doesn’t believe in Santa Claus.
   c) He becomes Santa Claus.

3) A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands. He noticed a young man who showed up in the Church for Christmas and Easter as Poinsettias and Easter Lilies do.  He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside. Pastor said, “You need to join the Army of the Lord!” My friend said, “I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor.” Pastor questioned, “How come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?” He whispered back, “I’m in the Secret Service.”

 (“Scriptural Homilies” no.7b by Fr. Tony (akadavil@gmail.com)

Christmas Dawn (A) Holy Mass- 2025 (Lk 2:15-20)– One-page summary

Introduction: The main theme of this Mass at dawn is an invitation to savor, by a life of sharing love, the lasting peace and celestial joy brought by the Divine Savior.  St. John the Evangelist gives the main reason for our Christmas joy in his Gospel (3:16): “For God loved so loved  the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (RSV 2 Catholic) God showed His love for sinful man by sharing His love with us in His Son, Incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus, in turn, saved us by His suffering, death and Resurrection.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah shows the Jews that their God is a saving God Who will extend His redemption to His holy city. In the second reading, St. Paul tells Titus that God saves us through His Son Jesus, not because we have deserved it by our good deeds, but because of His mercy. Jesus continues His saving mission by allowing us to be reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, thus enabling us to become God’s children and heirs of eternal life.  Describing the response of the shepherds to the angelic message, today’s Gospel invites us to offer ourselves as a gift to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and to bear witness to Him through our lives, by sharing His love with others.

Life messages: 1) We need to be Christ-bearers and Christ-givers:  Since it is Jesus Who gives real meaning to our celebrations, Jesus must be reborn in us each time we celebrate Christmas.   Hence, let us leave “room in the inn” of our hearts for Jesus to be reborn in our lives. Let us remember the famous lines of the German mystic Angelus Silesius: “What do I profit if Jesus is born in thousands of cribs all over the world during this Christmas, if He is not born in my heart?”  So let us pray for the grace of Jesus’ birth in each one of us today, bringing us love, mercy, kindness, and compassion to give away.  Let us help all those around us to experience the newborn Savior – Jesus within us – as sharing love, in the form of compassionate words, unconditional love, free forgiveness, selfless service, merciful deeds, and overflowing generosity.

2) We need to listen to God speaking to us every day and to respond promptly, as the shepherds did: There isn’t one of us in this Church this morning who hasn’t had God speak to him or her in some personal way. It may not have happened as dramatically as it did to these shepherds, but God has indeed spoken to our soul and spirit. Too often, however, we have chosen not to listen. Have we ever had an argument with a member of our family, heard that inner voice deep down within us telling us to stop, and we knew we should stop? Have we ever had that same inner sense of knowing we needed to do something or to avoid doing something? That was the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us, the Spirit sent to us by the Father at the request of Jesus our Savior. Whether or not we chose to listen in those cases really isn’t the point. The point is that God has indeed spoken to us, and He continues to speak to us right now. How are we going to respond? Will we respond as Mary did, as the shepherds did and as the magi did? Or not?

MASS AT DAWN ON CHRISTMAS: (2025) Full text: Is 62:11-12; Ti 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20

(The theme: The joy and peace of the Savior through sharing love)

 Homily Starter Anecdote:  Sharing the sorrow of chemotherapy: An 11-year-old boy with cancer lost all the hair on his head as a result of chemotherapy.  When the time came for him to return to school, he and his parents experimented with hats, wigs, and bandanas to try to conceal his baldness.  They finally settled on a baseball cap, but the boy still feared the taunts he would receive for looking “different.”  Mustering up courage, he went to school wearing his cap – and discovered to his great surprise that all of his friends had shaved their heads to share their solidarity with their friend.   It was their way of expressing their love and sympathy. No wonder God became man to express His love for mankind! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Introduction: The main theme of this Mass at dawn is an invitation to savor, by a life of sharing love, the lasting peace and celestial joy brought by the Divine Savior.  St. John the Evangelist gives the main reason for our Christmas joy in his Gospel (3:16): “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son,  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”(RSV 2 Catholic). God showed His love for sinful man by sharing with us His only begotten Son, Incarnate as Jesus and born in Bethlehem. Jesus, in turn, saved us by His suffering, death, and Resurrection. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah shows the Jews their God as a saving God Who will extend His redemption to His holy city.  The Refrain for the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 97) reminds us, “A Light will shine on us this day: The Lord is born for us!” In the second reading, St. Paul tells Titus that God saves us through His Son Jesus, not because we have deserved it by our good deeds, but because of His mercy. Jesus continues His saving mission by allowing us to be reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, thus enabling us to become God’s children and heirs of everlasting life.  Describing the response of the shepherds to the angelic message, today’s Gospel invites us to offer ourselves as a gift to Jesus, our Lord and Savior and to bear witness to Him through our lives, by sharing His love with others.

First reading, Isaiah 62:11-12: Around 600 BC, the Babylonians took the Jews out of the Promised Land and kept them in exile (the Babylonian Captivity), for about 70 years. When Cyrus, the new Persian emperor and God’s chosen instrument, conquered Babylon, by God’s inspiration, he sent the Jews home. This reading is set in that troubled period, when Judah was trying to put herself back together after returning from Exile. Daughter Zion means (the people of) the city Jerusalem. This was Judah’s capital, in the center of which stands Mount Zion where the Temple had been built. The gist of this short passage is that the people should keep up their spirits because soon they and their city will enjoy prosperity and international renown again, and their city will frequently be visited by tourists instead of remaining a ghost city. In other words, God’s own people will experience the saving and providing love of their God.

Second Reading, Titus 3:4-7: This passage is classic Pauline teaching, showing us that God saves us by incorporating us into Christ, which is the real cause of Christian, and Christmas, joy. Among the congregation served by the early bishop Titus were Christians who believed they had to practice the laws of Judaism and to impose those laws on pagan converts to Christ. Paul reminds them that God saved us “not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but because of His mercy.” In other words, law-driven righteous deeds don’t win our salvation; God gives it to us freely. We accept that gift by taking the bath of rebirth, Baptism, during which the Spirit is richly poured out on us. This, not our observance of laws, makes us justified (right with God) and gives us a starting place for living the Christian life from which our good works will flow; it is this “justification” which gives us the hope of eternal life.

Gospel exegesis: The shepherds — the first visitors and the first missionaries: The orthodox Jews in Jesus’ time despised the shepherds because these men were quite unable to observe the ceremonial laws in all their details. In addition, shepherds had no spare time to take part in synagogue services nor to study Torah because shepherding was a full-time job. Further, shepherds were the ones charged with the year-round care and nurture of the Temple sheep which were set aside for the daily morning and evening sacrifice of unblemished lambs. Fittingly, the Infant Jesus chose to share His love on Christmas day with shepherds, for Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The chosen shepherds responded to this great privilege by bearing witness to God, praising Him and spreading the news of the birth of a Savior. “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.” Christmas, the feast of Emmanuel – God is with us – challenges us to be like the shepherds who overcame fear to find Him, or like the Magi who traveled and searched for Him. We should have the generosity and good will to search for Him and find Him in unlikely places and persons. That is made possible for us only if we welcome Jesus of Bethlehem into our lives by allowing Him to be reborn in us. Then we will have the real experience of Christmas – and the joy of the Savior.

 The angelic choir and their angelic message: Normally when a boy was born into a Jewish family, the local musicians congregated at the house to greet him with country music. Since Jesus was born in a stable, the angels sang the songs for Jesus that the earthly singers could not sing. The angel told the shepherds to rejoice because the Savior had come: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11; RSV 2 Catholic). We rejoice today with those shepherds because we have a Savior who can free us from the bondage of sin.   We have a Savior who liberates us from our slavery to impure, unjust, and uncharitable thoughts, desires, and habits.   We have a Savior Who can, and will, release us from our evil addictions, heal our physical and mental diseases, and free us from hatred, enmity, jealousy, and bitterness.

Saviors and the Savior:  History tells us that there has been no shortage of false liberators and pseudo-saviors, who have deceived generations of people all around the world.   The Greek philosophers believed that education and knowledge would liberate the world.   Later, rationalists like Voltaire and Rousseau taught that mere human reason, alone, provided an antidote for all human ills.   Revolutionary movements, such as Communism, have offered mankind the dream of an earthly paradise.   Today, many people   advocate science as the solution for all human problems, while others turn to liquor, drugs, or other pleasures to escape their troubles.   Our century has witnessed the uncontrolled use of sex as a false liberating instrument, and has turned to Eastern mystical experiences and modern psychological techniques as routes to peace of mind and heart.   Despite the claims of these various panaceas, however, the true remedy for our ills, as every Christmas reminds us, is Jesus, our Divine Savior Who, alone, can give us both true liberation and lasting peace and joy.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.” Christmas gives us the message of lasting peace, which we can possess only by sharing our blessings with others.  This is the message contained in the celestial song of the angels, reported in Luke’s Gospel:   “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will.”   Christmas reminds us that God shared His Love by giving us His Son.  We respond to His love joyfully by using our health, wealth, talents, and blessings for Him as He dwells in everyone we encounter. Just as Jesus shared His love with the poor shepherds and the humble Magi, we, too, are called to share our love with the less fortunate people around us. Sharing with love is the sign that one has the “good will” of which the angel spoke. The peace of Christmas is promised only to such large-hearted people, for only they are able to receive it.

  Life messages: 1) We need to become Christ-bearers and Christ-givers:  Since it is Jesus Who gives real meaning to our celebrations, Jesus must be reborn in us each time we celebrate Christmas.   Hence, let us leave “room in the inn” of our hearts for Jesus to be reborn in our lives. Let us remember the famous lines of the German mystic Angelus Silesius “What do I profit if Jesus is born in thousands of cribs all over the world during this Christmas, if He is not born in my heart?”  So let us pray for the grace of Jesus’ birth in each one of us today, bringing us love, mercy, kindness, and compassion to give away.  Let us help all those around us to experience the newborn Savior – Jesus within us – as sharing love in the form of compassionate words, unconditional forgiveness, selfless service, merciful deeds, and overflowing generosity.

2) We need to listen to God speaking to us every day and to respond promptly, as the shepherds did: There isn’t one of us in this Church this morning who hasn’t had God speak to him or her in some personal way. It may not have happened as dramatically as it did to these shepherds, but God has indeed spoken to our soul. Too often, however, we have chosen not to listen. Have we ever had an argument with a member of our family, heard that voice deep down within us telling us to stop, and we knew we should stop? Have we ever had that same inner sense of knowing we needed to do something or to avoid doing something? That was the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us, the Spirit sent to us by the Father at the request of Jesus our Savior. Whether or not we chose to listen in those cases really isn’t the point. The point is that God has indeed spoken to us, and He continues to speak to us right now. How are we going to respond? Will we respond as Mary did, as the shepherds did and as the magi did? Or not?

JOKES OF THE DAY

• A four-year-old girl went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas lights, displayed at various locations throughout the city. At one Church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautiful nativity scene. “Isn’t that beautiful?” said the little girl’s grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.” “Yes, Grandma,” replied the granddaughter. “It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn’t Baby Jesus ever going to grow up…? He’s the same size he was last year!”
• Some children were asked what love is. The responses were quite interesting and instructive for us adults. One said, “Love is when my mommy makes a cup of coffee for my daddy and takes a little taste before she gives it to him to make sure it tastes okay.” Another said, “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you’ve left him alone all day.” Another response was, “You really shouldn’t say, ’I love you’ unless you really mean it, but if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” One boy said, “When someone loves you, the way they call your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” And finally, seven-year-old Bobby said, “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”
• Typical of last-minute Christmas shoppers, a mother was running frantically from store to store. Suddenly she became aware that the pudgy little hand of her three-year-old son was no longer clutched in hers. In a panic, she retraced her steps and found him standing with his little nose pressed flat against a frosty window. He was gazing at a manger scene. Hearing his mother’s near hysterical call, he turned and shouted with innocent glee, “Look Mommy! It’s Jesus – Baby Jesus in the hay!” With obvious indifference to his joy and wonder, she impatiently jerked him away saying, “We don’t have time for that!”

 (“Scriptural Homilies” no.7c by Fr. Tony (akadavil@gmail.com

Christmas Day (A) 2025-Holy Mass: (Jn 1:1-18) One- page summary

Introduction: While Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus goes back to Abraham and Luke’s genealogy to Adam, John’s genealogy goes back to God Himself. John travels to eternity to reveal to us the theology of Christmas. He presents the Creation story as the framework for announcing the Incarnation. Viewing Jesus’ birth from God’s perspective, he clarifies the truth that the Incarnation of His Only-begotten Son, the Second Person of the TriUnity God IS, in order to accomplish the salvation of mankind, was the Divine intention from the very beginning, from before the moment of Creation.  While the synoptic Gospel selections for the Vigil, Midnight and Dawn Masses describe the history of Christmas and Jesus’ infancy narratives, the selection from John’s Gospel for this Daytime Mass lifts us out of history into the realm of mystery—His wonderful Name is the Word. The reading tells us that the Baby in the manger is the Word of God, the very Self-expression of God.

Scripture lessons: The first reading gives us the assurance that, just as Yahweh restored His Chosen People to their homeland after the Babylonian exile, Jesus, the Savior, will restore mankind to the Kingdom of God. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 98), the Psalmist reminds us that the Kingdom includes everyone, not just the Chosen People, singing, “All the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation by our God!”  In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how God, Who had conveyed His words to us in the past through His prophets, has now sent His own Son, His Word, intoour flesh and human life, so that He might  demonstrate to us humans, by His life, death and Resurrection the real nature of our God.  St. John the Evangelist’s Gospel gives us a profoundly philosophical and theological vision of Christ, the result of John’s years of preaching and of meditating on this wondrous mystery of God’s love. John presents Jesus as the “Word of God.” In Jewish thought, this phrase describes God taking action as in His act of creation of the world. The Greeks understood the “Logos,” or the “Word” of God, as an intermediary between God and humanity. In Biblical Christian theology, the word “Logos” came to be equated with the Second Person of the Trinity.  While stressing the Divinity of Christ, John leaves no doubt as to the reality of Jesus’ human nature.  In the Prologue of his Gospel, John introduces the birth of Jesus as the dawning of the Light Who will remove the darkness of evil from the world. He records later in his Gospel why light is the perfect symbol of Christmas:  Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world,” (Jn 8:12) and “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14-16). John tells us that God pitched His tent among us, meaning that God makes his home with us, He accompanies us, He lives with us, He shares our joys and our struggles, He eats with us, He becomes a meal for us in the Eucharist. The God who “pitched His tent” among us in Bethlehem and continues to live with each of us in our home, our apartment, our religious community, or our retirement home, and continues to dwell within us. That is why we rejoice, celebrating Christmas. A student came to a rabbi and said, “In the olden days there were people who saw the face of God. Why don’t they anymore?” The rabbi replied, “Because nowadays no one can stoop that low.” God keeps company with us. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and Truth.” (Jn 1:14; RSV 2 Catholic).

 Life messages: 1) A day to remember and a day to wait for:  Today, while we remember and celebrate God’s first coming into our world in human form, we also look forward, because the liturgy we celebrate reminds us that the Lord is going to return in his Second Coming.  The liturgy calls on us to prepare His way, to be ready to be judged by Him.  In addition to these two “comings,” the Church teaches us that Christ comes to us every day through the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Bible and the worshipping community. We are asked to inaugurate Christ’s Kingdom in our lives by allowing Him to be born in us, by recognizing Him in others and by courageously going forth to build His Kingdom of love, justice, peace and holiness in our world. 2) We need to remember that there is no room in the manger except for Jesus and us: There isn’t room in the manger for all the baggage we carry around with us.  There’s no room for our pious pride and self-righteousness.  There’s no room for our human power and prestige.  There’s no room for the baggage of past failure and unforgiven sin.  There’s no room for our prejudice, bigotry and jingoistic national pride.  There’s no room for bitterness and greed.  There is no room in the manger for anything other than the absolute reality of who and what we really are: very human, very real, very fragile, very vulnerable beings who desperately need the gifts of love and grace which God so lavishly gives us through the Sacraments, through the Holy Bible and during our prayers.

CHRISTMAS DAY – 2025 (Full text): Is 52:7-10; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14  

Homily starter anecdotes: 1) A vision test: Once there was a Rabbi who asked his disciples the following question:  “How do you know when the darkness has been overcome, when the dawn has arrived?”  One of the disciples answered, “When you can look into the distance and tell the difference between a cow and a deer, then you know dawn has arrived.”  “Close,” the Rabbi responded, “but not quite.”  Another disciple ventured a response, “When you can look into the distance and distinguish a peach blossom from an apple blossom, then you know that the darkness has been overcome.”  “Not bad,” the Rabbi said, “not bad! But the correct answer is slightly different.  When you can look on the face of any man or any woman and know immediately that this is God’s child and your brother or sister, then you know that the darkness has been overcome, that the Daystar has appeared.” —  This Christmas morning when we celebrate the victory of Light over darkness, the Gospel of John introduces Jesus as the true Light Who came from Heaven into our world of darkness to give us clear vision. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2) God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all:  Eight-year-old Benny died of AIDS in 1987. CBS made a movie drama about the trauma called Moving Toward the Light. As Benny lies dying in his mother’s arms, he asks, “What will it be like?” His mother whispers softly in his ear, “You will see a light, Benny, far away — a beautiful, shining light at the end of a long tunnel. And your spirit will lift you out of your body and start to travel toward the light. And as you go, a veil will be lifted from your eyes, and suddenly, you will see everything … but most of all, you will feel a tremendous sense of love.” “Will it take long?” Benny asks. “No,” his mother answers, “not long at all. Like the twinkling of an eye.” — Many families have been devastated by AIDS. Amid the darkness and despair, an eight-year-old boy and his mother witnessed to the sustaining power of the Light of God’s presence. They have touched the lives of a multitude of people. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is Light and in Him, is no darkness at all” – (1 John 1:5) (RSV 2 Catholic)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

3) Jesus pitched his tent among us: The custom of placing lighted candles in the windows at Christmas was brought to America by the Irish. When religion was suppressed throughout Ireland during the persecution by the Protestant English, the people had no Churches. Priests hid in the forests and caves and secretly visited the farms and homes to say Mass there during the night. It was the dearest wish of every Irish family that at least once in their lifetime a priest would arrive at Christmas to celebrate Mass. For this grace they hoped and prayed all through the year. When Christmas came, they left their doors unlocked and placed burning candles in the windows, so that any priest who happened to be in the vicinity could be welcomed and guided to their home through the dark night. Silently the priest would enter through the unlatched door and be received by the devout inhabitants with fervent prayers of gratitude and tears of happiness that their home was to become a Church for Christmas. To justify this practice in the eyes of the English soldiers, the Irish people explained that they burned the candles and kept the doors unlocked so that Mary and Joseph, looking for a place to stay, would find their way to their home and be welcomed with open hearts. The candles in the windows have always remained a cherished practice of the Irish, although many of them have long since forgotten the earlier meaning. (William Barker in Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Full Text: 

Introduction: While Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus goes back to Abraham, the father of God’s people, and Luke’s genealogy of Jesus’ ancestry goes all the way back to Adam, thus embracing the whole human race, John’s goes back to God Himself. John is the only Gospel writer who does not stop at Bethlehem to explain the “reason for the season.” John is more concerned with the WHY and WHO of Christmas than with the WHERE of Christmas. So, he travels to eternity to reveal the Person of Jesus Christ. This is a great passage because it gives us the theology of Christmas. While the Gospel selections for the Vigil, Midnight, and Dawn Masses describe the history of Christmas, the selection from John’s Gospel for this Daytime Mass lifts us out of history into the realm of Mystery—His wonderful Name is “the Word.” The reading tells us that the Baby in the manger is the Word of God, the very Self-expression of God. He was present at creation; He is actually the One through Whom all things were made. The Prologue to the Gospel of John and the prologue to the Letter to the Hebrews in the second reading are superb affirmations of the Person of Jesus Christ, expressed in beautiful theological words and metaphors.  The first reading gives us the assurance that just as Yahweh restored His chosen people to their homeland after the Babylonian exile, Jesus the Savior will restore mankind to the kingdom of God.  In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 98), the Psalmist reminds us that the Kingdom includes everyone, not just the Chosen People, singing, “All the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation by our God!” In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how God Who conveyed His words to us in the past through His prophets has sent His own Son so that He might demonstrate to us humans, by His life, death and Resurrection, the real nature of our God.  John’s Gospel gives a profoundly theological vision of Christ, the result of John’s years of preaching and of meditating on this wondrous mystery of God’s love. While stressing the Divinity of Christ, he leaves no doubt as to the reality of Christ’s human nature.  In the Prologue of his Gospel, John introduces the birth of Jesus as the dawning of the Light Who will remove the darkness of evil from the world. He records later in his Gospel why Light is the perfect symbol of Christmas:  Jesus said “I am the Light of the world,” (Jn 8:12) and “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14-16).

First reading, Isaiah 52:7-10: This prophetic passage dates from the return of the Jews to their homeland at the end of the Babylonian Captivity.  The setting is the desolate city, Jerusalem, awaiting the return of the exiles from Babylon.  The city is personified; rhetorically, it is called “Zion,” after the hill in its midst where the Temple stood.  Isaiah first imagines that the city can hear, even at a distance, the footsteps of her returning children.  The returnees are pictured as singing exultantly, “Your God is King!”  Then Jerusalem’s sentinels raise the cry of recognition and join in the praise of God.  Finally, the joyful people declare that all the earth will recognize the hand of God at work in their restoration.  This return to Jerusalem, like the Exodus from Egypt centuries earlier, was a type or a foreshadowing of the greater redemption that was to come through Jesus the Messiah.  The re-possession of the land of Canaan for a few years and the restoring of Jerusalem and Judah were but pale shadows of the great restoration and the possession of our eternal promised land which were to be given by the Messiah in the days to come, not only to Israel but to all nations. “Today’s feast celebrates the Christ-event. In fact, the glad tidings of the Deutero-Isaiahan messenger were only fully actualized, only fully heard and made comprehensible, in the event of Jesus Christ. In the event of the Incarnation, Yahweh truly returns and restores Jerusalem; in the event of the Nativity, Yahweh draws near to comfort and console his people. In the event of Christ-made-flesh, God’s message of salvation achieves its utmost clarity.” (Celebration).

Second Reading, Hebrews 1:1-6: The addressees of the Letter to the Hebrews were Christian Jews who were beginning to feel the pain of separation from their fellow-Jews who had refused to see Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.  The Christian Jews needed to be reminded that their relationship with Jesus more than filled the gaps in their religious lives caused by the loss of Temple ritual and the like, particularly as they were suffering the temptation to change back to the old Law and the Jewish religion because of persecution from Judaizers. In the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul explains to them how superior the New Covenant is to the old.  The letter begins with a comparison of how God formerly spoke to their ancestors and how God has now definitively spoken to them through Jesus.  These six verses from the Letter’s first chapter were chosen for today’s reading because of the clear, definite, emphatic declaration of the Divinity of Christ and His equality with God, which they contain.  Paul asserts that the Baby who was born in a stable in Bethlehem, lived and died in Palestine, rose on the third day from the grave and ascended to Heaven forty days later, was also God, equal to the Father in all things.  This is a mystery beyond our human comprehension, yet it is a fact, stated by Christ Himself, believed and preached by the Apostles, and accepted by the Church for two thousand years.  The whole reading is about the superiority of Jesus to everything and everyone else, and the superiority of Jesus, Who IS God’s final Self-Revelation to all mankind forever, to the Old Testament Revelation of God to His Chosen People.    Specifically, the reading declares that Jesus is superior to angels.  That Jesus is also, necessarily, superior to the institutions of Judaism, from which the Hebrew Christians were cut off and for which they were feeling nostalgic, is implied in the passage.

Exegesis: The prologue of John’s Gospel: From the time of the earliest lectionaries, the Prologue to John’s Gospel (Chapter 1) was the traditional assigned Gospel for Christmas Day because it is one of the most magnificent (and theologically profound) passages in the entire New Testament. For several centuries, this passage was familiar to Catholic parishioners as the “Last Gospel,” since it was directed to be read at the conclusion of each Mass, as the final thought that would accompany God’s people as they left the Church and returned to their homes and daily occupations. It has been taken as the litmus test of theological orthodoxy regarding the reality of Christ’s Incarnation, and lies behind some of the wording of the Nicene Creed. “John’s Gospel highlights the Deity of Jesus Christ, without minimizing His humanity.” (Rev. Bob Deffinbaugh; online at www.bible.org). Many scholars believe that the Prologue is an insistent rebuttal of certain Gnostic ideas, which denied the reality (or the possibility) of a Divine Incarnation. This Gnostic idea was later condemned as a heresy, called Docetism, which taught that the physical reality of Jesus was merely an “appearance” or a “façade,” and not inherent in who and what Jesus was.

The paradox of the Incarnation: Against later theories that Christ was somehow merely a “super-creature,” or an exemplary human being who had simply been subsequently “adopted” by God, St. John the Evangelist wants to make clear that the Son—unlike every creature born in time—pre-existed all things, and was, in fact, an active part of the Divine creative process. John’s Gospel proclaims the Incarnation of God, the most fundamental truth of Christianity, in the immortal words of his Prologue, making the identification of Jesus Christ as the Logos of God. Unlike most Jewish genealogies, this genealogy traces Jesus’ origins to the Eternal Divinity. Between the beautiful Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke and the Gospel of John, there lies the great paradox of the Christian Faith, the paradox of the Incarnation, the entering of God into the human story, in human form.  The Prologue of John’s Gospel (1:1-18), can be divided into three sections: a) the Word’s relationship to the Creator and Creation (1:1-5), b) the Word’s relationship to John the Baptist (1:6-9) and c) the Word’s relationship to the world (1:10-18).

The theology of the Word made flesh:  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14; RSV 2 Catholic).  According to almost all interpreters, this is the climax of John’s poetic Prologue—the culmination of his gradual theological “crescendo,” and the “key” to everything else in the Gospel. It is such a simple phrase, and yet is contains within it the promise, hope, and challenge of Christianity in a nutshell!  Within thirty years of Jesus’ death, the Christian Faith had traveled all over Asia Minor and Greece and had arrived in Rome.  By AD 60, there must have been a hundred thousand Greeks in the Church for every Jew who had become a Christian.  But Jewish ideas like the Messiah, the center of Jewish expectation, were completely strange to the Greeks.  Hence, the very category in which the Jewish Christians conceived and presented Jesus meant nothing to the Greek Christians.  The problem which John faced was how to present Christianity to the Greek world around him in the Greek city of Ephesus where he lived.  He found that, in both Greek and Jewish thought, there existed the concept of the “word.”  For the Eastern peoples, words had an independent, power-filled existence.  The Greek term for word is Logos which not only means word, but also reason.  Hence, whenever the Greeks used Logos, the twin ideas of the Word of God and the Reason of God were in their minds. That is why John introduces Jesus to the Greeks as the Eternal, Light-giving and creative power of God, or the Mind of God in poetical prose, in the very beginning of his Gospel.  In his Prologue, John deals with the major themes like the pre-existence of the Word, God/Word and Father/Son as distinct Persons, but, at the same time, one God; of Jesus as God, Life and Light; of the struggle between Light and darkness; of the power of the Light over darkness.  According to John, the Word of God (Jesus,) gives Life and Light.  Thus, the Prologue of John’s Gospel summarizes how the Son of God was sent into the world to become the Jesus of history, so that the glory and grace of God might be uniquely and perfectly disclosed.  One of the Fathers of the Church (St. Irenaeus) once said, “Gloria Dei, homo vivens,” (“the glory of God (is) a person fully alive”).  If that can be said of any of us, how much more must it be true of the Word made Flesh? Here in this Prologue, the evangelist enunciates Christ’s superiority, not only to everyone else as the One mediator between God and humanity, but also to the Law.

John the Baptizer’s role: John the Baptizer’s coming renewed Israel’s prophetic tradition after four hundred years of silence.  Since John’s ministry was so powerful, some people thought of him as the Messiah.  Hence, John’s Gospel makes a number of references to John the Baptizer, always clearly establishing that he was subordinate to Jesus.  John, the Baptizer, was not the Light, but came to bear witness to the Light (vv. 7-8).  John’s mission was to bear testimony to the Light (Jesus) — to serve as a witness to the Light (v. 7).  John died as a martyr because he showed the courage of his prophetic convictions by correcting Herod the king for his immoral life.

The Messiah rejected by his own people: “He came to His own home, and His own people received Him not” (1:11; RSV 2 Catholic).  Jesus “came home” to Israel, where the people should have known Him.  And it was the homefolk, “His own,” the Israelites, the Chosen People, who did not receive Him.  God had prepared them for centuries to receive the Messiah into their midst, but they rejected Him.  This rejection of the Word by Jesus’ own people is restricted neither to the time of Jesus nor to that of the Fourth Gospel. Much of the world today is still in rebellion, “preferring darkness to Light, because its deeds are evil” (3:19-20).  That is true of all of us at certain points in our lives, but we are not imprisoned in those moments. We can, as long as we are alive, turn to Him, repentant and believing, and become His own again.  “But to all who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children of God” (v. 12).

 “The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14; RSV 2 Catholic): The Word becoming flesh is the zenith of God’s Self-revelation.  God Who spoke earlier through the prophets now speaks through His Son (Heb. 1:1-2), and lives among us.  The Word Who dwelt with God now dwells “with us,” becoming a human being like us and thus bridging the great chasm between God’s world and our world.  Verse 14 declares that the God Who once dwelt among them in the Tabernacle and the Temple, now chooses to dwell among them in the Person of Jesus.  In the Old Testament, Moses was not allowed to see the face of God.  Now, however, we are allowed to see Jesus’ glory — and His face. Thus, the Father is fully revealed to us, because, “…he who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).  The other Gospels depict the glory of God coming upon Jesus at the Transfiguration.  John does not relate this incident, both because he sees the glory of God in all Jesus says and does, and because the hour for Jesus to be glorified is the crucifixion.

“And from His fulness, we have all received, grace upon grace.” (v. 16):  The Word is full of grace and truth – attributes of God – attributes that the Word shares with God as the “Father’s only Son” (v. 14b).  It is from this One Who is “full of grace and truth” that we receive “grace upon grace.”  In other words, we draw grace from the total resources of God, an inexhaustible storehouse.  Regardless of our need for grace, the supply is greater.  Let us imagine ourselves standing on the seashore, watching the waves roll in.  They come every few seconds, and the supply never fails. That is how God’s grace comes to us. Let us at this Christmas time try to count just some of those “graces showered on us.” Verse 17 identifies the Word as Jesus: “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (RSV 2 Catholic).  The gift that is the Truth surpasses and perfects the former gift of the Law given through Moses.  Note the contrasts between Moses and Jesus: We received the law through Moses, but we receive grace and truth through Jesus Christ (v. 17).  John’s Prologue begins by declaring that that the Word was God (v. 1), and concludes (v.18), by proclaiming that the Son is God.
Life messages: 1) A day to remember and a day to wait for:  Today, while we remember and celebrate God’s first coming into our world in human form, we also look forward, because the liturgy we celebrate reminds us that the Lord is going to return in his Second Coming.  However, Christ is not going to return as a Child but as a Warrior, a Judge, a mighty Savior.  The liturgy calls on us to prepare His way, to be ready to be judged by Him.  So, we are looking back and remembering the past coming of Jesus as our Savior, and looking forward and preparing for His future coming in glory as Judge to reward and punish.  In addition to these two “comings,” the Church teaches us that Christ is here now, Christ is present, Christ comes to us today, and Christ comes to us every day.  Christmas is actually a celebration intended to heighten our awareness of the fact that Christ has been born, Christ lives, and Christ is present now in our souls and in our lives. Christmas reminds us, through the lives of the people in the Christmas narrative, of the importance of helping to bring the presence of Christ to the world around us —  and of being sensitive to that presence when the Lord comes to us in the least expected people, and in unexpected places and situations!  We are asked to welcome Christ’s Kingdom into our lives by allowing Him to be born in us, by recognizing Him in others, and by courageously going forth with His grace to build His kingdom of love, justice, peace, and holiness in our world.

2) We need to remember that there is no room in the manger except for Jesus and us: There isn’t room in the manger for all the baggage we carry around with us.  There’s no room for our pious pride and self-righteousness.  There’s no room for our human power and prestige.  There’s no room for the baggage of past failure and unforgiven sin.  There’s no room for our prejudice, bigotry, and jingoistic national pride.  There’s no room for bitterness and greed.  There is no room in the manger for anything other than the absolute reality of who and what we really are: very human, very real, very fragile, very vulnerable beings who desperately need the gift of love and grace which God so powerfully desires to give.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

1) It was Christmas Eve in a supermarket and a woman was anxiously picking over the last few remaining turkeys in the hope of finding a large one. In desperation she called over a shop assistant and said “Excuse me. Do these turkeys get any bigger?” “No” he replied, “They’re all dead”.

2) Just before Christmas, an honest politician, a generous lawyer and Santa Claus were riding in the elevator of a very posh hotel. Just before the doors opened, they all noticed a $20 bill lying on the floor.  Which one picked it up?
Santa of course, because the other two – an honest politician, a generous lawyer – don’t exist!

3) To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son’s school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman” and–this is a real song–“Suzy Snowflake,” all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology. (Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991). L/25

 (“Scriptural Homilies” no.7d by Fr. Tony   (akadavil@gmail.com)

 (46 additiobnal Christmas anecdotes are appended as attachments to the emailed texts)

On this Christmas Day, May God put the Spirit of the Shepherds and the Spirit of the Wise Men and the spirit of Mary and Joseph in us. But, most important of all, May God put the Spirit of Jesus in us. He wants to do that…. He wants to come into our hearts, but we have to let Him in

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under CBCI or  Fr. Tony for my website version. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website– http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020)  )  Post fretirement U. S. address: (Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)

PRAYERFUL CHRISTMAS GREETINGS: May Jesus be reborn in your heart and life during Christmas 2025 and every day of the New Year 2026May He radiate His presence from within you as sharing love, unconditional forgiveness, humble service, a compassionate heart and overflowing generosity. May the Holy Babe of Bethlehem bless you with health in body and soul and grant you a peaceful and blessed New Year. I assure you of my special prayers during my Christmas Holy Masses and every day in the New Year. Fr. Tony. (My post retirement postal address: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, c/o Fr. Joseph M.C., St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, AL 36507).

May the LORD bless you and keep you!

May the LORD let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!

May the LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!

(Book of Numbers 6: 24-26)

Christmas:Thematic Homily No 1: (1-page summary): (Add an anecdote).

