Salvation is a Partnership Between God and Man

On this last Sunday of Advent, as the solemn celebration of Christ's birth approaches, the Church reminds us of that holy day nine months earlier  when Jesus was conceived in his Mother's womb.

There are two great mysteries connected with that day. The first is the mystery of God becoming man - the Incarnation. God has loved us so much that he became one of us, so that he could save us from sin and the meaninglessness that sin brings, and show us the way to a meaningful life, now and forever.

The second mystery is that God didn't - and doesn't - work out that plan of salvation for us all by himself. Instead, he asks for our cooperation. In today's Gospel, God invites Mary to become the mother of the Savior. It was possible for Mary to reject this invitation.

As in the parable of the many townspeople who decline the king's invitation to attend his son's wedding feast. Mary could have said, "Thanks for the invitation, Lord, but what you're asking is actually very inconvenient for me. I really wish I could do what you want, but I'm just not there yet."

That's how Adam and Eve had responded to God's invitation to take care of the Garden of Eden. But Mary didn't insult God with an answer like that. She knew God and knew that his plans are always wise and wonderful. So, she put her life at his service: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according to your word." Mary's "yes" reversed Eve's "no", and made room for Christ's undoing of Adam's fall.

When God disrupts our plans, we should follow Mary's example, making our contribution to God's work of salvation, however small it may be. Salvation is God's business, but it's a partnership; we have a role to play as well.

David Wins (from the 2^nd Samuel 7:1-5, 8-11, 16)

King David, the greatest of Israel's Old Testament kings, learned this lesson well. Today's First Reading begins by telling us that when David received the wonderful Christmas prophecy about his descendent, Jesus, who would rule forever, he "was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side."

That's a very brief summary of the last twenty-plus years of his life. During those years David lived like a renegade to avoid being murdered by the king who preceded him, Saul. Then he fought a civil war against Saul's followers, and another, ongoing war against the foreign power of the Philistines. Although he was usually outnumbered and under-equipped, God always gave him the victory.

Perhaps the most famous of his victories was his first one. At the time, the Israelites' war with the Philistines was at a standstill. The Philistine's gigantic warrior, Goliath, had challenged Israel to let the war be decided by one-on-one combat between himself and Israel's greatest soldier. But no Israelite, not even King Saul, was courageous enough to face the gargantuan Goliath.

When the teenaged shepherd boy David heard about it, he immediately accepted the challenge and went in front of the giant without armor, sword, or shield. As they faced each other, he said to the Philistine: "You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted."

And sure enough, as Goliath rushed at David with sword and spear, the future king fit a stone to his sling and fired it right into the Philistine's forehead, stopping him dead in his tracks. David knew God well and trusted in him - our God, the God of Jesus Christ, for whom "nothing is impossible," and that was the source of his extraordinary courage.

How God Disrupts Our Plans

Mary's "yes" to God wasn't easy; it involved a total change of her plans. Mary had felt called early on to serve God through consecrated virginity, which meant not having children. This is the reason behind her comment to the angel: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"

That comment would have made no sense if she were planning on leading a normal married life with St Joseph, her fiancée. Life as a virgin consecrated to God was what she had envisioned for herself and planned for. But then the angel came along and changed those plans.

God often does the same thing with us. Like a good coach, he pushes us out of our comfort zone so that we can reach our full potential as Christians. There are three ways especially in which God tends to disrupt our plans.

First, when we are really busy and don't' want any interruptions, he brings us into contact with someone who needs help. Second, we suddenly discover that certain popular and fashionable behaviours or activities (which we would like to follow) are actually against Church teaching, that they cause damage to us and to others.

Third, when we are really tired, fed up, or angry, our conscience - like the angel Gabriel in today's Gospel passage - sends us a message saying that we really need to keep working, or to do a little extra work, or to be extra patient with someone, or to hold our tongue. These are three common ways that God disrupts our personal plans in order to invite us to be partners in his plan of salvation.

During this Mass, let's ask God for the grace to respond generously to those disruptions, as Mary did, especially during the Christmas season, so that our part in God's plan of salvation is sure to get done.

Rejoice, the Messiah is Already Here

My dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday is also called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete from the first Latin word of its entrance antiphon: Gaudete — Rejoice, and includes the first Glory to God we've prayed or sung on a Sunday since Advent began.

Rose coloured vestments are an option only two days of the year, and this is one of them. Why? It's not Christmas Day yet, but it is the day we celebrate the joyous realization that the Messiah is already here and appearing soon.

