Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent 2015 - Rejoice in the Lord Always

One of the central biblical figures associated with the season of Advent is, of course, John the Baptist.  Last sunday we heard how John was down at the Jordan River helping people prepare for the arrival of the Messiah. In order to prepare he called sinners to a baptism of repentance.  Prepare for the coming of the Lord by repenting of your sins, changing your ways, amending your life. 

John’s call to repentance echoes through the Advent season. On Thursday evening this week, our parish will have an opportunity for repentance: our annual Advent Reconciliation Service.  Several visiting priests will be here, in addition to myself and Father Klasinski, to offer an opportunity for you to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas, by making a good confession.  So, let me do my best St. John the Baptist impression now by proclaiming, “Prepare the way of the Lord” by coming to confession this week, especially, if it’s been more than a few months since your last confession. 

One of the benefits of making a good confession is being filled with joy knowing that I am forgiven by God. Joy is the central theme of this Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete in Domino semper” Rejoice in the Lord always, St. Paul told us in the second reading.  But we cannot rejoice in the Lord always unless we are in right relationship with him. 

One of the reasons we go through life without experiencing the joy God wants for us is because of sin.  Sin might bring temporary gratification…gluttony, lust, pride, wrath, greed…these things often feel good “at the time”, but in the end we know that instead of giving us life, they take it from us.  So come to confession this week, allow the Lord to remove some of those obstacles to joy. You never regret going to confession, but you’ll always regret not going.

In the Gospel today we heard that there was a lot of excitement about John; People had heard that John was preaching, calling people to repentance, he was wearing the clothes of a prophet, he was down at the Jordan River, right at the spot where Joshua had brought the Israelites into the promised land after 40 years wandering in the desert.  People began to think that John was the promised Messiah.  After all, he was quoting a lot from the prophet Isaiah, who prophecied how God would send a Messiah, a deliverer, to restore Israel, to deliver her from her enemies. 

With all this excitement, people came to him asking him if he was the Christ. And how did John respond? “I am not He” John says, “I’m not even worthy to untie the straps of His sandals”.  John teaches us here something of extreme importance for preparing for Christ, for being in right relationship with God—he teaches us a fundamental attitude for being Christian.  John teaches us, “I am not the Christ” and none of us are, either.

John was such a powerful because he knew who he was, and he knew who he wasn’t.  He knew that he was not the Christ, he was not God.  He had his life in order and his priorities straight, he knew the most important thing in life is being in right relationship with God, and step one, is believing that there is a God and knowing that “I am not He.”  

The realization that “I am not God” is profound.  It’s the starting point for Christianity.  I am not God, I am not the savior, but I need God, and I need a savior, so I’m going to do everything I can to come into right relationship with God and nurture that relationship.  That’s what John the Baptist did, that’s what each of us are called to: to admit, “I am not the Christ” and “I need a savior—I need someone to save me from my sins.”

For, If I don’t need a savior, Christmas, the birth of Jesus isn’t a world changing event, it’s just another birth among billions.  I think one of the major temptations of life is to forget that we are sinners profoundly in need of a savior. And by not recognizing Jesus as savior we miss out on a profound dimension of our faith, the dimension that brings us joy in being redeemed sinners.

Another reason why we often do not experience the joy God wants for us, is because we keep Him on the fringes. We treat prayer, we treat service, we treat Mass, as merely obligations to get out of the way, so I can get back to living MY LIFE, the way, I want to live it.  If that is our attitude, we will never find joy.  Christianity is not merely a set of obligations so that God will let us go to heaven.  Rather, prayer, especially Holy Mass, and service are the means by which we can discover joy in this life.

St. Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always. He speaks of joy as the mark of the Christian over 20 times in his letters. If we don’t joyfully encounter the Lord in the primary areas of prayer, Mass, reading scripture, and service, it will be impossible to rejoice in Him in those other areas of life.

Our Christian pilgrimage isn’t meant to be one of sour, sorrowful, begrudging fulfillment of empty obligations. Sorrowful drudgery and sour faces are not to be the mark of the Christian.  When we look to the saints, our examples of what it means to be a Christian, they are not these bored, 

depressed, people, but people who have become fully alive, who are animated with joy, because of the radical nature of their belief and love of Christ and the practice of his teachings. Jesus said, “I have come that you may abundant life.” Life that is over flowing with peace and joy and charity.

And as John the Baptist shows us, this abundant life and joy cannot be obtained if you think and act that you are God, or if you keep God at the fringes.  The Baptist expresses this teaching elsewhere in scripture when he says, “I must decrease, while Christ must increase.” Jesus Christ must become the “center of your universe and history” as Pope John Paul II wrote.

Arrived now at the half-way point of Advent, we do well to ask ourselves, what does it mean, in the concrete details of my life, in my relationships, with my habits and sins, what does it mean for me to decrease and Christ to increase.  What needs to change so that I can experience the joy God wants for me? What will I have to so “no” to, so that I can say “yes” to God. 

Holy Spirit, come, and help us to prepare well for Christmas, by submitting our lives, ever more fully to the dominion of Christ, by turning away from sin, and being faithful to the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.    

Homily: Friday of the 2nd Week of Advent - Playing games with God

There is a famous book on human psychology, published back in the 1960s called Games People Play.  The book isn’t talking about board games like monopoly or trivial pursuit, or children’s games like hop-scotch or kick the can.  The book explains the often selfish and manipulative "games" adults play with each other in their interpersonal relationships. Think of a boss who throws tantrums in order to get his employees to do his bidding, or a beautiful woman using her voluptuousness to get what she wants.

We even play games with ourselves: the little lies we tell ourselves in order to justify certain behavior.  “I’m so stressed, I deserve to eat an entire carton of cookie dough ice cream. Or, I had such a hard day, I deserve to have six whiskies.” Or think of the way we point out people’s flaws so we can justify not associating with them, or helping them. 

In the Gospel today, Jesus talks about playing games with God.  He describes the behavior of his generation, as a bunch of children playing games in the street instead of taking the word of God seriously. Instead of heading the preaching of John the Baptist, they claim he is possessed by a demon. Instead of heading the preaching of Jesus, they claim he is a drunkard and a glutton. They create and believe a lie about Jesus, so they don’t have to change their behavior.

Of course, no one does that today…

What a challenging word the Gospel is for us today.  To examine the games we play with God and with one another.  What lies do I tell myself in order not to pray as much as I should? What lies do I tell myself in order to indulge in sinful behavior? What lies do I tell myself in order not to serve as much as I should? What lies do I tell myself in order not to reach out to the estranged and the lonely?

The quiet solemnity of Advent provides a perfect opportunity for serious self-examination.  And upon discovering the selfish games we play, we seek the Lord’s mercy in the Sacrament of Confession, and make a firm promise to change.

May the Holy Spirit lead us to the change of heart, the change of attitude, the change of behavior God wants for us this Advent, that conforming our lives to Christ, we may bear his truth and love to all the word, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 2nd Week of Advent - Preparing for proclaiming

This Sunday, on Gaudete Sunday, we will hear the preaching of John the Baptist. John will be down at the Jordan River, calling people to repentance, in order to help them prepare for the coming of the Messiah. In the Gospel Sunday, John will speak about Jesus.

In the Gospel today, Jesus speaks about John. Jesus speaks about John as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.  What makes John greater than Isaiah, Elisha, Elijah, and Jeremiah? He’s greater than these men because God chose John to prepare the way for the immediate coming of the Messiah.  The other prophets spoke about the distant future, but John had the great vocation of helping people immediately prepare for the Messiah.

Jesus then says, however great John’s role as a prophet, the least in the kingdom is greater than he.  Who are these prophets of the kingdom, who are these heralds who are greater than John the Baptist? You & Me!  John the Baptist did not have the great honor that each of us has. John did not have the greater honor to shout from the rooftops, “The Messiah has come, he has died, he has risen.”

