1st Week of Advent 2024 - Wednesday - Promise and fulfillment

 Advent invites us to marvel at a profound mystery: the mystery of how the promises of God in the Old Testament are revealed and accomplished in the person and work of Jesus.

In our first reading from Isaiah, the prophet speaks of a vision of extraordinary hope. He proclaims that on God’s holy mountain, the Lord will provide a feast of rich food and choice wines—not just for Israel but for all peoples. This feast symbolizes abundance, joy, and the fulfillment of all human longings. But it is more than just a meal. It is the promise of salvation itself: The Lord will destroy death forever. He will wipe away every tear. He will remove the reproach that veils all peoples.

This prophecy is a vision of a world redeemed, a world where the burdens of sin, death, and sorrow are no more. It is a promise of God’s boundless care for humanity, a care that embraces every nation and every person. Isaiah calls us to rejoice and trust in this God who has pledged to save us.

In today’s Gospel, we see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise. Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, ascends a mountain—just as Isaiah foretold. There, great crowds gather, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the mute, and the sick. Jesus heals them all, restoring not only their bodies but also their dignity. The crowds are amazed, and they glorify the God of Israel. Here we see Isaiah’s prophecy in action: the removal of suffering and the transformation of lives.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He turns to his disciples and expresses compassion for the crowd, saying, “I do not want to send them away hungry.” With seven loaves and a few fish, Jesus provides an abundant meal, satisfying the hunger of thousands. This miraculous feeding is a foretaste of the eternal banquet promised by Isaiah, the feast where all will be satisfied.

Advent is a season of promise and fulfillment. It is a time to reflect on how God’s promises are being fulfilled in Christ and in our lives. Isaiah’s vision and Jesus’ actions call us to trust in God’s providence, to open our hearts to His abundant care, and to respond with gratitude and faith.

But there is more. Just as Jesus involved his disciples in the feeding of the crowd—asking them to bring the loaves and fish and distribute the food—so too does He involve us in His mission. We are called to be participants in the fulfillment of God’s promises.

How can we bring healing to the suffering? How can we share what we have with those in need? How can we reflect the compassion and generosity of Christ in our daily lives? How can we bear the message of salvation to others?

As we journey through Advent, let us rejoice in the God who fulfills His promises, who provides for all peoples, and who calls us to share in His mission of love and salvation for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God’s abundant care and the fulfillment of His promises in Jesus Christ, let us bring our prayers and petitions before Him.

For the Church: That she may always proclaim the hope of God’s promises and lead all peoples to the abundant feast of Christ’s love and mercy.

For world leaders: That they may work to remove the burdens of suffering, poverty, and division, and foster a world of justice and peace where all can flourish.

For the poor and hungry: That they may experience the providence of God through the generosity and compassion of His people, especially during this Advent season.

For the sick and suffering: That they may find healing and comfort in the care of others and in the compassionate love of Christ, who restores all things.

For all disciples of Christ: That we may trust in God’s promises and actively participate in His mission by bringing healing, hope, and abundance to those in need.

For our departed loved ones: That they may rejoice forever in the eternal banquet of God’s heavenly kingdom, especially N.

Loving Father, you are faithful to your promises and generous in your care for us. Hear our prayers and grant what we ask in faith, through Christ Our Lord.

10th Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Monday - Fulfillment of promises and longings

 Having come to the end of our readings through the public ministry of the Lord prior to his passion from the Gospel of Mark, our daily ordinary time weekday Gospel readings from now until September will be taken from the Gospel of Matthew. We’ll read sequentially from the beginning of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, as we heard this morning, to the final parables prior to his arrest. We’ll then read from Luke’s Gospel until the end of the liturgical year.

This gospel was written by a Jew, Matthew the tax-collector, for a Jewish Christian audience. The structure of the Gospel even reflects its Jewish origins. There are five discourse sections sandwich between 7 narrative sections. Those five narrative sections mirror the five books of Moses and portray Jesus the New Moses giving the New Law for God’s people. 

Because the Gospel was written by a Jew for the Jews, Matthew, utilizes far more Old Testament quotations and references than the other Gospel writers. Matthew’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ genealogy tracing Him back to David and then to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation.

Again, writing to Jews, Matthew portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jewish people—promises of salvation and justice and peace and glory. 

In today’s reading, Jesus promises that all of those longings—longings for the kingdom, longings for righteousness, for peace, longings to see the face of God—can be found in heading his teachings. You will obtain the kingdom of heaven, if you become humble. You will come to see the face of God, if you become pure of heart. You will obtain mercy if you show mercy.

Jesus is the fulfillment not only of God’s promises to the Jewish people, he is the fulfillment of our hearts deepest longings.  He fulfills our longings for truth, for goodness, for beauty, and for peace. But he is clear. We must pursue Him. We must pursue beatitude. It requires effort and conversion and embrace of the cross.

Beatitude is not obtained by passive complacency, or by those who resist the change of mind and heart that he teaches. Again, if you want mercy, you must show mercy. If you want peace, you must make peace. If you want purity of sight, you purify your heart. If you want truth to reign on earth, you must be willing to suffer for it. If you want the highest heaven, you must become lowly—poor in spirit. 

God’s promises coincide with our deepest longings. May we seek that fulfillment we long for in Christ, actively, intently, with all the effort we can muster, and with the help of God, so to obtain the life he promises, for the Glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That during this month of June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, all Christians may witness to the tender love of Christ for sinners through our prayer, fasting, and works of charity. 

For our young people beginning summer vacation, that they may be kept safe from the errors of our culture and kept in close friendship with Jesus through prayer and acts of mercy.

For all married couples, that they may be faithful to the Gospel in every dimension of their married life—and that single and celibate Christians may witness to the sacrificial, all-embracing love of Christ for all.

For the sick, the impoverished, the lonely, those suffering from mental illness, those most in need, and those near death: may God, through the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, be close to them in their trials

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

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord