Sunday, December 29, 2013

Holy Family Homily

This past Wednesday we celebrated with great joy the reality of a love so great that God was willing to take on human flesh in the second person of the Holy Trinity. Today we continue to dwell with this glimpse of love by directing our attention towards the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. These three individuals show to us the true meaning of responding to one's vocation in life and thus accepting it to its fullest. We have heard time and time again that we live in the midst of a vocation crisis. I want to echo this notion because it is true. Here I am not only speaking about vocations to the priesthood & religious life, but also about the sacrament of marriage and thus the living out of the family. For us to rediscover our vocation we must begin with God and His will in our life. We cannot solely base a vocation upon the passing untested feeling of "love." Once we respond to a vocation with our life we must all constantly reconnect ourselves not to the passing world, but to God. It is in God that we will discover true love.
In our world we see the breakdown of being able to commit ourselves to a vocation. Instead of a vocation, such as marriage, being an unending covenant between a man and a woman it has become something that can be entered into and out of at one's own will. Instead of being able to embrace pure conjugal love which truly connects a man and a woman to God our culture embraces passion as an end in itself. In recent years there has been a desire to redefine marriage because we see our vocation as a feeling and not as something that opens us up to the giving of life. Our world has become so busy with work and our own interests that we often forget about the importance of coming together as a family to enter into prayer. We get so caught up in the rush of the world that we forget about our vocation always leading us to Heaven. We also forget in this rush the many people whom we encounter through our vocation, be they a spouse or a child, and how we should also be leading them to Heaven.
And so with these many stumbling blocks placed in our way we look towards the Holy Family. In the Holy Family we see a response to a vocation made out of true love and we see how this plays itself out in the life of the family. We know that all three members of the Holy Family would give their "yes" to God time and time again. Mary gave her "yes" to an angel which allowed the second person of the Holy Trinity to enter into the world. Joseph gave his "yes" through his response of doing what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. Jesus would give His "yes" through entering into His public ministry and eventual passion, death, and resurrection. Their "yes" was not given out of obtaining wordily pleasure, but instead was given for the glory of God. The Holy Family leads us with the example of living out the virtues, that marriage is indeed a sacred and stable institution, that life is not something to be feared, that we must be connected to God in prayer, and that all us have a vocation to which we must respond to with our own unending "yes."
We can say that the Holy Family is the perfect place to begin to design the "domestic church" of our own homes. The "domestic church" goes hand in hand with the teachings of the Church and hands them on to all family members involved. This means attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on every single Sunday because the Eucharist must be central to the family life. This means realizing that we are all sinful and thus coming to lineup in the confessional line as a family. This means taking time out of the busy schedule of the day to pray as a family, to study Sacred Scripture, and the teachings of the Church. This means being an example and enforcer of the virtues to our own family and all those whom we encounter. This means promoting the reality of the "yes" that we must all give to God to follow our vocation in life. 
If we truly want to pass on the faith to our children, to get one another to Heaven, or to reform society's understanding of marriage and thus the family life we must reestablish the "domestic church" as based upon the Holy Family. The following excerpt comes from Father Brett Brannen's "To save a Thousand Souls" and is written for the purpose of priesthood discernment. I believe this short story leaves us with the purpose of any vocation which of course should be exhibited within the family life. Let us also pay close attention to its closing statement because this is where any vocation should be leading us.: 

"John, what will you be doing when you grow up? " I replied, "Monsignor, I am still not certain but thinking about going into medicine. I would like to become a doctor." And the pastor replied, "Good. Good. And what will you do after that?" I said, "Well I suppose I will marry and have a family of my own." The priest said, "Good, and what after that?" Not sure exactly where he was going with this line of questioning, I replied, "I guess I will grow old, practicing medicine and eventually retire. And then I guess I will die and go to heaven." The pastor nodded his head knowingly, thoughtfully and he was quiet for a few seconds. Then he looked at me earnestly and said, "And who will you bring with you into heaven?"