Christmas homily-starter anecdotes:1) Christmas questions answered:

A.) Is Christmas the greatest feast celebrated in the Church? Answer: NO. Easter is feast #1, Pentecost is #2 and Christmas is #3. The Roman Church started celebrating Christmas only after Christianity was recognized as the state religion.

B) Was Jesus born on December 25th? Answer: NO. Many Fathers of the Church thought that Jesus was born on January 4th,4 BC, before the death of King Herod the Great. Some Bible scholars fix Jesus’ birth in the month of September during the Feast of the Tabernacles when people travelled and when the sheep were in the field at night. December 25th was fixed by Pope Julius in A.D. 353 as a part of baptizing or Christianizing pagan feasts so that the converted pagans might celebrate the birthday of Jesus on Dec 25th instead of celebrating the birthday the Sun-god during winter solstice, while converted Roman soldiers might celebrate Christmas instead the birthday of Mithras, the Roman god-of-virility (Deus Solus Invictus). The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring the god of agriculture, Saturn. Later the Kalends of January were observed to celebrate the triumph of life over death. The entire season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun (or Saturnalia). It was Emperor Julianus who declared Christmas as a national holiday in the 6th century. Most of the present-day Christmas features like the Christmas carols and gifts, Christmas tree and Christmas lights are also remnants of the pagan celebrations. (It was St. Francis of Assisi who first introduced the manger or Christmas crib in the 13th century).

C) Where did the name Christmas originate? Answer: In medieval times, the celebration of Christmas took the form of a special Mass celebrated at midnight on the eve of Christ’s birth. Since this was the only time in the Catholic Church year when a Midnight Mass was allowed, it soon became known, in Middle English, as Christes Masse (Christ’s Mass), from which is derived Christmas. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Why do we celebrate Christmas with great rejoicing?

1: First: Christmas is the Feast of God’s sending us a Savior: To save mankind from the bondage of sin, God asked and allowed His Only Begotten Son to become Incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary as Jesus, true God and true man.. The Hindus believe in ten incarnations of God. The purpose of these incarnations is stated in their Holy Scripture, Bagavath Geetha or Song of God: “Godincarnates to restore righteousness in the world whenever there is a large-scale erosion of moral values.” (“Dharma samstaphanarthe sambhavami yuge yuge.”). But the Christian Scriptures teach only one Incarnation, and its purpose is given in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”— (RVS 2 Catholic). We call our celebration of the Incarnation of God in a Baby today “Good News”because our Divine Savior has been born. As our Savior, Jesus liberated us from slavery to sin and atoned for our sins by his suffering, death and Resurrection. So, every Christmas reminds us that we need a Savior every day, to free us from our evil addictions and unjust, impure and uncharitable tendencies. Christmas 2025 also challenges us to accept Jesus in the manger as our saving God and personal Savior and to surrender our lives to him, allowing him to rule our hearts and lives every day in 2026, the coming New Year.

# 2: Second: Christmas is the Feast of God’s sharing His love with us: Jesus, as our Savior, brought the “Good News” that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful, rewarding God and not a judgmental, cruel, punishing God. He demonstrated by his life and teaching how God our Heavenly Father loves us, forgives us, provides for us, and rewards us. All his miracles were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’ final demonstration of God’s love for us was his death on the cross to atone for our sins and to make us children of God. Each Christmas reminds us that sharing love with others is our Christian privilege and duty, and every time we do that, Jesus is reborn in our lives. Let us humbly admit the truth with the German mystic Angelus Silesius: “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.”(https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Angelus_Silesius) Hence, let us allow Jesus to be reborn in our hearts and lives, not only during Christmas, but every day, so that he may radiate the Light of his presence from within us as sharing, selfless love, expressed through compassionate words and deeds, unconditional forgiveness, the spirit of humble service, and overflowing generosity.

# 3: Third: Christmas is the Feast of the Emmanuel (God living with us and within us):Christmas is the feast of the Emmanuel because God in the New Testament is a God Who continues to live with us in all the events of our lives as the “Emmanuel” announced by the angel to Mary. As Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the Sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist), in the Bible, in the praying community, and in each believer as the Holy Spirit, residing in us, makes us His “Temples.” Christmas reminds us that we are bearers of God with the missionary privilege and duty of conveying Jesus to those around us by loving them as Jesus did, through sacrificial, humble, committed service. Sharing with others Jesus, the Emmanuel living within us, is the best Christmas gift we can give, or receive, today.

Christmas Thematic Homily No. 2: The why of Christmas decorations and gifts

 Q #1: Why do we give Christmas gifts covered in ornamental papers? It is because God gave Himself to us a Divine gift, covering His Divinity by coming  as a human baby.

Q #2: What does the Christmas star mean? The star on top of the tree symbolizes the star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi to the stable where Jesus was found.

Q #3: Why do we decorate the Christmas tree? The Christmas tree represents the “tree of life” in the Paradise which was restored later by the tree of Calvary in the form of a cross.

1. #4: Why do we make cakes on Christmas day and share them with others? The cake represents the “Promised Land flowing with milk and honey” given by God to His Chosen People, and His own Body and Blood given as the Holy Eucharist, the heavenly food, to his followers by Jesus Christ.

Q #5: Why do we celebrate Christmas with Christmas star and other light decorations? It is because Jesus introduced himself as the Light of the world and told his followers they were to become the light of the world.

Q #6: What do candy canes represent? The shape of the candy cane represents a shepherd’s staff or shepherd’s stick, which he used to guide the sheep. Historically, the red color on the candy is said to be Jesus’ blood and the white resembles life after salvation for Christians.

Q #7: Why do we use Christmas wreath? According to many theories, the wreath represents the crown of thorns that was put on the head of Jesus when he was crucified. In modern times, it is used as a symbol of God’s everlasting love and eternal happiness.

Q no 8:  Why do we use bells in Christmas decorations? Bells were part of the Jewish high priest’s garb. Christmas bells not only symbolize the joy of Christmas; they also remind us that Christ is the High Priest.

Q no 9: Why do use Christmas cookies, breads and pastries?   Christmas pastries are made with flour and remind us of the many uses of bread in Scripture. The Jewish people offered cakes made with oil to the Lord. The Israelites took their unleavened loaves with them when they fled Egypt. They recalled this event yearly in the feast of Unleavened Bread. The manna in the desert tasted like wafers made with honey. Elijah performed a miracle in which a widow’s flour did not run out during a time of famine. When David brought the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, he gave each person in Israel a loaf of bread, a cut of meat, and a raisin cake.   Jesus multiplied loaves and fish twice in Scripture and came as the Bread of Life. He comes to us in every Mass under the form of Eucharistic bread and wine. This rich history is present to us with every taste of Christmas pastries.

1. no 10: Why do we sing Christmas carols?Christmas carols remind us of the angels who announced the birth of Christ by singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to on earth to men of good will!” Song has been a part of worship since the beginning. Miriam composed and sang a hymn of Thanksgiving when God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians. David sang and danced before the Ark of the Lord when he was accompanying back to Jerusalem after having rescued it from the Philistines. He composed the Psalms, all of which are to be sung. Many of the Psalms mention times when the Jewish people sang, some of which are: bringing in the harvest, going up to the temple, success over one’s enemies. Jesus mentioned funeral songs in one of His exhortations. People use song as an expression of highest emotion. How fitting that we sing about the birth of Christ!

Q #11: Why do we use Advent candles in the Church? Advent candles were originally part of the holiday wreath tradition, and the two combined as part of a long-standing Catholic tradition. That being said, there is historic evidence that Germanic people used wreaths and candles in the time before Christianity to provide hope during the dark days of winter. In fact, the Catholic Church didn’t actually adopt the tradition until some time in the Middle Ages! The four candles symbolize the number of weeks for Advent. Traditionally, three of these candles are purple, standing for prayer, penance, and preparation. The other candle, which is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, is rose-colored. It signals a time of rejoicing. New religious practices sometimes change the color of the candles to uniformly white. Regardless, the light of the Advent candles symbolizes Jesus Christ as “the light of the world.”

Q #12: Why did God become man instead of pardoning man by a single declaration of absolution for his inherited and acquired sins? God chose this way to show His everlasting love for man in spite of man’s sinful nature. He wished also to demonstrate God’s agape love for man by Jesus the savior’s (or God-Man’s) death on the cross, challenging us to love Him in return and to express that love by loving our neighbors. It is by his death on the cross that Jesus actually became the Holy Eucharist or Holy Mass for us. That is why in oriental rites the Holy Mass begins singing the angels’ announcement at Christ’s birth to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the Highest” and in the Latin rite, singing or reciting the “Gloria” a bit later.

Thematic homily no 3: ChatGPT  (2025) : Sermon Title: “The Gift of Christ: God’s Love Revealed” ( Scripture: Luke 2:1-20)

Introduction:

Good morning, church family! Today, we gather to celebrate the most beautiful and significant event in human history—the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas is more than just a holiday; it is a reminder of God’s love poured out into the world through the humble birth of a child. We often get caught up in the festivities, gifts, and decorations, but today, let us take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of this season and what it means for us today.

1. The Humble Birth of Jesus: A Reflection of God’s Heart (Luke 2:1-7)

In the opening verses of Luke 2, we see the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Born in a humble stable, laid in a manger—there is no grand palace, no royal procession, just the simple, quiet birth of a child.

This humble beginning speaks volumes about the heart of God. God could have chosen to come in power and might, but He chose humility. This shows us that God is not distant or untouchable, but present with us in our everyday struggles, in the messiness of life.

• Application: This Christmas, may we find God in the simplicity of life. He is with us in the quiet moments, in the low points, and in the unexpected places.

1. The Shepherds: A Message for the Marginalized (Luke 2:8-14)

In this passage, we see the angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. Shepherds were considered the lowest in society, yet they were the first to hear the good news.

This was no accident. Jesus came not for the powerful or the elite, but for the ordinary, for the outcast, for the people society overlook. The angels’ message declared peace on earth and goodwill toward all men of good will, reminding us that God’s love extends to every person, regardless of one’s status or situation, provided that one is ready to believe in Him as God and surrender to Him one’s whole being in grateful love with sorrow for one’s sins.

• Application: This Christmas, let us be reminded that Jesus came for everyone. No one is beyond His reach, and we are called to share that message of grace and love with all, especially those who feel forgotten.

III. The Gift of Jesus: The Ultimate Expression of God’s Love (John 3:16)

At the heart of Christmas is the gift of Jesus. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Christmas is not just about a baby in a manger; it’s about the reason He came. Jesus came to bring redemption to a broken world, to offer salvation to all who believe. His birth was the first step in His mission to die for our sins, rise again, and offer us eternal life.

• Application: Christmas is the ultimate reminder of God’s love for us. This season, let us embrace the gift of Christ, not just in celebration but in personal commitment. Have we received the greatest gift of all—the gift of salvation?

1. Responding to the Good News: Worship and Praise (Luke 2:15-20)

The shepherds, upon hearing the good news, immediately went to find Jesus. When they saw Him, they were filled with joy, and they spread the word about what they had witnessed. The angels praised God, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

The natural response to the good news of Jesus’ birth is worship. The shepherds didn’t just hear the message—they acted upon it. They encountered Jesus and were transformed.

• Application: This Christmas, let our response be one of worship. Let us seek to encounter Jesus anew, allowing His presence to transform our hearts and lives. As we celebrate His birth, may we also glorify and praise Him for His great love and sacrifice.

Conclusion:

Christmas is a celebration of the incredible love of God made manifest in the birth of Jesus Christ. He came to us in humility, He came for the marginalized, and He came to offer the greatest gift of all—eternal life through His sacrifice. This Christmas, let us remember the true meaning of the season, embrace the gift of Jesus, and respond in worship.

May we go forth, like the shepherds, proclaiming the good news of great joy to all we meet, for “unto us a Savior has been born, Christ the Lord.”

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior. As we celebrate His birth, help us to remember the depth of Your love and the significance of this moment in history. May we, like the shepherds, respond in worship, glorifying You for all that You have done. Help us to share the hope of Christmas with the world around us, and to live in the light of Your love each and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Christmas starter anecdotes:

1) The first live Christmas crib: In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated a pious practice that today has become so common that many think that it always existed. This great saint, as he was traversing the rolling hills of central Italy one December to proclaim the Gospel, noticed that few of his countrymen were taking the mysteries of the Faith seriously. Many were not even preparing for Christmas. Of those who were getting ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth, they looked at it as an event tied exclusively to the past. The mysteries of the Faith had become sterile. The central persons in the drama had become stale and lifeless, incapable even of stimulating his contemporaries’ imaginations — and therefore no longer capable of inspiring them to a greater relationship of mutual love with God in the present. To counteract these tendencies, St. Francis set up the first crèche in recorded history on Christmas Eve, 1223, in the town of Greccio. He brought in live animals — an ox and an ass. He recruited a newborn baby and a set of young parents. Hay and a manger were brought in. There was even the attempt — with hundreds of burning torches — to create the luminescence of a bright star. And Francis could not have been happier with the results. People came from all over to see the living nativity. Through all the sounds, sights and even smells, the multitudes became convinced that Christmas was not just a nice story, but a real event, one that was not just PAST, but something which they were called to enter in the present. Soon living crèches like this spread throughout Italy and into other parts of Europe. The phenomenon soon extended into art, as artists started to paint nativity scenes with all the main characters dressed anachronistically in 13th century garb — to emphasize that Christmas is not just a bygone event, but, more important, one very much in progress, in which every believer is called to “go now to Bethlehem” and “pay [Christ] homage.” As St. Francis’ first biographer wrote, “The Child Jesus had been forgotten in the hearts of many; but, by the working of God’s grace, [the Child Jesus] was brought to life again through his servant Francis and stamped upon their fervent memory.” (Fr. Roger Landry)

 2) Summarizing theology in one sentence: Karl Barth, one of the great Protestant theologians was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School.  At the end of a captivating closing lecture, the president of the seminary announced that Dr. Barth was not well and was quite tired.  “Therefore, I will ask just one question on behalf of all of us.” He turned to the renowned theologian and asked, “Of all the theological insights you have ever had, which do you consider to be the greatest of them all?“  It was the perfect question for a man who had written literally tens of thousands of pages of some of the most sophisticated theology ever put into print.  Karl Barth closed his tired eyes, and he thought for a minute, and then he half smiled, opened his eyes, and said to those young seminarians, “The greatest theological insight that I have ever had is this: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Christmas is the celebration of this great Divine Love for us sinful humans. (Rev. Bill Adams) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 3) Abnormal birth: After explaining childbirth, the biology teacher asked her 3rd graders to write an essay on “childbirth” in their families. Susan went home and asked her mother how she was born. Her mother, who was busy at the time, said, “A big white swan brought you darling, and left you on our doorstep.” Continuing her research, she asked grandma how she got her mother as a child. Being in the middle of something, her grandma similarly deflected the question by saying, “A fairy brought your mom as a little baby, and I found her in our garden in an open box”. Then the girl went and asked her great-grandmother how she got her grandma as a baby. “I picked her from a box I found in the gooseberry bush,” said the surprised great grandma. With this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, “I was very sad to find out that there has not been a single natural birth in our family for three generations… All our children were extraterrestrials.” (Rev. Fairchild). — Today the words of Isaiah tell us of another non-normal birth. It’s a non-normal birth, never before, nor after, seen or experienced, because it is the birth of God as man – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, as our Savior, born of a Virgin Mother.  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

4) God sent us a Savior: If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; but our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

5) Some Christmas Reminders: * May the Christmas GIFTS remind us of God’s greatest gift, His only Son. * May the Christmas CANDLES remind us of Him who is the “Light of the world.” * May the Christmas TREES remind us of another tree upon which he died. * May the Christmas CHEER remind us of Him who said, “Be of good cheer.” * May the Christmas FEAST remind us of Him who is “the Bread of Life.” * May the Christmas BELLS remind us of the glorious proclamation of His birth. * May the Christmas CAROLS remind us of the song the angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest!” * May the Christmas SEASON remind us in every way of Jesus Christ our King!

6)  “Who is the Messiah they are praying for?” There are many great movies about Jesus in different languages. Among them are the monumental movies like The Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings, and Jesus of Nazareth. In the beginning of The Greatest Story Ever Told, there is a scene in which we see the Israelites praying for a Messiah. They are not just praying, rather they are crying out for a Messiah to save them. This prayer reminds us of the prayer given in the Book of Prophet Isaiah where we read, “O! that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (64:1). As they are praying a Roman centurion asks King Herod, “Who is the Messiah they are praying for?” Immediately Herod replies, “Someone who will never come!” — King Herod and so many others thought that the Messiah would never come. But in the fullness of time God sent his only Son to this world to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem. And when Jesus, the Son of God, was born, there was celebration in Heaven. Angels appeared in the skies and sang, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). (Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottyil CMI)

7) Christmas conversion:  “This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.” – Howard W. Hunter

8) Are we on God’s side? Many years ago, when Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States of America, there was a civil war (1861-1865) between the northern states and the southern states. During this civil war there were times the northern states were at the brink of defeat. On one such occasion one of the generals approached Lincoln and said, “Mr. President, I am confident we are going to win this war because God is on our side.” Then Lincoln said with a smile, “But I am not so sure whether we are always on the side of God.” — That God is always on our side, is one of the most important messages of Christmas. It is because God is on our side that he sent his only Son into this world to die for us on the cross for our salvation. But the big question is, as  President  Lincoln noted,  are we always on the side of God? If we are not always on the side of God, this is the time to declare our loyalty to God and our love for him. We can do this by accepting Jesus once again as our Lord and Savior. (Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottyil CMI)

Christmas Jokes

1) “How many people attend your Church?” one pastor asked another. “Sixty regular, and about three hundred C and E.” “What’s C and E?” the first asked. Came the quick answer: “Christmas and Easter. We affectionately call these Christmas-Christians Poinsettias, and Easter-Christians Easter Lilies.”

2) “God gets an A; you get an F.” Just before Christmas a college professor read the following on an examination paper: “God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas.” Across the same paper the professor wrote: “God gets an A; you get an F. Happy New Year.”

3) A beautiful diamond ring for Christmas: A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. A friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-Wheel drive vehicles.” “She did,” he replied. “But where in the heck was I gonna find a fake Jeep?”

4) “Your mother and I are getting a divorce”: An elderly man in Oklahoma calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day son, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce; 45 years of marriage… and that much misery is enough!” “Dad, what are you talking about?” the son yells. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old dad explained. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Hong Kong and tell her!” Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like heck they’re getting divorced,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.” She calls her elderly father immediately, and screams at him, “You are not getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, you hear me?” she yelled as she hung up the phone. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Okay”, he says, “it’s all set. They’re both coming for Christmas and paying their own air-fare.”

5) “Didn’t You Get My E-Mail?” As a little girl climbed onto Santa’s lap, Santa asked the usual, “And what would you like for Christmas?” The child stared at him open-mouthed and horrified for a minute, then gasped, “Didn’t you get my E-mail?”

6) “I’ll return when you’re sober:”   At Christmas a man came to see me with a problem. Sniffing the air, I said ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you. Mick– it’s because of the drink. Can you please come back later?’ ‘That’s okay, Father Paddy,’ he replied. ‘I’ll return when you’re sober’ (Rev. Paddy O’Kane).

7) “Isn’t Baby Jesus ever going to grow up?” A four-year-old girl went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas lights, displayed at various locations throughout the city. At one Church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautiful nativity scene. “Isn’t that beautiful?” said the little girl’s grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.” “Yes, Grandma,” replied the granddaughter. “It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn’t Baby Jesus ever going to grow up…? He’s the same size he was last year!”

YouTube:1) Christmas: Christian or Pagan by Jim McClarty. HISTORY (1/3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XvnZq_a8BqE

2) Silent Monks Sing the Hallelujah Chorus:  https://youtu.be/pRhjWdr-LAA

3)Christmas song & dancing Olate dogs in Christmas costumes: https://youtu.be/aXFXGEtpi3k

4)  Release from prison on Christmas: https://youtu.be/vVoVRro0R2I

5) Holy Night: https://youtu.be/4sma7YVkq4w

 “Scriptural Homilies” no.6 by Fr. Tony (akadavil@gmail.com)

Visit my website: By clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/  for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith“ Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only atakadavil@gmail.com. Click on http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html for the Vatican version of this homily and  the CBCI website https://cbci.in/SundayReflectionsNew.aspx?&id=cG2JDo4P6qU=&type=text. Or https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies    under  Fr. Tony or under CBCI (Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)

Dec 15-20: Dec 15 Monday: Mt 21:23-27:23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, `From heaven,’ he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, `From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The context: After casting out the animal-merchants and moneychangers from the Temple immediately after the Palm Sunday procession, Jesus started teaching in the Temple courts. Hence, the chief priests and elders of the people approached Jesus, challenging his authority to enter the city in a triumphal procession, allowing the children to acclaim him, curing the sick, casting out the merchants and moneychangers and teaching in the Temple area. It was a trap. If Jesus claimed Divine authority, as the Messiah, they would bring a charge of blasphemy. Jesus could not claim only human authority without denying His very Being as Son of God as well as Son of Man. But even if He could, His arrest as a mad Zealot would give scandal, another sin, and would damage the simple Faith of the people present in the Temple and what it stood for, destroying Jesus’ whole Messianic Mission. So, Jesus refused to answer, unless they would first answer His counter-challenge — were the mission and message of John the Baptist from God or man? Was the source of John’s vocation and message Divine or human? If they answered Divine, the questioners would be asked to explain why they had not accepted John’s message and his witness-bearing that Jesus was the Messiah. If they answered human, they would have to face the anger of the crowd who had accepted John as a prophet. Hence, they, too, kept silent, opting for a shameful self-humiliation.

Life message: In religious matters we should not ask the question whether our stand is safe, politically correct, or useful. Instead, we need to stand for God’s truth and obey His commandments with the courage of our Christian convictions even if it costs us our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 16 Tuesday: Mt 21:28-32:28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. 30 And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.

The context: Jesus entered Jerusalem, which was to be the scene of all the Passion events he had predicted. After he had cleansed the Temple with prophetic indignation and had started teaching in the Temple area, the priests and the elders challenged him, demanding hs provide his credentials to teach. Jesus used the parable of two imperfect and sons to give them a wake-up call. Through this parable, Jesus gave them the warning that, because of their pride and their refusal to obey God’s call to repentance, they would exclude themselves from God’s Kingdom, while the tax-collectors and sinners would repent of their sins and would be accepted there.

In the parable, a man who has two sons tells both to go out to work in the vineyard. The first says he will go but he does not. The second says he won’t go, but later regrets his refusal and goes to work. The second son who first refused to go to work in the vineyard represents the tax collectors and sinners, while the first son, who agreed to work but did not go, represents the scribes and the Pharisees. The parable gives us the warning that it is our final decision for or against God that is most important, because we are rewarded or punished according to it. The message of the story is crystal clear. There are two very common classes of people in this world. First, there are the people whose profession of Faith is much better than their practice. Second, there are those whose practice is far better than their profession. The ideal son for this parable would be a son who accepted the father’s orders with grace and respect and who unquestioningly and fully carried them out as Jesus did his Father’s will.

Life messages: 1) We need to lead responsible Christian lives, saying “Yes!” to God. We should become men and women who profess our Faith in word and deed, knowing that, “Not all those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father Who is in Heaven” Mt 7:21). 2) The Christian way lies in performance, not just promise, and the mark of a Christian is obedience, graciously and courteously given. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 17 Wednesday: Mt 1:1-17:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Ammin’adab, and Ammin’adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Bo’az by Rahab, and Bo’az the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri’ah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehobo’am, and Rehobo’am the father of Abi’jah, and Abi’jah the father of Asa, 8 and Asa the father of Jehosh’aphat, and Jehosh’aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzzi’ah, 9 and Uzzi’ah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezeki’ah, 10 and Hezeki’ah the father of Manas’seh, and Manas’seh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josi’ah, 11 and Josi’ah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoni’ah was the father of She-al’ti-el, and She-al’ti-el the father of Zerub’babel, 13 and Zerub’babel the father of Abi’ud, and Abi’ud the father of Eli’akim, and Eli’akim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eli’ud, 15 and Eli’ud the father of Elea’zar, and Elea’zar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

The context: Starting with a genealogy was the Jewish way of beginning a biography because the Jews gave importance to the purity of the lineage which made them part of God’s Chosen People. For a noble Jew, the line must be traceable back through five generations, and for a Jewish priest traceable back to Aaron. Matthew presents Jesus’ human ancestry, indicating that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth of the Son of God through Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit. The Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Hence, Joseph, as the husband of Mary, was the legal father of Jesus, and the legal father was on a par with the real father regarding rights and duties. Thus, it was through Joseph, His legal father, that Jesus became the descendant of David. Since the Jews generally married within their clan, the early Fathers of the Church believed that Mary also belonged to David’s family. As a legal son of David, Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies. The genealogy of Jesus Christ in today’s Gospel is carefully arranged into three groups of fourteen generations each. The three groups are based on 1) the rise of Israel to a great kingdom under David and Solomon, 2) the fall of the nation in the Babylonian exile and 3) the raising of the nation after the exile. The three groups symbolically represent the creation of man in God’s image, the loss of man’s greatness in Adam’s sin, and the regaining of greatness through Christ Jesus.

Life messages: 1) We need to accept and support, lift up, and correct the bad members of our family, acknowledging the truth that every family has some black sheep. Jesus’ genealogy mentions a harlot named Rahab, an adulteress named Tamar and a Moabite Gentile woman named Ruth. We need to remember that God can bring good out of the worst persons and circumstances. 2) We need to appreciate our membership in the Divine family of God through Baptism and behave as holy children of a Holy God. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 18 Thursday: Mt 1:18-25: 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 …25

The context: Today’s Gospel focuses on the story of the Virgin Birth, which is at the heart of our Christmas celebrations. It focuses also on the person and role of St. Joseph. In today’s Gospel, Matthew sees in the passage from Isaiah one of the most descriptive and definite prophecies foretelling that the future Messianic King, Christ, will be born as a descendant of David. In order for Jesus to fulfill this promise, Joseph had to, and willingly did, accept Jesus as his son, making Jesus a descendant of David because Joseph was a descendant of David. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus was not the biological child of Joseph. But because Joseph was the husband of Mary at the time Jesus was born, Jesus was legally the son of Joseph and, thus, a descendant of David in his royal line. Luke tells us of Mary’s obedience (Lk 1:38), and Matthew shows us Joseph’s obedience. Luke tells the story of the angel’s appearance to Mary (Lk 1:26-38), but Matthew tells us only that the child was from the Holy Spirit.

God’s message through His angel: This is the first of four* occasions on which an angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel commands Joseph to take Mary as his wife. Mary’s role is to bear a son, and Joseph’s role is to name him. By naming him, Joseph makes Jesus his son and brings him into the House of David. Joseph’s hallmark is obedience — prompt, simple, unspectacular obedience. Joseph’s obedience allows Jesus to be adopted as a true Son of David; it is Mary’s free consent to the will of God that allows Jesus to be born Son of God. In the end, Joseph takes Mary as his wife, in spite of his fears, and he claims her son as his own by naming him. In spite of his earlier decision to divorce this woman quietly, Joseph nurtured and protected and watched over and loved both Mary and her child. *[The
other three angelic vision-encounters are:
2) the message to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt and stay there, until 3)
the angel comes to tell them to come home again, and then 4) to settle in
Galilee instead of Bethlehem or Jerusalem.]

Life messages: 1) Like Joseph, we need to trust in God, listen to Him and be faithful. Like Joseph and Mary, we are called to be faithful, to trust in God as we do His will. Let us talk to Him and listen to Him speaking through the Bible. 2) Let us try to imitate Joseph and Mary, the humblest of the humble, the kindliest of the kindly, and the greatest-ever believers in God’s goodness and mercy, and welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives not only at Christmas but all year long. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25 Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 19 Friday: Lk 1 5-25:: 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. …. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20………………25

The context: We recall two advents and two angelic messages during the Advent season, namely, the advent of John the Baptist and the Advent of Jesus. The first is preceded by the Archangel Gabriel’s informing Zechariah the aged priest that a son, whom he is to name John, will be born to him and his barren, aged wife. The second is preceded by the Archangel Gabriel’s message to Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, asking her consent to become the mother of Jesus. Today’s Gospel describes how Zechariah receives the Divine message from the Archangel Gabriel in the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem while making the offering of incense.

Zechariah was one of the 1800 priests serving the Temple of Jerusalem. They were divided into 24 groups of 75 each. Thirty priests of each group were to serve the Temple for worship services each day and only one of them got the yearly chance of offering incense in front of the hidden Holy of Holies. It was while performing this priestly function that Zechariah received the vision of the angel who told him that his long-prayed-for son would be born of Elizabeth, that Zechariah was to name the boy John, and then described in detail how that child was to be raised and what he would do. Disbelieving, Zechariah demanded a sign of the angel who responded, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the Presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Lk 1:19-20.

Life messages: 1) We should not take our small misfortunes as big tragedies. We should imitate Zechariah who remained optimistic, continuing in prayer and service in the Temple. 2) We need to get rid of the barrenness of our heart, cleanse it daily, liberate it from evil attachments, and prepare it for the rebirth of Jesus. 3) We need to be good parents and grandparents, offering incessant prayers for our children and grandchildren. (Fr. Tony) (https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: Click on https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections.

Dec 20 Saturday: Lk 1:26-38: : 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” 35 And the angel said to her, “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. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”38 ….

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the story of the Annunciation, explaining how God began to keep the promise He had made to King David through the prophet Nathan, that David’s descendant would rule over the world as its Messiah. The Archangel Gabriel’s salutation to Mary: “Hail, full of grace,” reminds us of God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:12), and the angel’s salutation to Gideon, (Jgs 6:12). Mary is described as “full of grace,” filled with God’s favor and graciousness. She is to be the new Ark, a tent and temple. God will be in her, literally and physically, and thus she will be the greater House God promised to David. Mary’s believing question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” is natural. That is why Gabriel reminds Mary, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” God will “empower” her (“the Spirit will come upon you“) and “protect” her (“overshadow you“). Luke’s narrative points out that the Child will not only be a distant grandson of David — He will be God’s own Son. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David.” Mary does not require confirmation but responds in obedient, humble Faith: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38) . She agrees to carry out the Word Gabriel has addressed to her.

Life messages: 1) We need to be humble instruments in the hand of God, trusting in His power and goodness. St. Augustine reminds us that God Who created us without our permission cannot save us without our active cooperation. Hence, let us cooperate in the fulfillment of God’s plan for us with Mary’s trusting Faith and humility. 2) Like Mary, who brought God to us as Jesus our Savior, it is our duty to carry Jesus everywhere and bring Jesus to the lives of others around us through love, mercy, forgiveness, and service. “Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in Christ.” (St. Ambrose). 3) We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, by practicing the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. (Navarre Bible Commentary). (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Advent IV © Dec 21 (L-25): (Dec 21) Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24

Introduction: St. Joseph’s loving, responsive obedience to God is modeled for us in Matthew’s Gospel. This obedience is the central theme of today’s readings, with special emphasis on the Virgin Birth of Jesus.

Scripture lessons summarized: In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah gives a sign from God to King Ahaz of Judah: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Is 7:14). Matthew considers this prophecy as one of the most descriptive and definite prophecies foretelling the future Messianic King, the Christ, who will be born as a descendant of David. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 24), “Let the Lord enter; He is King of Glory” reminds us that we must choose to allow Him enter our hearts with His love and grace so our lives can be shaped in His Image and Likeness again. We must also choose to surrender our entire being to Him so that He may rule over our lives and we may become saints. For God never forces anyone to receive His gifts. In the second reading, Paul asserts that Jesus was a descendant of David and thus the Messiah: “from David according to the flesh” (Rom 1:3). Paul explains that the only begotten Son of God, become Incarnate as Jesus, was revealed and established by the Father as Son of God in power by his Resurrection from the dead. Then Paul provides a sweeping summary of God’s mighty acts in history through Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel, from Matthew, focuses on the person and role of Joseph. For Jesus to fulfill the Messianic prophecy given by Isaiah, Joseph had to, and freely did, accept Jesus as his son. This formal acceptance made Jesus a legal descendant of David because Joseph was a descendant of David. Hence, Matthew makes it clear that Jesus was not the biological child of Joseph. But because Joseph was the husband of Mary at the time Jesus was born, Jesus was legally the son of Joseph and thus a descendant of David.

Life messages: 1) Like Joseph, we need to trust in God, listen to Him, and be faithful. Although we may face financial problems, job insecurity, tensions in the family and health concerns, let us try to be like St. Joseph, trusting and faithful. Instead of relying on our own schemes to get us through life, let us trust in God and be strengthened by talking to Him in fervent prayer and by listening to Him speaking through the Bible.

2) We need to experience Emmanuel in our lives — and so change the world: The Good News and consoling message of Christmas is that the Child Jesus still waits today to step into our hearts—your heart and mine—and to change us and the world around us by the beauty of God’s love, kindness, mercy and compassion. Let us take some time to welcome the Christ Child into our hearts and lives this week, so that God may change our world of miseries with the beauty of that love.

3) Do we have any gift for our “Birthday Boy?” Let us check to see if Jesus is on our list this Christmas and if we have a special gift in mind for him. A heart filled with love for God and our fellow-human beings is the birthday gift which Jesus really wants from us. Hence, let us prepare our heart for Jesus, filling it with love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness on this Christmas and every day of our lives.

4) Let us be a Christmas gift to others: The greatest gift we can give to those we love, is to have faith in them, believe in their good dreams and try to help them realize them. We need to believe in the good dreams of our husband, wife, children, parents, heroes, leaders and friends, then try our best to help them realize those dreams.