John prepared Israel for the Messiah who was to come. We prepare the world, all nations of all time for the Messiah, who has come.  John announced salvation is coming. We announce salvation is here; salvation is available through the Sacraments of the Church. John spoke about the coming of the kingdom; we get to actively build the kingdom. John spoke about a time when the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit. We are the ones who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, to go out in that spirit to preach and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to announce to the world that Jesus Christ is with us always until the end of time.

Now we normally think of Advent as a time of preparation. We prepare through penance, quiet prayer, reflection, acts of charity. But prepare for what? We are preparing for proclamation.  We prepare during Advent, so at Christmas we can proclaim Christ is born a Savior, God is with Us always.

We are already at the half-way point of Advent.  Only two weeks until Christmas Eve.  So, we do well to take inventory, to reflect, how have our Advent preparations been going? How are my spiritual practices different now than during Ordinary Time? Have I made time for that extra prayer and reflection? Have I gone to confession yet? Have I engaged in extra acts of charity yet? Have I reached out to the lonely, the needy, the estranged family member?

If we are supposedly greater prophets than John the Baptist, as our Lord said in the Gospel today, are we acting like it? If not, what needs to change?May the Holy Spirit, with whom we’ve been baptized, continue to draw us deeper into the life of God, that we may go out and draw others to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: December 8 2015 - Immaculate Conception - Chosen for holiness

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you”

The angel Gabriel first greeted the daughter of Joachim and Anne in the house at Nazareth with those words: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”.  And those words have been translated into nearly every spoken language on earth, and recited by Christians for two thousands years. St. Jerome’s Latin translation of the angelic salutation is well known” “Ave Maria, Gratia plena, dominus tecum.”  After hearing this greeting, St. Luke tells us that Mary “pondered what sort of greeting this might be” so today, let’s ponder the meaning of the Angel’s greeting.

And to do that, let’s look at Saint Luke’s original greek.  In Saint Luke’s original greek, the angel says to Mary,
“Chaire kecharitomene, o kurios meta sou”

The first word in the greek, Chaire, is sometimes translated to latin word, “ave” as in Ave Maria, or “Salve” as in Salve Regina, Hail, Holy Queen.  Chaire can mean, hello, hail, a friendly greeting.  When you’d see your friend walking toward you down the street, you’d say, “Chaire” Hail, Friend.

The word was also used by the prophets in the Old Testament as an announcement of Joy.  Chaire, Hail, God is about to do something wonderful.  So the word “Chaire”, in the Old Testament, is sometimes translated as rejoice.  In announcing to Israel that from her would come a savior, the prophet Zechariah said, “Chaire” rejoice daughter sion.

So every time we repeat that word, “Hail” Mary, we are greeting her as a friend, and we are greeting her with a greeting of joy.  Every time we recite the Hail Mary, we share in Mary’s joy.

The second greek word is very important for today’s feast—kecharitomene—“full of grace.”  This is a very interesting word because in greek it is in the perfect passive tense, meaning, something has been done to Mary in the past.  What has been done to her? She has been made “full of grace”.  When was she made full of grace, and by who? She was made full of grace at the first moment of her existence, in the womb of her mother Anne.  And she was made full of grace by God.

So the first words the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary form the basis of our belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception—that from the moment of her conception, Mary was made immaculate by God.  The word Immaculate comes from the latin meaning without stain.  What stain was Mary without? The stain of sin.

That word kecharitomene is interesting for another reason.  In the greek, the perfect passive participle refers to not only something that happens in the past, but also something that continues in the present.  Mary was made full of grace, and she continues to be full of grace.

So every time we pray the hail Mary, we our professing our belief that Mary continues to be free from any sin, and full of God’s love and God’s grace.  Because Mary is full of God’s love, she looks down upon us from her place in heaven.  I know it is hard to believe, but she loves us even more than our parents and grandparents love us, because she loves us with a heart perfectly free from any sin.  A heart of boundless charity, an ocean of love. So we can always turn to Mary for help in following the way of Christ.

Today’s feast celebrates that God had a plan for Mary from the moment of her conception.  Yet, in the epistle, St. Paul reminds us that we too have been chosen from the foundations of the world to be holy and without blemish.  God chooses each of us to be holy.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception reminds us, what each of us are called to be, through baptism.  Every human being is destined for holiness, because every human life is precious to God, every conception is important. But it is up to us to cooperate with his plan.