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Mass at Dawn Homily

Pope Francis stated in his apostolic exhortation that: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."
For all of us who are gathered here this morning these are important words for us to meditate upon as we enter into this Christmas season. It seems that every time that we turn around that something negative is being uttered against the Church or Christianity within the media. Despite this it seems that the media has always been enamored with the Church and the papacy especially when it comes to anything done by our current Holy Father, Francis. Under Francis we have a pope who is not saying anything new or going against traditional Church teachings, but instead has given us a glimpse into simplicity and a true concern for the human person especially the poor. Because of these charisms he has challenged many people to discover or to rediscover the Church. He is a reminder that when we encounter Jesus we in return will always be born anew. In other words our faith cannot be stale like an old piece of bread, but instead our relationship with Christ should be equal to any freshly baked bread. In this joyful encounter we are always born anew.
In our Gospel we find shepherds who encountered the joy of Christ's birth. Unlike the magi who came in their richness; they came from the lower rungs of society. These shepherds were caught going about the mundane tasks of everyday life, which as we can understand gets pretty boring. Nevertheless they had an amazing encounter with angels who led them towards the crib of the Messiah. The life of these shepherds through this divine encounter would always be born anew. They would always have the joy of this encounter moving them forward into their daily tasks. Due to this encounter nothing could possibly be boring again because they gained a true understanding for the meaning of life. They went away from the crib transformed in joy and thus they used every opportunity allotted to them to believe and to evangelize.
We to have been drawn to this crib on this morning for some reason. Maybe we have had this encounter that the shepherds have experienced and therefore we live out the faith each day with joy, maybe we are here solely out of the obligation of it being Christmas, maybe we are here out of obligation to our parents, or maybe we are here because we have a longing to find the truth that the shepherds were in search for. I firmly believe that all of us here are in search for that truth if we want to acknowledge it or not. We are all sick of the mundane and moving around in the boredom of everyday life. We all have a longing to feel complete and appreciated and only at the manger of our Lord will we find that purpose which will give joy to our lives. From the bedside of the crib our lives will be born anew and we will desire to model our life after the shepherds in their desire to grow in their belief and to go forth and evangelize.
And so what was it that they encountered that brought so much joy into their lives? What was it that they glimpsed that set them into the world born anew? What they found was a baby laying inside of a manger with Joseph and Mary. They came to find in this place that they had been led towards not just another human being, but instead found God Himself who had taken on human flesh and has come to dwell with us to bring about our salvation. From inside this manger they would see him laying upon a wooden crib that would foreshadow the wood of the cross which would bring salvation into the life of the world. From this encounter they were surrounded with peace and joy and realized that here in this place was the very thing that their hearts had always longed for. In the words of Benedict XVI: we have "the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ."
As we enter into this season of Christmas may we come to find our purpose and belonging with Christ. From this encounter with our Lord at this Mass and through the reception of Christ's Body and Blood may we be moved forward in rediscovering our faith. With our faith firmly grounded in Christ and His Church here on earth, we will always be born anew, and will find joy in the midst of the mundane or the sorrowful. The shepherds participated inside of this journey and show the fruit that will come forth from it to all of us. Our Holy Father, Francis, currently leads this journey for all of us and continually finds ways to remind us of the joys of the Gospel by the actions of his life. May we not pass over this Christmas as some secular event, but instead may we embrace the true meaning of this season which is the Incarnation when the Word became flesh. From this encounter our lives will always take on meaning, we will always discover joy, and will always be born anew.
Again, in the words of Francis: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Vigil Mass Homily

