Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

 As we look at the prayers in the Roman Missal for the Immaculate Conception we find them to be full of doctrine that explains the significance of this mystery. We are told in the Collect that: "you (God) preserved her (Our Lady) from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence." In the Prayer over the Offerings we pray: "and grant that, as we profess her, on account of your prevenient grace, to be untouched by any stain of sin, so, through her intercession we may be freed from all our faults." The Preface teaches: "She, the most pure Virgin, was to bring forth a Son, the innocent Lamb who would wipe away our offences; you placed her above all others to be for your people an advocate of grace and a model for holiness." Lastly, in the Prayer after Communion, we ask: "May the Sacrament we have received, O Lord our God, heal in us the wounds of that fault from which in a singular way you preserved Blessed Mary in her Immaculate Conception." All of this teases out the implications of the angel's words to Mary in the Gospel: "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you." (Lk 1: 28) and "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God." (Lk 1: 30) Clearly, the privilege granted to Our Lady was not merely for her benefit. It also serves to make more efficacious her intercession for the Church and mediates more effectively the mercy of God. Let us use this opportunity to renew our faith and trust in God's providential love and the prayers of Our Lady.

2nd Sunday of Advent

 John the Baptist tells his followers: "I baptize you with water for repentance" (Mtt 3: 11). Christian baptism is an adoption into Christ Jesus: "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father! it is that very Spirit bearing witness without spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." (Rm 8: 15-17) Advent is a season of preparation and repentance. We realize that left to our own devices we can fall back into attitudes of presumption and entitlement just like the Jewish people were in the time of John the Baptist: "Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our ancestor'; for I tell you , God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." (Mtt 5: 9) If we engage with the message of Advent, we will discover afresh not just the mystery of the Incarnation but also the dignity that we are called to as missionary disciples to follow Jesus and bring forth fruit for the Kingdom. In this way Advent can be for us a season of transformation and increased holiness that results in a harvest of joy.

1st Sunday of Advent (Year A)

 The Church helps us prepare to celebrate the First Coming of the Lord by giving us readings to prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord. Jesus tells us: "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." (Mtt 24: 42) Am I ready for the Second Coming? Or do I get caught up in the sybaritic pleasures advertised by secular "Christmas"? St Paul admonishes the Romans: "... let us live honourably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy." (Rm 13: 13) The holiness of my celebration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ will be informed by the holiness of my Advent. Many penitents, in this season, speak of struggling with anger. The period prior to Christmas and the seemingly inevitable oppression brought about through social expectations of gift giving and hospitality, can be stressful and suck us into a secular mindset that prioritizes status and fleeting pleasures. We need to stay alert to the mission given us by the Lord to follow him and not the dictates of a society which remains oblivious to the joy of the Gospel. Let us use the readings and our faith to stay focused on those things that truly last: "Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." (Mtt 24: 44)

34th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Feast of Christ the King

 It is difficult to take in the fulness of the mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, there can be a temptation to emphasize one aspect of his person. This can be seen in how we approach the Mass. Some will assert strongly the centrality of the sacrifice on the Cross while others, equally vehemently, hold that the key is the Resurrection. Likewise, during the liturgical year we must not focus too narrowly on any one season or event in the life of the Lord. The Feast of Christ the King, which brings an end to the liturgical year ahead of a new one begun in the First Sunday of Advent, draws our gaze heavenward to see that the journey started in Advent, with the mystery of the foretelling of the Messiah, leads to its fulfilment in Christ the King ruling creation through his risen power. This glory sums up the whole of Christ whom we celebrate and receive in the sacrament every Sunday. Let us contemplate the whole of Christ and be immersed in the spiritual reality that not only speaks of what happened to him but also how his power and glory are at work in us through the working of the Holy Spirit to the greater glory of God the Father.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Last Sunday the focus of the Church was on the Church of St John Lateran. Today the focus of the disciples is on the Temple in Jerusalem: "When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God." (Lk 21: 3) Both of these buildings and indeed all buildings will ultimately pass away along with the rest of Creation. These sacred buildings prefigure the heavenly realities as does the liturgy of the Mass. In the Letter to the Hebrews we hear: "But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made from hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." (Heb 9: 11-12) Let us not be carried away by the passing attractions of possessions, which charm with their status and glamour, especially as our society begins to advertise Christmas and the commercialism that informs the atheistic celebration of it. Our focus needs to be on the intangible realities which are articulated by the faith we share: "For we know that the earthly tent in which we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling - if indeed, when we have taken it off, we will not be found to be naked," (2 Cor 5: 1-3)

Dedication of Saint John Lateran

 Jesus says: " 'Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!' " (Jn 2: 16) Notice that he says "my." His relationship with the Father is unique and personal. In baptism we are adopted into that relationship. We are privileged to call God "our Father" every time we pray the Lord's Prayer. The church is essentially the gathering of the People of God; however, the building that houses them for the sacred liturgy reflects and symbolizes their dignity as a priestly people. How mistaken were people in the recent past when they thought to build churches that were "multi-functional!" As we gather for Mass let us be aware of the sacred space and our sacred dignity as the baptized. The Church is the sacrament of Christ therefore the building has a sacramental character which means that it is a sign of God's action in the world. The beauty of the edifice and its decorations all lead us to engage with the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist which communicates the "temple of his body" (Jn 2: 27) which we receive as food and drink to transform our own bodies into temples of the Holy Spirit which are conformed to his glory: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself." (Phil 3: 20-21) 

Commemoration of All Souls

 The words that strike me from the gospel for today are when Jesus tells the grieving widow: "Do not weep." (Lk 7: 13) Such tears are often a sign of hopelessness. We can feel powerless in the face of sin and death. We can also feel this way about those who have died. We know that, like us, they had sins and darkness in their lives which would prevent them from experiencing the fulness of beatitude in pure light of God's unmediated presence: "For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Cor 5: 10) Yet the Catholic doctrine of purgatory speaks of a hope for those who are sinful even though they have died. Purgatory allows those who need it to be purified of their sins. Our prayers, especially in the Mass, assist them as they engage in this process. In this way we are able to hope for those who have died and long for the time when we will be united with them in eternity free from sin, regret and guilt. Our hope is founded not in our own merits but in the mercy and love of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand and we boast of our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we boast of our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Rom 5: 1-5)