ADVENT IV [A] (Dec 21) Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24

Homily starter anecdotes: # 1:   Emmanuel – God with us: Over 100 years ago Father Damien deVeuster, (St. Damien of Molokai) a Belgian priest, began working with lepers on Molokai, a small Hawaiian island. Father Damien found a source of fresh water in the mountains and developed a system to bring it down to the colony. He built the first sanitation system and clinic. He and the lepers constructed a chapel for worship. Each Sunday Father Damien would begin his sermon with these words: “You lepers know that God loves you.” This went on for years. Finally, one Sunday Father Damien began his sermon this way: “We lepers know that God loves us.” Father Damien had contracted leprosy. Yet he went on loving and serving until his death in 1898. — Even as Father Damien cast his lot with the lepers, Jesus, Emmanuel, invested Himself totally in us sinners. “He was bruised and wounded for our sins. He was lashed, and we were healed.”  “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’” (Mt 1: 22-23). (Dr. William R. Bouknight). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

#2: “You don’t know what love can do!” There is a story about a small boy who went to a pet shop. “Mister,” he said to the owner, “I want to buy that puppy.” The owner’s eyes followed the boy’s finger to a little crippled puppy all by himself. “Son,” replied, “that pup is worthless. We’re going to have him put to sleep in the next few days.” But the boy protested, “I’ve saved my money just to buy that one puppy. I have been looking at him in the window every day. He’s the only one I want.” Once again, the owner explained the problem—the dog was crippled—the dog was worthless—the dog would be put to sleep. The small boy then reached down with two little hands and pulled up his trousers. The man observed two little legs enclosed in braces. “Mister,” he said, “You don’t know what love can do!” — Jesus, Emmanuel, has worn our braces and died for our sins. Now with grateful hearts let us enthrone him as Savior and Lord. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 3: “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), the noted American historian, novelist, and poet, once said, “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” When Isaiah offered Ahaz the sign which he had refused to request, the prophet’s message bore some similarity to the words of Sandburg. A baby would be born, he prophesied, and that child’s existence would underscore, yet again, God’s fidelity to his promises. Judah could be sure that its world would indeed go on. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 4:  You’ll know tonight.” It was a few days before Christmas. A woman woke up one morning and told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?” “Oh,” her husband replied, “you’ll know the day after tomorrow.” The next morning, she turned to her husband again and said she had the same dream and received the same reply.  On the third morning, the woman woke up and smiled at her husband, “I just dreamed again that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?” And he smiled back, “You’ll know tonight.” That evening, the man came home with a small package and presented it to his wife. She was delighted. She opened it gently. And when she did, she found—a book! And the book’s title was The Meaning of Dreams.  — Today’s Gospel tells us how Joseph had a dream and how he reacted to it. (Rev Samuel Candler). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Introduction: The story of the Virgin Birth is at the heart of our Christmas celebrations.  Hence, today’s readings focus on the story of the Virgin Birth. In the first reading, God gives a sign through the prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz of Judah: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) Matthew considers this one of the most descriptive and definite prophecies foretelling that the future Messianic king, the Christ, would be born as a descendant of David. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 24), “Let the Lord enter; He is King of Glory,” reminds us that, like Joseph, we must choose to let Jesus enter our hearts to rule our lives, for God never forces us to receive His gifts.  Paul, in the second reading, also asserts that Jesus is “descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom 1:3), and, thus, the Messiah. Paul also explains that Jesus was revealed and established as the Son of God in power by his Resurrection from the dead.  Then Paul provides a sweeping summary of God’s mighty acts in history through Jesus Christ.  In today’s Gospel, Matthew focuses on the person and role of Joseph. In order for Jesus to fulfill the Messianic prophecy given by Isaiah, Joseph had to, and freely, willingly, did, accept Jesus as his son, making Jesus a descendant of David because Joseph was a descendant of David.  Hence, Matthew makes it clear that Jesus was not the biological child of Joseph.  But because Joseph was the husband of Mary at the time Jesus was born, and because he named and thus accepted the child as his own, Jesus was legally the son of Joseph and thus a descendant of David.

The first reading (Is 7:10-14 explained: God had promised (2 Samuel 7:14) an unending dynasty to David. Hence the Israelites hung their hopes on a coming Messiah (anointed king and the “one who is to come”) whose reign would restore the peace and prosperity for which they longed. But the undivided kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon was divided at Solomon’s death in the late eighth century BC, into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. Assyria, the dominant power in the region controlled, among other lands, Israel and Syria. These two liege states were planning to rebel against Assyria.  Their kings pressured Judah’s King Ahaz, the eleventh Jewish king of Judah in ten years (735 to 715 BC), to join them. [See 2 Kg 16 ff and 2 Chronicles 28 for Ahaz’ history.]  When he refused, they began to plot to overthrow him by attacking Judah. Instead of trusting in God, Ahaz planned to ask from the pagan Assyrian king, help for holding his throne, a request which later led to the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah. Confident that his God, Yahweh, would protect Judah and its king, the prophet Isaiah told Ahaz to have Faith in Yahweh and not to ally himself with Assyria. The sign value for Ahaz would be more in the name given to that child: Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” That child would be a sign that God was on the House of Judah’s side, that they didn’t  have to act as if God had left them alone.  But Ahaz wouldn’t listen. He was determined to go ahead with his alliance.  (In order to appease the Assyrians, Ahaz had replaced the altar in the Temple with an Assyrian altar and had sacrificed his firstborn son to the Assyrian god Moloch).  Isaiah told Ahaz that the Lord wanted him to ask God for a sign of the truth of what Isaiah was saying.   Ahaz had already made up his mind to rely on Assyria. So, he refused to ask for a sign, using the excuse that it would be “tempting God” to do so. Isaiah chides Ahaz for “wearying my God” and  announces God’s sign, the birth from a virgin of a son, whose very name, “Emmanuel” (“God is with us”), would assure everyone that God was really with His people.

The true and definitive fulfillment of the sign given to Ahaz, however, we see in today’s Gospel. Seven centuries later, in describing the miraculous events of Jesus’ conception and birth, St. Matthew wrote, “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God-is-with-us.” Matthew understands the passage from Isaiah as promising the birth of an ideal descendant of David, the Messiah. Despite Matthew’s citation from Isaiah, Isaiah probably wasn’t consciously prophesying Jesus’ birth in Is 7:10-14, and certainly was not foretelling that birth exclusively.  The Lord God, through Isaiah, was giving King Ahaz a sign, which had to be recognized instantly, not 700 years later in Jesus. Besides, the Hebrew word almah which we translate as “virgin,” meant only a woman who had not yet delivered a baby.  Hence, the almah Isaiah mentions probably would be Ahaz’ wife, Abia, and the Emmanuel would be their soon-to-be-born son Hezekiah.  In the birth of the child, God proved himself once again to be Emmanuel; God-with-us. The promised son of Ahaz would be faithful to Yahweh and would institute a series of religious reforms that would undo many of Ahaz’ accommodations to Assyrian religious practices. Hence, many modern Bible scholars do not believe that the immediate identities of Isaiah’s “virgin” and “Emmanuel” were Mary and Jesus. But on a fuller level of meaning, Isaiah’s prophecy has been understood to apply to the birth of Jesus. As is reflected in Matthew’s Gospel today, the early Church realized that the Israel’s centuries’ old messianic aspirations and God’s promise to David were finally and completely fulfilled only in Jesus’ coming. That prophecies, the work of the Holy Spirit, can have several fulfillments, often centuries apart, is axiomatic in the Church, which relies on the Holy Spirit as her Guardian against error, as Jesus promised would be the case. The Letter to the Hebrews provides multiple instances of this kind of reading of Biblical texts. Matthew’s citation, which does identify the “Virgin” as Mary and “Emmanuel” as Jesus, provides what is probably the final fulfillment of the prophecy. We’re tempted sometimes, like Ahaz, to go through life as if God is not really there for us, as if he is not really present. But God has given this enduring sign that even when we’re experiencing tremendous human difficulty, we’re never abandoned. God is truly with us.

The second reading (Romans 1:1-7 explained: The reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans also emphasizes that Jesus was a descendant of David and thus the Messiah

[” descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom 1: 3).]  At the beginning of this letter, Paul briefly summarizes the Gospel, the core of Christian Faith, as including two things.  One is that that the only-begotten Son of God, become Incarnate as Jesus, is a descendant of the line of David; the second is that Jesus was revealed and established by the Father as Son of God in power by his Resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ birth is significant because of his death and Resurrection for our salvation.

The Christian congregation in Rome was small, not yet persecuted, and still meeting in people’s homes. These were the first-generation converts — some Jewish, some Gentile.  Paul was introducing himself to the Romans in this letter, and he was establishing his authority as God’s Apostle. That was necessary because the Church in Rome did not know Paul personally, having heard only that he was a former persecutor turned Apostle.  In the first sentence, Paul describes himself as “set apart to proclaim the Gospel …,” and later, “favored with Apostleship.”   The rest of the introduction is a summary of the Gospel and of the Divine Plan Paul serves.  Paul sees how Jesus’ coming and his own mission to non-Jews is prefigured in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Paul does not use the name Emmanuel for Jesus, but he does provide a sweeping summary of God’s mighty acts in history through Jesus Christ.

Gospel (Matthew 1:18-24) Exegesis: While Mary is featured prominently in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, Matthew brings Joseph to the forefront, because Jesus becomes part of David’s lineage through Joseph (1:1-17).  Luke tells us of Mary’s obedience (Lk 1:38), and Matthew tells us of Joseph’s obedience.  Luke tells the story of the angel’s appearance to Mary (Lk 1:26-38), but Matthew tells us only that the child was from the Holy Spirit.  But why does the Church couple Ahaz with Joseph in today’s readings?  Because of the stark contrast between the two men, each faced with a difficult situation.  One of them, Ahaz, relied on his own wits and schemes.  Joseph relied on God alone and trusted in Him absolutely. One of them sacrificed his own son to appease others and showed no mercy.  The other spent his life in protecting his foster-son.  And so, we see Joseph, in sharp contrast to Ahaz in the background, as the just and righteous man that he is.

Crisis in the family: Jewish marriage started with an engagement arranged by parents, often between children.  Just prior to marriage, couples began a year-long betrothal very much like marriage except for sexual rights.  Betrothal was binding and could be terminated only by death or divorce.  A person whose betrothed had died was considered to be a widow or widower. Joseph found that Mary was pregnant without his knowledge.  Now, the law required that Mary be stoned to death, because she would have been considered an unfaithful wife, and the baby would have been stoned to death with her.  In Deuteronomy 22:23-24, the penalty for adultery was death by stoning at the door of her father’s house as she had disgraced her father. Since Joseph was a just man of great mercy, he resolved to divorce Mary quietly so that he might not cause her unnecessary pain.  In doing so, he shows us Christ-like compassion in the face of sin.  He also demonstrates a Godly balance between the Law of Torah and the Law of Love.  And then in a dream he learned that the Child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he himself was to be the foster-father of the Christ, claiming the Child by naming Him, and then rearing Him.  Joseph, through trust and Faith in God, accepted his mission as the foster-father of the Son of God.

God’s message through His angel: This is the first of four* occasions on which an angel appears to Joseph in a dream.   In each instance, the angel calls Joseph to action and Joseph obeys.  Joseph doesn’t have a speaking part.  In this first instance, the angel commands Joseph to take Mary as his wife.  In the second instance, (Mt 2:13), the angel will tell Joseph to take the mother and child to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath.  In the third instance,  Mt  2:19), the angel will, at the death of Herod, tell Joseph to return to Israel. In the fourth instance, the Angel supports Joseph’s decision not to go to Bethlehem or Jerusalem but to go back home to Nazareth in Galilee (the boondocks).  The angel begins by saying, “Joseph, son of David,” alerting us to Joseph’s lineage.  It is through Joseph that Jesus will be of the house and lineage of David.  Mary’s role is to bear a son, and Joseph’s role is to name him.  By naming him, Joseph makes Jesus his son and brings him into the house of David. After each of the four angelic apparitions in his dreams, Joseph obeys the angel’s commands without question or pause.  His hallmark is obedience—prompt, simple, and unspectacular obedience.  And in this sense, Joseph prefigures the Gospel of Matthew’s understanding of righteousness:  to be righteous is simply to obey the Word of God. Joseph’s obedience allows Jesus to be adopted as a true Son of David; it is Mary’s role that allows Jesus to be born Son of God.  In the end, Joseph obediently took Mary as his wife, in spite of his fears, and he claimed her Son as his own by naming him. In spite of his earlier decision to divorce this woman quietly, Joseph nurtured, protected, watched over and loved both Mary and her Child.

Virgin Birth: In order to emphasize the traditional Christian belief that Jesus did not have a human father; the Christian tradition always taught the revealed truth that the conception of Jesus by Mary was from the Holy Spirit. The main biblical text supporting this teaching is Isiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” Matthew and early Christians understood Mary as the Virgin and Jesus as the Son in the prophecy. This means that the prophecy had an original fulfillment and a final fulfillment.  The prophecy found its original fulfillment in Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz and his wife, Abia. So, in the Gospel reading for today, where Matthew 1:23 cites Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel,” as the explanation for the events he has just related, the full meaning of parthenos (the Greek translation of the Hebrew word almah used by Isiah) makes it plain that the final fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy was to be found in Mary as the untouched Virgin who, by the power of God, gave birth to Jesus as Emmanuel without a human partner. “The doctrine of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man is crucial to our Redemption (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27, 34). First, let’s look at how Scripture describes the event. In response to Mary’s question, ‘How will this be?’(Luke 1:34), Gabriel says, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you’ (Luke 1:35). The angel encourages Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary, your wife, into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her”(Mt 1:20).  Matthew states that the virgin “was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit”(Matthew 1:18). Galatians 4:4 also teaches the Virgin Birth: “God sent His Son, born of a woman.” [Question of the Week.]

Almah and Parthenos: In the Old and New Testaments, there are two possibilities for the word we translate “virgin”: a Hebrew meaning and a Greek meaning.  In Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament, the word for “virgin” used in the Isaiah prophecy is “almah,” which simply means “young woman who has not yet delivered a baby.” But in Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word used for “virgin” is parthenos, and it means someone who has not been sexually active with another person, who has never had sexual relationships with another. With the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, the Hebrew “almah” in Isaiah’s prophecy became the Greek “parthenos” and brought the more complete meaning of “virginity” in our terms, with it. In the Old Testament, virginity (meaning the state in a woman of never having had sexual intercourse), was highly prized.  A virgin was someone who was precious.  Rebecca was not merely a young woman; she was a virgin.  The Bible is very emphatic about that.  There were several laws to protect the virginity of women.  That is, parents made arrangements for their daughters to be married, and they expected their daughters to be virgins. In fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.” And so, the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the “Ever-virgin.” (CCC #499). “Christian tradition emphasizes a virgin birth (just as it emphasizes a virgin burial, a virgin tomb, to parallel the virgin womb),  not because it judges that sexuality is too impure and earthy to produce something holy. Rather, beyond wanting to emphasize that Jesus had no human father, the Christian tradition wants to emphasize what kind of heart and soul is needed to create the space wherein something divine can be born.” (Fr. Ron Rolheiser S. J.) “Virgin birth stories in the Gospels are an affirmation of faith in the transcendental origin of Jesus’ history.” (Fr. Reginald Fuller).

Jesus the Emmanuel: The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehosua, which means “YHWH is salvation.”  The first Joshua, the successor of Moses, saved the people from their enemies.  The second Joshua (Jesus) will save the people from their sins.  The people did not expect a Messiah who would save them from their sins, but one who would deliver them from their earthly oppressors.  The fulfillment of prophecy is important to Matthew.  He mentions fulfillment of prophecy eleven times (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:9).  In Hebrew, El is a short form of Elohim, a name for God.  Immanu-El means “God with us.”  Emmanuel describes Jesus’ role or vocation.  Jesus’ calling is to save his people from their sins and to manifest God’s presence. Matthew thus begins his Gospel with the promise that Jesus is God-with-us.  He will end the Gospel with the promise that Jesus will be with us “always, to the end of the age” (28:20).  Matthew understands that in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, God is with us, reconciling the world to Himself.  He is the reassurance in the flesh that God has not given up on us, but will remain with us. The real event of Christmas is that God comes to change the world and each of us—not just through a historical, virginal conception and a baby lying in a manger, but through the God Who is with us today, shattering our self-righteous attitudes and seeking to move us beyond our fears, freeing us from our bondages.

Life messages: 1) Like Joseph, we need to trust in God, listen to Him and be faithful.  We are here in this Church, four days before Christmas, because, like Joseph, we are faithful, and we trust in God, His power and His mercy.  Although we may face financial problems, job insecurity, family problems and health concerns, let us try to be trusting and faithful like St. Joseph.   Instead of relying on our own schemes to get us through life, let us trust in God and be strengthened by talking to Him in fervent prayer and by listening to Him speaking through the Bible. Let us remain faithful and prayerful, imitating Joseph and Mary, the humblest of the humble, the kindliest of the kindly, and the greatest-ever believers in God’s goodness and mercy, as we welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives this Christmas.

2) We need to experience Emmanuel in our lives and change the world: God who entered our world through Jesus some 2000 years ago is at work in the world.  But the question is, if God has come to be present in our lives and our world, then why are there so many lives which are unhappy and beastly?  Why are people so hostile, hating each other, and why do so many love-relationships turn sour? Why is there domestic violence? Why is there child abuse?  Why is there war in at least a dozen countries of God’s good earth at any given time?  Why are so many people homeless and hungry, even in rich countries?  The Good News, the consoling message of Christmas, is that the child Jesus still waits today to step into our hearts—your heart and mine—and to change us and the world around us by the beauty of God’s love, kindness, mercy, and compassion.  Let us take some time to let the Christ Child enter our hearts and lives this week, so that He may change our world of miseries with the beauty of that love.

3) Do we have any gift for our “Birthday Boy?” Let us check to see if Jesus is on our list this Christmas and if we have a special gift in mind for him.   We all know the pleasure of finding the right present for our husband or wife, for our children, a good friend, a parent.  What special gift are we giving to Jesus this year to honor his birth, and what do we expect from God?  God sent Jesus from Heaven to earth to give us human beings what we really need most in life: hearts filled with love.  That is the gift which Jesus really wants from us, and that is what you and I really need from God this Christmas – a heart filled with love.  We have tons of wants.  We are like children with a catalogue before Christmas, circling all our wants by the dozens.  But we have one essential need:  a heart filled with love. God wants to give each of us a heart filled with love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness on this Christmas and every day of our lives.

4)       Let us be a Christmas gift to others: The greatest gift we can give to those we love, is to have faith in them, believe in their good dreams, and try to help them realize them. We need to believe in the good dreams of our husband, wife, children, parents, heroes, leaders and friends, then try our best to help them realize those good dreams well.

JOKE OF THE WEEK 

Jesuit Joke: A Jesuit, a Dominican and a Franciscan were walking along an old road, debating the greatness of their orders. Suddenly, a vision of the Holy Family appeared in front of them, with Jesus in a manger and Mary and Joseph praying over him. The Franciscan fell on his face, overcome with awe at the sight of God born in such poverty. The Dominican fell to his knees, adoring the beautiful reflection of the Trinity and the Holy Family. The Jesuit walked up to Joseph, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, “So, where ya thinking of sending the kid for school?”

 USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

 1)     Fr. Nick’s collection of Sunday homilies from 65 priests & weekday homilies:https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  

2)      Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s beautiful & scholarly video classes & texts on Sunday gospel, Bible & RCIA topics:   https://sundayhomilies.au/homilies

3)      Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org/featured-homilies/ (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)

 4)     Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle A Sunday Scripture for Bible Class:https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-

5) Lectio Divina daily gospel reflections: http://ocarm.org/en/lectio-divina

6)     Agape Catholic Bible Lessons: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/

7) The Catholic Internet Directory— http://www.catholic-church.org/cid/

8) USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/jeD46G-Be5I?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9  & USCCB Resources: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/index.cfm

 9)    Children’s sermons: http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/s-children.php 

10)  Catholics in Action: http://catholic.org/

11)  Catholic Engine: http://www.everythingcatholic.com/1024/default.asp  

12) Biblical basis of Catholic doctrines: http://scripturecatholic.com/

13) Pope Benedict on Advent: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091128_vespri-avvento.html

                                26 Additional anecdotes

1) Beauty and the Beast: Today’s Gospel message is a bit like the story of Beauty and the Beast, the animated film nominated for the Oscar Award in 1991.  In that film, Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, not because he was loveable, not because he deserved her, but because she loved her father.  But the world of the beast did not change right away, even though Beauty was there.  The servants, who shared the curse of the Beast, warned him that Beauty might be the one they had been waiting for, but the Beast continued to rage and scream and roar, finally sending Beauty away.  On her way home, she was attacked by the wolves, and Beast saved her.  As Beauty returned and nursed the wounded Beast back to health, they began to bicker and blame each other, until in one beautiful moment, Beauty stepped into the heart of the ugly beast. From that moment on, the Beast began to change slowly.  He started to laugh and play.  And then, finally, Beast realized that he loved Beauty, and in an amazing act of love, he released her to find her father.  Beauty and her father returned to the ugly world of the Beast to warn him of the danger of the townspeople’s attack, but they were too late.  In the fighting, Beast had been stabbed, and as he lay dying, Beauty confessed her love for him.  And the spell was broken. Beast was changed by the love of Beauty.  — Because Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, Beast was changed, little by little, until one day he was transformed into a wonderful handsome prince.  In Jesus, God stepped into our ugly, beastly world as Joshua (Savior), and Emmanuel (sign of God’s permanent presence with us), to change it, to bring to it – to us – the beauty of the love of God’s kingdom.  But change comes slowly.  Yes, just look at our world.  There are so many ugly people, so many beastly things happening. But there are some people who are changing and some who have been changed by the beauty of God’s love, and both begin loving others. Today’s Gospel describes the changes that occurred in St. Joseph and in the Holy Family. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2) Grandfather or great-grandfather? In Christian art, Joseph is often portrayed more like Jesus’ grandfather or great-grandfather than like a parent. In a 17^th-century painting by Guido Reni, Joseph, with gray hair and beard, lovingly holds the infant, who plays with his beard. One beautiful exception is El Greco’s “Joseph,” which portrays him as a vigorous young man with Jesus clinging to his legs, here a figure of trust and protection. The historical Joseph, a carpenter or stoneworker, was most likely young and vigorous, excited about a future with a woman he so loved that he would not invoke a harsh law against supposed adultery, but still followed the law and so would have put her away “quietly” — except for the angel from God.  Yet out of his shattered hopes would come forth One whom he would name Jesus –|the Emmanuel, “God with us.” Matthew’s Joseph, in today’s Gospel, provides a model of complementarity for parents today as they engage in that most Divine of tasks—bringing forth new life and guiding their sons and daughters along the way of Christ.  (Fr. John R. Donahue, S.J.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

3) Emmanuel to ward off Phobias: More than 300 fears, or phobias, are listed in medical dictionaries. There is the fear of darkness and the fear of light. There is the fear of high places and low places. The fear of closed places we call claustrophobia. Some people suffer from pyrophobia which is the fear of fire, and some from neophobia, which is the fear of what is new. Toxicophobia is the fear of being poisoned, and gamaphobia is the fear of marriage. Pantophobia is the fear of everything; and the person who is not afraid of anything may be suffering from phobophobia, which is the fear of being afraid! But one of the most devastating of the fears is “futurphobia,” the fear of the future. – It is difficult to go anywhere if you are afraid to take the next step. But if you are walking in Faith, trusting your Lord, you don’t have to be afraid. He says, “Go … and I am with you.” Here is one of our Lord’s wonderful promises. It is important that we read it correctly. He doesn’t say, “Go … and I will go with you.” Rather, he says, “Go … and I am with you.” He is not just a tag-along; He is already out there ahead of us in the very next step we are going to take; and He is there no matter how dark it is. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 4) “Audio spotlight” technology in the first century: Last year busy Christmas shoppers in the SoHo district of New York were suddenly hearing voices. The woman’s voice they heard seemed to whisper directly in their ear, asking, “Who’s there? Who’s there?” Spooked shoppers then heard the voice claim, “It’s not in your imagination.” The voice, in fact, WAS real, but there wasn’t any disembodied being lurking on Prince Street. Instead, those who heard the voice were simply “receiving” an ad for a new A&E television program called Paranormal State. The ad used “audio spotlight” technology developed by the Holosonic Company. Usually used to give audio slideshows in quiet environments like libraries and museums, this technology “beamed” an audio message from a nearby rooftop towards the street. When the beam intercepted an individual, that person received what seemed to be his or her own personal whisper-in-the-ear message. Anyone remember the one-second dancing hot dogs that used to flash across movie screens to suggest subliminally to patrons that they should leave their seats and buy a hot dog? The same thing was done with popcorn. — Today’s Gospel describes how St. Joseph received such a message from God in a dream some 2000 years ago, removing his suspicion about Mary’s miraculous pregnancy. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

6)The forgotten Saint: A pastor tells the story of a worried mother who phoned the Church office on the afternoon before the annual Christmas program to say that her small son, who was to play the role of Joseph in the Christmas Pageant, had a cold and had gone to bed on doctor’s orders.  “It’s too late now to get another Joseph,” the director of the play said.  “We’ll just have to write him out of the script.”  — And they did!  Joseph just disappeared!  And only a few of those who watched that night actually realized that Joseph was missing.  Joseph is often forgotten.  But today’s Gospel is centered on Joseph. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

6)Humans in solar system in 2600 AD: God did something as fantastic for that age, some 2000 years ago, as some of the proposals for the future by contemporary scientists suggest! Edward Regis, Jr., in an article, “Mother Sun,” seems to be fantasizing when he looks ahead to conditions in this solar system in A.D. 2600. He believes, with some other scientists like Crisweli, that the human race will inhabit most of the planets and asteroids of the system in 600 years: “But there’s a catch. Although there are hundreds of billions of people spread out from one end of the solar system to the other, planetary materials are nearing exhaustion.”  Edward Regis believes that human beings can take the sun apart through the use of particle accelerators, thereby providing a virtually inexhaustible source of energy and materials to support human life in this universe. — Two thousand years ago, the announcement of a “Virgin Birth” must have seemed just as incredible to those people as Edward Regis’ or Crisweli’s Plan for “Mother Sun” is to us. But through God-given Faith, as described in today’s Gospel, Joseph was able to accept the promised miracle and act accordingly. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

7)       “Honey, seems I’m lost again.”. G. K. Chesterton, who died at the age of 62 in 1936, was a prolific British writer and theologian.  He was a brilliant man who debated the greatest minds of his day and his writings influenced people like C.S. Lewis to convert to Christianity.  Though he was a deep thinker and could express himself well, including writing articles for the Encyclopedia Britannica, he was extremely absent-minded and over the years he became rather notorious for getting lost.  He would absolutely forget where he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing. On one such occasion, he sent a telegram to his wife which carried these words:  “Honey, seems I’m lost again. Presently, I am at Market Harborough.  Where ought I to be?”  As only a spouse could say it, she telegraphed back a one-word reply “HOME!” –This is precisely what this classic passage in the first chapter of Matthew does for us… it brings us home… Home to the real meaning of Christmas: Home to the most magnificent truth in the entire Bible ; Home to our Lord’s greatest promise; Home to the reason we celebrate Christmas; namely this: “GOD IS WITH US!” When we accept Christ into our lives, nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love. It is what Christmas is about. God is with us. (Fr.          Kyala) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

8)“Dog Theology” vs. “Cat Theology:” You may have heard of “Dog Theology” vs. “Cat Theology.” Here is Dog’s Theology: “You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God!” Cat’s Theology:  “You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. I must be God.” A Far Side cartoon once depicted a scientist announcing a breakthrough in understanding cat language: “They say only two things: ‘Where’s my dinner?’ and ‘Everything here is mine.’” Here is a cat story illustrating the need of our co-operation to get saved by God. At the very same time the Santa Ana winds returned to southern California, swamping flood waters inundated western state of Washington and submerged Interstate 5 for five days. Camera crews captured a lot of dramatic rescue stories. While filming the flooded farmlands a TV camera crew spied a lone refugee—a large grey cat perched on top of an old metal out-building. The flood waters had completely surrounded this cold and shivering cat. For whatever reason, the TV crew paddled and waddled forward to rescue the kitty. The cat took one look at this splashing gang of strangers with blazing lights and blaring bullhorns and saw his doom. As they tried in vain to corral and catch the cat, one camera recorded the kitty’s “escape” to higher ground. First, the cat leapt an amazing distance to the next ragged metal building. Then, still in a panic, the cat proceeded to climb the sheer, smooth, aluminum siding straight up for at least twelve feet, until he reached the roof peak and was “safely” away from all those who had thought they would “rescue” him.  Now in total darkness and utterly defeated, the camera crew left. A check of the same site the next day found the flood waters had receded, and the super-cat cat had disappeared. – Some 2000 years ago, on that first Christmas, God launched a rescue mission to save mankind from the bondage of sin by sending His Son Jesus as our Savior. But being “saved” depends upon our trusting God the Savior because we cannot save ourselves. And that is the theme of today’s Gospel. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

9) “God is with us.” Phyllis Martin, a schoolteacher in Columbus, Ohio, tells of the day when the storm clouds and strong gusts of wind came up suddenly over the Alpine Elementary School. The school public address system blared tornado warnings. It was too dangerous to send the children home. Instead, they were taken to the basement where the children lined the walls and huddled together in fear. She said the teachers were worried, too. To help ease the tension, the principal suggested a sing-along. But the voices were weak and unenthusiastic. One child after another began to cry. The children could not be consoled and were close to panic. Then one of the teachers, whose faith seemed equal to any emergency, whispered to the child closest to her, “Kathy, I know you are scared. I am too, but aren’t we forgetting something? There is a power greater than any storm. God will protect us. Just say to yourself, ‘God is with us,’ then pass the words on to the child next to you and tell her to pass it on.” Suddenly that dark and cold basement became a sacred place as each child in turn whispered around the room those powerful words, “God is with us,” “God is with us,” God is with us.” A sense of peace and courage and confidence settled over the group. Phyllis Martin said, “I could hear the wind outside still blowing with such strength that it literally shook the building, but it did not seem to matter now… Inside the fears subsided and tears faded away… When the all-clear signal came sometime later, students and staff returned to the classrooms without the usual jostling and talking. Through the years I have remembered those calming words. When we are frightened, we can claim that great Christmas promise: “God is with us!”  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 10)“God is with us as never before”: There was a family which was going through a painful, heart-breaking grief-experience. Their teenage daughter had died after a long bout with leukemia. Their pastor went to their home and they sat down together around the kitchen table, sipped coffee, and reminisced about their daughter, Courtney. They poured our hearts out. They cried together as they remembered painful moments. They laughed and remembered Courtney’s incredible sense of humor through it all… and some of the funny things she had said and done over her last few years. They prayed when they recalled her amazing Faith, her tender love and her brave spirit. Finally, when their pastor stood to leave, Courtney’s mom took his hands in hers, she looked him straight in the eye and she said, “Now pastor, don’t worry about us. We’re going to be all right. This is the toughest thing we have ever been through… no question about that… but God is with us as never before, and He will hold us up… and He will see us through. He has given us strength every day throughout this ordeal. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

11)“God is with us”: The great writer Max Lucado tells a story about his neighbor who was trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basketball. They were out in the backyard. The father shot a couple of times, saying, “Do it just like that, son; it’s real easy.” The little boy tried very hard but he couldn’t get the ball ten feet into the air. The little fellow got more and more frustrated. Finally, after hearing his father talk about how easy it was for the tenth time, the boy said, “It’s easy for you up there. You don’t know how hard it is from down here.” — You and I can never say that about God. When Jesus became man and lived among us, he walked where we walk, he suffered what we suffer, he was tempted as we are tempted. He was Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

12) “I hate Christmas”: I remember a lady in a previous parish in which I served who told me how much she hated the Christmas season.   With her children grown and her husband dead, she felt as if there were really nothing for her; Christmas, after all, is for children, at least according to the merchants.  Each year the woman became more depressed than she had the previous December.  Using her reasoning that Christmas was for children, I asked her to be responsible for the Adopt-A-Family Project.  She met the families, discovered what they needed, and organized the parish community for action and for giving.  The month of December became different for her. Christmas was not just for children, but for her.  She had discovered God’s presence by giving, and both the giving and that presence continued throughout the year. On her way to becoming an embittered woman, she had been transformed as God’s presence was made real to her. — Today’s Gospel tells us how God became Emmanuel, “God with us” to transform us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 13)  What is your Christmas gift for Jesus^? When Jesus called that Christmas week I wasn’t at my best;/ And the house was much too cluttered to entertain a guest./ He seemed to notice everything,/ the card still unaddressed,/ the gifts piled high awaiting wraps, / the baking and the rest./ He eyes fell on the evergreen /and the presents ‘neath the tree./”It’s my birthday you celebrate /—what are you giving Me?’‘/ “What am I giving Him?” I thought; / ashamed, no words I found. / So many costly things I’d bought… / He looked at me and frowned. /I prayed He’d let the question pass, / but when He did persist, / I blurted out the truth at last: / “You were not on my list!’”    (Louise Teisberg ) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

14) Being just in dealing with others: The ancient Greeks defined justice as “giving to another what is his due.” Having given a definition for justice, they failed to render the same to their great philosopher, Socrates. Socrates felt he had been given a Divine call to right the wrong, enlighten the ignorant and lead people from untruth to truth. He engaged with people in conversation on all kinds of topics — war, marriage, morality, religion etc. He was always kind and gentle in his disposition but delighted in exposing the quacks and the humbugs of his time. He practiced the virtues he preached. He was falsely charged with atheism and the corruption of youth by the Athenian people; the judge ordered that he should be put to death by the drinking hemlock, a poison. Since his death, history has reversed the judgment, has declared Socrates innocent, and has condemned the Athenian people and the judge as guilty of giving an unfair and wrong judgment against Socrates.—Time and again, we have seen in history that people have been wrongly condemned and put to death. How are we to act justly? When we are called upon to judge, how should we render judgment? In today’s Gospel, Joseph gives us an example of how we can wisely pass judgment on others. Joseph “being a just man” breaks the law by showing compassion. In showing compassion to Mary, he acted as God does in His dealings with His people.
(John Rose in John’s Sunday       Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

15) St. Joseph, the model of Faith: A retreat master was addressing a group of fathers. He proposed St. Joseph as a perfect model for them as the head of their families. At that, one retreatant said: “Joseph’s situation was totally different from mine. He was a saint, his wife was sinless, and his Child was the Son of God. I’m no saint, my wife is not sinless, and my child isn’t the Son of God.” Without batting an eyelid, the quick-witted Retreat master responded: “Was your wife pregnant before marriage and you didn’t know by whom? Did you son leave home for three days and you didn’t know where he was? Were you ever awakened in the middle of the night and urged to flee from the imminent threat of your innocent child’s assassination?”  St. Joseph was pre-eminently a man of Faith who never doubted the reassuring promise of the Heavenly messenger: “Don’t be afraid, Joseph, to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.” Joseph believed God’s word and acted on it and fulfilled the mission God had given him. We too, with His ever-present help, can do the same. (Mark Link; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

16) The impossible becomes possible with God: It is reported that when Fred Astaire, the famous tap dancer, presented his very first performance before the director of MGM  back in 1933, the response was: “Can’t act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!” Undeterred, Astaire went on to become one of the finest, most graceful and impressive dancers the world has ever known. Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred to play his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. The rest, as we know, is history: Beethoven went on to distinguish himself as a brilliant violinist and an eminent composer. Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” Further, he was expelled and refused admission into the Zurich Polytechnic School. Unaffected by this harsh, unfair assessment, he continued to learn and was revealed as one the world’s greatest geniuses. — Fred Astaire, Beethoven and Albert Einstein each admirably demonstrated what we have heard in the three readings today, viz. what is impossible to man is possible to God, and the God of wisdom, power and love is with us and in us always, even to the end of time. The essential message of Christmas is: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign.” It is this: ‘The maiden is with child and soon will give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’” If God is for us and with us, who can be against us? (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 17) The Excitement of Arrival: In 1915, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton led an expedition to Antarctica which nearly ended in tragedy. His ship was caught in ice and eventually was crushed. The crew had to flee, taking with them what provisions they could carry. They drifted 150 miles on an ice floe to Elephant Island, where there was an old supply hut. From there Shackleton and a few of his men sailed 800 miles in a small boat on wild seas to South Georgia Island. After a near tragic landing (the rudder broke apart just as they reached a rocky shore) they made a nearly impossible crossing of a rugged mountain range to a whaling village on the opposite shore. Meanwhile, the men he left behind at Elephant Island had exhausted their supplies and had nearly given up hope that “The Boss” — that’s what they called Shackleton — would make it back to save them. But he did, and one can only imagine the excitement of those beleaguered men, the day they sighted Shackleton’s rescue ship making its way through the stormy Antarctic Ocean to Elephant Island. “The Boss” had arrived, just as he had said he would. — Are we faithfully living in expectation of the Lord’s coming? Do we believe He will come, as He said, He would? (Pulpit Resources; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

18) Preparing for the task ahead: Queen Victoria of England, ruled over the vast British Empire for many years. When she was eight years old, her teacher slipped a little piece of paper into a book, that the princess was studying. The teacher had written: “Someday you will be the Queen of England.” Little Victoria looked at those words for a long time and mulled over them. Then she said, “I am nearer to the throne than I think. I will try to get truly ready and will be good.” She took to heart the words of the teacher and began to prepare herself for the great task ahead of her. Her constant efforts enabled her to fulfill her duties and she became one of the greatest monarchs of the British        Empire. (Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

19) Are you awake? Are you aware of God? A man came to the Buddha and asked him, “Tell me Buddha, are you a god?” “No, I am not god.” “Are you an angel?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a prophet?” “No, not a prophet neither.” “What are you then?” Whereupon the Buddha answered……. “I am awake.” — Most of us are not awake. We are always in slumber. We are not aware of our own thoughts, feelings and actions. We function, most of the time, like automatons. The enlightened are those aware and awake. During Advent let us be awake and get prepared for the rebirth of Jesus in our lives.  (Dr. Francis Xavier in The World’s Best Inspiring Stories; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 20) Giving him the best: The story is told of a mother waiting for her young son to come home from boarding school for his Christmas holidays. In her eager anticipation, on the evening before his arrival, she had baked his favourite cake and kept it in the larder. That night her aged father, who was staying with them, got up feeling hungry, he stumbled down to the kitchen and was rummaging for some food. He espied the cake and could not resist taking a slice. The next morning when the mother saw the “damage” done, she scolded the old man, who very sheepishly was trying to excuse himself, saying he only took a “tiny slice.” She said: “It doesn’t matter to you does it? But it matters to me, very much indeed.” In her joyful expectation she had poured out her love, only a matter of flour, and milk and eggs, it would seem, but it mattered very much indeed. –- The Church places Mary as the model for waiting and preparing for the coming of the Lord. What exactly did Mary do? By her Faith, and obedience to God she prepared a body for him, through her self-gift. (Denis P. in All Times and Seasons Belong to Him! Quoted by Fr. Botelho).