All of us come from somewhere. All of us have a background that can be traced throughout history. We know the names of our parents and of our grandparents, but even beyond the family members whose names that we know there are many names that are unknown to us. Each person who lies inside of our family tree has a great history behind them sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Our Gospel this evening is a tough one because someone of course must pronounce these names and we must also listen to a never ending litany of these names of people who we don't know. Nevertheless this is a very important Gospel and thus it is fitting that it is read at this Mass. This family tree is showing that all of creation is pointing towards the coming of the Messiah. As all these names are being directed towards the coming of Christ, so it should be with all the generations that come after. Through God taking on human flesh, like you and like me, we have been transformed and forever directed towards salvation.
We know that Adam was the first man and yet we notice that his name does not appear at the start of this list. Instead our Gospel writer begins with Abraham who according to the Roman Canon of the Mass is our father in faith. Abraham is the perfect starting place because it was through him that it was promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky. With this Gospel we see the fruits of that promise begin to take hold throughout the reality of creation. Every name that appears upon this list, good or bad, leads themselves towards Christ which is only possible through the covenant with God that Abraham was willing to enter into. As we reflect upon Abraham, our father in faith, may we continue in our own desire to grow in faith. It is easy for our faith to become something that is stale and thus allow it to lose its glimmer inside of our lives. With Christmas comes the birth of Christ and the joy that is extended into our lives for each of us to recommit ourselves to our faith in Him.
As we move through the many generations from Abraham to Christ we of course come to encounter Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. These two individuals are very important inside of the life of our faith. It was Mary who gave her "yes" to an angel and thus conceived Christ into her womb. It was Joseph who gave his "yes" to God and thus would accept to raise Christ in his childhood. The journey that we know these two individuals made to the manger was not easy and was filled with many set backs. After all there was no room found inside of the inn. Despite all of this they continued to move forward in their life of faith and in the lowliness of that manger he who is fully divine and fully human came to dwell among us. Each of us here can make our own list of the many ways that our life has not gone as we would wish. Maybe this is due to our marital situation, a poor grade that was made in school, a job that leaves us feeling empty, the loss of a loved one, or an argument that we had with a parent or friend.
No matter what these feelings may be like we should realize that God loves each of us dearly. For that reason our genealogy comes to its conclusion with the coming of the Christ. We notice a profound statement of truth because Joseph is not listed as being the father of Jesus. Instead we are told that he was born of Mary. In this verse we realize that this child who dwells inside of the manger is not only human, but is also God. This means that God knows each of our pains and realizes the brokenness that comes through our sin. Instead of allowing us to remain lost in our pains or in our sin He chose to take on human flesh and to come to this earth to dwell among us. It is for this reason that we join together on this Christmas evening as people have done since the birth of Christ. We gather like the shepherds or the wise men around the lowly manger and proclaim our faith that a great king dwells here in the same simplicity that many of us must endure inside of our lives.
All of our lives have a very complex past and future. No matter what our past has been there is always the hope of new life. As this genealogy of Jesus shows the complexity that led to the birth of Christ, so may we realize that our lives are equally drawn to this moment in history. The birth of Christ echoes for us a great joy that should not only be lived out one day a year, but instead for each moment of our lives. Our faith is a never ending commitment where we desire to strip away our sin and instead embrace the Lord's manger with our "yes" equal to that given by Mary at the Annunciation or by Joseph when he accepted to raise the Christ. At this Christmas Mass may we also embrace with humility our future with that "yes" which allows our life to be entirely drawn towards God. 
Very soon we will leave this Church behind and gifts will be opened (our many children present know that), but may we also always remember the greatest gift that was known to humanity was found in a manger and from this experience comes our own call to conversion. May we not allow our relationship with our Lord to rot away like some old Christmas tree, but instead may we continue to nourish our life of faith with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where we receive He who is both fully human and fully divine into our lives through our reception of Christ's Body and Blood. May this Christmas season truly lead us to the manger of Christ where all generations were and will be led towards; only here will we find our joy.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Family Advent Mass Homily