Prophet Isaiah reminds us that the coming of the Anointed of the Lord ("The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me"), the Messiah, is going to bring good things and is a cause for rejoicing. The anointed one brings a happy resolution to a veritable litany of afflictions: good news to the poor, healing to the sad and grieving, freedom to the imprisoned and enslaved, a blessed time, and vindication—being cleared from blame for past faults. Isaiah doesn't just describe what the Anointed One will bring, but our reaction as well in a language that inspired Mary's Magnificat (see Luke 1:46-55). We rejoice because with the Messiah justice and peace will flourish as abundantly as a lush garden.

St. Paul reminds us that joy should not just be our attitude when things are going great, but when things are going rotten as well, because those things pale compared to the joy Our Lord will bring us. Some may see us as airheads when we live joyfully for no apparent reason, but that's when we must explain the cause of our joy: doing God's will, aided by the Holy Spirit, can fill us with nothing other than joy. St. Paul encourages us to be moved by the Spirit, but this is not just sentimentalism. He teaches us to test everything to see what is truly good and what is truly evil. The good makes us profoundly happy; evil just makes us miserable if we let it. We rejoice because even though holiness is hard, Our Lord has promised he will help us and he will do the heavy lifting in our sanctification. We just have to let ourselves by led by his Spirit. All the things the Messiah promises in the First Reading will be brought to us spiritually by Christ if we let him: good news, true freedom, healing, justice, and peace.

In today's Gospel John the Baptist tells the priests, Levites, and Pharisees that he is not the Messiah, but that the Messiah has arrived and he is heralding him. As we saw in last week's readings, the prophet Malachi said someone would prepare the way for the Lord (see Malachi 3:1). That someone would encourage his listeners to make straight the way of the Lord (see Isaiah 40:3): John the Baptist. John identifies himself as that person today.

The amazing message of John that should fill any believing Jew with awe (hence, his sceptical visitors didn't pick up on it) was that, unlike the prophets before him, he was telling them the Messiah was already "among" them. The Messiah was not coming. He was already here and just hadn't "gone public" yet. To be fair, that would take some time for the Jews to process, because for them the Messiah would come in power and glory to "clean house" for them. This Gospel is apt for Advent because now we remember Our Savior in Mary's womb, about to be born. He is already among us, but hidden, waiting to be revealed. In a way this week we can celebrate the moment of salvation history when Mary becomes pregnant and Jesus' birthday draws near.

You Rejoice at Finding Out Your Pregnant, Not Just When the Baby is Born

A woman rejoices when she finds out she's pregnant, not just when she delivers the baby.That good news usher in an attitude of joyous expectation for the impending birth. It involves some anxious moments of unhappy hormones, planning, and doubts about the future, but none of that can drown out the joy coming to term in her womb.

On the day of delivery, the pain gives way to an indescribable joy that lasts forever. Advent is now shifting gears. Our Lord is now in Mary's womb. His birth, the birth of Our Savior, is close.

Bring Some Joy to Others This Week

Today's First Reading not only tells us the joyful things the Messiah will bring; it tells us how we can imitate him. We may not be able to do miraculous things (unless the Lord wills it), but we can bring joy into someone's life.

If we're not doing that with our family, that's where we must start, but it shouldn't just stop there. Just as in other times of year there are people hurting, hungry, or simply lonely during this season. If we bring them joy, we bring them the good news that someone loves them and cares for them always: Our Lord. 

The purple candles symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over, and they are close to Christmas.

(source: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/advent)

Putting up the Crib

How do we celebrate Christmas? One of the ways we celebrate Christmas is by putting up a Crib at home. The tradition of putting up a Crib during the Christmas season was started by St Francis of Assisi. Putting up the Crib at home can be a simple but effective way of presenting faith, to pass it on to one's children.

Francis brought to the scene a vision that saw more than the pleasant tableau we now have. As quoted above, he wanted to show the hardships Jesus suffered already as an infant. In the daring phrase of St. Paul, he saw the emptying of the glory of the Son of God, born of a gentle mother but still thrown upon a stony and resisting world.

Saint Francis wanted to realize and help people realize exactly what God had done for his people, and "how poor he chose to be for our sakes." He saw the Son of God placing himself, as it were, on the margin of divinity. He saw a truly human Jesus, not a divine being hiding behind a deceptive physical facade.

The Crib helps us contemplate the mystery of God's love that was revealed in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem Grotto.St Francis of Assisi was so taken by the mystery of the Incarnation that he wanted to present it anew at Greccio in the living Nativity scene, thus beginning an old, popular tradition that still retains its value for evangelization today.