21) Are you the one?  Yes, Jesus was “the One who was to come.” But where can people find him today? Once, a group of salesmen attended a sales convention. They had assured their families that they would be home in time for dinner. But the meeting ran overtime, so they had to run for the train. Tickets in hand, they dashed along the platform. One of them knocked over a table supporting a basket of apples. But neither he nor any of his companions stopped to help the young boy who staffed the apple stand. All reached the train and boarded it with a sigh of relief. But then one of them felt a twinge of compassion for the boy whose apple stand had been overturned. He immediately decided to do something about it. Saying good-bye to his companions, he returned to the scene of the accident. He was glad he had done so. He discovered that the boy was blind. The salesman began to gather up the apples. As he did so he noticed that some of them were bruised. He took out his wallet and handing the boy some money he said, ”Here; take this for the damage we did. I hope we didn’t spoil your day.” As he started to walk away, the bewildered boy called after him, “Are you Jesus?  Are you Jesus?” — In a sense, the man who went back to undo the damage they had done was Jesus — for he acted as Jesus acted and taught us to do. So where is Jesus to be found today? In his disciples. Blessed are we if we do not lose Faith in Jesus. And twice blessed are we if, like Jesus, we are able to show forth our Faith in deeds of love and mercy. People will encounter Jesus in us. (Flor McCarthy in Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

22) Janus the Roman god with two faces: Janus, one of the Roman gods, had two faces, which signified his ability to see both past and future at once. His image was posted in the doorway of Roman houses, from which position it was thought he could protect the comings and goings of the inhabitants. Wherever Rome was at war, the doors of Janus’ temple were left open; in times of peace, they were closed. During his reign as emperor, Augustus (31 B.C. – AD 14) ordered the doors to Janus’ temple to be closed three times in his 45 -year reign, as evidence of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), which he established and enforced and which lasted for two centuries. Before his death at age 75, Augustus had so organized Rome’s provinces and made its extensive system of roads so safe that commercial enterprise flourished and extended even into India and China. When he wrote to the Christians at Rome, Paul’s letter was safely carried from Corinth to Rome, and like the other early Christian missionaries, his many journeys for the sake of the Gospel were made less difficult because roadways were maintained and guarded by Roman soldiers. — But when Paul extended his traditional greetings of grace and peace (vs. 7) to the Roman Church, it was not the Pax Romana but the Pax Christi to which be referred. Christ’s peace, which is so much in the forefront during the seasons of Advent and Christmas, is Christ’s gift to all of us of Himself, Incarnate, crucified and risen. His peace is not enforced but offered to all who will appropriate his gift in Faith. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 23) Doing it my way or His way!  There is a story about King Henry III of Bavaria, who lived in the eleventh century. Apparently, he became tired of his earthly duties and responsibilities and felt the call to a simpler more spiritual life. He made an application to Prior Richard to enter his monastery as a contemplative and, finally free from worldly distractions, to foster his spiritual life. Prior Richard responded, “Your majesty, do you understand that one of the vows here is that of obedience?  That will be hard for you since you have been a king and are used to giving not receiving orders.” “I understand,” Henry said, “For the rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do.” Prior Richard responded. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully and generously in the place where God has put you.” Henry complied. — In today’s Gospel we find Joseph following God’s way in a family crisis.(Corbin Eddy in ‘Who Knows the Shape of God?’ Quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

24)Jesus’ face on the laminated birch-wood door of the hospital’s recovery room

King Ahaz, spoken of in today’s first reading, was, in one sense, commendable when he refused to ask God for a sign: “I will not tempt the Lord.” It is impertinent of us to demand that the Almighty keep showing us His divine credentials. He uses miracles with great economy!  Believers are sometimes too ready to consider this or that striking occurrence as a sign given us by God. One such occurrence was described in April 1983, by the Associated Press. That month, a visitor to the Walker County Medical Center in Jasper, Alabama, noticed what looked like Jesus’ face on the laminated birch-wood door of the hospital’s recovery room. There were two “eyes” that appeared tear-filled, set in what looked somewhat like a Christ-face. News of this phenomenon spread quickly, and during the following week at least 10,000 people came to see it. Viewers had difference reactions. Some laughed nervously. Some wept. Some prayed. One man took it as a promise that his ailing son would recover; and the son did get well. On the other hand, certain of the hospital employees referred to it as “the hoax.” Of course, the newspapers seized upon the event, soliciting the opinions of local pundits. Ministers of the vicinity asked to be given the door, if the Medical Center, obviously embarrassed by the crowds of visitors, should remove it. A Benedictine monk of a nearby monastery said that while Divine signs are always possible, the Catholic Church is cautious about declaring unusual happenings miraculous. Photographs published in the daily press suggested that the “face” was merely a natural pattern in the laminated wood. At all events, the furor soon died down. Six months later the press apparently considered the “apparition” no longer newsworthy. One suspects that at Jasper, Faith had yielded to credulity. This is always a perilous thing, since credulity, once disappointed, can contribute to a loss of true Faith. — Ahaz’ real fault in refusing to ask a sign from God was that on that occasion it was God Who wanted to give the sign. What Ahaz refused to ask, God gave  the sign in spite of the king’s rude refusal, to the country and all mankind: “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and she shall name Him Emmanuel.” (Father Robert F. McNamara ). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

 25) The meaning of dreams:  Three days were left for Christmas. Getting up early in the morning, the wife said to her husband, “Honey! Last night I had a dream and in the dream you gave me a beautiful golden necklace as present for Christmas. What could that mean?” The husband smiled and said, “Wait and see.” Next morning as soon as she woke up the wife again said to her husband, “Honey! Last night again I had the same dream and in the dream you gave me a beautiful golden necklace as present for Christmas. What could that mean?” And again the husband smiled and said, “Wait and see.” On the third morning the wife said to her husband the same thing and the husband also gave her the same reply. Finally, the Christmas Day arrived and the wife saw her Christmas present wrapped in a beautiful package and kept on her table. Excited as she was, thinking that her tricks had worked, she opened it immediately, expecting a beautiful golden necklace. But unfortunately to her great shocked disappointment, she found a book instead. And the title of the book was – “THE MEANINGS OF DREAMS”. — In the Gospel Reading of today we come across a man, St. Joseph, to whom the angel of God always spoke in his dreams. Joseph always listened to them and with the obedience of faith, did what God, throu His angel,  had told him to do. Joseph, a righteous man, played an important part in God’s plan of salvation of mankind. Actually, he was the hope of the prophesy of the Prophet Isaiah. Fr. Lakra (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

26) The most dangerous enemy: According to Napoleon Hill (1986), fear is the most dangerous enemy of people searching for success. He identified six basic fears with their corresponding symptoms namely: 1. Fear of poverty – indifference, indecision, doubt, worry, over-cautiousness, and procrastination. 2. Fear of Criticism – self-consciousness, lack of poise, weak personality, inferiority complex, extravagance, lack of initiative, and lack of ambition. 3.  Fear of Ill-health – autosuggestion, hypochondria, indolence, self-cuddling, intemperance, and worry. 4.  Fear of Loss of Love – jealousy, faultfinding, and gambling. 5. Fear of Old age – premature slow-down, apology for one’s age, killing of initiative, and masquerading as a younger person.  6. Fear of Death – thinking about dying, association with fear of poverty, and association with illnes or imbalance.

— You can now imagine the effects on people of the forms of fear Hill enumerated. Fear can indeed be a dangerous enemy in you. We must not therefore allow it to ruin our lives. Overcome it! How can one overcome fear? There are four ways: 1. Utilize fear as a tool for growth. 2. Withdraw from the fear. 3. Control the source of fear. 4. Attack the source of the threat. 5. But above all, trust in God and do His will, because God has a message on each one of us. (Fr. Bennett) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).L-25

 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No. 5) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in.  (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020)  (Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)

Advent III [A] (Dec 14) (Eight-minute homily in one page) L/25

Introduction: Today’s readings invite us to rejoice at the rebirth of Jesus in our lives as we are preparing for our annual Christmas celebration. Today is called Gaudete Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon: “Gaudete in Domino semper,” i.e., “Rejoice in the Lord always.” So, to express our joy in the coming of Jesus as our Savior into our hearts and lives, we light the rose candle in the Advent wreath, and the priest may wear rose-colored vestments.

Scripture lessons summarized: The prophet Isaiah, in today’s first reading, encouraged the exiled Jews in Babylon to rejoice because their God was going to liberate them from slavery and lead them safely to their homeland. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm has us sing, “Lord, come and save us!” In the second reading, James the Apostle encourages the early Christians to rejoice and wait with patience for the imminent second coming of Jesus. Finally, in the first part of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus encourages John the Baptist in prison to rejoice by casting away his wrong expectations about the Messiah and simply accepting Jesus’ healing and preaching ministry as the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah. In the second part of today’s Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus, the true Messiah, paying the highest compliments to John the Baptist as his herald and the last of the prophets, and giving special credit to the courage of John’s prophetic convictions, asking his listeners to rejoice in the greatness of his herald.

Life messages: 1) We need to learn how to survive a Faith crisis: If John the Baptist, even after having had a direct encounter with Jesus, the Messiah, had his doubts about Jesus and his teachings, we, too, can have our crises of Faith. On such occasions, let us remember the truth that all our Christian dogmas are based on our trusting Faith in the Divinity of Jesus who taught them, and on his Divine authority which he gave to his Church to teach what he taught. Hence, it is up to us to learn our Faith in depth and ask the Lord to remove our doubts.

2) “Go and tell others what you hear and see.” We rejoice at the thought that Jesus is going to be reborn in our lives, deepening in us his gifts of love, mercy, forgiveness and the spirit of humble and sacrificial service during this Christmas season. Hence, let us joyfully share God’s bountiful grace, forgiveness, and mercy with others. What Jesus demanded of John’s disciples, he demands of us as well: “Go and tell others what you hear and see.” This means that we have to share with others our experience of the rebirth of Jesus within us,

3) We need to open our hearts and let God transform our lives: Today’s readings remind us that our lives can also be transformed if we are patient and place our trust in God. The message of Advent is that God is present among us, in our everyday lives. We must prepare our hearts to recognize and welcome him by allowing a metánoia (a change of thinking about God, ourselves, and the world) — wrought by the Holy Spirit, with our cooperative assent, of course — to take place in us during Advent.

ADVENT III [A] (Dec 14, 2025) Is 35:1-6a, 10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 L/25

Homily starter anecdotes:   

# 1: Unfinished Play: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. When he died in 1864, he had on his desk the outline of a play he never got a chance to finish. The play centered around a person who never appeared on stage. Everyone talked about him. Everyone dreamed about him. Everyone waited for his arrival. But he never came. All kinds of minor characters described him. They told everybody what he would do. But the main character never appeared. — The Old Testament is something like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s play. It too ended without the main character’s appearing on the stage. Everyone talked about the Messiah, everyone awaited his arrival. But he never came in the Old Testament period. In today’s reading, we hear Isaiah describing what the Messiah would do by bringing salvation to all mankind. — Today’s Gospel tells us that when the real Messiah came, even the last prophet and the Messiah’s herald, John the Baptist, had trouble believing that he was the expected Messiah. (Mark Link S. J. in Sunday Homilies) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 2:  “Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu!” Under a cultural exchange program, a rabbi from Russia was visiting a Christian family in Texas. Since it was Christmas, the family wanted to take him to some of the finest places in Houston, so they all went to a favorite Chinese restaurant. Throughout the meal the rabbi extolled the wonders of America in comparison to the bleak conditions of his homeland. When they had finished eating, the waiter brought the check, a fortune cookie, and a small brass Christmas tree ornament as a present for the rabbi. They all laughed when the rabbi pointed out that the ornaments were stamped “made in India.” But the laughter soon subsided when they saw that the rabbi was quietly crying. They all thought that the rabbi must have been offended by receiving a Christmas tree as a gift. But no.  Questioned, the rabbi smiled, shook his head, and said, “Nyet! I was shedding tears of joy to be in a wonderful country, in a Chinese restaurant in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 3: Gaudete Sunday smile: A number of years ago, a young college student was working as an intern at his college’s Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, he saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair. As he looked more closely at this girl, he saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. The student realized that she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots. As the couple wheeled her up to the checkout counter, he turned his head toward the girl and gave her a wink. Meanwhile, he took the money from her grandparents and looked back at the girl, who was giving him the cutest and the largest smile he had ever seen. All of a sudden, her handicap was gone, and all that the college student saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted him and almost instantly gave him a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took him from being an unhappy college student and brought him into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth. — With the lighting of the rose candle, the third on the Advent Wreath, among the purple candles, and the priest’s wearing the rose vestments, we are reminded that we are called to live with joy in our world of sorrows and pain. (Fr. James Farfaglia)  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Introduction: The common theme running through today’s readings is one of joy and encouragement. The readings stress the need for patience in those awaiting the rebirth of Jesus in their hearts and lives.  They give us a message of hope—for people three millennia ago, for people at the beginning of the first millennium and for people today.  Today is called Gaudete Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon: “Gaudete in Domino semper,” i.e., “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Today, our joy in the coming of Jesus as our Savior, is marked by our lighting of our Advent Wreath’s third candle, which is rose-colored, and by the rose-colored vestments, which the priest may wear  at this  Eucharist, because both represent a lightening of the dark violet of the rest of the penitential season of Advent. They remind us of the color of the sky at the very brink of morning, when the sun is just beginning to come up. The horizon takes on a pale rose color that gradually gets redder and brighter as the sun rises. For faithful Christians, life is like a “long sunrise,” and death is the entrance into the bright, “everlasting day” of eternal life. This is the reason why this Sunday is also called “Rose Sunday.” The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, encourages the exiled Jews in Babylon to believe that God is going to save them and transform their lives.  The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 146) reminds us of the fidelity, mercy, and justice of the Lord God Who will come again.  In the second reading, James the Apostle encourages the early Christians to be patient, “because the coming of the Lord is at hand.”  Finally, in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus encourages John the Baptist to cast away the popular political expectations about the Messiah and simply to accept Jesus’ healing and preaching ministry as the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy of Isaiah.

First reading: Is 35:1-6, 10 explained:  Through Isaiah, His prophet, the Lord God tries to stir up in his exiled children the hope of their return to Israel by assuring them of His saving power in their lives.  He reminds them that it was through their disloyalty to Him that they had lost their liberty, had been taken as slaves to Babylon, and had lived there in servitude for sixty years (598-538 BC).  The Jews were finally set free by Cyrus (who had captured Babylon), and were allowed to return to their native land, rebuild the Temple, and serve their God once more as His Chosen People. Through the prophet, Yahweh assures the exiles that He will lead them back to their land in this second exodus (6^th century B.C.), as He led their ancestors from Egypt to the Promised Land in the first exodus (13^th century BC).  The Lord God says He is going to do three things for them.  1) He will transform the wasteland lying between their land of exile and Israel into a new Garden of Eden to facilitate their journey.  2) The weak and the sick will be strengthened for the journey.  3) They will reach their destination singing and crowned with glory.  The assurance of this second exodus is chosen for Advent, because both Exodus events foreshadow the coming of the Messiah.

Second reading: James 5:7-10 explained: The expectation of Jesus’ imminent return did not last very long in the early Church. Even within Saint Paul’s lifetime, that expectation had waned.  The Apostles advised the Christians to bear witness to Christ through their heroic lives without waiting for the Parousia in their lifetime.  Hence, in the second reading, James encourages the fearful, frustrated, and persecuted early Christians to be patient.  Like Isaiah, James tries to show his Christian community that what they have been hoping for is already happening.  Though he stresses patience and determination, James also reminds them that “the Judge stands at the gate.”  Just as the prophets believed that what they were proclaiming was already happening, the Christians needed to behave as though the returned risen Jesus were already influencing their lives.  James uses the analogy of a farmer who must wait patiently for the ground to yield its fruit.  In the same way, we must trust that God is bringing abundance into, and out of, our lives, although we cannot see it yet.  St. James’ warning is clear:  if anyone among them has hitherto neglected his duties to God, he needs to listen now to the warning (“The Judge is standing before the gates!”) and put his conscience and his life right with God.

Gospel exegesis: The context: Today’s Gospel describes how Isaiah’s vision of Israel’s glorious future is fulfilled unexpectedly by the coming of the promised Messiah in Jesus, the poor, humble, itinerant preacher who told the Truth, and who worked wonders of healing in his Messianic mission. But the Jews in general expected a political Messiah who would reestablish the Davidic kingdom after overthrowing the Roman government. Hence, many of them were scandalized by Jesus’ peaceful preaching and shameful death. The disciples of John the Baptist continued to insist that John was indeed the Messiah, and they awaited his return, causing problems to early Christians. Hence, all four Evangelists highlighted John’s important role as the Messiah’s herald but emphasized that John’s was a secondary and subordinate role in salvation history. Matthew, in the second part of today’s Gospel, presents Jesus, the true Messiah, as paying the highest compliments to John the Baptist as his herald and the last of the prophets, and to the courage with which John proclaimed his prophetic convictions.

..John’s reasonable doubts. Scripture scholars over the centuries have wondered why John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the one who was to come. There are three possible explanations: 1) John knew that Jesus was the Christ and, as a prisoner, he wanted his disciples to follow Jesus as their new master. So, he sent them to ask Jesus this question presuming that, once they had met Jesus, they would see for themselves that he was the Messiah and so would become followers of Jesus.  2) John had begun to doubt Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah. The silent healing, preaching, saving, and empowering ministry of Jesus was as  big a surprise to John as it was to the Jewish leadership who expected a fire-and-brimstone Messiah. Besides, Jesus had not yet fulfilled John’s prediction that the One-to-come would baptize the repentant in the Holy Spirit. Nor did Jesus conform to popular Jewish beliefs about a warrior and a political Messiah who would bring political, social, and economic deliverance to Israel. Instead, Jesus pronounced blessings on the poor in spirit, the meek, and peacemakers (5:1-11).  He called his disciples to love their enemies (5:42-48).  He warned his disciples not to judge others (7:1-5). For John, these teachings might have seemed to weaken rather than to strengthen the Messiah’s cause. Furthermore, Jesus moved away from Jerusalem, the home of the Temple and the center of religious authority and began his ministry in Galilee among the common people (4:12). Finally, 3) John proclaimed the power of the coming Messiah to bring in a new age, and instead found himself imprisoned in the dungeon of Herod’s prison-fortress at Machaerus, southeast of the Dead Sea, so, a) he might have been wondering why the expected Messiah was not setting him free as Isaiah (61:1) had predicted, or b) he might have found sympathetic doubters among his own disciples who might have wondered how the Messiah could leave their own teacher in prison, and how He could usher in the kingdom without political or military might.  These might have been the reasons why John sent his disciples to dispel his doubt, asking: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

John shows the humble willingness to dispel doubts and to accept correction: Instead of criticizing Jesus or breaking away from him, John approached Jesus through his disciples.   The disciples asked Jesus whether he was the one to come or if they should look for another. John might have had his doubts, but he was open to hearing Jesus say that he was, indeed, the one! John must have recognized the Scriptural allusions behind Jesus’ answer.  Isaiah 29:18 speaks of the deaf hearing and the blind seeing.  Isaiah 35:6 speaks of the lame leaping like a deer.  Isaiah 26:19 speaks of the dead becoming alive.  Isaiah 61:1 speaks of good news for the oppressed, the brokenhearted, captives and prisoners.  These were signs of the Messiah’s coming.  Jesus, in turn, could have rebuked John for his doubts, but instead offered him a blessing.  Jesus had not lived up to John’s expectations, but John did not allow that to be a stumbling block (skandalizomia).  Soon enough, Jesus would deal with the people of his hometown, who took offense at him (13:57).  Complimenting John, Jesus says to the crowd around him that that John is the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 (“See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me”), presenting the Baptist as the last prophetic messenger, the forerunner of the Messiah.

Life messages: 1) We need to learn how to survive a Faith crisis: From a theological perspective, this entire episode helps us to understand how the experience of a Faith crisis can play a role in our spiritual and emotional development. If John the Baptist, even after having had a direct encounter with Jesus, the Messiah, could doubt and question his Faith, then so can we.  If disillusionment is a necessary precondition for a more resilient Faith, then we, too, must be open to its possibilities.  In moments of doubt, despair, and disillusion, we are, indeed, in good company. Occasional doubts – even horrifying doubts – are one thing, but doubts that persist in the face of every Biblical remedy demand careful attention. Let us remember the truth that our trust and Faith in our Christian dogmas and all the teachings of the Church, are rooted and grounded in the Divinity of Jesus Who taught them, and on the Divine authority by which He authorized the Church to teach what He had taught. It is up to us to learn our Faith in depth, so that God will be able to dispel our doubts.

2) “Go and tell others what you hear and see.”  In medieval times, this day—the Third Sunday of Advent—was called Gaudete Sunday, as an equivalent to Laetare Sunday during Lent. As we pray today, we also rejoice that the Lord does not fail to show his power and might.   We rejoice at the thought that Jesus is going to be reborn in our lives, deepening in us His gifts of love, mercy, forgiveness, and the spirit of humble and sacrificial service during this Christmas season. During this season, let us joyfully share God’s bountiful grace, forgiveness, and mercy with others.   What Jesus commanded John’s disciples to do, he commands us to do as well:  “Go, and tell others what you hear and see”. Despite the obvious “signs” and miracles, some people still rejected Jesus (CCC #548). Each of us must strive to interpret the “signs of the times,” and to accept the help of the Church and the Holy Spirit in the process(CCC #1788).

3) We need to open our hearts and let God transform our lives: We, too, should be encouraged by today’s readings.  They remind us that our lives can also be transformed, if we are patient and place our trust in God. The message of Advent is that God is present among us, in our everyday lives.  We must prepare our hearts to recognize and welcome Him.  “If a man is the center of his [own] life, everyone around him becomes hell for him because everyone around him interferes with him and obstructs what he wants to do” (Jean Paul Sartre).  Let us believe in our hearts the Gospel message about Jesus given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Will we allow the Holy Spirit, through these Gospel reports, to create in us this Advent a metánoia — a radical change of our thinking, loving, living, and our very being, in relation to God, other people, and ourselves, which will reshape and clarify our purpose for living in this world as He intended when He created us — or not?

4) Each of us is called to be “more than a prophet,” “more than a precursor,” “more than someone who points to Jesus.” We are called to be greater than a prophet, greater than John the Baptist, in our mission. We’re supposed to become Jesus’ voice, Jesus’ hands, Jesus’ feet, Jesus’ heart. As St. Teresa of Avila would say, “Christ has no body on earth now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the earth. Yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.”

JOKES OF THE WEEK 

1) “I am John the Baptist!” A man who thought he was John the Baptist was disturbing the neighborhood, so for public safety, he was committed.   He was put in a room with another crazy one.  The new inmate immediately began his routine, “I am John the Baptist! Jesus Christ has sent me!”   The other guy looked at him and declared, “I did not!”

2) A Politically Correct Christmas Greeting? Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasions of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as for those who choose not to practice a religion at all. (Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.)

3) What happens when pastor’s Mom lives in the rectory as his housekeeper? On a Sunday morning he couldn’t get out of bed. His mother tried to get him out of bed, but to little avail. She shouted up the stairs, “Get up!” and he shouted down the stairs, “No!” Then she shouted again, “Get up!” and he shouted down, “Why should I?” She said, “Well, first of all your breakfast is ready, secondly this is the third Sunday of Advent, and thirdly you’re the Pastor and you have to say two Masses today!”

 USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

1)     Fr. Nick’s collection of Sunday homilies from 65 priests & weekday homilies:https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  

2)      Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s beautiful & scholarly video classes & texts on Sunday gospel, Bible & RCIA topics:   https://sundayhomilies.au/homilies

3)      Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org/featured-homilies/ (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)

 4)     Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle A Sunday Scripture for Bible Class:https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-

5) Lectio Divina daily gospel reflections: http://ocarm.org/en/lectio-divina

6)     Agape Catholic Bible Lessons: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/

7) The Catholic Internet Directory— http://www.catholic-church.org/cid/

8) USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/jeD46G-Be5I?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9  & USCCB Resources: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/index.cfm

 9)    Children’s sermons: http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/s-children.php 

10)  Catholics in Action: http://catholic.org/

11)  Catholic Engine: http://www.everythingcatholic.com/1024/default.asp  

12) Biblical basis of Catholic doctrines: http://scripturecatholic.com/

13) Pope Benedict on Advent: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091128_vespri-avvento.html

• Catholic Questions and answers: org
• Catholic Answers for teenagers: com
• Apologetic sites on the Web: http://www.catholic-view.com/sites.html
• The Catholic News service: http://www.catholicnews.com

28 Additional anecdotes:

1) “Joy to the World!” Consider the story of one young man. He was often sick as a baby. He was always small, puny some would say. As a youth he was always frail and delicate. He was not able to play sports with the other boys his age. Eventually he entered the ministry. But his health was so fragile, he was unable to serve his growing congregation. Amazingly, he did not dwell on his troubles. In fact, his spirit soared. His only real complaint was the poor quality of the hymns of his day. He felt they did not convey hope and joy. Someone challenged him to write better ones. He did. He wrote over 600 hymns, most of them hymns of praise. When his health collapsed completely in 1748, he left one of the most remarkable collections of hymns the world has ever known. His name was Isaac Watts. In a few weeks we will be singing one of his most famous hymns, “Joy to the World!” — Isaac Watts discovered joy in his life because he knew that God would never desert him. He was able to live his life with all sorts of health problems, feeling close to God and Jesus. He had joy deep in his heart. (Timothy J. Smith; quoted by Fr. T. Kayala). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2)   Encouraging others with facial paralysis: The Reader’s Digest once reported the story of an attractive and successful business woman who noticed a small lump behind her ear as she was brushing her hair one morning.  As the days went on, she noticed that the lump was getting larger. So she decided to see her doctor.  Her worst fears were confirmed.  The doctor told her that the lump was a large tumor that would require immediate surgery.  When she awoke following the surgery, she found her entire head wrapped like that of a mummy.  She could see herself in a mirror only through two tiny holes cut into the wrapping.  When the bandages were removed after a week she was shocked to see that her once attractive features had become disfigured by a facial paralysis caused, perhaps, by damage to facial nerves during the removal of the tumor. Standing before the mirror, she told herself that she had to make a choice whether to laugh or to cry.  She decided to laugh.  Although the various therapies tried were unsuccessful in alleviating the facial paralysis, the decision to laugh in the face of adversity allowed this woman to carry on with her life with joy, giving encouragement to those with similar paralysis. — Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus encouraged the imprisoned John the Baptist by dispelling his doubts about the role of the Messiah and making him strong enough to face martyrdom. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2) “Sweetheart, you’re the answer to my prayers.” A few years ago in Reader’s Digest, a lady named Barbara Bartocci reported searching for the perfect birthday card for her husband. She came across a promising one. On the outside it read: “Sweetheart, you’re the answer to my prayers.” Then she turned to the inside, which was inscribed, “You’re not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently you are the answer.” — In a strange way, something like that was running through John’s mind as he sat there in that prison. He and his people had hoped and prayed for years for a Messiah, one anointed by God to lead the nation, a deliverer who would vanquish occupying forces, conquer all enemies, establish a great Kingdom, and usher in an era of peace and prosperity. In time past, and not that long ago, John had come to believe that the prayers had been answered. The Messiah was none other than his own cousin, Jesus of Nazareth. But Jesus’ mission was spiritual, not political or military. Rev. David E. Leininger (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

3) “Down with Khrushchev!” There was a joke that came out of the Soviet Union many years ago about a Russian who stood on the street corner in Moscow, and shouted, “Down with Khrushchev!” He was arrested and sent to prison camp for ten years. While he was in prison, he had a change of heart, and came to see that Khrushchev was a great leader after all. The only problem was, while he was in prison the times changed, and Khrushchev was deposed from office and publicly denounced. When the man was released, he went back to that same street corner in Moscow. He wanted to give a public testimony to his rehabilitation. This time he shouted, “Hooray for Khrushchev!” and got ten more years. Timing is everything! — Look at our lesson for this morning. The disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus, and ask, “Are you the one, or do we look for another?” It is a critical question for John. John has preached that the time has come. The Messiah, he said, is about to appear, so repent, get ready, put your lives in order. He has devoted his whole life to the belief that the time has come. But he is in prison now. Though he is unaware of it, John is about to lose his head. So, he sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one that we have been waiting for, or do we still look for somebody else?”  (Rev. Mark Totter) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

4) Broken dreams of a warrior Messiah:  In his book Horns and Halos, Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton tells about one of the weirdest auction sales in history, held in Washington, D.C., in 1926. At the auction, 150,000 patented models of old inventions were declared obsolete and placed on the block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a “bed-bug buster” or an “illuminated cat” that was designed to scare away mice. Then there was a device to prevent snoring. It consisted of a trumpet that reached from the mouth to the ear; and was designed to awaken the snorer and not the neighbors. And then there was the adjustable pulpit that could be raised or lowered according to the height of the preacher. — Needless to say, this auction of old patent models was worth at least 150,000 laughs; but if we would look into this situation a little more deeply, we would discover that these 150,000 old patent models also represent 150,000 broken dreams. Today’s Gospel shows us John the Baptist’s broken dreams of a warrior Messiah. (Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

5) John expected better treatment from a Messiah:  Glen was nearly 90 years old and had not been sick more than a few hours of those 90 years. Then the doctor mentioned cancer. At first Glen nodded and said that for 90 good years he had no complaints.  But as days passed he grew quiet, the smile left his face, and the love left his eyes. He worried constantly, and complained just a bit more than that. “I’ve tried to do good,” Glen said one morning, “but I just don’t see why God would do this to me. This isn’t what I expected at all. Maybe I’ve been wasting my time.” — In the same way, John the Baptist expected better treatment from a Messiah. (Rev. John B. Jamison) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

6) Greek, and Jewish civilization: The first great civilization in the West was the Greek civilization. It provided a universal language. Three hundred years before Jesus, Alexander the Great conquered the world. The Greeks followed him with a kind of missionary zeal to spread Greek language and culture. By Jesus’ time, Greek was the universal language of the Mediterranean world, which made it possible for a new kind of communication in the world that did not exist before that time. People could speak the same language. Thus, three hundred years before Jesus, the Old Testament was translated into Greek because more Jews could speak Greek than could speak Hebrew. For the first time, Jew and Greek, Egyptian and Roman, all spoke the same language, shared the same culture, and they all became familiar with one another’s traditional cultures. The second great civilization was the Jewish civilization. Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, also wrote The Gifts of the Jews, a wonderful book, with the subtitle, “How A Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels.” The great contribution of the Jews, claims Cahill, was to see history as moving toward a goal that they called the Kingdom of God. That meant that, for the first time, history had a purpose. We owe that to the Jews, as well as the conviction that someday the world will be renewed. — Each week in Advent we read these beautiful visions of what the world will be in the future. “The wilderness shall be glad…the desert shall rejoice and blossom. …Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come…and save you. The ears of the deaf unstopped…the lame shall leap like a deer…the tongue of the speechless shall sing.”  (Rev. John B Jamison)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