Greetings to all of our parish parishioners, school families, teachers, and students on the occasion of this special Mass offered during our Advent season. For some time now we have all been anticipating the coming of the Word made flesh. We have signs that have been placed before our eyes; such as this Advent wreath which slowly gets filled with light. At times it may seem that reality will not come soon enough. For our children I am sure that presents have begun to be wrapped and placed under a tree for you. At times the anticipation of having to wait to open these can seem like too much to bare. For those of us who have offered continuous litanies of prayers and in return have not visibly received an answer can also attest to how hard it can be to persevere in our life of faith when we have so much anticipation for change. With Christmas set so closely before our eyes we continue to anticipate with great joy the coming of the Christ child and also continue to persevere in our movement towards that manger. This final week of Advent that has been placed before us can indeed help each of us to be strengthened in our faith and to truly make room in the inn of our hearts for the Messiah.
Elizabeth and Zechariah can easily attest to the anticipation that all of us have and will feel inside of our lives. They prayed and prayed, and yet it had to of seemed at times as if nothing would ever take place. As we all know from our experiences at a Doctor's office; that waiting can feel like an eternity. Despite how long they had to wait Elizabeth and Zechariah would endure in their faith, like the parents of Samson who have come before them, and in time were given the response of such a great honor as being the parents of Saint John the Baptist. Sometimes we allow our own anticipation to overcome us and due to that we miss the very thing that we had anticipated towards. In "The Great Divorce" by CS Lewis he takes the reader on a journey via a bus that leads from Hell into Heaven. The first image given inside of this book is a massive line at a bus station. It is observed here that so many people get restless or lose hope that they could possibly get onto the bus that they decide to leave the line and thus chose to so easily abandon their journey towards Heaven.
As we continue our own journey here on earth may we not allow the anticipation of our hearts to get the best of us. Instead may we realize the importance that lies behind perseverance, because through perseverance, we indeed will discover great rewards. As we look east towards the manger of Christ may we realize that in that little crib came the greatest gift that would ever be given to the world. Due to this great gift, we gather together in this Mass to enter into the sacrifice of Calvary where we give due worship towards God and very soon we will gather together in our school gym where our various classes will offer hymns of great joy towards the gift that is the Word made flesh. As we continue our own journey towards the manger in this Advent season may we not allow our anticipation to overcome us, but instead may each of us persevere in our preparation. In our life of faith may we not allow the anticipation of our needs to overcome us, but instead may we persevere with great joy. Through our perseverance we indeed will be able to sing the glory of God as we continue to make straight our path towards the Lord.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

3rd Sun of Advent Year C Homily

Rejoice always for the Lord is near. We join with Saint John the Baptist in his great anticipation for the news that would await his ears. He had spent his whole life in preparing the way for the one who would come after him. Finally the news of the Messiah had arrived and he was given reason to rejoice. Throughout this great season of Advent we to have waited with great anticipation for the coming of the Word made flesh. During this time of anticipation we have felt the need to do away with the things present in our life that hold us back from our relationship with Christ. On this third Sunday of Advent, also known as Guadate Sunday, we begin to rejoice because we have come to the same understanding that Saint John the Baptist understood. We rejoice because we know that the Lord will be coming soon. With this understanding Guadate Sunday fills our senses with many reminders of this reality: rose colored vestments, the tone of the music changes, and even a small amount of flowers are allowed to decorate the Church.
As we begin to rejoice with Saint John the Baptist and his disciples we must be reminded of our need to remain patient and to make our hearts firm. For the first two weeks of Advent we were surrounded by purple colored vestments (the color of penance), music that is scaled back inside of its tone, and simple Church decorations. With this Sunday we begin to move closer to the great light that shines forth on Christmas morning. On that day we will join joyfully with all the angels of Heaven once again in singing "Glory to God in the highest." As we move along from the darkness into the light may we be reminded of our own need to cast away sin. If we truly desire to rejoice joyfully at the birth of the Messiah we must make sure that our life is in proper order. If we latch onto our sin we will not be prepared to properly join ourselves to the great celebration of Christmas. We instead will be left in the darkness of night with no room found inside of the inn of our hearts. May we instead remain patient and make our hearts firm that room may be found within this inn.
As we enter into our Gospel we find that Christ leaves three questions for the disciples of John to reflect upon. What did you come to see? "A reed swayed by the wind? Someone dressed in fine clothing? To see a prophet?" During this season of Advent we should apply these same three questions to our own life. If we truly desire to flock towards the manger of Christ we should reflect upon these questions ourselves and prevail ourselves humbly to their meaning. 
Has our life become equal to a reed that has been swayed by the wind? A reed of course is a long grass-like plant that can be found in wet places. Whenever a gust of wind comes along it is able to be blown about freely. This same scenario plays out inside of our own life concerning sin. We easily allow ourselves to be blown about like a reed swayed by the wind. Instead of realizing our need to fight against our temptations it is much easier to give into temptation and to run away from Christ who should be our firm foundation. The season of Advent is not about being swayed by the wind, but instead is a time to be strengthened by virtue.
Instead of allowing ourselves to be humbled do we instead expect someone dressed in fine clothing? Fine clothing, here, represents the pride of our own hearts. Even from the moment of His birth, Christ, took on a great since of humility. From within the manger he was surrounded not by riches, but by animals. When we run away from the poverty of humility we accept the richness of pride. All of us here should be able to acknowledge the reality that we are sinful and in need of the Lord's help. Instead of acknowledging this reality we cloth our minds with the pride that our sin is not really sinful or even that we are so holy that we don't need to prevail ourselves to the sacrament of confession. Instead of exalting ourselves in such a manner we should use this season of Advent to lower ourselves to Christ and His mercy. In Confession we will truly be able to encounter humility and strip away the fine clothing of our pride.
Instead in this season of Advent has it been our hope to see a prophet? If this has been our hope we will realize the great weight of our sin and be moved to ask for forgiveness. On this Guadate Sunday we rejoice as we move closer to the Nativity of Christ. We can only rejoice when we strip away all that is keeping us enslaved, because in doing so we will truly be able to behold the Messiah who will come. This Wednesday our parish community will have the perfect opportunity for all of us to truly desire to see a prophet through the stripping away of our sin. This Wednesday will be our parish penance service where a total of nine priests will be present to hear confessions and to absolve us of our sins. May we no longer allow ourselves to be equal to a reed swayed by the wind, but instead may we be willing to turn away from temptation and to be strengthened by Christ. May we not expect to find someone dressed in fine clothing, but instead realize our need to humble ourselves to Christ's infinite mercy. This penance service is the perfect way to truly be able to see a prophet and to make room in the inn of our hearts for him to dwell with us always.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Immaculate Conception Homily

