This coming Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, an Advent celebration of Joy. As such I thought I would share with you a musical interlude to ready you to celebrate joyfully. From the acapella group, the King’s Singers.
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. In the previous post, in the face of the coming wrath (Luke 3:7), the people have cried out “What should we do?” (v.10) John answers that each person, where they are in life and the work they have, is to be compassionate and perform their job faithfully, especially in the way they treat others. How we treat others is a litmus test for how we are responding to God. As Jesus says later, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Continue reading
This solemnity, although formally declared dogma in 1854, has a long history of belief and celebration in Christianity since the 4th century and perhaps earlier – the records only go back so far. What this means is that what happened in 1854 was formally stating what was already believed. It was not new. But here’s the question for you… what does this Solemnity mean to you. That is not a question to explain “what” it celebrates – that part is clear. The 1854 papal encyclical stressed that Mary’s sinlessness was not due to her own merits, but truly, by the merits of her son, Jesus. I quote: Continue reading
It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived “by the power of the Holy Spirit,” in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what “immaculate” means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. The opening verse of the gospel is from the people who have just heard John the Baptist proclaim the coming wrath of God (Luke 3:7) and they shout out, “What should we do?” What is clear from John is that judgment on the basis of one’s fruit/deeds is at hand: “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees” (v.9). Continue reading
There is a lot going on today, December 7th 2021. The nation remembers Pearl Harbor, the church remembers St. Ambrose, and the Season of Advent continues. As I noted yesterday, since the beginning of Advent this year we have heard from the Prophet Isaiah. The verses have all been brimming with Hope. Today is no exception. I noted that in all times, especially so in troubling times, there are some among us who lead with Hope. Some among us have retreated into different kinds of shells, keeping the world at bay, keeping Hope at a distance. Continue reading
Today is December 7th and we remember the opening salvo of this country’s participation in the grim reality of war: the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though Pearl Harbor was before I was born, it lies in my memory and consciousness writ large. Even before my service in the US Navy and my duty station in Pearl Harbor, I knew the story of that fateful Sunday morning in 1941. There are plenty of accounts, histories, analysis, and more about the event and all that came before and after. It is said that history is written by the victors. Perhaps no longer true as there are now many perspectives. But what remains constant is that history is lived in the lives of regular people. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. The gospel for the coming Sunday again returns to John the Baptist in Judean wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance. John is filling the role that was the king’s duty: call people back to Covenant with God. He preaches repentance, turning away from sin and turning towards God, and symbolically washes them clean in the waters of the Jordan. Continue reading
Since the beginning of Advent this year we have heard from the Prophet Isaiah. The verses have all been brimming with Hope. Take today’s first reading. “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.” (Isa 35:1) Today’s reading continues that theme.
Isaiah’s time, like all epochs of history, shares something with our time in history. It has been hard times over the last several years because of the impact of the covid pandemic, the growing divide among Americans, and now the looming uncertainty of the omicron version of covid-19. We hunker down, we carry on, and we do what we can. Some among us lead with Hope. Some among us have retreated into different kinds of shells, keeping the world at bay, keeping Hope at a distance.
To all who hope and carry on as we are called to do, Isaiah reminds us: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!” (Isa 35:3-4). It is the “leave no one behind” call for our time, for all times.
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. It is also known as Guadete Sunday. While the theme of Advent is a focus on the coming of Jesus in three ways: his first, his present, and his final Advent, the readings for Gaudete Sunday deal with rejoicing in the Lord – Christian joy – as well as the mission of John the Baptist and his connection with Advent. The theologian Henri Nouwen described the difference between joy and happiness. While happiness is dependent on external conditions, joy is “the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death – can take that love away.” Continue reading
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