7) “The only Christ I ever knew.” Myra had worked for many years in a large, downtown business office. Many different things were said about Myra, but on one point all her colleagues agreed: Myra was a hateful person. She had a way of quickly turning off anyone who tried to befriend her. She was a loner, a disagreeable one at that. Consequently, whenever a new employee was hired, the warning went out, “Stay away from Myra.” This situation lasted for years until a new employee, whom we shall call Margaret, arrived on the scene. Disregarding all the friendly warnings, Margaret made a special effort to let Myra know that now there was someone in that office who really cared about her. Amazingly, this initial expression of kindness eventually began to bear fruit. Myra was breaking out of her shell. She was communicating more easily. She even was developing a friendship or two. Then, early one morning, the entire office staff was shocked to learn that Margaret had died suddenly the night before. –When Myra heard the news, she cried and cried and said over and over again, “Margaret was the only Christ I ever knew, she was the only Christ I ever knew.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

8) Dreams for sale: There is a wonderful parable that tells us what “prophecy actualized” might look like in our lives. There was once a woman who was disappointed, who was disillusioned and depressed. She wanted a good world, a peaceful world, and she wanted to be a good person. But the newspaper and television showed her how far we were from such a reality. So, she decided to go shopping. She went to the mall and wandered into a new store – where the person behind the counter looked strangely like Jesus. Gathering up her courage she went up to the counter and asked, “Are you Jesus?” “Well, yes, I am,” the man answered. “Do you work here?” “Actually,” Jesus responded, “I own the store. You are free to wander up and down the aisles, see what it is I sell, and then make a list of what you want. When you are finished, come back here, and we’ll see what we can do for you.” So, the woman did just that. And what she saw thrilled her. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air. She wrote furiously and finally approached the counter, handing a long list to Jesus. He skimmed the paper, and then smiling at her said, “No problem.” Reaching under the counter, he grabbed some packets and laid them out on the counter. Confused, she asked, “What are these?” Jesus replied: “These are seed packets.” Surprised the woman blurted out, “You mean I don’t get the finished product?” “No,” Jesus gently responded. “This is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. Then you plant the seeds. You go home and nurture them and help them to grow and someone else reaps the benefits.” “Oh,” she said, deeply disappointed in Jesus. Then she turned around and left the store without buying anything. [F. and M. Brussat, editors, Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life (New York: Scribner, 1996), p. 359.] — Our Gospel passage for today speaks to us about our calling as Christians in a world of violence, increasing poverty, terrorism, and intolerance. As disciples of Jesus, our text for today is calling us to actualize Jesus’ passionate dream of a whole and healed world. So, my friends, let’s pick up those packets of seeds. And let’s plant them – for the sake of our children and all the children of the world. (Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, F. and M. Brussat, editors) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

9) “Look, this was Elijah’s face that night.” One Hasidic story tells of a pious Jew who asked his rabbi, “For about forty years I have opened the door for Elijah every Seder night, waiting for him to come, but he never does. What is the reason?” The rabbi answered, “In your neighborhood, there lives a very poor family with many children. Call on the man and propose to him that you and your family celebrate the next Passover at his house, and for this purpose provide him and his whole family with everything necessary for the eight days of Passover. Then on the Seder night Elijah will certainly come.” The man did as the rabbi told him, but after Passover he came back and claimed that again he had waited in vain to see Elijah. The rabbi answered, “I know very well that Elijah came on the Seder night to the house of your poor neighbor. But, of course, you could not see him.” And the rabbi held a mirror before the face of the man and said, “Look, this was Elijah’s face that night.”–  This leads me to the question John asked: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

10) No Sea Gull came: During World War II, there was an event which occurred in the Pacific which still is vivid in my memory. Eddie Rickenbacker and some colleagues on an aircraft were shot down and managed to inflate a raft. The food and water were soon expended, and all hope for their rescue seemed to fade. As they related the story later, they described how together they had formed a prayer band and had prayed earnestly for deliverance. It was just at that time that a seemingly miraculous circumstance occurred. A seagull, clearly far off course, began to circle the raft, came lower and lower until, at last, they were able to capture it. They drank its blood and ate its flesh and were strengthened and sustained. The next day they were found and brought safely to shore. They told the story, and there was spread across the pages of the newspapers of the United States this answer to prayer. — But there were hundreds of other young fliers during World War II who had gone off to the Pacific, had been shot down, and were never seen again. While the seagull episode is certainly a token that deliverance is always possible, there is no indication in the New Testament that such deliverance, on its own terms, is promised. John was beheaded in the prison without being freed by Jesus, the Messiah, as he may have hoped.  In the same way, there were many sick people in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria in the time of Jesus who were not healed by Jesus. Today’s Gospel tells us that God has His own plans for us, and our duty is to accept them and do His will as John did. (Anthology – edited by Gregory J. Johanson) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

11) “She can’t sing while she plays.” One woman was talking about her parents who had recently retired. Her mom had always wanted to learn to play the piano, so her dad bought her mom a piano for her birthday. A few weeks later, the woman asked how her mom was doing with it. “Oh, we returned the piano,” said her dad, “I persuaded her to switch to a clarinet instead.” “How come?” the woman asked. “Well,” he answered, “because with a clarinet, she can’t sing while she plays.”— We’re not all great singers. That’s all right. We can still make a joyful noise. (Robert Allred, Th.D., http://www.bobssermons.com/sermons/archive/041212.htm.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

12) “I wasn’t sure which song God would like better.” I’m reminded of the story of a Catholic Church in which the choir director had gone to a great deal of trouble preparing an excellent soprano for a solo for Sunday Mass. As the soloist’s beautiful voice soared through the church, she was suddenly joined by a bedraggled “street person” who had wandered in and taken a seat near the choir. The newcomer’s voice had seen better days, and it quavered along, slightly off-key, through the entire song. The choir members kept looking frantically at the director, who made no move to interrupt the intruder. — Afterward, some of the members of the choir asked the director why he hadn’t stopped her. “Because,” he replied, “I wasn’t sure which song God would like better.” (Kate Kellogg, The Catholic Digest, September 1992, p. 65.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

13) Michael Jordan playing with country kids? One evening at the country park, a group of teenage boys was playing basketball. A tall, bald, African-American man strolled up. The man watched for a few minutes, then asked if he might play with them. He made three-point jump shots and lay-ups and hooks with the ease of a pro. The stranger played for about fifteen minutes with the teenagers, gave them some pointers, thanked them for letting him play, and disappeared. The stranger didn’t tell the teenagers his name. They’d seen Michael Jordan on TV, and he looked like him. But could this stranger who came to a remote village actually be Michael Jordan? — In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist asks the same kind of question about Jesus. Could this gentle Jesus with a band of fishermen as his disciples be the real Messiah, the long awaited Anointed One of God, while the Messiah he had heralded was a firebrand? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

14) Tom Sawyer Finds Light in the Darkness: You may remember the famous final chapters of Mark Twain’s classic novel, Tom Sawyer. Tom and his friend Becky have been exploring a cave, just for adventure’s sake. But the cave is full of dark caverns and twisting passages, and as they explore, they end up getting lost. Fear sets in. They start to panic. Their candles – the only light they have – are running low. An entire day goes by. Their candles are spent. They lose track of time. They are becoming desperate. They keep wandering through the darkness, looking for the smallest glimpse of daylight. But they don’t even know if it’s night or day any longer, so they are afraid that they may pass right by a passageway that leads out of the cave, because if it’s nighttime outside, they won’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, they spot a pinprick of light far in the distance, and they follow it to freedom. — The fallen human race is like Tom and Becky, lost in the dark caverns of a fallen world. We light little candles – like money, pleasure, power, fame, philosophy, comfort, but they all waver and burn out. But Christ, the eternal Son of God, is the everlasting light that has conquered the darkness. He has given us a glimpse of everlasting life. His revelation is the pinprick of light that is the source of true, lasting joy, not the anemic joy that is inspired by the passing flicker of a fragile candle. (E-Priest). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

15) “Why are you outside?” – Not involved: Henry David Thoreau was an American writer who authored the renowned essay “Civil Disobedience.” He championed the freedom of the individual over the law of the land. He distinguished between ”law” and “right.” He wrote: ”What the majority passes is the ‘law’ and what the individual conscience sees is the ‘right’, and what matters most is the ‘right’ and not the ‘law.’” Once Thoreau was imprisoned for a night for his refusal to pay the poll-tax as a protest against the government’s support of slavery and its unjust war against Mexico presumably in support of slave trade intentions. When he was arrested, he hoped that some of his friends would follow his example and fill the jails, and in this way persuade the government to change its stance on the issue of slavery. In this he was disappointed. Not only did his friends not join him, one friend paid the tax on his behalf and got him released the very next day. When he was in the prison, Emerson, another American writer, came to visit him. He said to Thoreau: “Thoreau, Thoreau, why are you inside (jail)?” And Thoreau replied, “Emerson, Emerson, why are you outside?” — Thoreau was a great lover of truth. He suffered because he spoke and stood for truth. Emerson said in his obituary of Thoreau, “He was a great speaker and actor of truth.” (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

16) Disillusioned or determined: In her book, Return to Love, Marianne Williamson points out that a friend said to her, “Marianne, I’m so depressed by world hunger!” Marianne replied: “Do you give five dollars a week to one of the organizations that feed the hungry?” She goes on to say she asks this question because she has noticed how people who participate in solving problems don’t seem to be as depressed as those standing on the sidelines doing nothing. — Application: Have we recently gone out of our way to help someone? (Gerard Fuller in Stories for all Seasons; quoted by Fr. Botelho) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

17) “Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu!” Under a cultural exchange program, a rabbi from Russia was visiting with a Christian family in Texas. Since it was Christmas, the family wanted to take him to some of the finest places in Houston, so they all went to a favorite Chinese restaurant. Throughout the meal the rabbi extolled the wonders of America in comparison to the bleak conditions of his homeland. When they had finished eating the waiter brought the check, a fortune cookie, and a small brass Christmas tree ornament as a present for the rabbi. They all laughed when the rabbi pointed out that the ornaments were stamped “made in India.” But the laughter soon subsided when they saw that the rabbi was quietly crying. They all thought that the rabbi must have been offended by receiving a Christmas tree as a gift. But no, he smiled and shook his head and said, “Nyet, I was shedding tears of joy to be in a wonderful country, in a Chinese restaurant in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

18) Walking among the reeds: You’re working 60 to 70 hours a week; you’re lucky if you get six hours of sleep a night.  Making income cover expenses is becoming a bigger challenge every month — and, in the meantime, your spouse and children — the people you live for — are becoming strangers.  What did you go out to the desert to see? You juggle a wide network of acquaintances.  The e-mails never stop; there’s not an empty line in your calendar book; your cell phone is permanently clipped to your ear.  But you can’t seem to shake the loneliness you feel in the most crowded rooms.  While you maintain contact with a host of business associates and colleagues, precious few of them do you consider friends and no one close to being special.  What did you go out to the desert to see? Every semester you scan the course offerings:  This course I need to graduate . . . this class meets at a good time . . . this professor is a nightmare . . . this lecturer is an easy A . . . Look at this reading list — no way!  What did you go out to the desert to see? What did you go out to the desert to see?  What are you looking for? — Jesus’ question takes on particular urgency in the Advent of our lives:  As we struggle to make ends meet, have the means become an end in themselves? (Connections). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).  19) Facilitating God’s Coming – Will you hold me?     A soldier was on duty one Christmas morning during World War II. It had been his custom to go to Church each Christmas with his family, but now stationed in an outlying district of London, that was impossible. So, with some of his soldier buddies he walked down the road as dawn was breaking. Along the way they came upon an old grey stone building over the main door were carved the words, Queen Ann’s Orphanage. They decided to enter to find out what kind of Christmas might be taking place. After knocking the soldiers went in just as the orphan children were tumbling out of bed. There was no Christmas tree in the corner. There were no presents. The soldiers went around the room wishing the children ‘Merry Christmas,’ and giving them whatever they had in their pockets: a stick of gum, a piece of candy, a nickel, a dime, a pencil, a pocketknife, a good luck charm. Then the soldier who had gotten his buddies together noticed a little fellow alone in the corner. The little fellow looked an awful lot like his nephew back home, so he approached him and said, “And you, little guy, what do you want for Christmas?” The child replied, “Will you hold me?” The soldier, with tears in his eyes, picked up the little boy and held him in his arms, very close. — The soldier experienced the joy that love and Jesus brings into our life, no matter what the situation is around us!     (William Bausch in The Word –In and Out of Season; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

20) Be a lamplighter:   Several parents were sitting on a neighbor’s porch discussing their children. They were talking about the negative environment in which their kids had to grow up and were wondering how they could bring any light into their children’s world since it seemed so dark and hopeless. Could they be enough of a positive influence to change the world around them? One of the parents, a science teacher remarked, “I think we can make a difference in our children’s lives if we become lamplighters.” “Lamplighters? What do you mean?” the others asked. She explained. “Around the turn of the century a lamplighter went around the streets lighting the street lamps. He carried a long pole that had a small candle on top with which he would reach up to light the kerosene-fed lamps,“ she said. “But from a distance you could not see the lamplighter very well. The light from one small candle was not very bright in the surrounding darkness of night. However,” she continued, “you could follow the progress of the lamplighter as he went along a street. The presence of his candle was barely visible until it joined with the flame of the street lamp being newly lit. A radiant glow erased a portion of the darkness and looking down the street, you could see the light from the glowing lamps made the entire street bright as day. The darkness was held at bay.” —  “That’s it” exclaimed the parents. “We’ll be lamplighters for our children. We’ll share from our own flame in order to light each child’s individual lamp of wisdom.” (Brian Cavanaugh in The Sower’s Seeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

21) Waiting for God in joyful hope. Ingrid was a South American woman who was admitted to a Catholic Hospice in the U.S. She had full-blown AIDS and steroid-induced diabetes. One day she, not a Catholic at the time, asked the nun why she went to Church every day. “Because God loves me, and I want to return his love.” replied the nun. Ingrid replied, “I don’t think I like God.” Naturally, she wouldn’t. Sister reassured her that while this was understandable, God really liked her. As she grew weaker with each passing day, with the love and care of those around her, she experienced a quiet hope and then illumination. As the moment of her death she whispered: “I’m so tired; I want to go home.” Asked what she meant by that she replied: “I want to go to God.” — She had learned to wait in joyful hope for the coming of her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

22) Are You Swapping Heaven?  The evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, used to tell a legend about a beautiful swan that alighted one day by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments, the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: “Where do you come from?” I come from heaven!” replied the swan. “And where is heaven?” asked the crane. “Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?” And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane. Finally, the crane asked: “Are there any snails there?” “Snails!” repeated the swan, “No! Of course, there are not.” “Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I want snails!” — “This fable,” said Moody, “has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home, has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been forfeited for snails!” — Moody spoke those words a century ago, but people are still swapping Heaven for snails. How about you? John the Baptist’s words are for each of us: Are there some changes that need to be made in your life?  (Moody’s Anecdotes, Page 125-126, adapted by King Duncan. Quoted by Fr. Kayala.)  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

23) It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Snoopy of Charlie Brown comic strip fame is typing a novel. He begins his story, “It was a dark and stormy night …” Snoopy always starts his stories in this manner. Lucy looks at what Snoopy has written. She goes into a tirade, putting down Snoopy for such a silly beginning. Doesn’t Snoopy know that any good story starts with the words, “Once upon a time …” The last frame of the comic strip has Snoopy starting his story again. Now he is ready. He types, “Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night.” — Do you feel like Snoopy sometimes? No matter how you begin your story you somehow revert to “a dark and stormy night.” If you feel that way today, you are not alone. Most of us are struggling in one way or another to overcome the dark side of our existence. The Advent season leading to Christmas should be a time of joy, anticipation and hope. But the very fact that it is supposed to be such an upbeat time only compounds the problem. (Richard A. Hasler, Empowered by the Light, CSS Publishing Company. Quoted by Fr. Kayala). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

24) “I Will Be There”: In her wonderful children’s picture book, We Were There: A Nativity Story, (Illustrator: Wendell Minor), Eve Bunting turns Christmas upside down for us in ways that are revealing.  The simple story shows us first a slithering snake, then a warty toad, a scary scorpion, a shiny cockroach, a swooping bat, a hairy spider, and a furry rat all on a journey. Each creature introduces itself and then concludes with the words, “I will be there.”  As the book ends, we are shown more common nativity creatures: fuzzy lambs, doe-eyed donkeys, gentle cows. But as those traditional figures in the stable stand around the manger in which the Babe has been laid by his mother Mary, we see in the corner, unnoticed, that small gathering of the snake, toad, scorpion, cockroach, bat, spider, and rat.  — Bunting has found a lyric way to remind us that the coming of the Christ is not all about the traditional and cozy trappings in which we have for too long ensconced the Christmas story but that this is a story for all creatures and that Jesus came to embrace and renew — the good, the bad, the ugly; the expected and the unexpected.  A simple children’s story like this reminds us of the paradoxes and unexpected twists of the season, rather the way John the Baptist can shake things up for us if only we take time to listen to his message. (Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations; quoted by Fr. Kayala). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

25) “When a child finds such joy in learning, then it is my joy to help her learn!“ When Einstein fled Nazi Germany, he came to America and bought an old two-story house within walking distance of Princeton University. There he entertained some of the most distinguished people of his day and discussed with them issues as far ranging as physics to human rights. But Einstein had another frequent visitor. She was not, in the world’s eyes, an important person like his other guests. She was a ten-year-old girl named Emmy. Emmy heard that a very kind man who knew a lot about mathematics had moved into her neighborhood. Since she was having trouble with her fifth-grade arithmetic, she decided to visit the man down the block and see if he would help her with her problems. Einstein was very willing and explained everything to her so that she could understand it. He also told her she was welcome to come anytime she needed help. A few weeks later, one of the neighbors told Emmy’s mother that Emmy was often seen entering the house of the world-famous physicist. Horrified, she told her daughter that Einstein was a very important man, whose time was very valuable, and he couldn’t be bothered with the problems of a little schoolgirl. And then she rushed over to Einstein’s house, and when Einstein answered the door, she started trying to blurt out an apology for her daughter’s intrusion – for being such a bother. But Einstein cut her off. He said, “She has not been bothering me! When a child finds such joy in learning, then it is my joy to help her learn! Please don’t stop Emmy from coming to me with her school problems. She is welcome in this house anytime.” — Yes, if it is joy for us to welcome Jesus into our hearts today, then it is Jesus’ joy to welcome us into his Father’s house at the end of times. (Fr. Lakra). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

26) What are the ten major Faith and Church struggles of our time?

Several years ago in an interview, John Allen (a journalist who travels the world as the Vatican analyst for both CNN television and the National Catholic Reporter) asked me to draw up a list of what I considered to be the ten major Faith and Church struggles of our time. I took this as a healthy challenge and the list that follows, no doubt less global in perspective than Allen’s ten trends  — my vision, I fear, speaks more for Western and secularized cultures than for the world at large — is my own attempt to name the key Faith and Ecclesial struggles we deal with today. What are the ten major Faith and Church struggles of our time, at least as manifest within the more highly secularized parts of our world?

1) The struggle with the atheism of our everyday consciousness, that is, the struggle to have a vital sense of God within a secular culture which, for good and for bad, is the most powerful narcotic ever perpetrated on this planet …  the struggle to be conscious of God outside of Church and explicit religious activity.

2) The struggle to live in torn, divided, and highly-polarized communities, as wounded persons ourselves, and carry that tension without resentment and without giving it back in kind … the struggle inside of our own wounded selves to be healers and peace-makers rather than ourselves contributing to the tension.

3) The struggle to live, love, and forgive beyond the infectious ideologies that we daily inhale, that is, the struggle for true sincerity, to genuinely know and follow our own hearts and minds beyond what is prescribed to us by the right and the left … the struggle to be neither liberal or conservative but rather men and women of true compassion.

4) The struggle to carry our sexuality without undue frigidity and without irresponsibility, the struggle for a healthy sexuality that can both properly revere and properly delight in this great power …  the struggle to carry our sexuality in such a way so as to radiate both chastity and passion.

5) The struggle for interiority and prayer inside of a culture that in its thirst for information and distraction constitutes a virtual conspiracy against depth and solitude, the eclipse of silence in our world … the struggle to move our eyes beyond our digital screens towards a deeper horizon.

6) The struggle to deal healthily with “the dragon” of personal grandiosity, ambition, and pathological restlessness, inside of a culture that daily over-stimulates them, the struggle to healthily cope with both affirmation and rejection … the struggle inside of a restless and over-stimulated environment to habitually find the delicate balance between depression and inflation.

7) The struggle to not be motivated by paranoia, fear, narrowness, and over-protectionism in the face of terrorism and overpowering complexity … the struggle to not let our need for clarity and security trump compassion and truth.

8) The struggle with moral loneliness inside a religious, cultural, political, and moral Diaspora … the struggle to find soul mate who will meet us and sleep with us inside our moral center.

9) The struggle to link Faith to Justice … the struggle to get a letter of reference from the poor, to connect the gospel to the streets institutionally, to remain on the side of the poor.

10) The struggle for community and Church, the struggle inside a culture of excessive individuality to find the healthy line between individuality and community, spirituality and ecclesiology … the struggle as adult children of the Enlightenment to be both mature and committed, spiritual and ecclesial. 

What’s the value in a list of this sort? It’s important to name things and to name them properly; although, admittedly, simply naming a disease doesn’t of itself bring about a cure. However, as James Hillman used to quip, a symptom suffers most when it doesn’t know where it belongs. (Fr. Ron Rolheiser). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

27) Like a bride bedecked: When Lady Diana Spencer was preparing for her wedding to the Prince of Wales, every effort was made by designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, and, in fact, by all the planners of the wedding, to prevent the design of the bride’s dress from being revealed before the ceremony on July 29, 1981. Of course, the other dressmakers of Britain did their best to learn the secret in advance. The sooner they could start making copies, the quicker they could sell them to other prospective brides who would want to be married in gowns “just like Lady Di’s.” Fortunately, the secret was perfectly kept. Only at 5:30 AM on the wedding day did Buckingham Palace release to the news media a sketch of the wedding dress. Probably the real purpose behind our custom of not letting a groom see his bride in her wedding dress before they reach the Church, is that he may behold his chosen one in that moment at the absolute peak of her beauty. How pleased Charles must have been when he saw his bride, her natural handsomeness enhanced by this rich and dazzling garment. Perhaps he even thought of the familiar words of the psalm, “All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters; her raiment is threaded with spun gold” (45:54).– But the Church has always seen the festal dress of a bride and groom as something more than device to please the eyes of the marrying couple. It is rather a symbol of the beauty of the souls of those who take each other in marriage. Or, if these souls are perhaps not yet perfect, their garb should at least remind them, “As you have clothed your bodies in loveliness, now clothe your souls in grace.” “… He has clothed me with a robe of salvation … like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.” (Isaiah, 61:10-11.) Today’s first reading. (Father Robert F. McNamara).

28) Don’t let criticism immobilize you: I like the way Jesus reacted when word came to him that King Herod hated what he was doing so much that he was going to have him killed. Jesus said, in our language, ”Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will accomplish my purpose.’” The pastor John Maxwell tells a story about a salesman who went to his barber for a haircut. He told the barber about his upcoming trip to Rome. The barber had only negative comments to make about the airline the salesman had chosen, the hotel where he was going to stay, about Rome in general, and even about his hope of having an audience with the Pope. A month later the salesman returned to the barbershop. He said, “I had a wonderful trip. The flight was perfect and the hotel service was excellent. And I got to meet the Pope!” The barber asked, “What did the Pope say to you?” The salesman said, “He placed his hand on my head and said, ‘My son, where did you get such a lousy haircut?’”–  Some years ago, I took a group of travelers to the nation of Israel, with a short side trip to Greece. In Israel, we learned that most of the sales persons in the little shops liked to barter, to haggle over prices. Our people became skilled in this art in record time. One of our ladies almost drove the shopkeepers crazy. But when we got to Greece, especially in those fashionable shops in Athens, there was no bartering. Whatever the price tag said, that was the firm price. — As long as someone is talking about your house or your habits or your politics or your work, let it be like Israelis prices, open to negotiation and bartering, subject to diverse opinions. But when the subject is your fundamental worth as a person, let that be like Greek prices. It is non-negotiable. (Dr. Bill Bouknight) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).  L/25

“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No. 3) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C  & A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in.  (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507

A

Dec 8-13: Dec 8 Monday: Feast of Immaculate Conception of BVM: For a short summary click on https://franciscan-media,org/saint-of-the-day-immaculate-conception/

Lk 1:26-38: Mary’s prophecy, given in her Magnificat, “Behold all generations will call me blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church declared four dogmas of Faith about her: 1-The Immaculate Conception, 2-The Perpetual Virginity, 3-The Divine Maternity, 4-The Assumption. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma based mainly on Christian tradition and theological reasoning. It was defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX as a dogma of Faith through Ineffabilis Deus. Definition: From the first moment of her conception, Mary was preserved immune from original sin by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race. (CCC #491). This means that original sanctity, innocence, and justice were conferred upon her at her conception, and that she was exempted from all the evil effects of original sin, except for sorrow, pain, disease, and death which are temporal penalties given to Adam. (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Basis in Sacred Tradition and the Bible: (A) From Church tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the feast of the Conception of Our Lady by the end of the 7th century. The feast spread as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century), England (11th century), and France (12th century). Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration, and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a Feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of Faith. Mary herself affirmed this in 1858 by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” (B) From Holy Scripture: 1) God purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother (“Before I formed you in the womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5), and He anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth as John’s mother attests (“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” (Lk 1:43-44). Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son free from all sins from the first moment of her origin. 2) The angel saluted Mary as “full of grace” (Lk 1:28). The greeting means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave of sin and the devil. 3) “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at His heel” (Gn 3:15). “The Woman” stands for Mary, and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin. (C)From logical reasoning: 1-If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. So did God. 2-The All-Holy God cannot be born from a woman who was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in her life. “Deus potuit, decuit, fecit.” (Duns Scotus).

Life messages: 1) Every mother wants her children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate and holy Heavenly Mother wants us to be holy and pure children. 2) Let us honor her by practicing her virtues of Faith and obedience. 3) Let us respond to God’s grace by using it to do good to others. L/25

Dec 9 Tuesday: St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin: For a brief account click on https://franciscan-media.org/saint-of-the-day-saint-juan-diego-cuahlatoatzin/

Mt 18:2-14:12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

The context: Since the self-righteous Pharisees who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd’s joy on its discovery, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the lost and returned son and his Father’s joy on his return. These three parables defended Jesus’ alliance with sinners and responded to the criticism that he was welcoming tax collectors and sinners. The central theme of today’s Gospel is that our God is loving, patient, merciful, and forgiving. This parable reminds us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins when they return to Him with genuine contrition and a firm resolution to amend their lives.

Shepherding in Judaea was a hard, dangerous task. Pasture was scarce; thorny scrub jungles with wild animals, and vast desert areas were common, posing constant threats to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance, and readiness for action. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If even one of the sheep had gone missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the flock of sheep. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving.

Life messages: 1) We need to confess our sins to regain peace and God’s friendship. We have to be humble enough to recognize that we need God’s forgiveness to be whole. If we have been in sin, our God is ready to receive and welcome us back, just as Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. Let us pray today that we may allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives.

2) We should also ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine Mercy on those who have fallen away from grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 10 Wednesday: Our Lady of Loretto: For a brief account, click on https://franciscan-media.org/saint-of-the-day-our-lady-of-loretto/

Mt 11:28-30:28 ”Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers “rest to those who labor and are burdened,” if they are ready to accept his “easy yoke” and “light burden”. For the Orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of burdens, namely, 613 Mosaic laws and thousands of oral interpretations, which dictated every aspect of one’s daily life. Jesus invites the overburdened Israel, and us, to take his yoke upon our shoulders. In Palestine, ox-yokes were made of wood and were carved to fit the ox comfortably. The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our Christian responsibilities and duties. Jesus’ yoke is light because it is given with love. It is the commandment to love others as Jesus did. Further, the yoke of Christ is not just a yoke from Christ but also a yoke with him. So, we are not yoked singly to pull the plow by our own unaided power. We are yoked together with Christ to work with him using his strength. Jesus is inviting each one of us to be yoked with him, to unite our life with him, our will with his will, our heart with his heart. By saying that his “yoke is easy,” Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.

The second part of Jesus’ claim is: “My burden is light.” Jesus does not mean that his burden is easy to carry, but that it is laid on us in love. This burden is meant to be carried in love, and love makes even the heaviest burden light. By following Jesus, one will find peace, rest, and real refreshment. We are burdened with many things: business, concerns about jobs, marriage, money, health, children, security, old age, and a thousand other things. Jesus is asking us to give him our burdens and take on his yoke in exchange. By telling us, “Take my yoke . . . and you will find rest,” Christ is asking us to do things the Christian way. When we are centered in God, when we follow God’s commandments, we have no heavy burdens.

Life messages: 1) We need to be freed from unnecessary burdens: Jesus is interested in lifting from our backs the burdens that drain us and suck the life out of us, so that he can place around our necks his own yoke and his burden which bring to us, and to others through us, new life, new energy, and new joy. 2) We need to unload our burdens before the Lord. One of the functions of worship for many of us is that it gives us a time for rest and refreshment, when we let the overheated radiators of our hectic lives cool down before the Lord. This is especially true when we unload the burdens of our sins and worries and evil addictions, first in the

Confessional and then, forgiven, on the altar and offer them to God during the Holy Mass. (Fr. Kadavil) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: Click on https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;

Dec 11 Thursday: St. Damasus I, Pope:For a brief account, click on https://franciscan.media.org/saint-or-the-day-pope-saint-damasus-I/

Mt 11:1-15: Jesus said to the crowds: 11 Amen I say to you among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The context: John the Baptizer preached the coming of a fiery Messiah. But what he heard when he was imprisoned by Herod was that Jesus was a loving, merciful, and forgiving preacher who befriended tax collectors and sinners. Hence, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to learn whether Jesus was, or was not, the expected Messiah. After Jesus had sent them back to John to report the miraculous actions by which the Messianic prophecies were being fulfilled, he paid the highest compliments to John in today’s Gospel.

Jesus praised John first as a prophet and second as the expected Elijah. As a prophet, John had God-given wisdom in his mind, God’s truth on his lips, and God-given courage in his heart. He had been heralding the Messiah with the courage of his prophetic convictions. John had lived like the Prophet Elijah who was expected to come just before the Messiah. He had spoken with the same prophetic authority and had corrected the self-righteous, while attracting Jewish followers by the hundreds to receive the baptism of repentance. Jesus, however, stressed the fact that His own followers were more blessed than John because, while John knew only God’s judgment and punishment, we also know God’s love, forgiveness and the salvation, given through Jesus. But Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted for their trust in God’s Kingdom, and that they would have to use force on their selfish and evil tendencies to reach God’s Kingdom.

Life message: We need to have the courage of our Christian convictions to profess in public what we believe and to practice what the Church teaches. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 12 Friday: Our Lady of Guadalupe (USA): Lk 1:26-38: For a brief account, click on https://franciscan-media.org/saint-of-the-day-our-lady-of-guadalupe/

Most of us know the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On December 9, 1531, an elderly Indian man named Juan Diego had a vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Tepeyac, a poor Mexican-Indian village outside Mexico City. Mary directed Juan Diego to tell his Bishop to build a Church in Tepeyac. The Spanish Bishop, however, dismissed the Indian’s tale as mere superstition. But to humor Juan Diego, the Bishop demanded that the visionary bring some sort of proof. Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared again and told Juan Diego to pick the exquisitely beautiful roses that had miraculously bloomed amidst December snows, and take them as a sign to the Bishop. When Juan Diego opened his poncho to present the roses to the Bishop, the flowers poured out from his poncho to reveal an image of the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of the poncho. That image hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and is venerated by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. This apparition occasioned the conversion of nine million Indians to Christianity in twenty years. The original Church was built in 1533, the second in 1556 and the third in 1709. It is estimated that ten million pilgrims visit the Basilica every year. The Virgin of Guadalupe was declared the Patroness of Latin America by Pope St. Pius X (1907), Queen of Mexico and Empress of America by Pope Pius XII (1945), Mother of America by Pope St. John XXXIII (1961) and Star of Evangelization by Pope St. John Paul II (1979).

Life messages: 1) The story of the apparition tells us how Jesus, as Emmanuel, and Mary his mother, want to be among us, especially among the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalized in society who have neither voice nor influence, political or social. That is why Our Lady appeared to a poor Indian in a village, not as a white woman but as a brown-skinned mestiza Indian princess, speaking his native Nahuatal language, and why Mary did not appear to any of the Spanish overlords. God wanted the Basilica in honor of Jesus’ mother built in the village, not in the city but in the outskirts, for all the people who were otherwise repressed or ignored.
2) The vision challenges us to listen to the ordinary people who do not look or act like important people and to treat them with reverence. While it is true that God loves each and every one of us, there is a special place in God’s heart for the poor and the powerless – God’s preferential option for the poor. So the feast challenges us to see and serve Jesus in the poor and the broken-hearted in our communities.

Anecdote: About sixteen years ago a priest (Fr. Phil Bloom) received a very unusual request: A young woman asked him if he would help her get rid of her unborn child. The priest was obviously surprised, but he tried not to react negatively. “Why do you want to end your pregnancy?” he asked. She replied that when she told her boyfriend, he said he was going to leave her. She loved him and desperately wanted him back. The priest resisted the temptation to say, “Your boyfriend is a rat.” Instead, he asked her to do three things: first, to allow the priest to pray with her and bless the baby; second, to see a medical professional that he knew, and, third, to watch a short video. The video showed the development of the human embryo. After she left, the priest thought about the young woman and wondered what she would do. In his room he had a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He noticed the black ribbon below her folded hands and he remembered that the ribbon signified pregnancy. The child within her, of course, was Jesus. The priest asked Our Lady to help that young woman. A month or so passed. The priest heard a knock on his office door. When he opened the door, he saw a shy, smiling face. It was the young woman. she told the priest she had decided to keep her baby. A year later he saw her again. She was holding a lovely baby girl. After some conversation, the priest asked her, “Would you give up your baby for anything?” “No,” she said, “she is my treasure.” The girl is now a teenager. She lives with her mom and grandmother. In their home they have the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that the priest gave to Mom.* (http://www.homilies.net/e/E-10-12-12.asp) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 13 Saturday: St. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr: For a brief account, click on https://franciscan-media.org/saint-of-the-day’saint-lucy-virgin-martyr/

Mt 17:9-13: 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He replied, “Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the warning and instruction given by Jesus to Peter, James, and John as they were coming down the mountain after witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus forbade them to give any publicity to what they had seen, because people were expecting a conquering political messiah with Elijah as his forerunner, and a powerful reformer who would destroy evil and restore justice in the land for the Messiah to rule.