So, on a very regular basis, every Christian ought reflect upon Mary’s example: to reflect on what it means for me, in all of the details of my life, in all of my relationships and responsibilities, with all of my weaknesses, what does it mean for me to radically surrender my life to God, as Mary did from the first moment of her conception? What does it mean for me to be free from selfishness, free from self-centeredness in God’s service, like Immaculate Mary?

In addition to the liturgical celebration, as many of you know, today also begins the great Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.  Great graces are available to each of us this year, for the transformation of our hearts and the transformation of the world.

In the Papal Bull announcing the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis writes why he chose this feast day to open the Year of Mercy. The Pope writes, “The Holy Year will open on 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This liturgical feast day recalls God’s action from the very beginning of the history of mankind. After the sin of Adam and Eve, God did not wish to leave humanity alone in the throes of evil. And so he turned his gaze to Mary, holy and immaculate in love (cf. Eph 1:4), choosing her to be the Mother of man’s Redeemer. When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive… May the sweetness of Mary’s countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness.”

By drawing near to Mary in prayer, by contemplating her example, her virtues, her radical surrender, we too came come to discover the joy of God’s tenderness and the awesomeness of his plan.  So if you are depressed, or sad, or feel like your life is missing something, if there is a lack of joy in your life, those are signs that you are meant to draw near to Mary, to seek her help, to follow her example.

May Mary, full of grace, help us respond to God with wholehearted surrender, obedience, and trust, and prepare well for all God has in store for us, for His Glory and the salvation of souls.

Homily: December 7 - St. Ambrose - To us Christ is All

As a member of the Roman nobility, Ambrose was trained in the classics: philosophy, poetry, rhetoric.  Highly intelligent, well trained, Ambrose was made governor of Milan around the age of 32.  Two years later, a heated argument erupted in Milan between the Catholics and the Arian Heretics.  The bishop of Milan had died and the Arians wanted an Arian bishop, the Catholics wanted a bishop faithful to the Apostolic faith. 

Ambrose tried to resolve this dispute, and he began to address the crowd. Well, his speech struck such a chord with the people that someone shouted out, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The orator was speechless, for he had no intention of being a priest or bishop. He wasn’t even baptized; he was still a catechumen preparing for baptism. 

He resisted, claiming that he was unworthy, but the people continued to acclaim, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The people prevailed, mostly because Ambrose wanted to preserve peace.  So on December 7 of that year, Ambrose was baptized, and was consecrated a bishop, a week later.  He immediately gave away his wealth to the Church. 

Until that moment, Ambrose had been the most senior magistrate of the Empire in Northern Italy.  He was culturally well-educated, but pretty much ignorant of the Scriptures. So, the new Bishop briskly began to study the Bible…talk about learning on the job!

From the works of Origen, he learned to know and to comment on the Bible, and introduced in the West the practice of lectio divina.  From lectio divina, the prayerful listening to the word of God, Ambrose would become one of the great preachers and teachers of his time. His preaching and teaching would convert many, including the wayward son of Saint Monica, Saint Augustine.

Ambrose is a wonderful Advent Saint.  From his life, we learn that God has a plan for each of us, which is sometimes different than our own plans.  And when we humbly submit to God’s plans, God brings about greater good than we could ever do on our own.

And we also learn from Ambrose’s practice of lectio divina. During Advent, we are called to prayerfully reflect on the Word of God. Throughout Advent we are presented with the prophecies of Isaiah concerning the Messiah.  We do well to sit and reflect and pray with the Scriptures in order to prepare our souls and hearts for the great Christmas mystery.