Indeed, the Crib can help us understand the secret of the true Christmas because it speaks of the humility and merciful goodness of Christ, who "though he was rich he made himself poor" for us (II Cor 8: 9).

His poverty enriches those who embrace it and Christmas brings joy and peace to those who, like the shepherds in Bethlehem, accept the Angel's words: "Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes" (Lk 2: 12).This is still the sign for us too, men and women of the third millennium.There is no other Christmas.

Putting up the tree

The Christmas tree is something that we can also attribute to a saint. St Boniface was a Devon man, born at Crediton where he is still honoured as a local hero. He was a Saxon and lived in the 7th century. His baptismal name was Wynfrith, but he took the name Boniface (Latin for "one who does good") when he was ordained and became a missionary, heading for Germany and the pagan tribes who lived there.

He discovered that they worshipped trees, and that they had great fear of the tree-gods whose dark and brooding presence was felt in the vast conifer forests. However, by chopping down a great tree, which was regarded as especially sacred, Boniface revealed that there was no need to fear any more – he taught that the one true God is a God of love, who came to dwell among us as a helpless baby. Henceforth trees took on a new significance – decorating one to honour Christ's birth, and also the tree of Calvary on which Christ died for us all.

A Christmas tree is a thing of joy and beauty. It can also be a Christian symbol, its lights echoing the candles of the Advent wreath with their reminder that Christ is our light, its toys and gifts reminding us that this is a time for generosity and mutual love. 

Every Christian Is another John the Baptist

John the Baptist always plays a big role in Advent. He was the last and greatest of a long line of Old Testament prophets. God sent those prophets to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed Savior and Redeemer of the world - Jesus.

Isaiah's prophecy in today's First Reading was made more than five hundred years before John the Baptist's prophecy, but their substance is very much the same: God has not forgotten his people, and in spite of their sufferings, sins, and failings, he will come and save them, shepherding them to a happiness beyond what they can imagine. The consistency of the message throughout so long a period of time puts into context that fascinating line from the Second Reading, which is actually a quotation from the Book of Psalms (Psalm 90:4): "with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." God is consistent; he foll ows through on his plans.

But if John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets, he was the first of the New Testament prophets. Prophets are messengers of God. And in New Testament times, our times, the Age of the Church, each Christian is a messenger of God, and so each Christian is a prophet.

The liturgy reminds us of this every time we come to Mass, when we make the sign of the cross over our lips before the Gospel is proclaimed. This symbolizes our mission as Christians to communicate the Good News of the Gospel; it's not just for us. As the first New Testament prophet, John the Baptist has three valuable lessons to teach us about how to be a prophet.

Inviting Others to Repent

First, John invited the people of his time to repent from their sins, so that they would be ready to welcome Jesus, the Savior. We too are called to invite others to leave behind the sinful patterns of life that our society encourages, so that God's grace can come into their lives. This doesn't mean that all of us are called to go stand on street corners shouting about hellfire and brimstone. But it does mean that we should not be afraid to encourage our friends, colleagues, family members, and neighbors to live the life Christ taught us to live.

Christ made it clear that greed, lies, adultery, laziness, fornication, and every kind of selfishness is destructive. Every sin, even if the fashionable ones like homosexuality and drugs, leads us further away from the happiness and peace of mind we long for. And so, if we really care about other people, we will do our best to warn them against sin. Sometimes we are afraid to do this because we don't want to "force our morality on other people," as the phrase goes. This is a false argument. It is not our morality; it is Christ's morality, the morality he built into human nature.

He knows what makes the human heart wise, strong, and joyful, because he created the human heart. Imagine a mechanic being afraid to tell the owner of a car how to take care of the car's engine, because he was afraid to "force his opinions" on other people. Imagine a master violinist being afraid to show his students how to place their fingers on the strings because he was afraid of "offending their sensibilities."

A Christian afraid of sharing with others the rich wisdom of Christ, the secrets to happiness that Jesus died to give us, would be just as ridiculous.

The Immaculate Conception celebrates the belief that Mary was conceived free of original sin, and as such, is commemorated nine months before the date of Mary's birth on September 8. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is one of the most important feasts celebrated by the Catholic Church.

A feast of the Conception of Mary was first celebrated in the Eastern Church in the seventh century. It came to the West in the eighth century. In the 11th century it received its present name, the Immaculate Conception.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX's solemn declaration, "Ineffabilis Deus," clarified with finality the Church's deeply held belief that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege because of Her unique role in history as the Mother of God. That is, she received the gift of salvation in Christ from the very moment of her conception. From that moment became a feast of the universal Church. It is now recognized as a solemnity.