The Expected Messiah. Then Jesus indicated that He was the expected Messiah, and that John was the Elijah they had been waiting for. John’s mission had been to prepare the way for the first coming of the Messiah, as Elijah’s mission would be to prepare the world for the Messiah’s second coming at the end of the world. The scribes misunderstood and taught that Elijah would come before the first coming of the Messiah. But Jesus told the disciples that (for those who were willing to believe it), John the Baptist had served as Jesus’ Elijah in announcing and preparing the people to receive a Messiah, who would fulfill the Messianic mission not by political power, but by suffering and death.

Life message:1) Let us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Who became our Messiah by dying for us on the cross. We do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love, and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus founded, allowing God to transform our sufferings into redemptive sufferings. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Advent II [A] (Dec 7) (Eight-minute homily in one page) L/25

Introduction: On the one hand, salvation is God’s doing, and we cannot earn His blessings. We are saved by His grace. On the other hand, we must cooperate with God’s grace because God can not force his bounty upon us without invalidating our free will. That is why John the Baptist in today’s Gospel summons us to play our essential part by leading lives of repentance, conversion, and renewal, thus preparing the way for the Lord’s second coming. We start this process by spiritually preparing for the annual celebration of Christmas, the Lord’s first coming, as we reform and renew our lives by repentance and works of charity.

Scripture lessons: The first reading describes how God will reform the lives of His Chosen People by sending the Messiah. Because of the bad example of the unfaithful successors of King David, the Chosen People were wavering in their loyalty to Yahweh. Hence, in the first reading, the Lord God, through His prophet, Isaiah, tries to dispel their fears and to stir up hope among His people with His promise of a new Davidic King (a son of Jesse), who will establish peace and a glorious Kingdom of justice on earth. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72), the Psalmist pictures the Messiah as one who will show compassion to the poor, the lowly, and the afflicted. In the second reading, Paul is praying for the reformation of the Jewish Christians of Rome and instructing them to draw endurance and encouragement from the Old Testament books. They are to live in harmony with Gentile Christians, accepting them as equal, brothers and sisters, while they wait together for the second coming of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, John the Baptizer urges the Pharisees and Sadducees to give evidence that they mean to reform their lives so as to recognize and be ready to meet and accept the promised Messiah. He challenges them to repentance, conversion, and renewal. He tells the common people, who expect the Messiah to come soon, to act with justice and charity, letting their lives reflect the transformation that will occur when the Messiah enters their lives. In the same way, as we prepare to welcome Christ at C,hristmas, John advises us to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Life messages: 1) We need to prepare for Christ’s coming by allowing him to be reborn daily in our lives: Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting of our sins and renewing our lives through prayer, penance, and the sharing of our blessings with others. Let us humbly admit the truth about our need with the German mystic Angelus Silesius: “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.” ( https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Angelus_Silesius). He means that Jesus must be reborn in our own hearts during this season of Advent and every day of our lives, radiating through our living his love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and spirit of humble service to the world.

2) We need to answer the call for a change of life. John the Baptist challenges our superficial attempts at change, demanding that, while obeying the commandments faithfully, we must correct our relationships with others, mend ruptures, soothe frictions, face family responsibilities, work honestly, and treat our employers/employees justly. Let us share our love with others as selfless and humble service. “Do small things but with great love” advise St. Theresa of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa). Therefore, following John’s advice, let us celebrate the memory of Jesus’ first advent, prepare for Jesus’ daily advent into our lives through the Sacraments and the Bible, and wait confidently for his second advent at our own death or the end of the world whichever comes first.

ADVENT II [A] (Dec 7, 2-25): Is 11:1-10; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12  

Homily starter anecdotes:     #1: Accept divine forgiveness by true repentance: An attempt was made in 1985 by some fans of O Henry, the short-story writer, to get a pardon for their hero who had been convicted a century before of embezzling $784.08 from the bank where he was employed. But a pardon cannot be given to a dead man. A pardon can only be given to someone who can accept it. Back in 1830, George Wilson was convicted of robbing the U.S. Mail in Pennsylvania and was sentenced to be hanged. At the request of Wilson’s friends, President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed. “A pardon is a slip of paper,” wrote Marshall, “the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. Hence, George Wilson must be hanged.” It remains unclear whether Wilson was ever actually executed. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wilson)  For some, the pardon comes too late. For others, the pardon is not accepted. Today’s readings remind us that the Advent is the acceptable time for repentance of life. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 #2: John the Baptist’s invitation is to practice the octopus-evangelism of mega-churches as opposed to the sponge evangelism of traditional churches: Most traditional churches are pretty good about sponge evangelism. We soak up visiting folks with warm welcome, ushers offer them seats of their choice, many members greet them with miles of smiles. But octopus-evangelism of mega-churches is something else. It means reaching, stretching, finding, touching, drawing in those who are in need of the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and may not have even realized it yet. Mega-churches are growing, not primarily because of their programming or preaching, buildings, video screens or cute, thirty-something pastors. They are growing primarily because members are actively inviting others to join them in worship. Eighty percent of all first-time visitors to a Church come because a friend or neighbor invited them. It’s the active verb…inviting, reaching, gathering…which makes all the difference. A mega-church is a non-denominational, Bible-centered Christian congregation that draws thousands of people to its weekly services. The phenomenon started about thirty years ago as a way to bring people back to the basics of Christianity – a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You may have heard of Rick Warren, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Warren) pastor of a mega-church in southern California whose book, The Purpose-Driven Life, has over 20 million copies in print You may also have heard of Joel Osteen, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen)  author of two national bestsellers, who runs a mega-church in Houston, Texas that attracts 38,000 people to its Sunday services and 200 million households to its television broadcasts (https://youtu.be/GA6uE2CPo1I) . You may even have heard of Bill Hybels [HIGH-bills] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hybels) , the founder of what many consider the first mega-church ever – Willow Creek Community Church, near Chicago, Illinois – that currently has more than 100 ministriesoperating out of its home base (https://youtu.be/jbtbgkh_bfE) . These are just some of the better-known mega-church leaders, but mega-churches are springing up throughout North America, and they are even sending missionaries abroad. One little known fact about these mega-churches is that more than 25% of their members are former Catholics whom nobody in their former parishes actively invited to the liturgical celebrations and whom nobody involved in various church ministries. Today’s Gospel presents John the Baptist reaching out and touching the lives of people through his fire-brand-octopus-evangelization. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

# 3:   The artist’s reconciliation: Leonardo da Vinci painted the fresco (wall painting), “The Last Supper,” in Santa Maria delle Grazie church in Milan in three years (1495-1498). A very interesting story is associated with this painting. At the time that Leonardo da Vinci painted “The Last Supper,” he had an enemy who was a fellow painter. Da Vinci had had a bitter argument with this man and despised him. When Da Vinci painted the face of Judas Iscariot at the table with Jesus, he used the face of his enemy so that it would be present for ages as the man who betrayed Jesus. While painting this picture, he took delight in knowing that others would actually notice the face of his enemy on Judas. As he worked on the faces of the other disciples, he often tried to paint the face of Jesus but couldn’t make any progress. Da Vinci felt frustrated and confused. In time, he realized what was wrong. His hatred for the other painter was holding him back from finishing the face of Jesus. Only after making peace with his fellow-painter, and repainting the face of Judas, was he able to paint the face of Jesus and complete his masterpiece. — Be reconciled with your fellow human beings, says today’s Gospel. (http://www.lifeinitaly.com/art/last-supper.asp)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

# 4: Waiting for the Lord to be reborn in our lives: Waiting, an inevitable and even necessary aspect of human life, is not something that most of us relish. We wait in lines: in order to purchase groceries; to be served at popular restaurants; to be assisted in a bank; at stop signs and traffic signals; at amusement parks; to see a play or film. We must also wait for flowers to grow and bloom; for babies to be born; for wounds to heal; for bread to rise and cheese to age; for children to mature; for friends to call; for love to deepen. Statisticians have estimated that in a lifetime of 70 years, the average person spends at least three years waiting! Today’s readings invite us to wait for the rebirth of the Lord in our lives with repentant hearts and renewed lives. (Sanchez Files). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

Introduction: On the one hand, salvation is God’s doing, and we cannot earn His blessings. Today’s first reading, from Isaiah, emphasizes that, through his Son, God does all the saving.  On the other hand, we must cooperate with God because He can not force his bounty upon us for this would invalidate our free will. That is why John the Baptist, in today’s Gospel, summons us to play our essential part – leading lives of repentance, conversion, and renewal and thus preparing the way for the Lord’s second coming.  We start this process by preparing for the celebration of Christmas, the Lord’s first coming. Many of the kings who succeeded David proved to be increasingly unfaithful, bringing eventual defeat and destruction upon the nation.   Because of the bad example of their leaders, the Chosen People were wavering in their loyalty to Yahweh. The Lord God, through His prophet, Isaiah, in the first reading, was trying to dispel their fears and stir up hope among His people by His promise of a new Davidic King (a son of Jesse), who would establish peace and a glorious Kingdom of justice on earth. His kingdom would be a return to the time of peace before sin entered the world. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72), the Psalmist pictures this King, the Messiah, as one who will show compassion to the poor, the lowly, and the afflicted. In the second reading, Paul is praying for the Jewish Christians of Rome and instructing them to draw endurance and encouragement from the Old Testament books. They are to live in harmony with Gentile Christians, accepting them as equals — brothers and sisters — while they wait for the second coming of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, John the Baptizer urges the Pharisees and Sadducees to give evidence that they mean to reform their lives so as to recognize and accept the promised Messiah.  He challenges them to repentance, conversion and renewal. He tells the common people, who are filled with expectation that the Messiah will come soon, to act with justice and charity, letting their lives reflect the transformation that will occur when the Messiah enters their lives. In the same way, as we prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas, John advises us to “prepare the way of the Lord.” 

First reading: Is 10:1-11 explained: The First Reading, taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, is a Messianic prophesy.  It is the third oracle of Isiah given as a prediction of the first coming of Jesus, the Messiah.  Isaiah’s prophesy, that God would raise up a Messianic King centuries after King David’s throne had been overthrown and vacant for centuries (because David’s successors had not been loyal to their God), was meant to encourage the people who had been waiting for deliverance: “Behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son and shall call him, Emmanuel, for God is with us.” Through this oracle of Isiah, God promised that He would raise up a new king from the stump of Jesse, the father of King David (Is 11:1). This prophecy was partly verified in some later kings, but fully verified only in Jesus, the true Messiah. According to Isaiah’s prophecy, this future messianic king would rule forever because the Spirit of God would rest upon him and remain with him (Is 11:2), and he would be equipped with the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit of God — wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (Is11:2). Isiah foresaw that this king would establish the kingdom of God, not by force of human will and military power, but by offering his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. Through his death on the cross, Jesus, the true Messianic King, would defeat Satan, overcome death, win pardon and reconciliation for sinners, make us citizens of heaven and adopt us as His children. The prophecy also portrayed this Messianic Kingdom as a return to the perfect harmony of Paradise. The Spirit would enable men to create a world in which “the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and a leopard shall lie down with the young goat.” These prophecies were fulfilled, in an anticipatory way, with the First Advent of the Messiah and the spread of the Christian Faith, and they will be definitively fulfilled with the Second Advent and the appearance of the eternal order. Our Messianic King Jesus wants us to live in the joyful hope and confident expectation that he will come again to establish fully his Kingdom of righteousness and peace. The message for us is that, if we allow the Spirit of God to work in our lives, we will be able to live in peace and harmony, even with those who threaten and disturb our lives. There can be no true love of neighbor or true respect for his rights where there is no love for God. Hence, we must strive to give God his rightful place in our daily lives and to follow the path that leads to justice and peace on earth.

Second reading: Rom 15:4-9 explained: In the Second Reading, St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, calls for reconciliation among the different factions in that community. Paul reminds his Roman readers that those who wait together for the many comings of our God should ignore their differences and sustain one another in mutual support and acceptance. Perhaps this reading is in the Lectionary today because it recommends patience, and this is the season of patient waiting for the Lord to come. It also contains a very seasonal statement about why the Lord came: to fulfill God’s promise to the Jews and to extend mercy to the Gentiles.  Paul reminds the newly converted Roman Christians, many of whom are Jews, that the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament are still a source of instruction, encouragement, and hope. The sacred Scriptures are useless unless they are employed to control the Christian’s relations with others (Rom 15:4-9).  Hence, Paul advises the Judeo-Christians and Gentile Christians of Rome to “live in harmony with one another according to the Spirit of Christ Jesus,” by being less judgmental and more understanding and benevolent. Paul also reminds the Romans that Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise to the Jews and to extend mercy to the Gentiles. Hence, he encourages the Roman Christians to “accept one another” as Jesus Christ has accepted them. This reading reminds us to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord during this Advent season and shows us how to live as we do so.

Gospel exegesis: A prophet on fire with a fiery message: While only two Gospels mention the nativity, all four Gospels introduce Jesus with an account of John the Baptist’s ministry (Mk 1:1-11; Lk 3:1-22; Jn 1:6-9). Matthew puts slightly greater emphasis on John’s words than on his action of baptizing.  He records a direct quote from John’s preaching: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” There had been no prophet in Israel for four hundred years. But the people had no hesitation in accepting John as a prophet because he was like a burning torch summoning men to righteousness, a signpost to point men to God, and he had the authority of a man of God. He wore garments of coarse camel hair and a leather belt like the prophets that we read about in Zechariah 13:4 and 2 Kings 1:8.   He ate what was available in the rocky desert — wild honey and roasted grasshoppers – which was permissible according to Leviticus 11. The Jews expected Elijah to return prior to the coming of the Messiah (Mal 4:5). John’s clothing of camel’s hair and leather belt (2 Kgs 1:8)) identified him as the fulfillment of that prophecy, and Jesus Himself affirmed John’s role when he said, “I tell you that Elijah has already come (Mt. 17:12).”

Call to repentance: John’s message was not soothing. It cut into the very hearts of men.  John denounced evil wherever he found it. He accused Herod of living a loose moral life (14:4), addressed the Scribes and the Pharisees as “brood of vipers” and summoned people to righteousness.  His message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near” (v. 2), words which Jesus later used to begin his own preaching (4:17), and similar to those Jesus and his disciples would proclaim (10:7). John justified his call to repentance by announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven was near, and that the way to prepare for that day was to repent.  Literally, the Greek word for repentance (teshuvá in Hebrew and metánoia) in Greek), means, “to change one’s mind and heart,” a change of direction or a U-turn. Repentance involves turning around – facing in a new direction — with a change of heart and a new commitment. Repentance is a daily experience that renews our Baptism. “The repentant person comes before God saying, ‘I can’t do it myself, God. Kill me and give me new life. You buried me in Baptism. Bury me again today. Raise me to a new life.'” Repentance for us is not a one-time action but must take place daily, because preparing for the Lord is a perpetual task.

John’s baptism as the expression of repentance: John’s baptism by water was an external expression of repentance.  What he insisted on was the internal expression, a repentance that bore real fruit:  a turning from worldly values combined with generosity and love.  As a sign of true repentance, John urged the tax collectors to “stop collecting more than what is prescribed,” and told the soldiers to “stop extortion and false accusation and remain satisfied with your wages.”  In short, John’s message was a call for radical conversion, a demand for self-denial, sacrifice, and loving service to others. We may have to put an ax to the roots of the resentments and biases in our hearts. We may have to winnow out our greed and overindulgence, and we may have to burn the chaff of our impatience. Even though John’s preaching was characterized by scathing criticism, his call for reform was described in Luke’s Gospel as “the Good News” because the arrival of the Messiah would initiate a new reign of forgiveness, healing and salvation.

John’s conditions for belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven: The coming Kingdom was John’s main theme. While the Gentile convert, Mark, used the words “Kingdom of God,” Matthew follows the Jewish tradition of avoiding the use of God’s name by using the expression “Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom of God is a God-centered, God-controlled life.  John wanted people to experience such a life. Everyone who wants to experience this “reign of God” needs to make a radical change in his or her life. That is the call for repentance. We cannot come under the sovereign rule of God without change — a change of attitude, a change of heart and a change of lifestyle. John not only denounced men for what they had done, he summoned them to what they ought to do. That is why Matthew emphasized the new life of proper fruit-bearing more than the forgiveness of sins. Bearing good fruit is not just doing good things but also doing them for the right reason

.Life messages: 1) We need to prepare for Christ’s coming by allowing him to be reborn daily in our lives:Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting of our sins, and renewing our lives through prayer, penance, and sharing our blessings with others. Let us accept the challenge of the German mystic Angelus Silesius,“Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.”  He means that Jesus must be reborn in our hearts, during this season of Advent, and every day of our lives, bringing us love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and the spirit of humble service.

2) We need to accept John’s call for a change of life.  John the Baptist, the stern and uncompromising preacher, challenges our superficial attempts at change, demanding that we take a deeper look.   Obeying the commandments is a good start, but we must also examine our relationships with others.   We must mend ruptures and soothe frictions, face family responsibilities, work honestly, and treat employees justly.   Start where you are, John says.  Our domestic and social lives must be put in order.   John’s voice is sober and runs counter to the intoxicating voices around us today.   He calls for rectitude and social consciousness.   We must abandon our selfish thirst for consumption and, instead, be filled with the expectation of Jesus’ coming.   Therefore, following John’s advice, let us celebrate the memory of this first advent, prepare for Jesus’ new advent in our lives, and wait for his second advent at the end of the world.

3) We need to wait prayerfully for the second advent of Jesus.   John’s answer as to how the Jews should wait for the Messiah was that they should wait for the Lord with repentant hearts and reformed lives.  We can start by praying from the heart. Let us remember that the Holy Mass is the most powerful of prayers because it transforms us into Eucharistic people, providing the living presence of Jesus in our hearts and his divine life in our souls.  Conversion is through Jesus whom we encounter, mainly, through the Holy Scripture and the Sacraments.  The Word and the Sacraments are the principal means God uses to give life to men’s souls.  Daily reconciliation with God, as we ask and receive His pardon for our daily sins and make our monthly sacramental confession, make us strong and enable us to receive more grace in the Eucharist.  Let us read the Bible, pray the Rosary daily, and fast once a week all year-round, rather than just during Advent and Lent. After all, we sin all year-round, so let us fast also all year-round by controlling our senses!  We could take some time before Mass to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and we should practice forgiving those who offend us.  Finally, let us share our love with others as selfless and humble service. “Do small things but with great love,” advise St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa).

4) We too are called to be precursors, to preach, to cry out like John the Baptist, “Repent! Reform your lives! The kingdom of God is at hand!”? Yes, we are all called to preach that Gospel, but not necessarily all of us with words. Before we are ready to preach to others conversion and penance, we ourselves have to be converted and do penance. St. John the Baptist, before he preached at the Jordan river, himself “lived” in silence in the desert for several years. He prepared the ways of the Lord in himself first, and he made straight the path of the Lord to his heart first, before he exhorted others to do the same. As St. Luke says of John the Baptist, “… the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”.  This is the same thing that Jesus himself did, going into the desert for 40 days before he began his public ministry. We, too, before we begin to preach to others, need to live what we are about to preach. We above all, we have to be converted ourselves before speaking to others the necessity of conversion.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

• Lent versus Yom Kippur:A priest and a rabbi were discussing the pros and cons of their religions, and inevitably the discussion turned
  to repentance. The rabbi explained Yom Kippur as the solemn Jewish Day
  of Atonement and as a day of fasting and penitence, while the priest told him all about Lent, and its 40 days of self-denial as reparation for sins.
  After the discussion ended, the rabbi went home to tell his wife about the conversation, and how they discussed the comparative merits of Yom Kippur versus Lent. She turned her head and laughed. The rabbi asked, “What’s so funny, dear?” “What a comparison!” she said. “Forty days of Lent for the poor Christians and one day of Yom Kippur for the Chosen People of God!”

 USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

 1)     Fr. Nick’s collection of Sunday homilies from 65 priests & weekday homilies:https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  

2)      Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s beautiful & scholarly video classes & texts on Sunday gospel, Bible & RCIA topics:   https://sundayhomilies.au/homilies

3)      Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org/featured-homilies/ (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)

 4)     Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle A Sunday Scripture for Bible Class:https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-

5) Lectio Divina daily gospel reflections: http://ocarm.org/en/lectio-divina

6)     Agape Catholic Bible Lessons: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/

7) The Catholic Internet Directory— http://www.catholic-church.org/cid/

8) USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/jeD46G-Be5I?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9  & USCCB Resources: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/index.cfm

9)    Children’s sermons: http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/s-children.php 

10)  Catholics in Action: http://catholic.org/

11)  Catholic Engine: http://www.everythingcatholic.com/1024/default.asp  

12) Biblical basis of Catholic doctrines: http://scripturecatholic.com/

13) Pope Benedict on Advent: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091128_vespri-avvento.html

23- Additional anecdotes

 John the Baptist’s challenge to us to develop the spirit of sharing love:One of my favorite Christmas stories is O Henry’s short story, “The Gift of The Magi.” You are all familiar with it. It is a story about a desperately poor young couple living in New York around the turn of the last century. Neither had money sufficient to buy a gift for the other so they each secretly went out and sold something of worth. He sold his prized pocket watch to get her decorative combs for her long hair When he presented the hair clips to her, she removed her scarf to reveal that she had had her hair clipped  and gave him the chain for his watch. . The thrust of the story is obvious. It is not what you give that is important, but the sharing spirit of love with which it is given. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

• “Do you carry a dead soul in a living body?”The Romans sometimes tied a captive face-to-face with a dead body and kept him in a dungeon until the horrible secretions of the dead one’s putrefying body destroyed the life of the living victim. Virgil describes this cruel punishment: “The living prisoners and the dead were coupled and tied together, face to face, body to body, until the wretched prisoners  pined away and died.” — Without the pardon and forgiveness of sins by Christ, our bodies, too, are shackled to a soul dead to the Life of God, Sanctifying Grace, by mortal sins.  Only genuine repentance and confession of sins can free us from certain death, as John the Baptist says in today’s Gospel, because life and death cannot co-exist indefinitely. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

3) Community renewal during Advent: I am sure you are familiar with the amazing story of the migration of the monarch butterfly, a lovely little creature who blesses our gardens and forests in the summer. Every autumn, millions of monarchs from all over the eastern United States and Canada migrate thousands of miles to a small handful of sites in Mexico where they rest for the winter. Then in the spring, they begin their return trip to the north. The amazing thing is that no individual monarch ever makes the trip to Mexico and back. A butterfly that leaves the Adirondack Mountains in New York will fly all the way to Mexico and spend the winter. In March, it begins the trip northward, but after laying eggs in the milkweed of Texas and Florida, it will die. Those butterflies will continue northward, laying eggs along the way until some of them, maybe three or four generations removed from the original, make it back to mountains of New York. But when August comes, they will head south, aiming for the exact place their great grandparents visited, a place they have never been. Sue Haplern says: “The monarchs always migrate in community and depend on each other. Although a single monarch may make it from New York to Mexico, it is the next generation who completes the journey.” —  Now here is the word for the Church. She says: “No one completes the Advent journey solo. It is only as a community that we discover the fullness of God’s plan for us.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

4) God takes our sinning seriously: In John Steinbeck’s story, “The Wayward Bus,” a dilapidated old bus takes a cross-country shortcut on its journey to Los Angeles, and gets stuck in the mud. While the drivers go for assistance, the passengers take refuge in a cave. It is a curious company of people, and it is obvious that the author is attempting to get across the point that these people are lost spiritually as well as literally. As they enter into this cave, the author calls the reader’s attention to the fact that, as they enter, they must pass a word that has been scrawled with paint over the entrance. The word is REPENT!  Although Steinbeck calls that to the reader’s attention, it is interesting that none of the passengers pays any attention to it whatsoever. — All too often, this is our story. Yet, John the Baptist calls upon us to take our sinning seriously. Why? Because God does! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

5) Return to God and renew your lives: There is a legend about a beautiful swan that alighted one day on the banks of a pool in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: “Where do you come from?” “I come from Heaven!” replied the swan. “And where is heaven?” asked the crane. “Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of Heaven?” And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms, the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane. Finally, the crane asked: “Are there any snails there?” “Snails!” repeated the swan, “No! Of course, there are not!” “Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your Heaven. I want snails!” — This fable, has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been forfeited for snails!” (Moody’s Anecdotes, Page 125-126.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

6) Metánoia after (9/11)

On Monday people were fighting over public prayer.
On Tuesday, we prayed.

On Monday, we were separated by race, sex, color, and creed.
On Tuesday, we held hands.

On Monday, we argued with kids about picking up after themselves.
On Tuesday, we could hardly wait to get home from work to pick up our kids and hug them.

On Monday, we were obsessed with the sex lives of politicians.
On Tuesday, we joined hands with politicians to sing God Bless America.

On Monday, we were football fanatics. On the following Sunday, we went to Church because the football games were cancelled.  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

7) John the Baptist’s’s preaching of Messianic hope: There’s a story about a man who had experienced a seven-year series of setbacks in business and in his love life. Every decision that he made, every relationship that he had, seemed to end in failure. One evening as he was walking home, he saw a bright spotlight on the porch of a previously abandoned home. As he approached the house, he noticed that the light was illuminating a sign advertising the presence of a fortune-teller. “Fantastic futures forecast inside,” he read. So, thinking that nothing else seemed to offer any hope, he walked through the door. The fortune-teller placed her hands on the crystal ball on the table between them. As she did so, a frown spread across her face as she predicted, “The next seven years will be just like the past seven … filled with despair, unhappiness, and disappointment.” “Oh, no!” said the young man in dismay. Still clinging to a tiny spark of hope, he asked timidly, “Then what?” “You’ll get used to it,” responded the fortune-teller. — John the Baptist on the other hand gave the desperate people hope of the immediate arrival of the long-expected Messiah. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

8) God’s view of our sins: Plato tells the story of a shepherd named Gyges, who was in the service of the king. One day there was a great storm and an earthquake where he was pasturing his flock. A great chasm opened in the earth and Gyges descended into the chasm. There he saw many astonishing things, including what looked like a human corpse. Although there were many amazing treasures in the chasm, he took nothing except a gold ring the corpse had on his finger. He then made his way out. He attended the usual meeting of shepherds which reported monthly to the king, and as he was sitting in the meeting, he happened to twist the bezel of the ring towards the inside of his hand. He immediately became invisible to his companions. He was astonished, and began twisting the ring again, and turned the bezel outwards, whereupon he became visible again. He experimented with the ring to see if it really had this power and found that every time he turned it outwards he became visible, and every time he turned it inwards, he became invisible. Having made this discovery, he managed to get himself invited to the palace where he stole great treasures from the king himself. Being invisible, he would never be caught. There would be no consequences for his actions whatsoever. — Plato asks the question, “If we remove all consequences, all fear of punishment, is there any reason to seek honesty, virtue, and character?” It’s a good question. John’s answer is that God takes sins seriously, and, hence, we must repent and renew our lives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

9) “This side is done now; I think you can turn me over.” St. Lawrence was a Deacon in Rome in the 200s, when it was still illegal to be a Christian. During one of the waves of persecution, the Emperor arrested the Pope and had him put to death. Then he arrested St. Lawrence and ordered him to give all the Church’s wealth to the Imperial Treasury. The next day, St Lawrence showed up with the poor, the widows and the orphans whom the Church was supporting and said, “Here are our treasures.” The Emperor, who had been expecting golden vessels and jewel-studded chalices, was furious. He sentenced St Lawrence to death by being roasted alive. But even while he was burning on the grill, Lawrence’s heart was at peace. Eyewitnesses actually recorded him as saying to the guards soon after his torture had begun, “This  side is done now; I think you can turn me over.” — When we let Christ rule in our hearts, his strength, peace and wisdom become our strength, peace and wisdom. (By the way, this is why St. Lawrence is the official patron saint of football players: he died on the gridiron!) E-Priest (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 10) “The Hound of Heaven”: One of the greatest Christian poems of all time was written by Francis Thompson,  a British poet from the late 19^th-early 20^th century. He had a difficult life: his career in medicine was a failure; his rift with his father forced him into homelessness for years; his addiction to opium was a life-long plague. Both his circumstances and his sins made his life miserable. Yet, his greatest work, an autobiographical poem called, “The Hound of Heaven,” tells about a God who refuses to abandon even the most determined sinner. In it, the protagonist is madly searching for happiness in all the wrong places. During the search, he is being relentlessly pursued by a hunting dog, a hound. The hound is a symbol of God, who loves us too much ever to give up on us. God is like a well-trained hunting dog, a hound that is on our trail, and nothing we can do will ever shake him off!The poem begins with a description of the poet’s flight from God and his vain search for happiness in other things: “I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; / I fled Him, down the arches of the years; / I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways / Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears / I hid from Him, and under running laughter.” But at the end, when he has nowhere else to run to, the hound catches up to him and says, “Rise, clasp My hand, and come! …Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He Whom thou seekest! Thou drivest love from thee, who drivest Me.” — Nothing we do can lessen God’s love for us: He is faithful, and His hand is always outstretched to save us from ourselves. Advent is the time of preparation to return to the “Hound of Heaven” by repenting of our sins and renewing our lives. (E-Priest). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

11) The dream for mankind: When the three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, landed on the moon, they were the very first human beings in history who could view our planet, Earth, from the outside. As they gazed from outer space and even tried to locate the various continents on Earth, they were wonderstruck and fascinated by their unanimous observation — that six billion humans, in spite of differing nationalities, languages, customs, religions and traditions, were just one gigantic family. To quote one astronaut: “The first day in space, we all pointed to our countries. The second day, we pointed to our continents. By the third day, we were aware of only one Earth.” —  This was the magnificent vision given by God to Isaiah and the ancient prophets. They firmly believed and earnestly hoped the brotherhood of man would be as real as the Fatherhood of God. The prophets themselves were familiar with the injustices of an exploitative society and the horrors of senseless wars. But they longed for the promised Messianic age — the day the lamb could lie down with the wolf and have nothing to fear. Their Faith and Hope in God opened them to receive His vision of a time of universal peace, when the strong would no longer prey on the weak or the cunning exploit the innocent. The season of Advent each year rekindles our hope in the fulfillment of this promise in our own lives and our own world, some 2000 years after Jesus fulfilled it in the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery, a hope also expressed by prophet Isaiah in the first reading. We need to work with the Holy

Spirit, and allow the Holy Spirit to work with, and so to change, us inwardly, a work beyond our unaided himan power (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, And They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

12) Let go and change! Perhaps you have heard the story of how hunters catch monkeys. They cut a small hole in the coconut, just large enough for the monkey to put its hand in and fill it with a sweet treat, and leave it fixed under a tree. The poor monkey smell the treat, squeezes its hand into the coconut, grabs the treat in its little paw — and find that its fist will not come out through the hole. Since the monkey will not let go of the treat, the monkey holds itself prisoner. While it just sits there desperately grasping its treat, the smart hunter comes and catches it. Silly monkey! All it had to do was to let go of the treat and remove its arm from the coconut and run for freedom. — But often we are like that monkey. We hold on to things that imprison us. In order to get our hand out of the jar, regardless of what the jar is, we need to change. We need to open our grasping hand and release everything from it, so that God can give us His gifts.  That is, we need to grow. We would like to think that we are smart enough to let go of something to gain our freedom; however, the truth is that many of us hold on to things so tightly that we imprison ourselves. We refuse to change because we are comfortable with what we have. To move forward in life, sometimes we have to just let go of the past and move ahead with confidence and Faith. During Advent, the Church challenges her children to free themselves from the snares of the devil and prepare their hearts and lives for the rebirth of Jesus. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Lord; quoted by Fr. Botelho).(https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

13) We can and must change: Many years ago, a man was shocked to read his own obituary in the daily newspaper. As can be surmised, his death had been mistakenly reported. But what shocked him most was how the obituary had described him: as someone who had devoted his life to making weapons of war and destruction. That very morning, he resolved to concentrate his energies and God-given talents in a new direction: to work for world peace and the improvement of conditions around the world in the best interest of one and all in our global family. Later, the wise and resolute individual became the founder of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. -Alfred Nobel! — Advent is the time for us to change from our selfishness. (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, And They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 14) Dave Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered to be one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. He died of heart failure on December 5, 2012, in Norwalk, Connecticut one day before his 92^nd birthday. He was also a man of faith. In 1980, Dave Brubeck was baptized into the Catholic Church. It began when Brubeck was commissioned to write a Mass made up entirely of jazz music. He worked on it for a few months. When it finally premiered, it was widely praised. A priest told the composer how much he liked the music, but he was puzzled by something: why hadn’t he included in the music the Our Father? Brubeck hadn’t even realized the oversight. He thought about revising the score, but decided against it. It was finished, and he thought anything he wrote would disrupt the musical structure. He decided to just let it go.  But a few days later, something happened that made him change his mind.  While on vacation with his family, Brubeck awoke in the middle of the night, astonished: the entire Our Father had come to him in a dream, complete with orchestra and chorus.  He got out of bed, wrote it all out, and later added it to the score. “Because of this event,” he said, “I decided that I might as well join the Catholic Church. Someone somewhere was pulling me toward that end.” Today’s readings are about listening and responding. (Fr. Chirakkal) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 15) Advent Optimism: Attempts to make sense of life are universal. A famous poet (T. S. Eliot) expressed the wish to have carved on his gravestone about life: “I’ve had the experience, but I’ve missed the meaning.” Viktor Frankl, an Austrian Jewish psychiatrist who was thrown into the concentration camp of Auschwitz during World War II, addressed his fellow-prisoners as they were lying motionless in despair-filled silence with only an occasional sigh in the darkness of their cell. He told them that 1) whoever is still alive has reason for hope; 2) whatever they were going through could still be an asset to them in the future; 3) that the meaning of human life includes privation, suffering, and dying; 4) that someone was looking down on each of them with love — friend, wife, somebody else alive or dead, or God — and wouldn’t want to be disappointed; 5) that they should courageously integrate their life into a worldview that has a meaning beyond immediate self-grasping, and, so, 6) know how to die. — Does your acquaintance with life find this optimism and hope remote? Does your experience make you dwell upon the shadow side of life, the many ways in which we suffer, fail, lose heart, or feel that nothing’s worthwhile?  Advent’s optimism should be realistic. We’re not like the little boy who was overheard talking to himself as he strode through his back yard, baseball cap on sideways and totting ball and bat. “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world,” he said proudly. Then he tossed the ball into the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and repeated to himself, “I’m the greatest player ever!” He swung at the ball again, and again he missed. He paused a moment to examine bat and ball carefully. Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, “I’m the greatest baseball player who ever lived.” He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball. “Wow” he exclaimed. “What a pitcher!” Rather, we ought to be like David of the Old Covenant. When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, “He’s so big we can never kill him.” David looked at the same giant and thought, “He’s so big I can’t miss!” (Harold Buetow in God Still Speaks! Listen; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 16) Waiting for Godot: Waiting, an inevitable and even necessary aspect of human life is not something that most of us relish. We wait in lines: to purchase groceries; to be served at popular restaurants; to be attended to in a bank; at stop signs and traffic signals; at amusement parts; to see a play or film. We must also wait for flowers to grow and bloom; for babies to be born; for wounds to heal; for bread to rise and cheese to age; for children to mature; for friends to call; for love to deepen. Statisticians have estimated that in a lifetime of 70 years, the average person spends at least three years waiting!  —  For believers, however, it is not inconceivable to think of the entire span of a human life as a period of waiting –waiting for the God who comes. Samuel Beckett, Irish author, critic and playwright, and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969, cast a rather pessimistic eye on this aspect of the human condition. Along with Albert Camus, Eugène Ionesco and Arthur Adamov, Beckett regarded the very notion of waiting for fulfillment or Divine intervention as absurd. In his play, Waiting for Godot (1953), two people, Vladimir and Estragon (who are often portrayed as tramps) spend their lives patiently, but aimlessly, waiting for someone who never comes. To exacerbate the situation, the two characters have no evidence that Godot (probably God) intends to come or that he even exists. Set on a stage, empty except for a solitary tree, the two figures enunciate Beckett’s perception of human existence as mindless and purposeless. At this point, Beckett introduces a second pair of characters who unlike Vladimir and Estragon, pursue and attain their well-defined objectives, e.g., power, wealth, a desirable spouse, yet their lives also are empty and without meaning. Happily, the Theater of the Absurd with its hopelessness and pessimism has no place in the life of the believer, except perhaps to renew in him/her a gratitude for the gift of a God Who comes, Who has come, Who will come and Who never departs. Because of this, Advent is a season characterized, not by mindlessness and purposelessness but by a delicious joy and eager anticipation. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