Full of love for Jesus, Saint Ambrose proclaimed, “Omnia Christus est nobis! TO us Christ is all! If you have a wound to heal, he is the doctor; if you are parched by fever, he is the spring; if youa re oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in the darkness, he is light…Taste and see how good is the Lord: blessed is the man who hopes in him!” Like Ambrose, may Christ be all for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 2nd Sunday of Advent 2015 - Prepare Ye, the way of the Lord

It was the worst of times….and the worst of times…During the most disastrous time in Israel’s history, the time of the Babylonian exile, lived the author of today’s first reading: the prophet Baruch.  The armies of the Babylonians had swept through Judea, killing many, laying siege to Jerusalem and destroying the city, burning the temple to the ground, and carrying-off the elite of the nation into slavery.

Think of how horrific this must have been.  The chosen people, living in the heart of the kingdom, David’s city, and watching the temple built by Solomon be destroyed.  The Temple was supposed to be the spiritual center where one day all people of the world would come to worship in harmony.  Jerusalem is sacked, the nation destroyed, the temple burnt to the ground, priests and civic leaders carried away.  Think of something like the United States being conquered, Washington DC being destroyed, the capital and the white house burnt, our government leaders taken into slavery AND our churches demolished and priests and bishops arrested and taken away.  That is the background for the first reading today.  It seemed to the Israelites as if God had abandoned his people.

And what was the prophet Baruch’s message? Standing in the rubble of Jerusalem, the prophet says, “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; and look to the east.”  Why the east?  Babylon was in the east! That’s where their countrymen had been carried off to!

But Baruch says, don’t mourn. It looks dark right now.  But you will see God setting the captives free, establishing justice, restoring the glory of Israel. And all nations of the world will stream to Jerusalem to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the darkest time, God had a message of hope, for his people.

And that theme of hope recurs over and over in the Old Testament: that in life’s darkest moments, when things look bleakest, we must trust that God has not abandoned us, that he will ultimately fulfill his promises to deliver us from evil.

Just about 50 years after Baruch’s prophecies, in the year 538 BC, the Babylonians fell to the Persians, and the Persian King Cyrus freed the exiles, and allowed them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

Now fast forward, five hundred years. It was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.

Again, another dark time in Israel’s history.  Tiberius Caesar the successor of Caesar Augustus was a ruthless dictator—oppressive, violent, capricious.  Pontinus Pilate, a name we know pretty well was Tiberius’ equally ruthless and violent local representative in Judea.  Governor Pilate was only too willing to crucify Jews by the thousands; he raised the Roman insignia in the Temple, which was blasphemous.  Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother, were fearsome, hateful, ruthless, and collaborators with the Roman Government.

Annas and Caiaphas the Jewish high priests, as leaders of God’s flock were supposed to be men of righteousness, but they used their religious power for political gain, and instead of conducting the worship of the Temple in righteousness according to God’s commandments, they had allowed corruption to sink into Temple life.

So at the beginning of his Gospel here, Luke calls to mind this corrupt and vicious hierarchy which governed political and religious life in the first century.  And after describing the dark circumstances, Saint Luke tells us the word of God came not to these high and mighty men, but a man named John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert.  The word of God came to this nobody, John, in the desert.  Not a mighty ruler, but a man eating locusts in the desert.

And John’s message?  God is about to act again.  To all of you who are oppressed, beaten down, hoping, waiting, tired of the violence, the corruption, and the suffering:

"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

A change is coming, a revolution is on its way.  The destruction of the old oppressive powers is at hand.  God is about to act. So, “Prepare, ye, the way of the Lord.”

How are the people to prepare?  John called them to a baptism of water and repentance.  A baptism of water in the river Jordan, calling to mind the passing through the waters of the Red Sea, when God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  And a baptism also of repentance.  The word he uses for repentance is metanoia, the greek word, that meant to change your mind, change your heart, change your attitude, change your behavior, so that it is in keeping with the God’s commandments. But metanoia also meant, renew your hope.

The world of Tiberius Caesar, the oppression of Pilate, the religious malaise of Annas and Caiaphas had stunted their hopes, and the chosen people had fallen into mediocrity.  And John was saying, get your hearts and minds ready, because God is about to act, the in breaking of the kingdom of God in your midst.