Since the beginning of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been regarded as the holiest and the most blessed of all disciples. We can say that the Immaculate Conception was the beginning of our salvation and is now one of the central doctrines of our faith. For us as members of the Catholic faith, the Immaculate Conception is not just significant, it is essential. Because of the grace of God, Mary was preserved from sin. Because Mary was preserved from sin, she was prepared to become the sinless Mother of Jesus, who by his life, death and resurrection, has ransomed us from sin. Because of Mary's Immaculate Conception, because of her "yes" to God, we have been redeemed, and given the promise of eternal life through the merits of Mary's Son, Jesus. Because of this, we celebrate the Feast Day to highlight the significant place Our Lady has in salvation history.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception places Our Lady before the faithful as an example of what God can do and what we can do, if like Mary, we put ourselves in God's hands and at God's service, always open to what God asks and always seeking to fulfill God's will.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception also encourages us to do our best to remain free from sin. Although we are all born with original sin and through the grace of Baptism are freed from sin, in the course of our life, because of human weakness, we fail and commit sin. The Immaculate Conception reminds us that if we cooperate with God 's grace, as did the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can lead a life as free from sin as is humanly possible.

Every person is called to recognize and respond to God's call to their own vocation in order to carry out God's plan for their life and fulfill the mission prepared for them since before the beginning of time. Mary's "Let it be done to me according to Thy Word," in response to the Angel Gabriel's greeting, is the response required of all Christians to God's Plan.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the great joy of God's gift to humanity in Mary, and to recognize with greater clarity, the truth that each and every human being has been created by God to fulfill a particular mission that he and only he can fulfill. 

The Advent season lasts for 4 weeks and 4 Sundays or for one month leading up to the Christmas celebration. During the Advent season, all the readings and reflections in the Liturgical calendar describe the joyful and happy atmosphere awaiting the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God.Enter your quote here...

Setting The Tone for Advent

My dear brothers and sisters, today we begin the first liturgical season of a new liturgical year: Advent. Today's readings help us to set the right tone for this season.

Prophet Isaiah in today's First Reading articulated the feeling of abandonment to sin on the part of Israel, unfaithful and fallen, and desire that the Lord return to them and set things right, no matter what the consequences. Israel, through Isaiah's lips, is tired of the long, lonely night of sin. They've turned from the Lord's path and not heeded him as they should.

The Lord has rescued them many times, and, even now, they call upon him as their "redeemer" hoping he will work similar wonders for them as he did for their forefathers. They also acknowledge that the Lord will redeem them if he comes and finds them striving to change; the redeemer responds to our efforts at righteousness. Those who are indifferent to the Lord and his ways will never find them, but Israel today shows regret for what it has done or failed to do.

Advent is a time for us to regret one of the big reasons for Our Lord's First Coming at Christmas: our sins and his desire to redeem us from them. It commemorated the time of penance before the coming of Christ when man was lost and fallen, so that when our Redeemer comes, we welcome him with even more joyous expectation.

St. Paul in today's Second Reading reminds us that with the coming of Christ the lament of Isaiah in the First Reading has been heard. Christ has come and redeemed us, and now, this Advent, we await him to come again at Bethlehem. St. Paul reminds us of all the spiritual gifts Our Lord has showered upon us thanks to his First Coming.

We live Advent already redeemed. We know how the story ends, even though with the Advent season we return to the first part of the narrative when a Fallen man was lost in sin and without hope. St. Paul today may be speaking of the Second Coming, but his words remind us that every Advent season is an opportunity for Our Lord to come into our hearts and reveal himself in a special way, building on the spiritual gifts we've already received.

Advent, in expectation for Christmas, should not be lived in a spirit of "what have you given me lately?", but, rather, recalling all that Our Lord has given us, along with the hope that he will continue to lavish his spiritual gifts on us.

Then, Jesus in today's Gospel establishes the tone for Advent, even though he is speaking of the Second Coming: vigilant expectation. The Lord first came in a way that nobody expected. Isaiah today was hoping the Lord would come and make mountains quake, but Our Lord was born a baby in a cave instead, hidden to most of the world.

A lot of knowledgeable people in the Lord's time were clueless about the time and way in which he was coming. It reminds us that many times God is not someone we figure out, but Someone who reveals himself to us. We know how the story ends, so there is no spoiler alert needed, but every liturgical season presents us with an opportunity to keep our eyes open so that we recognize when the Lord sends some special insight or grace our way.