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception gives us the great hope that we can achieve holiness inside our daily life. We know that Eve was created without original sin, but in time she fell into the state of sin. God knew that Mary would remain faithful and that she would humbly accept the gift of Christ into her life. She was therefore chosen to become the new Eve through which sin would be triumphed over in Christ her Son. Unlike Eve Mary was able to remain spotless and pure because her life was totally dedicated to her Son. It is always the desire of our Blessed Mother to lead us closer to her Son. She never wants to lead us to herself because her love has always been poured out for her Son; especially when she was forced to see the pains of her Son upon the cross.

As we celebrate this great solemnity of the Church may each of us desire to grow closer to our Blessed Mother. May our devotion to her always lead us towards Christ which in return will lead us to holiness. Inside of this world we see the effects of sin, but in Mary we see the reality that sin can and has been triumphed over. When pride begins to rise inside of our hearts may we be reminded by her great humility in accepting the Christ child into her life. When we are tempted against sins of purity may we be reminded of the true beauty of our Blessed Mother. When we struggle in martial relationships may we be reminded of her true love for her husband, Joseph. When we fail to see the value in obedience to a boss, superior, teacher, or a parent may we be reminded always of the true obedience that Mary showed to the will of God by remaining spotless and thus becoming the new Eve. When we fail in our charity towards a classmate, the poor, or another person whom we encounter may we be reminded of the great charity that Mary showed in having her Son change water into wine. When we feel that we are to busy for prayer may we be reminded of this woman's true faith that had totally transformed her life.
It is through Mary that we will encounter the joys of discovering holiness inside of our lives. Whenever we hold the beads of the Holy Rosary in our hands and pray the words heard from the Angel Gabriel: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." while we meditate upon Christ's life, death, and Resurrection we will grow in holiness. We will grow in casting away the stain of sin inside of our lives as our Blessed Mother continues to protect us with her loving mantle. With this solemnity we join our hearts together with great joy as we celebrate this woman chosen by God to be without the stain of sin and we trust that with our devotion placed upon her we will grow closer to Christ and in return to holiness.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