17) Change   yourself — wear shoes!: Once upon a time there was a king, who ruled a prosperous country. One day he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he came back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very sore, because it was the first time that he he had gone for such a long trip, and the road he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the country with leather. This would need skins of thousands of animals, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise advisors dared to question the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?” The king was surprised, but later agreed to his suggestion to make a ‘shoe’ for himself. – We often say, “I wish things would change or people would change.” Instead, wise people say: “Change your thinking and change your world!” Advent is the time for such a change. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

18) Word Power: The Greatest is a film about Muhammad Ali’s career as heavyweight boxing champion. It shows not only how he was gifted naturally with agility and strength, but also how he trained extensively with rigorous workouts and diets. But Muhammad Ali said one time that although all these things helped, the real secret of his power source was a set of inspirational tapes to which he listened. The tapes were recorded speeches of a Black Muslim leader, the honorable Elijah Muhammad. They deal with self-knowledge, freedom and potential. Muhammad Ali would listen to these tapes when he got up in the morning, when he ate his meals during the day and when he retired at night. He claimed that these inspirational messages gave him the power to fight for his black people, not only for their glory in the ring, but also for their civil rights in the arena of life. — In the Gospel, we have the secret of the power of another man, Jesus Christ, revealed. At the very beginning of his Gospel, Mark wants there to be no mistake about who Jesus is and what the source of his power is.
(Albert Cylwicki in His Word       Resounds). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

19) Repent! Let Go! I’m sure you have heard of the story of how hunters catch monkeys. They will cut a small hole in a coconut, just large enough for the monkey to put its hand in and fill it with a sweet treat and leave the coconut fixed under a tree. The poor monkey would smell the treat, squeeze its hand into the coconut, grab the treat in its little paw and find that its fist would not come through the hole. Since the monkey will not let go of the treat, the monkey holds itself a prisoner. While it sits there desperately grasping its treat, the smart hunter comes and catches it. Silly monkey! All it had to do was let go of the treat and remove its hand from the coconut and run for freedom. This story brings me to another level. To get my hand out of the jar, regardless of what the jar is, I need to change. Einstein said “We cannot solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used to create them.” We like to think we are smart enough to let go of something to gain our freedom, however, the truth is, many of us hang on to things so tightly that we imprison ourselves. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

20) “Give Jesus a free hand! Give him permission!” Cardinal John O’Connor of New York was consecrated a bishop in 1983 in Rome. On his way down the aisle after the consecration, he blessed the people gathered in the church. Suddenly he saw a famous face, and went over to greet Mother Teresa of Calcutta. He gave her a blessing, but was not prepared for what came next. She grasped one of his hands in both of hers, and said to him: “Give Jesus a free hand! Give him permission!” Cardinal O’Connor never forgot those words, and he said that he tried to make them a watchword for the rest of his life.  Giving God a free hand in our lives is what is expected of us, especially during the advent season. (E-Priest). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

  21) The Satin Slipper: In his play The Satin Slipper, Paul Claudel offers a gripping example of giving God permission even in the midst of what seems like a hopeless situation. Strapped to a mast, a Jesuit priest is dying on the high seas. His ship has been overrun by pirates, and he’s left to die. As he dies, he prays for his brother Rodrigo, an immoral man living far from God. The priest prays: “His business, as he thinks, not being to stand and wait but to conquer and possess all he can – as if there were anything that did not belong to You and as if he could be otherwhere than where You are. •But Lord, it is not so easy to escape You, and, if he goes not to You by what he has of light, let him go to You by what he has of darkness; and if not by what he has of straight, may he go to You by what he has of indirection; and if not by what he has of simple, let him go by what in him is manifold and laborious and entangled. And if he desire evil, let it be such evil as be compatible only with good; and if he desire disorder, such disorder as shall involve the rending and the overthrow of those walls about him which bar him from salvation…” — Giving God permission also means giving Him permission in the lives of others, to work in ways that only He knows. It is the sign of repentance and renewal of life, the message of today’s gospel. (E-Priest). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 22) “Sixty years, young man, sixty years!” Once, when a conference of ministers was held in a certain town, a certain old preacher had sat quietly through it for a number of days until, toward the end of the conference, he was suddenly and unexpectedly called upon to speak. He arose thoughtfully and almost stumblingly fumbled for his words. Finally, his thoughts took form, his words fell in the rhythm of a marching column, and his impassioned oratory beat down upon the upturned faces of his audience until, as he arose to his peroration and reached his climax, the whole sedate conference broke into a spontaneous applause that shook the room, according to an item in Printer’s Ink. He had delivered the master oration of the conference. When finally, the applause subsided, a cocky young Doctor of Divinity strolled up to him. “That was a masterly address you delivered extemporaneously. Yet you must have had some preparation to have done it so well. How long did it take you to prepare it?” The older man looked gently for some time at the younger one before he answered. And then he said: “Sixty years, young man, sixty years!”  — Every year, on this Advent II Sunday, as preparation for Christmas, the Church leads us on pilgrimage to the Jordan River, so that we might enroll in the school of St. John the Baptist, hear his message, and put it into action in our lives. (Fr. Lakra) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). 

 23) “The Baby Shall Play by the Cobra’s Den”: Tourists driving through Yellowstone Park used to be “flagged down” by bears begging for food. The travelers thought this was “cute” and usually pulled up on the shoulder of the road to hand them snacks. This practice became a real problem. It was bad for the bears, which got used to being “on the dole” in summer and were, therefore, liable to starve in the winter. It was bad for tourists. Park managers, on the basis of sad experience, had to warn travelers that these bears, far from being “cute,” were wild animals, capable of mauling or even killing passers-by.Today’s first reading speaks of men and animals living together in mutual trust: wolf with lamb, leopard with goat, calf with lion. There, cobras pose no threat to babies, and poisonous adders enjoy playing with children. But it should be quite clear that this “peaceable kingdom” which the prophet Isaiah describes is not of this world but of the world to come. Another instance of  animals with men in the fallen world occurred not long ago, the United Press Intentional told a story of a middle-aged Missourian who, like many of us, forgot that the “peaceable kingdom” has not yet arrived. Let’s call him Bob Doe…Bob certainly loved animals. Several years ago he acquired a rather unusual pet – a baby python. Pythons are not poisonous snakes; they kill by crushing. Doe knew the danger, of course, and thought he was on guard against it. He kept the snake in a secured cage in the cellar, so that it might harm nobody. But every now and then he himself would let it out of the cage and play with it for a while. By 1983 the serpent had grown to a length of 18 feet and weighed 110 pounds. On April 27th that year, Bob opened the cage so that it might have a stretch. It was their last gambol together. The great snake wrapped around his master’s throat and strangled him to death. — Few of us, I think need to be warned not to trust wild animals. But we do need to be reminded that the drives we have within us are as wild as any bear or python. Addictions, for instance, can kill both our bodies and our souls. Before the arrival of the “peaceable kingdom”, the human heart will continue to be a sort of zoo. It is most important, therefore, that we follow the basic rule of zookeepers: “Never let them out of their cages.” (Fr. Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).  LP/25

 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No. 1) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith“Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only atakadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in.  (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) My post-retirement Land mail contact address:  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507

Some initial sources on the Gospel according to Matthew (Rev. Dr. Murray Watson)

R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament series). Eerdmans Publishing, 2007. Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, The Gospel of Matthew (Sacra Pagina commentary series). Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier, 2007. Donald Senior, The Gospel of Matthew (Interpreting Biblical Texts series). Abingdon Press, 1997. Barbara E. Reid, The Gospel According to Matthew (New Collegeville Bible Commentary series). Liturgical Press, 2005. William Barclay, Matthew (New Daily Study Bible series). Westminster John Knox Press, 2001 (+ Philip Law, Matthew: A Guide to the New Daily Study Bible. Westminster John Knox, 2010). Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009. Curtis Mitch and Edward P. Sri, The Gospel of Matthew (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series). Baker Academic, 2010. David L. Turner, Matthew (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series). Baker Academic, 2008. Amy-Jill Levine and Marianne Blickenstaff, A Feminist Companion to Matthew (Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings, Vol. 1). Sheffield Academic Press, 2001. Manlio Simonetti, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (2 vols on Matthew 1-13 and 14-28). InterVarsity Press, 2001-2002. Warren Carter, Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading. Orbis Books, 2000.

For general cultural, religious and social background: Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. InterVarsity Press, 1993. A E. Harvey, A Companion to the New Testament: The New Revised Standard Version. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

… plus articles in major commentaries, such as the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Oxford Bible Commentary, HarperCollins Bible Commentary, Collegeville Bible Commentary, etc.

Dec 8th, 2025 Homily on Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary L/25

(Two-page summary when it is not a Holy Day of Obligation)

Introduction:Mary’s prophecy, given in her Magnificat, “Behold all generations will call me blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church declared four dogmas of Faith about her: 1-The Immaculate Conception, 2-The Perpetual Virginity, 3-The Divine Maternity, 4-The Assumption.

The Immaculate Conception is a dogma based mainly on Christian tradition and theological reasoning. It was defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX as a dogma of Faith through IneffabilisDeus. Definition: From the first moment of her conception, Mary was preserved immune from original sin by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race. (CCC #491). This means that original sanctity, innocence and justice were conferred upon her, and that she was exempted from all the evil effects of original sin, excluding sorrow, pain, disease and death which are temporal penalties given to Adam. (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Basis: Tradition and the Bible: (A) From Church tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the feast of the Conception of Our Lady by the end of the 7th century. The feast spread as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century), England (11th century), and France (12th century). Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration, and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a Feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of Faith. Mary herself approved this in 1858 by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” (B) From Holy Scripture: 1) God purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother (“Before I formed you in the womb of your mother, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5), and anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth as John’s mother attests: “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”(Lk 1:43-44). Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son free from all sins from the first moment of her origin. 2) The angel saluted Mary as “full of grace” (Lk 1:28) The greeting means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave of sin and the devil. 3) “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at His heel” (Gn 3:15). The woman stands for Mary, and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin.

(C)-Argument from reason: 1) If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. So did God. 2) The All-Holy God cannot be born from a woman who was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in her life. “Deus potuit, decuit, fecit.” (Duns Scotus).

Life messages: 1) Every mother wants her children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate and holy Heavenly Mother wants us to be holy and pure children.

2) Let us honor her by practicing her virtues of Faith and obedience.

3) Let us respond to God’s grace by using it to do good to others.

Detailed homily on the FEAST OF the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION _when it falls on a Sunday or it a Patronal feast day or Day of Obligation as in the U. S. in 2025 ((Gn 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38)

Homily starter anecdote: # 1: The favorite name of explorers: In 1492, Columbus discovered America. He sailed in a ship called Santa Maria de Conceptio (St. Mary of the Conception). He named the first Island he landed San Salvador, in honor of our Savior. Columbus named the second island Conceptio in honor of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The fearless French explorer, Fr. Marquette who explored the 2300-mile length of the Mississippi River flowing through ten states, called it River of Mary Immaculate.  In fact, all the early American Catholics were so proud of the great truth we celebrate today that the American bishops in 1829 (25 years before the promulgation of the dogma, and the year before the Blessed Mother gave St. Catherine Laboure the design for the Miraculous Medal), chose Mary Conceived Without Sin as the patroness of the United States. Hence, in the U.S., this Holy Day is the feast of the country’s Heavenly patroness.     

# 2:”Iam the Immaculate Conception.” Fouryears after the Church formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Bernadette Soubirous experienced the first of the 18 apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Lourdes. She was only fourteen years old at the time, and in the French society of that day, the reality that her family was very poor meant that she had no social standing. So when she tried to explain that she was having visions of a beautiful Lady in what we know today as the Grotto at Lourdes, no one believed her. At first not even her parish priest gave any credence to what she was saying. It wasn’t until the Lady that she was seeing identified herself, and Bernadette shared this, that people began to wonder if there were a whole lot more to the story. The Lady in the Grotto did not identify herself simply as Mary. Instead, she identified herself with words that a Pyrenean peasant girl with little theological education at the time would not have known or understood: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” #3 Honey trap by the Jewish widow, Judith: The Deuterocanonical Book of Judith tells the legend  of a daring Jewish widow Judith, who uses her beauty and charm to destroy an Assyrian general Holofernes and save Israel from oppression. As the ancient story relates in the Deuterocanonical Book of Judith, the  Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Nineveh and Assyria,  sent his general Holofernes to besiege the Jewish city of Bethulia. Judith, described as a beautiful young widow, a native of the city,  resolves to save her people by slaying Holofernes herself. After reciting a long prayer to God, she dons her finest clothes. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelite military secrets. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night.  As he lies in a drunken stupor, Judith decapitates him with his sword after hammering a tent-peg into his forehead, hides the head in her maid’s bag then takes it to the military leader of her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved. The Jews praised Judith shouting, “You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honor and joy of your people.” —  Judith is a figure of Blessed Virgin Mary and Holofernes is the figure of the devil, the enemy of the people of God. Like Judith, the Blessed Virgin conquered the devil when she assented to become the Mother of God’s Son. As  God told the serpent in our first reading today, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, (Mary), and between your seed and her seed (Jesus); he  (Jesus) shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his (Jesus’) heel.

#4 Bishop Sheen on Immaculate Conception: “Just suppose that you could have pre-existed your own mother, in much the same way that an artist pre-exists his painting. Furthermore, suppose that you had the infinite power to make your mother anything that you pleased, just as a great artist like Raphael has the power of realizing his artistic ideas. Suppose you had this double power, what kind of mother would you have made for yourself? Would you not have made her, so far as human beauty goes, the most beautiful woman in the world; and so far as beauty of the soul goes, one who would radiate every virtue, every manner of kindness and charity and loveliness; one who by the purity of her life and her mind and her heart would be an inspiration not only to you but even to your fellow men, so that all would look up to her as the very incarnation of what is best in motherhood? Do you think that our Blessed Lord, who not only pre-existed His own mother but Who had an infinite power to make her just what He chose, would in virtue of all the infinite delicacy of His spirit make her any less pure and loving and beautiful than you would have made your own mother?

Introduction: Mary’s prophecy, given in her Magnificat, “Behold all generations will call me blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church declared four dogmas of Faith about her: 1- Her Immaculate Conception, 2- Her Perpetual Virginity, 3- Her Divine Maternity, and 4- Her Assumption into Heaven after her death.

The Immaculate Conception is a dogma based mainly on Christian tradition and theological reasoning. While other human beings were born without grace because we inherit original sin, Mary was conceived full of grace, completely free from original sin.  The tradition was defined as Church dogma in 1854 by Pope Pius IX through IneffabilisDeus: “From the first moment of her conception, Mary was preserved immune from original sin by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, savior of the human race.” (CCC #491). This declaration means that original sanctity, innocence and justice were conferred upon her, and that she was exempted from the evil effects of original sin — excluding sorrow, pain, disease and death, the temporal penalties given to Adam (Catholic Encyclopedia). “God freely chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of his Son. In order to carry out her mission, she herself was conceived Immaculate. This means that, thanks to the grace of God and in anticipation of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from original sin from the first instant of her conception.” (Compendium of the CCC). The Fathers of the Church from the fourth century believed and taught that the Blessed Virgin Mary had been kept free of all traces of sin by the grace of God because she was to become the Mother of the Lord Jesus. This belief kept company with the other beliefs about Mary: her perpetual virginity, her sinlessness, and her Divine motherhood. Church history makes known to us that, as early as the seventh century, there was a liturgical observance that proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary to be free from sin. In the year 1846, the Bishops of the United States unanimously chose Our Lady as the patroness of the United States under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. This was done eight years before the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was infallibly defined.

Basis in Scripture and Tradition:  (A)Based on Church tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the “Feast of the Conception of Our Lady” by the end of 7^th century. The feast spread as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Italy (9^th century), England (11^th century), and France (12^th century). Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration, and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a Feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of Faith. Mary herself approved this four years later (1858), by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

(B) Basis in Holy Scripture: 1- God purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother: “Before I formed you in the womb of your mother, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you”(Jer 1:5)  God anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth, as John’s mother attests:  “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!” (Lk 1:44).  Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son free from all sin from the first moment of her origin.

2- The angel saluted Mary as “full of grace”(Lk 1:28). This greeting means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave of sin and the devil. In the words of Lumen Gentium (56), Mary  was “filled with an entirely unique holiness,” 

3- The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at His heel” (Gn 3:15).  The woman stands for Mary, and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin.

(C)-From logical reasoning: 1-If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. That’s what God did. 2- The All-Holy God cannot be born from a woman who was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in her life. Deus potuit (God could do it), decuit (found fitting to do it), fecit.” (and hence did it). [Duns Scotus]. How was Mary immaculately conceived? Theologians explain it by “prevenient grace,” the grace that, praevenit, comes before.   That is, the merits of Christ’s saving life, death and Resurrection were applied to the Blessed Virgin Mary in advance of the actual events in history.  Of course, as we know, with God there is no past, present or future.  He lives in an eternal now.  And so, in virtue of Mary’s future role as “the Mother of the Redeemer,” she was in fact redeemed in advance — in advance only from a human perspective, not from God’s. It is like giving a “preventive medicine.” You and I, and the rest of humanity, inherit original sin and its effects, and we have to submit afterwards to the medicine, which is called Baptism.  God did something better for His Son’s Mother — she never had to suffer the deficiency, to begin with. When Cardinal Newman [St. John Henry Newman; canonized 2019] was trying to help Protestants understand who Mary as “the Immaculate One” is, he came up with a very clever title for Mary.  He referred to her as “the daughter of Eve un-fallen.”  You and I are the sons and daughters of Eve in her fallen state.  Mary is the daughter of grace Eve would have been, had she not sinned. 

Life messages: 1) We need to be pure and holy like our Heavenly Mother. Every mother wants her children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate and Holy mother wants us to be holy and pure children. The original sin from which Mary was preserved is the original sin from which we have been freed by Baptism. The grace of Christ that was hers is the same grace of Christ that is ours. Mary is significant for us because the central factors in her life are the central factors in our own. Perhaps the lesson is that, no matter in which direction we may be facing, we need Mary Immaculate in our lives in order to remember Who Christ IS and who we ourselves are.

2) We need to be thankful and humble. Mary’s sinlessness was a gift from God, given to her right from the very moment of her conception. Equally, it is by the grace of God that we have received a new heart, a new spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit to raise us to the level of holiness that the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed during her earthly life. Through Faith in Jesus and through the Sacrament of Baptism, having been born again of water and Spirit, we have been adopted, incorporated, so to speak, into the Body of Christ in the living Hope of receiving our salvation. Through our living Faith, including the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God restores the righteousness of our souls. Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we abide in Jesus and Jesus in us, this leading us towards our salvation. [Jn 6:56]. Hence, those of us who happen to be holy, who sin less than the average sinner, should regard our holiness as basically a gift of God and not something we have achieved by ourselves.  Our lives, then, should be characterized by two basic attitudes, thankfulness to God, and humility before those who are naturally and spiritually less-gifted, or more-gifted, than we are.

3) Like Mary, we need to say “’Yes” to God: God invites each one of us to continue Mary’s “Yes” by welcoming Jesus and making room for him in our lives. Let us ask her to obtain for us the grace to respond as generously to God’s call as she did, and to be as faithful in discipleship to her Son as she was. On this feast day, let us ask our Mother Mary to be with us, to guide us, to protect us through her prayers of intercession with her Son, and to share her privilege with us, making our bodies worthy resting places for her Son.   Let us respond to God’s grace as Mary did, by using it to do good for others and to avoid evil. On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is fitting that we remember the words of the intercessory prayer that is inscribed on the Miraculous Medal of Our Lady: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Additional anecdote: St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Immaculate Conception: St Maximilian Kolbe founded the Militia Immaculata in 1917 with six of his Francisca fellow-seminarians. “Its goal was nothing less that to bring the whole world to God through Christ under the generalship of Mary Immaculate, and to do so as quickly as possible. Fulfilling this mission through obedience to God’s will, in union with Mary Immaculate, was Kobe’s entire concern, his pure intention — and he sacrificed everything for its accomplishment” [Michael Gaitley MIC, 33 Days to Morning Glory (Stockbridge Massachusetts: Marian Press, 2015), p. 50.]  “In Poland, Kolbe … founded the world’s largest Franciscan monastery, which he named Niepokolanow (“City of the Immaculate”), and he continually urged the more than 600 friars there to become soldier-saints for God under Mary Immaculate … because among creatures, she alone does the will of God perfectly. Therefore, when our wills are united with hers, they’re necessarily united to God’s will” (Gaitley, p. 57). Then, “in 1941, after decades of incredibly fruitful apostolic labors in Poland and Japan, Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Before his arrest, his brother Franciscans had pleaded with him to go into hiding. He said he was grateful for their loving hearts but couldn’t follow their advice. Later, he explained why: ‘I have a mission — the Immaculata has a mission to fulfill.’” In the concentration camp where Kolbe was imprisoned, one of the prisoners managed to escape. In retaliation and as a deterrent to the rest of the prisoners, ten members were chosen at random by the prison authorities and told to step forward for execution. One man chosen wept and pleaded to be spared because he and his wife had small children. Kolbe stepped forward, asked to take this man’s place, and was accepted. The ten were imprisoned in a bunker to starve to death. In that bunker, Kolbe brought comfort to the others, Finally, after two weeks, the captors executed him with a lethal injection — on August 14, 1941, the day before the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, his beloved Immaculata.

 For additional information on the Immaculate Conception, please visit:

1. http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a115.htm
2. www.catholic.com/answers/tracts/_fullgra.htm
3. http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/ImmaculateConceptionMaryJuniperCarolMariology.htm
4. http://www.justforcatholics.org/a182.htm

5)http://www.catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp

6) Catholic TV: http://www.realcatholictv.com/daily/?today=2011-12-08

7) Fr Mitch Pacwa, SJ — video homily (EWTN): https://youtu.be/hGL0vj1Rl6Y

8) Franciscan media articles on Mary: https://info.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-virgin-mary

MARTIN LUTHER ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/09/did-martin-luther-believe-in-immaculate.html

It seems that Martin Luther, that once-Augustinian priest- turned-Revolutionary, upheld belief in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (even before it was declared a dogmatic doctrine in 1854 by Pope Pius IX). The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception holds that Mary was preserved from original sin at her conception and from all sin during her life — that she was conceived, lived, and died without any taint of sin. The eminent Lutheran scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907-73) has also confirmed that Luther believed in the Immaculate Conception even as a Protestant. Here is Martin Luther in his own words:

“It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus, from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin” 

– Martin Luther’s Sermon “On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God,” 1527.

“She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin—something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. 

– Martin Luther’s Little Prayer Book, 1522.

Both quotations derive from Luther’s writings after his break from Rome.

Far be it from me to approve of Luther. I only list these quotes to show how far Protestantism has come from its quasi-Catholic origin. If only Lutherans would return to this single doctrine of their founder, how quickly our Lady would turn them into true Catholics! (continue reading . . .)

Later in his life, however, Luther thought that Mary was made Immaculate not at her conception but sometime before the conception of Christ. I have suggested that his later position is more accurately called “immaculate purification.” (http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/09/did-martin-luther-believe-in-immaculate.html) L/25

“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No 3) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com, ((Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)).

Dec 1-6: Dec 1 Monday: Mt 8: 5-11: Matthew 8: 5-11: 5 As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes, and to another, `Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Context: Jesus’ healing of the centurion’s slave, described in today’s Gospel, shows us how God listens to our Faith-filled prayers and meets our needs. Centurions were reliable, commanding, brave captains in charge of 100 soldiers. They were used to giving and receiving commands. They were the backbone of the Roman army. According to Luke’s account (Lk 7:1-10), this centurion loved the Jews and respected their religious customs. He knew that Jews would incur ritual uncleanness on entering the house of a pagan, and, wanting to save Jesus this inconvenience, said he was unworthy to have Jesus come into his pagan house. The Centurion loved his sick servant, trusted in Jesus’ power of healing, and was ready to face the ridicule of his fellow-centurions by pleading before a Jewish rabbi.

The remote healing: The centurion asked Jesus just to shout a command as the Centurion did with his soldiers, so that the illness might leave his servant by the power of that order. Jesus was moved by his Faith and rewarded the trusting Faith of this Gentile officer by telling him: “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.”

Life messages: 1) We need to grow to the level of Faith of the centurion by knowing and personally experiencing Jesus in our lives. We do so by our meditative daily reading of the Bible, by our daily personal and family prayers, by frequenting the Sacraments, especially the Eucharistic celebration, and by surrendering our lives to Jesus in rendering loving service to others in all humility. 2) Like the centurion we are not worthy to receive Jesus into our hearts in Holy Communion, and at the same time, we invite Jesus to come and heal our souls.(https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 2: Tuesday: Lk 10: 21-24: Lk 10:21-24: 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The context: When the seventy-two disciples returned after successfully completing their mission, Jesus rejoiced with them and thanked his Father, shouting aloud a spontaneous prayer expressing three great thoughts.

1) The first thought is that God hates intellectual pride and loves childlike simplicity and humility. Jesus says that only humble people with open minds can experience him as Lord and Savior.

2) The second thought is about the unique relationship between Jesus and his Father. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal in Being, possessing the same Divine Nature, Life, and Knowledge. Since the Son is no less perfect than the Father, He is uniquely qualified to reveal the inner life of the Trinity to the world. Jesus was sent to show the world what God looks like and how God behaves.

3) The third thought is Jesus’ claim that He is the expected

Messiah Whom the prophets have foretold. Hence, Jesus asserts that his disciples are blessed with the great privilege of seeing, hearing,and experiencing God in human form.

Life Messages : 1) We need to make use of our blessings. We are more blessed than many who lived in Jesus’ time because we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have him with us in the Eucharist, in the Bible, in the worshipping community, and in each one of us as Emmanuel.

2) Hence, let us participate in Jesus’ Divine life by Holy Communion, hear His words by our meditative reading of the Bible, and worship Him as a community of believers. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 3 Wednesday: St. Francis Xavier, priest, Missionary ( For a short biography: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-francis-xavier) Mt 15: 29-37: 29 And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

The context: The Decapolis was a loose federation of ten cities with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. Jesus took six months to travel to the Decapolis via Tyre and Sidon and to return to Galilee. The healing and feeding described in today’s Gospel took place on a hill near the Sea of Galilee after Jesus’ return from the Decapolis. Jesus healed the lame, the maimed, the blind, and the dumb, then expressed His pity for the hungry multitude to the apostles. When they asked Jesus where they were supposed to get enough bread to feed this enormous crowd, He asked how many loaves they had. They told Him, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Jesus had the crowd sit, then took the loaves and fish, gave thanks to God for them, broke them and gave them to the apostles to give to the people. After the crowd had eaten their fill, the apostles, again at Jesus’ command, collected the broken pieces; they filled seven baskets with the fragments.

Life Messages : 1) We need to help Jesus to heal the blind, the lame, the deaf and the mute today. Jesus desires to open our blind eyes and to loosen our tongues so that He may see and speak to the spiritually hungry through us. Jesus asks us for our hearts in order to touch the lives of people in our day through us, just as Jesus touched the lives of millions through saintly souls like Francis of Assisi, Fr. Damien, Vincent de Paul and Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa.).

5) We need to be fed by Jesus. Jesus continues to feed us in his Church with His own Body and Blood in Holy Communion and with the word of God through the Holy Bible. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 4 Thursday: St. John Damacene, Priest, Doctor of the Church: (For a short biography: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-damascene

Mt 7: 21, 24-27: Mt 7: 21-27 “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”

The context:In today’s Gospel, the concluding part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us two warnings: that we must match our profession of Faith with actual obedience to the will of God, and that we must build our life on the firm foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Worship of God without commitment to the word of God is hypocrisy. Sincerity in a Christian can be demonstrated not by what one says alone, but by what one does. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. Thus, today’s Gospel gives us Jesus’ call to authentic discipleship based on the strong foundation of Gospel teaching. Acting on the words of Christ shows the authenticity of one’s Christian commitment. Jesus contrasts a wise man who practices what he believes with a fool who does not practice his religious beliefs, using the images of one man who built his house on firm rock and another who built his house on loose sand in summer. Only a house with solid and firm foundation can resist the storm and flood, and only a person whose life has strong spiritual foundations can stand the test. Building on loose sand is the way to destruction. Thus, the two builders sum up two ways – the way of perfect righteousness and the way of self-righteousness. On the Day of Judgment, the first will stand; the second will fall.

Life Messages: 1) We need to match our practice of the Faith with our profession of it: The test of our Sunday worship is the effect it has during the week in our homes, workplaces, schools, parishes and local communities, as well as on our relationships with friends and neighbors. The litmus test for the genuineness of our practice of Faith is the care and consideration we show to our neighbors, many of whom commonly experience the absence of affection, of words of encouragement and of forgiveness.

2) We need to build our families on strong foundations : There can be no great marriage and no great family without a solid foundation. Such a foundation exists when the husband and wife are the love of Christ for each other and for their children, in deeds as well as in words. Our culture and nation also need strong foundations based on the moral law of God and love of Jesus Christ, and this is possible only if our families are built on these foundations. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 5 Friday: Mt 9: 27-31: 27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ miraculous healing of two blind men who approached him with trusting Faith. Blindness was common in Palestine because of the intense glare of the eastern sun, clouds of unclean flies and people’s ignorance of cleanliness and hygiene. The two blind men followed Jesus from the street all the way to the house Jesus entered, loudly expressing their confidence in the “Son of David” and requesting mercy. Jesus found in these men what was required for receiving a miracle, namely a strong and expectant Faith, an earnest desire for vision and a sincere prayer for mercy. Although they were instructed not to tell anyone of their healing, as soon as they were healed, they immediately expressed their gratitude by bearing witness to Jesus’ healing power throughout the town.

Life messages : 1) We, too, need light and eyesight because we are often blind to the needs and expectations of those around us and even living with us. We are also often blind to the presence of Jesus living in us and in others, to the blessings God showers on us and to the protection God gives us every day. Hence, let us pray for the spiritual eyesight to realize and experience the presence of Jesus in ourselves and others, and for the good will to do good to and for others. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 6 Saturday : St. Nicholas, Bishop (For a short biography: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-nicholas) Mt 9: 35-10:1, 5, 6-8: Mt 9: 35-10: 1, 5, 6-8: 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. 10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. (Cfr. Mt 9: 35- 10: 1)

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the three chief activities of Jesus’ mission — heralding, teaching, and healing — and tells how Jesus selected the twelve apostles as disciples and helpers in his Messianic mission. Jesus was primarily the Herald of God his Father, bringing mankind the Good News that God is a loving, forgiving, merciful, and compassionate Father Who wills that everyone to be saved. Secondly, Jesus was a Teacher and preacher who taught the Gospel, or the Good News of the Kingdom of God, by living an exemplary life, demonstrating God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. Thirdly, Jesus was a Healer, spending much time healing people of their bodily, mental, and spiritual illnesses. The Gospel for today also mentions that Jesus selected ordinary men of no social status as apostles to continue this preaching and healing mission, and gave them both healing power and preaching authority to do so.

Life messages : 1) As Christians, we share Christ’s mission of preaching and healing. This means that we, too, have to demonstrate by our exemplary, transparent Christian lives the mercy, the forgiveness, and the unconditional love of Jesus. 2) We are also called to act as the agents of healing by praying for the sick, by helping them to get the necessary medical and nursing help, and by encouraging them, supporting them and boosting their morale. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Advent I [A] (Nov 30) Sunday Homily: One-page Summary (L-25)

Introduction: Today we begin our yearly pilgrimage through the events of Salvation History starting with the preparation for the birthday celebration of Jesus and ending with the reflection the glorious “second coming” of Jesus as our Judge at the end of the world. We are entering the Advent season. Advent means coming. We are invited to meditate on Jesus’ first coming in history as a baby in Bethlehem, his daily coming into our lives in mystery through the Sacraments, through the Bible, through the worshipping community, and finally, his Second Coming at the end of the world to reward the just and to punish the wicked. We see the traditional signs of Advent in our Church: violet vestments and hangings, dried flowers or plain green plants, and the Advent wreath. These signs remind us that we must prepare for the rebirth of Jesus in our hearts and lives, enabling him to radiate his love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness around us.

Scripture lessons summarized: In the first reading (Is 2:1-5), Isaiah describes his prophetic vision of all nations making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, affirming their Faith in the one true God. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 122), is a joyous hymn originally sung as pilgrims journeyed up to the Temple in Jerusalem. They prepare us for our yearly pilgrimage. In the second reading (Rom 13:11-14), Paul exhorts the Roman Christian community to get ready to meet Jesus in his Second Coming by discharging their duties properly and by freeing themselves from their former pagan tendencies toward excessive drinking, sexual promiscuity, jealousy, and rivalry. We, too, are challenged to make spiritual preparations for Christ’s birth in our lives. In today’s Gospel (Mt 24:37-44), Jesus warns us of the urgency of vigilant preparation on our part that we may meet him as our Judge both at the end of our lives on earth and on the day of the Last Judgment when he comes in his glory. Jesus reminds us that the unrepentant and ill-prepared evil people were destroyed by the flood in the time of Noah and that a thief would break in and plunder the precious belongings of an ill-prepared house owner. Using additional examples later, Jesus repeats his warning for us to be vigilant and well-prepared all the time, doing the will of God by loving Him in Himself and in everyone else.