In a conversation where we get distracted, we sometimes miss something the other person was saying. Advent is a moment for giving the Lord our undivided attention so he can guide us to a better life. He wants to have a conversation with us this season.

The Colour of Advent

The liturgical colour of Advent, except for one Sunday, is purple, and it is no coincidence that we use the same liturgical colour for Advent and Lent. During Advent, we commemorate humanity lost in sin for millennia (at least) before the coming of Christ.

Advent commemorates an extended period of sorrow and suffering for humanity. Every time we see that purple, we should remind ourselves what life was like before the coming of Christ, and what it would be like today without him. Advent provides an opportunity to do just that.

Don't Skip Advent

Everyone faces the temptation of fast forwarding their attention and concern to Christmas, and many times that takes them off track, focusing on shopping and family logistics instead of the Reason for the Season. Advent is an opportunity for each of us to meditate on the Reason for the Season and help others to do so as well.

It is a time for reflecting on our sins and asking Our Lord to continue to redeem us from them. If there's some point of spiritual growth with which we are struggling, Advent is a time not only to work on it but to pray unceasingly for the Lord's help in overcoming it. If we've become estranged from someone we love (or loved), we can ask Our Lord to help us to become reconciled.

Shopping and family logistics are a reality of this season, but they also provide a spiritual opportunity to go out of our way for others. All the organizing, planning, budgeting, wrapping, etc. is to express your love for someone, and in loving others, you love Christ. Don't forget to include something for someone who may have no one to love them. 

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The practice of praying for the dead is rooted in scripture and remains a practice of the Catholic church today.According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "All who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (CCC 1030). Purgatory is not a second chance for souls to repent. Instead, it is a state of purification for those destined to be in Heaven.

Why do we pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory? In short, because our prayers help them! Saint John Vianney said, "Consider then...the magnitude of these sufferings which the souls in Purgatory endure; and the means which we have of mitigating them: our prayers, our good works, and, above all, the holy sacrifice of the Mass"

There are many ways we can pray for the souls in Purgatory. Seven ways to do so this month and throughout the year! 

1. Request a Mass to be offered for the repose of souls.
2. Mortifications throughout your day can be offered up for the purification of souls in Purgatory!
3. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
4. Pray for the Office of the Dead.
5. Make Sacrifices for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
6. Add the "Eternal Rest" Prayer to Your Regular Prayer Routine
   Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
7. Visit a Cemetery and Pray for the Departed
   Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy! Take the time to visit the graves of loved ones–or even strangers. Some so many souls are not prayed for.
8. Pray Saint Gertrude's Prayer for Souls in Purgatory. It is said that this powerful prayer can release 1,000 souls from Purgatory!
   "Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and my family. Amen."
9. Good works

In praying for the faithful departed, I'm reminded of this powerful quote from Venerable Fulton Sheen:
"As we enter heaven, we will see them, so many of them coming towards us and thanking us. We will ask who they are, and they will say a poor soul you prayed for in Purgatory." 

Each year, as we celebrate the Commemoration of the Holy Souls, may the God of all consolation "bless us with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life."And as the closing prayer of mass for All Souls reminds us, "To us who are alive may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light, happiness, and peace."

"All who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven."

(CCC, 1030)

How can we experience a peaceful and happy death in the future?If we prepare for our death. We do this by contemplating our death. We may not want to think about our death because we are afraid of the death we are bound to face.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, on the other hand, enjoyed contemplating death, even her death. Her favourite place for meditation and prayer was the monastery cemetery. Even St. Therese longed for her death. Because for Therese life in this world is not our real life. Our true life is to live in Heaven together with God the Father. The only way to eternal life is death.

By contemplating death, we are invited to always be on guard and always ready. We will always try to live according to God's will and please God. In this way, when the time of death comes, we face it with peace and happiness.

Besides contemplating our death, we also devote ourselves to St. Joseph, the protector of the dead souls and peaceful death. It is said that at the end of his life, Joseph died peacefully in his home in Nazareth and was cared for at the time of his death by his spouse, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ.

So, if you, too, desire a peaceful death, become friends with Joseph! The first step on your to-do list is to gain and maintain a state of grace for your soul. Make a good Confession frequently and receive the sacraments regularly, detach yourself from sin, and live a life pleasing to God.

