2nd Week of Advent 2022 - Tuesday (Dec 6) - St. Nicholas: Consoler and Defender of Truth

 

The book of the Prophet Isaiah is divided into two parts. In the first 39 chapters of the book, Isaiah offers a series of warnings to Israel. Those chapters are not devoid of many powerful promises of the age of the Messiah to come, but the thrust of those 39 chapters contain a message of warning: the devastation which will ensue without repentance on a national scale. So those first 39 chapters are often called “The Book of Woes” because Isaiah describes the woes that will befall Jerusalem, and the Temple, if they fail to repent.

Today’s reading begins the second part of Isaiah. Fast forward a generation. Did Jerusalem repent? Sadly no. And the destruction came, just as Isaiah foretold. Jerusalem was sacked, the temple was destroyed, the Babylonians deported thousands and thousands of Jews into exile, families were ripped apart, the nation was ravaged.  

But, amidst the destruction and suffering and sadness and captivity, Isaiah delivers a message of heavenly consolation: that God will come to the rescue of his people, as we heard today, sins will be forgiven, land will be restored, and God’s glory will be revealed through his people. So this last half of the book of Isaiah is often called the Book of Consolation because it speaks of comfort that will come to Israel through God’s intervention.

These passages have been interpreted by the Church fathers as an anticipation of the consolation that Christ will bring. The fifth century theologian Theodoret of Cyrus wrote, “The true consolation, balm and release from all human ills is the Incarnation of Christ.” God did come to the rescue of his people, and not simply the nation of Israel, but of all humanity; God has forgiven sins, and again, not just of Israel, but all of us, through Christ; 

And that prophecy of God’s glory being made known through his people, is especially fulfilled in his saints. The saints who have repented, how have allowed the life of God and goodness of Christ to dwell in them and transform them from the inside-out are great beacons of glory.

Today the Church celebrates one of the great saints of the early 4th century: the bishop St. Nicholas of Myra. There are tales of this Bishop St. Nicholas’ heroic charity toward the poor, and miracles, even raising the dead. He was an instrument of God’s comfort and consolation. 

Bishop St. Nicholas was also an instrument of justice--a defender of the Christian faith. When the ugly error of Arianism began to spread throughout the Church, Nicholas fulfilled the apostolic duty of opposing that error. For theological error & heresy are great injustices against Truth, wounding the unity of the Church which is to glorify God. 

What a wonderful Saint for us to honor during Advent who inspires us to turn away from worldly error and selfishness—to turn toward charity, truth, generosity that we, and the entire Church may live always for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That Christ may fill the Pope, our Bishop, and all the clergy with spiritual gifts and graces and for an increase in charity among all the people of God, that cleansed of every vain and selfish desire we may be instruments of the love of God. 

That Christ may guide the minds of those who govern us to promote the common good according to His Holy Will.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Advent 2022 - Friday - Afflict the comfortable, comfort the afflicted

 I got a call from a local newspaper once. A brother priest, who is also a dear friend, had been named pastor of one of our diocesan parishes. The local neighborhood newspaper was doing a story on the new pastor, and so they called up some of the priests who knew him. I was asked some basic questions: how I knew him and so on, and then was asked why I thought Father would be a good pastor. And I said Father is a lot like the prophet Isaiah, and even Jesus himself, he believes in comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable.

Isaiah is read throughout Advent, and this is an important principle to keep in mind. Isaiah afflicts the comfortable—a lot. He seeks to awaken Israel out of her complacency, her faithlessness, her sin, her alliance with pagan nations and worshipping of their pagan gods and following their perverse and pagan ways. The first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah are called the Book of Woes, in which Isaiah warns Israel, challenges Israel, about their falling away from God’s covenant. In the book of Woes, Isaiah foretells the devastation that will befall Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple, if God’s people fail to repent repent. He afflicts the comfortable.

The last half of the book of Isaiah is called the Book of Consolation. In those last 25 chapters, Isaiah comforts the afflicted. He offers a message of consolation to those Jews who had been taken off into Babylonian Captivity. Yes, there was a nation-wide failure to repent, and destruction had come. But even then, Isaiah consoles, communicating that God had not turned his back on his people, even though they had turned their backs on Him.

In today’s passage, Isaiah has just delivered a word of warning to those he describes as spiritually drunk. Through unfaithfulness, God’s people had become so stupefied to God’s word, they were blind and deaf to God. 

But immediately after his word of affliction to the comfortable, Isaiah offers a word of hope, speaking of the day of the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah says On that day the deaf shall hear; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah offers his prophetic message of comfort and affliction to a nation, but we can also consider his message to us. Every individual needs to be stirred up a bit, each of us has become complacent, a bit. And we also find ourselves afflicted with suffering that we did cause. And in our affliction, God is present to us, offering us hope and strength and the promise that those who follow the Messiah, who allow Jesus the Savior to heal their blindness, as he does in the Gospel today, will be ultimately delivered from earthly suffering His new heaven and new earth. 

In our Advent pilgrimage, may we take the message of the prophets to heart, to till the soil of our hardened hearts and the salve of God’s healing and comfort to our wounded hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

As we await with longing the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, we raise up our prayers of petitions.

That Christ may visit his holy Church and always find her repentant of sin and watchful in prayer.

That Christ may fill the Pope, our Bishop, and all the clergy with spiritual gifts and graces.

That Christ may guide the minds of those who govern us to promote the common good according to His Holy Will.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Advent 2019 - Tuesday - True Consolation

The book of the Prophet Isaiah is divided into two parts. In the first 39 chapters of the book, Isaiah offers a series of warnings to Israel. Those early chapters are not devoid of many powerful promises of the age of the Messiah to come, but Isaiah predominate message is a warning to Israel--what will happen between now and then if they continue to fail to keep God’s covenant. So those first 39 chapters are often called “The Book of Woes” because Isaiah describes the woes that will befall Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple, if they fail to repent.

Today’s reading, begins the second part of Isaiah. Fast forward a generation. There was a failure to repent, destruction did come to Jerusalem, just as Isaiah had foretold. The temple was destroyed, the Babylonians carried many off into exile.

Amidst the destruction and suffering and sadness and captivity, Isaiah offers a word of hope. God will come to the rescue of his people, as we heard today, sins will be forgiven, land will be restored, and God’s glory will be revealed through his people. So this last half of the book of Isaiah is often called the Book of Consolation because it speaks of comfort that will come to Israel through God’s intervention.

These passages have been interpreted by the Church fathers as an anticipation of the consolation that Christ will bring. The fifth century theologian Theodoret of Cyrus wrote, “The true consolation, balm and release from all human ills is the Incarnation of Christ.”

For in Christ the Lord God comes with power to shepherd his flock, through him guilt is expiated and sin is forgiven.

We cannot fathom what life would be like if Christ had not been born 2000 years ago. For we live with a constant consolation that God has forgiven our sins and that the glorious kingdom of God has begun to break into history. God’s glory can be seen already, though dimly, through his Church, in his saints. Because of the incarnation, we are able to say with St. Paul, death where is thy sting.

We repent of our sins in this life, and allow God to straighten the crooked paths in our lives, that God’s glory may be manifest in us ever more, that we may effective in preaching Christ to those who currently live hopeless lives, ignorant of the love God has for them.

May the good news of Christ’s advent bring about repentance in all hearts and hope to the hopeless for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Holy Father, all bishops and priests, religious and laity may shine with the Light of Christ’s love for the lost and despairing.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

For those who have fallen away from the Church, who have become separated from God through error and sin, for those who reject the teachings of Christ, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

That our young people will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.