Life message: 1) We need to be alert and watchful while spiritually preparing for Christmas by offering our daily work to God for His glory, by practicing more self-control in resisting our evil habits and inclinations, by seeking reconciliation daily with God and our fellow-humans, and by asking God’s pardon and forgiveness as we extend our unconditional forgiveness to those who have hurt us. 2) Let us begin each day by praying for the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ rebirth in our hearts and lives.

I  ADVENT [A] (Nov 30th) Is 2:1-5; Rom 13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44                                                                   Homily starter anecdotes # 1: Unheeded warning: Early Sunday morning, June 30, 1974, a hundred young people were dancing to the soul-rock music at Gulliver’s in Port Chester, on the border between New York and Connecticut. Suddenly the place was filled with flames and smoke. In a few minutes 24 were dead, burnt by fire, suffocated by smoke, or crushed in the exit passage by the escaping youngsters. According to the Mayor of Port Chester, the dancing crowd ignored the repeated and frantic warnings given by the band manager when he noticed the smoke. — Today’s second reading passes on to us the warnings given by St. Paul, and today’s Gospel gives Jesus’ warning to be vigilant and prepared for his coming as our Judge.

#2: Doomsday paranoia: The Jehovah’s Witnesses frightened gullible followers at least 3 times during the last century with their “end of the world” predictions – in 1914, 1918 and 1974.  It was in 1978 that the media flashed the shocking news of the mass suicide of 914 men and women from the U.S.A. They belonged to a doomsday cult called the People’s Temple, in Jonestown, Guyana, and they committed suicide at the command of their paranoid leader, Rev. Warren (Jim) Jones. In 1988, Edgar Whisenant, a NASA engineer, used his mathematical skills to set a date for the return of Jesus. He wrote a book called, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Take Place in 1988. In the same year Rev. Colin Deal published a book titled Christ Returns By 1988 – 101 Reasons Why. A very popular book in 1989 was 89 Reasons Why the World will End in 1989. It was in 1995 that the landmark apocalyptic thriller novel, Left Behind, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind)  first of  the series of 16 books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. In chronological order, these are:  The Rising, The Regime, The Rapture, Left Behind, Tribulation Force, Nicolae, Soul Harvest, Apollyon, Assassins, The Indwelling, The Mark,         Desecration, The Remnant, Armageddon, Glorious Appearing, and Kingdom Come. They were published from 1995 to 2007.  Over 62 million copies of the Left Behind series and its related books have been sold, generating $650 million. In October 2005 a big-budget film, Left Behind (https://youtu.be/MUOODCHc-XU)n, based on this novel series, was released and shown in all Evangelical Christian parishes. The film Omega Code, released in October 1999 (in time for the Millennium?), was an independent movie funded by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Evangelical Christian TV network in the U.S. It was promoted by a team of 2,400 U.S. Evangelical pastors.  The plot involves a portrayal of the rapture, when “born again” and “saved” Christians, both alive and dead, are supposed to fly up in the air to meet Jesus on his Second Coming.  Omega Code was rated in the top 10 grossing movies for October 1999. This is how modern man reacts to the end of the world.  — Today’s readings remind us that we need to be well prepared and always ready to meet Jesus at all times, either at the end of our lives or at the end of the world, whichever comes first, without getting panicky.

#3: Advent wreath and Advent candles: History: One of the most recognizable Catholic symbols of the Advent season is the Advent wreath.  It symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western Church. The concept of the Advent wreath originated in pre-Christian times when people would gather evergreens and light candles to ward off the darkness of winter and serve as a sign of hope that spring would come. By the 16th century, Catholics in Germany began using the wreath as a sign of Christ’s coming. From there the tradition slowly spread throughout the world as Germans immigrated to various countries. Symbolism of the Wreath: The circular wreath represents the fact that God has no beginning and no end. The evergreen branches stand for everlasting life. Four candles—representing Christ as the light of the world—adorn the wreath. Traditionally, three of the candles are purple, a sign of penance. (Sometimes the three candles are blue.) These candles are lit on the first, second and fourth weeks of Advent. On the third week a rose candle is lit. This week is known as “Gaudete” Sunday, Latin for “rejoice.” The rose candle symbolizes joy. (Make sure to check out the priest’s vestments at Mass on this Sunday. They might be rose to match the rose candle that you will be lighting.) In addition to these four candles, many people place a white candle in the center of their Advent wreath. This candle is called the Christ candle and is lit on Christmas Day to represent the birth of Christ. The candles should be lit each day of the appropriate week and for the subsequent weeks. For example, during the third week you will light two purple candles and the rose one. ( https://www.franciscanmedia.org/advent-wreath-a-popular-symbol/)

Introduction: The readings in the early Sundays of Advent always carry forward the “end of the world” theme from the last Sundays of the previous year, — the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Feast of Christ the King, the 34^thand final Sunday of the Liturgical year. These two weeks end each Liturgical year, joining it to the approaching one. Today is the first Sunday of Advent, Cycle A, the “Sunday of Hope” in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, through whom God has promised to save and redeem His people. Today we begin our yearly re-enactment of the drama of our salvation, starting with the mystery of the Incarnation (Christmas) and culminating with the celebration of Christ’s ultimate victory (Christ the King). Each Liturgical  Year, we make a new pilgrimage with a new Evangelist for our guide. Cycle A gives us the Gospel of St. Matthew, Cycle B, St. Mark, and Cycle C, Luke. Our Evangelist takes us through the scenes and events of our history of salvation.  Advent is a time for looking both backward and forward.  We look backward as we prepare to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus. At the same time, we look forward to his Second Coming, as we prepare ourselves to welcome him into all areas of our lives during the Advent season.  In the Eucharistic Acclamation we profess our faith in Jesus’ Second Coming: “We proclaim Your Death, O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection until You come again”; and in the Creed we proclaim our belief that “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.” One Bible scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament and 318 references in the New Testament. We see the traditional signs of Advent in our Church: violet vestments and hangings, no flowers, only green plants in the Sanctuary, and the Advent wreath. We light a candle on this wreath each Sunday until all four are lit.   These signs remind us that we are waiting for the rebirth of Jesus in our hearts and lives in love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness. Let us remember that Advent is at once a celebration of the Christ who was, who is and always will be. In other words, Christ has come once, he will come again; indeed, Christ has never left, but is continually present in his Church.

The first reading, Isaiah (2:1-5) explained:  Isaiah reports his prophetic vision of all nations gathering on Mount Zion, as described also by Micah (4:1-3), using the image of pilgrimage. The prophet looks forward to the time when the Covenant between God and His people will be extended to all people, and the Temple in Jerusalem will be the worshipping place for all mankind, so that all may live in peace and harmony with God and their fellow-humans. In the late eighth century BC, God’s people were already divided into a northern kingdom called Israel, and a southern kingdom known as Judah.  Israel had fallen under Assyrian rule, while Judah and its capital Jerusalem were in danger of being conquered by Babylon.  In the vision of Isaiah, however, Judah is shown as the place to which all nations will come for “instructions in righteous living.” (Zion in Jerusalem was the holy mountain where Solomon’s Temple had stood).  The result will be universal peace.  The Lord will mediate all disputes among nations, and “they shall beat their swords into plowshares.” The prophet reveals to his audience the radical notion that God might love other nations in addition to Judah. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 122) is a joyous hymn originally meant to be sung as pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem, the site of the Temple, the dwelling place of God on earth. As we sing the Psalm today, it invites us to look longingly toward Christmas, the feast that celebrates the Incarnation of God among us.

The second reading (Romans 13:11-14) explained:  In this reading, Paul’s exhortation to the Roman Christians shows them, and us, how to bring about Isaiah’s vision of peace. Because of its concentration on the Parousia, or the Second Coming of Jesus, the Christian community was neglecting its actual day-to-day duties. The Jewish Christians among them lived according to the Law of Moses, a moral code which even pagans admired.  But the Gentile Christians were not yet fully free from the “orgies, drunkenness, promiscuity and lust” of their pagan days.  Hence, Paul advises them: “Conduct yourselves properly.” He warns them against “orgies and drunkenness…promiscuity and lust.” He condemns their “rivalry and jealousy” and advises them to get ready to meet Jesus at his Second Coming.  Paul believes that Jesus’ Second Coming will be a day of salvation only for those who are already acting in a proper manner. We, too, must act as pilgrims, entering wholeheartedly into our yearly pilgrimage through salvation history, leaving behind whatever might hinder our progress, and accepting whatever hardships our journey might entail.

Gospel exegesis: The context: Matthew’s audience was mostly made up of Jewish converts to Christianity. These Christians were ridiculed and ostracized by their Jewish friends who had not accepted Christ as the Messiah, and they wondered why some Jews were selected to become Christians and others not. To clear their doubts, Matthew quotes Jesus in today’s Gospel, suggesting the apparently arbitrary nature of the election on the last day. Just as at the time of the Deluge, Noah and his small family were spared while others perished, so shall it be at “the end.” The emphasis on the unpredictability of election may have helped Matthew’s Jewish Christian audience to deal with the fact that many of their fellow-Christians were recently despised Gentiles. This apocalyptic section of Matthew’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple, and goes on to Christ’s   Second Coming, and the signs preceding both.  Jesus answers the disciples by giving them signs of the end of the age (24:3-8), foretelling persecutions (24:9-14), and recalling the sacrilege prophesied by Daniel (24:15-28).  Jesus also tells the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree (24:32-35), in which he warns his disciples to be alert and prepared.

The need for preparedness: The consistent warning in today’s Gospel text is that we should be prepared for the coming of the master.  Our text indicates that the end will seem to be a peaceful and normal time, with people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and working in their homes or businesses.  In this routine normal life, it might be easy to forget the “coming of the Son of Man.”   In a reference to the story of Noah, Jesus says that the sin of the people was placing too much emphasis on the normal cares and necessities of life.  They were too concerned with eating and drinking – just as we are during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays.  Jesus reminds us that there is something more important than feasts or weddings: the Son of Man will come to us unexpectedly, either at our death or at the end of the world, and that could be at any moment.   Since God will show up without an appointment, we must be prepared at all times.

The “Rapture.” The reading from Romans contains a disputed reference to the so-called “rapture,” an event in which, it is supposed, some people will be taken up from life on earth directly into the air to meet the returning Christ.  This concept of “dispensationalism,” proposed by Rev. Nelson Darby an Irish Anglican lawyer-pastor in A.D. 1800, is a misinterpretation, however.   The belief in the Rapture is rooted in the fourth and fifth chapters of 1 Thessalonians, which are placed into an elaborate chronology of “end-time” events based on other passages from Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24. In this scheme, the Rapture was called the “day of the Lord” which would come like “a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). After this secret removal of believers would come the rise of the Antichrist and the placement of the “Mark of the Beast” on his followers during seven years of Tribulation. At the end of those seven years, the second coming of Christ and Armageddon, the final battle between good and evil, would take place. The passage in Matthew (24:40-41), does, indeed, talk about some people being “taken” and some being “left behind,” but the word for “taken” (paralambanomai) means, not “to go up” but rather “to go along with.”  It isn’t a magical word about the “born again and saved” people floating up in the air as many of our Protestant brothers believe.  It is much more like Jesus’ words to the apostles by the Sea of Galilee: “follow me” or “come along with me.”

We need to be alert even while we work: The man working in the field and the woman working at the mill will be “left”, because they won’t leave their work.  True enough – work is important.  We need to provide food and shelter for ourselves and our families.  But there is something more important than our work: the coming of the Son of Man. God will arrive unexpectedly. We don’t know when a thief might break into our house, so we are prepared for him at all times.  We lock our doors and windows.  We leave a light on when we’re gone. We put in an alarm system. We insure our possessions.  We do these things now because a thief could come at some unknown time.  Hence, especially during this busy Christmas season, we must keep our daily life centered on Christ.

How do we prepare for the unexpected coming of the Son of Man?  In Jesus’ parable, we have an example of the proper and improper methods of waiting.  The faithful slave who, with sincerity and good management, has faithfully carried out his master’s instructions to ensure the welfare of his fellow-slaves (20:26-27), is always ready for his master’s coming. In contrast, the wicked servant is primarily concerned with power, food and drink.  The master is the image for Jesus.   To be prepared for his coming (Mt 24:3, 36-43), we must be obedient to the Divine will, which means that our actions must serve the community.  The question we might ask is: “Am I being faithful and wise in caring for others while waiting for Christ’s return?”  The text reminds us that our preparation for the Incarnation of our Lord is only one aspect of our Advent preparation, and not necessarily the most important.  Let us remind ourselves of our need to be prepared for our Lord’s return in judgment without “doomsday paranoia” on the one hand or complacency on the other.

Life messages: 1) We need to be alert and watchful while spiritually preparing for Christmas a) by beginning each day by praying for the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ rebirth in our lives. b) by offering our daily work to God for His glory, c) by practicing more self-control in resisting our evil habits and inclinations, d) by seeking reconciliation daily with God and our fellow humans. e) and by asking God’s pardon and forgiveness as f) we extend our unconditional forgiveness to those who have hurt us and g) by trying to see the face of Jesus in everyone we meet today and h) sharing with them Jesus’ sacrificial love, mercy, forgiveness and selfless service.

2) We need to have an Advent project to become alert and watchful in the spirit of today’s Gospel.  Every morning when we get up, let us pray, “Lord, show me someone today with whom I may share your love, mercy and forgiveness.”  St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), once said, “Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus.”  Every night when we go to bed, let us ask ourselves, “Where have I found Christ today?”  The answer will be God’s Advent gift to us that day. By being alert and watchful, we’ll be getting an extra gift:  Christ himself.  There is a saying about being saved which goes back to St. Thomas Aquinas: “Without God, I can’t.  Without me, He won’t.”  

2) We need to be wakeful and watchful: We are so future-oriented that we frequently forget the present entirely.  We spend too much time trying to protect ourselves against future misfortunes.  We save for a rainy day, to get married, to buy a home, to send the children to college, to retire in comfort and to protect ourselves against future misfortunes with varieties of insurance.  But we need to be more spiritually wakeful to prepare for our eternal life.  Let us make this Advent season the time of such preparation.

 

JOKES OF THE WEEK: #1: Shirt over the wings: Grandma Martha was scolding her little grandson on his failure to go to church on a Sunday. “You will never get into Heaven the way you are going today,” she told him. “Well, Granny, the reason that I don’t go is I got a problem. I can’t for the life of me figure how I’m gonna get my shirt on over those wings I’ll have on my way to Heaven.” “Never mind about shirts,” said the grandma. “The question in your case is how are you gonna get your hat on over those horns which the bad boys get when they are taken to hell?”

  #2: End of the World News Reactions: God finally had had enough and decided to end the world. However, He wanted to warn the people. He decided to call the three most influential people of the world.  He therefore summoned Donald Trump, Xi Jinping (President of China), and Bill Gates into one room and told them of His plan and asked them to go out and inform the world. President Trump immediately appeared on CNN news and told the U.S., “I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that God congratulated me for standing for religious and moral principles.  The bad news is that He is going to end the world and I won’t be able to finish my second term and bring back full prosperity to our country.” Jiang Zemin went to the Communist network and told his people: “I have bad news and worse news.  The bad news is that, despite what we have taught all these years, there IS a God. The worse news is that He is upset.  He is about to end the world.” Bill Gates turned to the Internet and informed the world: “I have good news and better news.  The good news is that God thinks I am one of the three most influential people on earth… The better news is that Microsoft need not upgrade its WINDOWS anymore.

#3) Search Google: One Sunday after Church, a mother was talking to her young daughter. She told her daughter that, according to the Bible, Jesus will return to earth someday. “When is he coming back?” the daughter asked. “I don’t know,” replied the mother. “Can’t you look it up on the Internet?” the little girl asked. [Jeff Totten, “The Lord’s Laughter,” Joyful Noiseletter (Jan. 2004), p. 2.]

USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

1)     Fr. Nick’s collection of Sunday homilies from 65 priests & weekday homilies:https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  

2)      Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s beautiful & scholarly video classes & texts on Sunday gospel, Bible & RCIA topics:   https://sundayhomilies.au/homilies

3)      Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org/featured-homilies/ (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)

 4)     Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle A Sunday Scripture for Bible Class:https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-

5) Lectio Divina daily gospel reflections: http://ocarm.org/en/lectio-divina

6)     Agape Catholic Bible Lessons: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/

7) The Catholic Internet Directory— http://www.catholic-church.org/cid/

8) USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/jeD46G-Be5I?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9  & USCCB Resources: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/index.cfm

9)    Children’s sermons: http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/s-children.php 

10)  Catholics in Action: http://catholic.org/

11)  Catholic Engine: http://www.everythingcatholic.com/1024/default.asp  

12) Biblical basis of Catholic doctrines: http://scripturecatholic.com/

13) Pope Benedict on Advent: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091128_vespri-avvento.html

Where are the pictures? The pictures are not given in my website- edition because of the new copy-right regulations.  However, if you want  pictures, please click on https://cbci.in/SundayReflectionsNew.aspx?&id=cG2JDo4P6qU=&type=text  uploaded at the beginning of the week, or my emailed homilies. Fr. Tony

20 Additional anecdotes 

1) Cry the Beloved Country: Alan Paton was a South African writer. Among the books he wrote was the haunting story, Cry the Beloved Country, which poignantly described the situation in South Africa under apartheid. Paton had a dream. He dreamt of a new day for his beloved South Africa, a day in which there would be justice and equality for all. For this reason, he entered politics, and fought to end the iniquitous system of apartheid. For decades, he followed his dream and worked generously and courageously to make it a reality. — It was a dream that many said would not be realized. Yet it was, though unfortunately Paton did not live to see it. He died before the dawn. The prophet Isaiah had an even bolder dream, a prophetic vision of universal brotherhood and peace. Isaiah’s vision was a splendid one. It would only be realized by the coming of the Lord Jesus. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies).

2) Left Behind: (https://youtu.be/2jhMj5vCtrA) The scene is the interior of a Boeing 747 in the wee hours of morning. The plane is somewhere over the Atlantic en route to London. The captain leaves his cockpit and strolls down the aisle intending to flirt with the senior flight attendant. She is in shock. People are missing. They have vanished, leaving shoes, socks, clothes, jewelry-everything behind. An elderly lady, sitting in first class, cries as she holds her husband’s sweater and pants. She has been left behind. (V 40: Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill, one will be taken and the other left.)  So begins Left Behind, the first novel of the immensely popular fiction series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Sixteen volumes are now on the market with 62 million copies sold for $650 million, along with a movie, web site, calendar, and survivor kits for children and youth. Tyndale publishers tripled their company’s profits in two years.  — But the truth is that Left Behind is fiction, not fact. It has more to do with finances than faith. Its miracle lies in its marketing, not its theology. “The Rapture,” on which the whole series is built, is the remote idea that believers will somehow be caught up in the clouds with Jesus to avoid the great persecution spreading over the earth. Matthew knows nothing about “rapture.” He passes on Jesus’ message about end-times. Just read the text. In Verse 36 we read, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Who of us is smarter than Jesus? Jesus didn’t even know. Why should we try to second guess the Savior? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/end-times-election-result_b_777865.html)

 3) The Judgment Day: President John F. Kennedy was very fond of a particular story which he often used to close his speeches during his 1960 presidential campaign. It is the story of Colonel Davenport, Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives back in the year 1789.  One day, while the House was in session, the sky of Hartford suddenly grew dark and gloomy. Some of the Evangelical House representatives looked out the windows and thought this was a sign that the end of the world had come.  Uproar ensued, with the representatives calling for immediate adjournment.  But Davenport rose and said, “Gentlemen, the Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not.  If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment.  If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty.  Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.”  Candles were brought and the session continued. — Today’s readings contain the same message: we always need to be prepared to receive Jesus at his second coming by accepting him now as our personal savior and doing now what he has commanded us to do.

4) Additional end-time predictions: People have been predicting the end of the world since the first century. St. Paul thought Christ would return in his lifetime. Hippolytus, one of the early philosophers, predicted Christ would return in 500 A.D. In 960, German theologian, Bernard of Thuringia, calculated the end of the world would come in 992. Some were so sure the world was going to end in 1000 A.D. that they did not bother to plant crops. Astrologer, Johann Stoffler, said the world would be flooded on February 20, 1524. Solomon Eccles, in 1665, ran through the streets of London carrying blazing sulfur on his head announcing that the world was going to go up in flames within the year. In 1874, Charles Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, concluded that Christ had already returned, but people would have another forty years of grace. In 1914, the denomination was forced to revise its timetable. Herbert Armstrong, in his publication, Plain Truth, set the date for the end of the world as January 7, 1972. The Year 2000, and more specifically, the projected Y2K computer problem, caused many to think, “The end is at hand.” Some people made statements such as “A United Nations world-takeover is imminent” and “Y2K will be the event that they use.” Some even claimed that Jesus spoke of Y2K in His Olivet Discourse, using Luke 21:25 as justification: “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves.”

On September 12th of 2001, a false quotation of the 16th century French astrologer, Nostradamus, spread across the Internet, saying, “Metal birds, striking twin brothers, will mark the end of the world.” The Bible says our times are in God’s hands. We think in minutes. God thinks in millennia. Psalm 90:4 states, “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day.” Martin Luther said in the 1500’s, “We have reached the time of the white horse of the apocalypse; this world can’t last any longer.” On April 3, 1843, one-half million Seventh Day Adventists waited for the end of the world. Some even climbed mountains hoping for a head start to Heaven.  (http://www.tnnonline.net/tribnews/paranoia/milmadness/index.html)

5) More end-time fixations:  End-time fixations are not exclusive manifestations of ancient communities. On October 23, 1844, thousands of Christians sold their earthly possessions, dressed in white robes, climbed to the tops of the highest mountains they could find, climbed to the tippy-tops of trees to get even higher, and waited for Jesus to return. They had been told this was the date by William Miller, a farmer from western New York who dabbled in apocalypticism which led him to declare this as the date of Jesus’ return based on his exegesis of the Scriptures. When no one went anywhere but down the mountain, he announced a calculation error. The real date was to be six months later, which also came and went as his followers now went . . . away . . . for good. Jim Jones was another apocalyptic leader. In the 1970s he moved his People’s Temple Full Gospel Church from San Francisco to Guyana, where he could wait for the end-times by creating a community that would live as if the end-times had already occurred. On November 18, 1978, Jim Jones and 911 of his followers ended their wait for the end-times by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. Other apocalyptic communities, from Mother Ann Lee’s Shakers to John Humphrey Noyes’ Oneida Community, sublimated their end-times energies into crafting Shaker furniture and Oneida silverware, respectively. — Jesus’ words to his disciples this morning warn us against such idle speculations or apocalypticism.  [Apocalypticism can be defined as the learning and lore of sages and scholars concerning the consummation of time, the coming Day of the Lord, the return of the Son of Man.]

6) Still more Doomsday bluffing: Anticipating the end of the world in 1975, twenty-four men, women, and children from Grannis, Arkansas, moved into one tiny house and waited there for ten months. The end did not come as they had expected, and they were evicted for not paying their rent. In 1986 a man named Richard Kieninger of Garland, Texas, organized a group of people to survive the calamities of the end of time. On May 5, 2000, Kieninger’s followers planned to witness the last day from a dirt pile. Similarly, in 1525, a German preacher named Stoeffler predicted the end of the world by flood. All of his parishioners built boats and rafts to survive the end. When the flood did not come, they threw Herr Stoeffler into a deep pond. Such was the case on October 22, 1844. The followers of William Miller, a farmer turned preacher, donned white ascension robes and waited on a hilltop for the Second Coming of Christ. When Christ did not come, they adjusted their beliefs and formed what is now known as the Seventh Day Adventist Church. — Jesus said that we should not wait by trying to guess the date: “But of that day and hour, no one knows, not  even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt 24:36). He wanted his followers to be ready for the day of the coming of the Lord. He said that we must be ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour we least expect. Jesus’ call is clear. He calls his followers to expect the end to come at any moment.

7) Christ is coming; be prepared: When the bi-partisan 9/11 commission made their final report to Congress, they begin their report with these words. “September 11, was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States. The nation was unprepared. …. The 9/11 attacks were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise.” What follows is a long list of warning signs that were generally ignored by the Clinton and Bush administrations in their pursuit of other matters. Things have changed since then. Now the unofficial creed of the American Homeland war on terror is, “Be Vigilant, Be Watchful, and Be Prepared.” We must not be caught off-guard again. — There are Christians who approach the coming of Christ the way the government deals with the war on terror. They ring out a danger and they announce a warning. With concern, they say, “You’d better get ready, you’d better watch out, because before you know it Christ will come.”

8) Jesus is the living Lord who will come again:  To live by Faith also means we will do what we can to offset the threat of the annihilation of life on earth, first of all, by registering our outrage at the atrocities that war, by itself, inflicts upon people. Not many of us can afford to do what Joan Kroc, the widow of the founder of McDonald’s fast-food chain, did just after Memorial Day had been celebrated in 1985. She bought full page advertisements in newspapers and had the following quote from the late former-President Dwight D. Eisenhower printed beside his picture in his military uniform: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children … This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.” — Beyond our voiced or written objections to the arms race or the bomb race, it is for us Christians, as the expression of our Faith in God, to do the good works of love and mercy by feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, telling people the Good News in Jesus Christ, for these are incumbent upon anyone who believes Jesus is the living Lord who will come again. [George M. Bass, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, (CSS Publishing Company, 1986), 0-89536-817-X]

9) “Does anybody really care?” The musical group, Chicago, recorded a song several years ago asking, “Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?”  — When it comes to predicting the end of the world, Jesus says, nobody knows what time it is but God, so why should the rest of us try to learn it?  We need to live our lives as if the end will happen today, loving and serving God in one another as well as in Himself.

10) “He’ll find me hoeing cotton when he comes.” There is a beautiful Afro-American Spiritual song about waiting for the Lord’s second coming doing one’s duty faithfully:

There’s a king and a captain high, and he’s coming by and by
And he’ll find me hoeing cotton when he comes.
You can hear his legions charging, the regions of the sky
And he’ll find me hoeing cotton when he comes.

11) Saints and end-times: St. Francis of Assisi, Saint of Nature, was hoeing his garden one day. A philosopher friend approached him and asked, “What would you do if you learned you would die before the sun sets?” St. Francis reflected for a moment and replied, “I would finish hoeing my garden. I would be faithful to what I am doing now.” Bonhoeffer was asked by critics, “Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day and all your work and suffering will be for nothing.” Bonhoeffer said, “If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I will rest from my labors, but today I have work to do. I must continue the struggle until I am finished.”

12) Wake up and stay awake: Ever since the attack on the World Trade center in New York on Sept 11, 2001 there have been nonstop warnings to be alert to possible terrorist attacks. In U. S. airports repeated public announcements from Homeland Security advise whether the level of alert is yellow, orange or red. People are asked to be vigilant. — Today’s second and third readings want us to move to red alert. Paul wants the Romans to wake up, and Jesus warns us to stay awake. (Sr. Dr. Barbara E. Reid, NT professor at CTU, Chicago).

13) We ought to look ahead: John Osborne’s novel Look Back in Anger dealt with the disillusionment a man faced in his youth, due to inequality and unfairness in society. Looking back is less popular today; the modern tendency is rather to Look Ahead, and many pundits are happy to forecast our future. — Conservationists, Ecologists, Demographers, City Planners, Sociologists, Actuaries and Life-Insurance agents. All this peering into half-foreseeable social facts is useful, up to a point. As rational people, we ought to look ahead, and make plans for future contingencies. Jeremiah … prophesies that God will fulfill his promise of a Savior. He looks to a time when Judah will enjoy God’s peace and protection because of the birth of “the Lord [Who] is our righteousness.” (Biblical IE)

14) Waiting for Godot: Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot focuses on two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon. They sit around waiting for the coming of a mysterious person known only as Godot. As they wait for him, they try to recall what their meeting is all about. They know that it is important and that their future depends on Godot’s arrival, but that is all that they can remember. Then two other characters appear on the stage. Vladimir and Estragon are not sure if either one is Godot since they do not know how to recognize him. As the play ends Vladimir and Estragon are left alone on a dark and empty stage, still waiting for Godot to come. — Today’s liturgy ushers the season of ADVENT during which the Church celebrates our Lord’s coming in three ways: first, in past history, when He was born a man; second, in the present time, when He comes at Christmas; third, in the future, when He will return at the end of time. In a sense, this final and future coming of Christ is a process, one that will begin for us personally when we die and time will end for us. For the moment, we are still living in a “mean-time,” that is, the time between Christ’s coming in past history to share our humanity and his coming in the future to lead us into glory. Lest our waiting in “mean-time” be empty and meaningless, as it seemed to be for Vladimir and Estragon in Beckett’s play, we celebrate an Advent culminating in a Christmas each year to recall why and for Whom we are waiting. Another purpose of Advent is to teach us how to recognize the Lord’s coming – in the duties we carry out, or the things that happen to us, or in the people we meet. — During Advent we need to discipline ourselves to see Christ in everyone and in every situation. Our waiting then will not be one of frustration, but rather one of readiness and anticipation. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

15) Be Awake: A man came to Buddha and asked him, “Tell me Buddha, are you a God?” “No, I am not a god.” “Are you an angel?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a prophet?” “No, not a prophet either.”  “What are you then?” Whereupon Buddha answered. “I am awake.” — Most of us are not awake. We are always in slumber. We are not aware of our own thoughts, feelings and actions. We function most of the time, like an automaton. The enlightened are those who are aware and awake. (G. Francis Xavier in Inspiring Stories; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

16) “They have plenty of time.” Student devils were being dispatched to the earth to finish their training. Satan interviewed them. To the first: “How will you operate?” Said he: “I will instruct people God does not exist.” The Devil shook his head: “Most know our Enemy exists.” The next said: “I will argue Hell does not exist.” Satan was annoyed: “After all the wars and millions of abortions, people know Hell exists.” The last said: “I will tell all they have plenty of time.” Satan beamed: “Good woman. Do that and you’ll bring people down here by the billions. Why can’t these male devils be as clever as you?” (Adapted from Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis)

17) Wake-up call:  God’s wake-up call can come to people in different ways and will mean different things to different people. In Mexico in the diocese of Bishop Samuel Ruiz almost 80% of the population was indigenous. The Bishop has become known as “the defender of the Indians.” But it wasn’t always like that. In a talk given in Westminster Cathedral in Lent 1996, Bishop Ruiz said: “For twenty years I was like a sleeping fish. I had my eyes open but saw nothing. I was just proud to be in the diocese where the churches were crowded. Then one day I saw an Indian tied to a tree being whipped by his boss, because he had refused to work an extra eight hours.” That incident opened the bishop’s eyes and he began to look. What he saw being done to his people spurred him into action. He got involved in negotiations with the Zapato rebels and the Mexican government.  — One of the phrases we often use is, “It dawned on me.” In this way we recognize that it is not enough to be physically awake. We need to be awake socially, morally and spiritually. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies)

18) When did you last sharpen your life? There was this very strong woodcutter who asked for a job with a timber merchant and got it. The wages the timber merchant paid were really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day the woodcutter brought 18 trees. “Congratulations,” the boss said.  “Go on that way.” Very motivated by the words of the boss, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder but brought only 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. “I must be losing my strength,” the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying he could not understand what was going on. “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” The boss asked. “Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees….” — We may have been busy with so many things, we may have neglected our spiritual life. Like the axe that needs sharpening, we also need to sharpen our spirit. Let us sharpen our spirit this Advent by becoming more loving, more prayerful, more compassionate, more generous and more faithful. Life is not about finding yourself! Life is about allowing the Holy Spirit to recreate you! Advent is God’s marvelous gift to all of us. Let us allow this season to unfold slowly and nicely. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Lord; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

19) Rearranging Deck Chairs? On the night of April 15, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank. Over 1,500 people lost their lives in one of the worst sea disasters in history. A few years ago, a magazine recalled the great disaster and asked its readers this shocking – almost blasphemous – question: “If we’d been on the Titanic when it sank, would we have rearranged the deck chairs?” At first we say to ourselves, “What a ridiculous question! No one in his right mind would ignore wailing sirens on a sinking ship and rearrange its deck chairs! No one with an ounce of sanity would ignore the shouts of drowning people and keep rearranging deck chairs!” But as we continue to read the magazine, we see the reason for the strange question. — And suddenly we ask ourselves, “Are we, perhaps, rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship?”   For example, are we so caught up with material things in life that we are giving a backseat to spiritual things? Are we so busy making a living that we are forgetting the purpose of life? Are we so taken up with life that we are forgetting why God gave us life?  (Mark Link in Sunday Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

20) Warning of tornados and typhoons. Residents of the southern United States, eastern Mexico and the Caribbean are visited annually by fierce storms called hurricanes. Similar storms generated in the Pacific Ocean are called typhoons. These storms usually occur during the months of June to November and provide an opportunity for residents of these areas to be on a “first-name-basis” (pun intended) with the incredible forces of nature. Because of the development of highly sensitive meteorological instruments, hurricanes (and typhoons) can be detected at their point of origin and tracked with an astonishing degree of accuracy. Consequently, residents in the path of the storm can be forewarned; this enables them to make the necessary preparations which include boarding up windows, mooring boats, stocking up on water, batteries, and non-perishable foods and, — in the event that a strong storm is expected to make land fall nearby –, to evacuate the area. In spite of the fact that they have been duly warned of the impending danger, there are always a few who literally throw caution to the winds and ignore the advice given them. Others flaunt a cavalier attitude and claim that they can “ride out” the storm. Needless to say, some of these daring individuals have proven to be no match for the storm and have perished during its onslaught. Evidently there were some in Jesus’ day, as well as in the primordial days of Noah who were similarly unimpressed and unresponsive to warnings concerning divine intervention. Because of this, they were ill-prepared and therefore susceptible to harsh judgment. — In today’s Gospel, believers are given fair warning. Unlike a storm which can be predicted and tracked, and unlike the shopping days left before Christmas which can be subjected to a countdown, the Son of Man will appear unannounced and unexpected. The only antidote to this realization is to live in a constant state of preparedness, alert to his overtures, mindful of his challenges, aware and responsive to his daily calls to discipleship. (Sanchez Files). L/25 
 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No. 1)

 Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C  & A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in.  (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507 is my post-retirement Land mail contact address.