2nd Sun of Advent Year A Homily

Each of us in this Church this morning have been gathered and placed upon the threshing floor spoken of in our Gospel. A threshing floor is a place where a farmer will bring his wheat in order to sort through it to separate the good from the bad. Through our baptism we have been gathered from the field of the world and placed upon this floor to receive the protection that is  necessary to be found worthy of the rewards of the Heavenly Kingdom. This floor that we find ourselves upon is that of the Church which throughout time has delivered so many souls to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is so because the sacraments are found here and each of them guides and protects a soul from sin in a most special way. The Church was given to the world by Christ, so that we would not be left alone in our journey of faith, but instead would have a place were we can be protected and guided towards God.
The problem for us is that we don't always want to lie comfortably upon the floor of the Church. Instead of finding our comfort here we leave ourselves open to even allowing the smallest gust of wind to blow us away. Even the smallest of winds is able to do so much damage to our lives; then we can only imagine the utter destruction that is brought about by a storm. The winnowing fan of our Gospel is a tool that is used to stir up the grain upon the floor thus separating the good from the bad. In each of our lives this fan has been stirred up and creates so many difficulties for us, but instead may we keep our way straight and be found faithful upon the floor of the Church at the end of time. Surely we can conceive in our minds the many reasons why people are blown away from this floor like chaff. Especially when we are willing to compromise our relationship with God and with each other through sin. In sin we find a true breakdown of relationships to the point where we have no other desire then to be cast away from others. What ways has the winnowing fan been stirred up inside our lives by our vices and how can we overcome these gusts of wind and remain faithful?
If we want to remain faithful to what Christ has left for us and desire to be placed inside of the barn that is Heaven we have a lot of work to do that cannot be done only once, but constantly. At times we may find that the Church's teachings don't reflect our own desires. At these moments we must embrace the cross of Christ, and find the meaning in a culture that gets everything when it wants the moment that it wants it, through sacrifice. Through the sacrifice of ourselves we are able to join with Christ upon His cross and then our physical or person struggle is able to take on meaning. We must also remember that our relationship with the Eucharist should reflect the relationship of the sun with the planets. Our life should rotate around the Eucharist as the earth rotates around the sun. With the Eucharist central in our life we will be able to turn away from sin and our own disordered opinions. Also, there are times when we all fall into sin, but instead of allowing ourselves to be blown away from the floor of the Church may we not fear the comfort of the Sacrament of Confession. If we can learn the value of sacrifice, of prayer, of the Holy Eucharist, and Confession we will be prepared for the moment when the winnowing fan begins to stir up doubt and temptation inside of our lives.
We must also remember the farmer who had to put so much labor inside of his crops. Without his constant care nothing would of been brought to the threshing floor that contained any value. Sometimes we want to lay comfortably without entering into this true labor that must be undertaken by all of us. We are not called to just rest comfortably upon the floor while we are in this building alone. Instead we should remember the words of our Holy Father, Francis, who reminded us that we should not be a Church of self preservation. Therefore we to must go into the world, like the farmer, and become missionaries of the faith who have been strengthened by our encounter with our Eucharistic Lord.
We are missionaries when we are school or at work. We are missionaries in those moments when we encounter the poor. We are missionaries when we engage in conversation at the checkout lane of a store. We become missionaries by the example of living out the faith to its fullest especially towards children who have fallen away from the comfort of the Church's floor. Our hour gathered inside of this place must extend into the world with the hope that we will gather more souls for the harvest of our Lord. In this way we join with the farmer in his collection of the harvest upon the threshing floor.
As we find ourselves in the midst of this advent season may we be concerned with the coming of Christ as the word made flesh. May we use this season that is set before us to do all that we can to remain upon the threshing floor, so that at the end of time we will be worthy for the Kingdom of Heaven. The winnowing fan of our passions will indeed spring up along our way, but instead of being blown away by them may we remain faithful always. Through sacrifice, prayer, confession, and the Eucharist we can and will be strengthen when the winnowing fan springs up in our life. May we also realize that our gift of faith is so important that it must transcend these walls and be brought into the world. May we use this season that has been set before us to prepare the way of the Lord by making our paths straight.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