John’s message strikes to the heart of each one of our lives, doesn’t it?  The world seeks to form our way of thinking, our mind, our heart.  The world doesn’t even want us using the word Christmas in public let alone allowing our faith to shape our political activity.  The world seeks to raise up children ignorant of God and his commands, ignorant and hostile to the Church and the Catholic faith, and then it acts surprised when those children turn to gunning each other down in the streets.  This age of growing hostility towards Christians throughout the world reminds us unfortunately of the times of the Prophet Baruch and Saint Luke.

This Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation for all Catholics, begins a Jubilee Year of Mercy, during which, rich graces are available for the transformation of our hearts and the world.

During the Year of Mercy Christians are to turn ever more to the merciful face of Christ, that we may in turn, show the face of Christ to the world.  By repenting of our sins and receiving mercy in the sacrament of confession, and then going out into the world to engage in the works of mercy, Christians are to show the world that peace with God and peace with your fellow man is possible.
This Advent, and during this year of mercy, God is calling us to the metanoia preached by John the Baptist.  God wants to give each of us a renewed mind, a new set of eyes, a new heart.

In the Papal Bull announcing the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis, urged Christians, “Let us not fall into humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine that prevents us from discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism! Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! May we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity!”

Almost prophetically, just when our world seems to be in grave need of mercy, when Christians are seeming to lose hope in the transforming power of the Gospel, the Holy Father opens a door of mercy for us.  What a great gift the Pope has given to the Church.

May each of us open wide the door of our hearts to Christ, this Advent, seeking him with renewed hope in daily prayer, in the sacrament of confession, in the faces of those in need of our help, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Friday of the 1st Week of Advent 2015 - O Come, thou Wisdom

In that wonderful Advent hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, the second verse begins asking God for Wisdom: O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.

Wisdom is often symbolized by a lamp, shining in the darkness. For Wisdom helps us to see the right path. Wisdom helps us put our lives in the proper order.  Wisdom helps us to see things from God’s perspective, to value things as God does. We would call someone foolish who doesn’t go to church, who ignores the commandments, who lives only for pleasure, riches, fame, or power.  Ecclesiastes says, “The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness.”  Why is the fool in darkness? He lacks wisdom, his priorities are not in order. He values earthly treasure over his eternal life.  The wise man, on the other hand, has his priorities straight, his paths straight; the wise man judges rightly the things of earth in relation to his eternal end.

Advent is certainly a time of growing in the Lord’s wisdom. The great prophet of Advent, Isaiah, said there would be a time when “out of the gloom and darkness, the blind would see.” This is that time.  During Advent, those blinded by the darkness of error, foolishness, faithlessness, and sinfulness, are called to turn to the Lord for wisdom and light.

And what happens when the blind to the Lord for light? Saint Matthew tells us in the Gospel, that those recognizing their blindness, who call out to the Lord for pity, do receive sight.  Jesus, touches the eyes of the blind who present themselves to Him, and he gives them sight.

Our problem isn’t a shortage of blindness, we have plenty of that, don’t we: plenty of error, foolishness, faithlessness, and sinfulness, in abundance.  Our problem is that we fail to recognize this and present ourselves to the Lord.

Spiritual blindness is truly an epidemic—its symptoms are the erosion of the moral fabric of families and cultures, violent outbreaks, the neglect of the poor among us. It almost seems that in human history, humanity has never lacked wisdom so greatly! We are in need of Wisdom, we are in need of healing, we are in need of purity, more than ever.

How are we to grow in Wisdom this Advent?  Spend your time putting your life in order, considering what in the end really matters…Proverbs says, “tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.” Saint James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” During Advent, we wisely, make time for reflecting on the priorities of our life in light of Scripture and the teachings of the Saints.

And how are we to receive healing and purity this Advent? After reflecting on the priorities of our life, we go to confession. We confess those times when we foolishly turned away from the path of the Lord.  And like the blind men who cry out for pity in the Gospel today, when we cry out for the Lord’s pity in the sacrament of confession, healing, mercy, and forgiveness, are freely given.

This Advent, may we be purified of all that keeps us from seeing God.  May we be healed of our spiritual blindnesses, may the light of God’s wisdom eradicate the darkness of our foolishness, that we may bear the light of Christ to all those we meet, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.