1st Sun of Advent Year A Homily

We are constantly preparing ourselves for something. The season of Advent is about preparing ourselves for the coming of the word made flesh. In this season we are called upon to prepare our hearts for the great joy that will come into the world on Christmas Day. In the days leading up to Christmas we sometimes forget this proper preparation for Christ's coming because we have already started to celebrate the season of Christmas early. We instead have prepared ourselves only through decorating the house, filling out Christmas cards (hopefully from the Knights of Columbus), organizing Christmas parties, and endless shopping for gifts (hopefully done with our school's gift cards). Despite this our Mass and liturgy during this period displays to us our true longing to prepare for Christ's coming. We see this through the decoration of our Church and within the tone of the music that we hear, especially that which we don't hear in the form of the Gloria. As the Church scales back these things we are reminded of our own need to be prepared for Christ's coming into the world.
For many the great solemnity of Black Friday was celebrated for some reason this year on Thursday instead of Friday. I guess this celebration has become so special that it now deserves its own vigil. I know that one is able to put a lot of preparation into this event; especially if they want to be successful. There are magazines to go through to discover the sales that interest you and then you can research maps of where your beloved items will be found within the store. Without proper preparation you might survive the floods of people alive, but with nothing in your possession. And if that was the case what would be the point? For some reason we are willing to put so much preparation and emphasis into such events, but are unwilling to do the same for our faith. Of course these events and possessions give us instant results that we can see while faith is something that must be worked at and cannot be seen and obtained in the same manner. All of us have a longing inside to find joy, we will not find it in possessions, but instead with Christ.
Our Holy Father, Francis, recently released his apostolic exhortation which is entitled Evangelii Guadium, the Joy of the Gospel. In the introduction he writes concerning our disordered preparation that we do at the cost of our relationship with Christ and with each other. In it he writes: "The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ."
Throughout this exhortation, Francis, is showing his concern that all of us will find the joy of Christ in our life and in return will be willing to share this joy with the world by bringing forth the new evangelization. Advent is the perfect time to begin to make room for Christ in our hearts, so that when he arrives we will not be caught off guard, but instead allow room to be found within the inn of our own hearts. Our Gospel today reminds us of the importance of this preparation that we must always have in our hearts for Christ. From the start we are reminded of the great flood and how it was from an ark that people were given freedom from all the rough water that would ensue. For all of us we to have been extended our own protection from the flood of sin and fear in the form of the Church. Christ has given the Church to us as a gift that will constantly console us and in return lead us back to the joy of Christ. As long as we find ourselves upon this ark, that is the Church, we will be prepared for that hour we do not expect.
Our Gospel gives us the image that the rich and the poor will both have to answer for their lives. "One will be taken and one will be left." Instead of having to fear this just judgement we should follow after the words of the Prophet Isaiah in the reality that we should be drawn entirely towards Christ and towards His truth. Through the reality that we have been baptized we have put on our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we must stay under the protection of the ark that is the Church and in return lead others to the joy that is found here. When we place ourselves under the protection of the passing world we will always be left exposed to the many trials and tribulations that can sweep us away from our relationship with Christ. As this Advent season commences may we allow ourselves to find ways to truly begin to prepare ourselves for God taking on human flesh. In taking this proper preparation we should find ways to be drawn closer to the Eucharist maybe through Eucharistic adoration, ways to be drawn closer to our Blessed Mother maybe through the praying of the Holy Rosary, ways to realize our own sin and to ask for forgiveness through Confession and a daily Examination of Conscience, ways to serve the poor in our community maybe through Saint Joseph's Food Bank, and ways to continue our own education inside of the faith maybe through a class or a good book concerning the faith.
No matter what we choose to do with this season of Advent may we not allow it to pass us by without proper preparation. Instead may we fully come to prepare ourselves for Christ's coming into the world; that we may rejoice in the house of the Lord for all time.