Grow in your relationship with St. Joseph. It is said that St. Joseph will intercede on behalf of those who have a devotion to him for a peaceful end to their earthly life. The Joseph connection then is that when we die, we could surely benefit by praying to have Jesus, Mary and Joseph at our bedside to help usher us to eternity.

Here's a beautiful prayer intercession through Saint Joseph: 

We Don't Know WHEN Christ Will Come Again, but We Do Know THAT He Will Come Again

My dear brothers and sisters, in today's Gospel Jesus gave us a parable of ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And at the end of the Gospel, Jesus himself sums up the meaning of his parable: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." It's so easy to forget this.

We go on living as if we think this earthly life will go on forever. Nothing is further from the truth. Death is not a distant point in the future, an endpoint of our lives. Rather, it accompanies us each step of the way and could come upon us at any time. And history itself will also die, come to an end.

When will this last day happen? There are only two possibilities. Either Christ will come again, bring an end to history, and establish his Kingdom definitively before we die; Or before that, he will come to each of us at the moment of our death, and to each of our loved ones, and bring us to his judgment seat individually.

There is no doubt about this; our Lord has revealed it. And the Church today is asking us to think about it, to remember it, to have a living faith in it.

The Nearness of Christ's Second Coming

The Christian community in the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica, to which St. Paul wrote the Letter we listened to in the Second Reading, had a problem.

They were first-generation Christians, and the first generation was convinced that Christ's Second Coming was right around the corner. (His "Second Coming" is the one we profess faith in every Sunday when we pray the Creed: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.")

But it didn't happen the first year after his Ascension, nor the second. And then a few more years passed, and still, he didn't return. And it so happened that some of the believers of the community in Thessalonica died, and Christ still hadn't come. And the remaining Christians were worried about their brothers and sisters who had died.

Since they were already dead, they were going to miss Christ's Second Coming, so they thought. And as a result, some Thessalonians thought their relatives wouldn't be able to come with the rest of them into Christ's definitive Kingdom. They were lost because they had died too soon!

St. Paul corrects their mistaken understanding. He explains what we already know and profess every Sunday: that when Christ comes again, both the living and the dead will be brought before him to receive their reward, be it eternal life with him forever in heaven, or eternal separation from him forever in hell. Jesus is Lord and Savior and Judge of both the living and the dead.

But St. Paul doesn't try to convince the Thessalonians that Christ isn't coming soon. That conviction isn't a mistake. Christ is coming soon. He either comes soon for each one of us, which we call death, or he'll be coming soon to bring history itself to its end and fulfilment.

These are truths of our faith, and we shouldn't ignore them; today we have a chance to reflect on them.

November Perspective

For Catholics, the month of November has long been a time to put things into perspective. It's the month when the liturgy reminds us that our Lord will come again, and that this life is not all that there is.
The wisdom and peace of mind that come from reflecting on these truths, in the light of Christ's love, are incalculable. But we have to put forth the effort to make that reflection. We have to take time to contemplate the changing natural season, or visit the graves of loved ones, or spend more time with the sick and the dying or read about the past history of salvation and God's plan for the future.
In this Mass, Christ will come once again to offer himself to each one of us, pledging his faithfulness and the glory to come our way if we stay faithful to him. As he does, let's make a promise.
Let's promise our Lord that we will do something concrete to make this month different, to put our personal life in harmony with the Church's deep meditation on the Last Things. And let's not leave this building until we've decided what that "something" will be.

Our Lady and Souls in Purgatory

The existence of purgatory — where all those souls who die in the state of sanctifying grace and yet still have to undergo a period of purgation before entering the kingdom of God, because according to Scriptures nothing sin will enter heaven — is a dogma of our Catholic faith.

This is how St. Faustina described purgatory: "I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently for themselves but to no avail for only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. They answered me in one voice, that their greatest torment was longing for God."

She saw Our Lady visiting these souls. All the Holy Souls in purgatory call her "The Star of the Sea." As she was leaving, St. Faustina heard a voice say to her, "My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it." The church teaches that once in purgatory, those souls cannot gain any more merit to help themselves. They rely on our charity, our prayers, our sufferings and our sacrifices. But even if we should forget those in purgatory, Our Lady cannot forget them because she loves all her children, especially those who need her most.

Our Lady once said to St. Bridget, "I am the Mother of all the souls in purgatory, and I am Mother of Mercy to these my children who are in the greatest need of my assistance, since in their torments they cannot help themselves."

St. Bernardine of Siena says "that in that prison where souls that are spouses of Jesus Christ are detained, Mary has a certain dominion and plentitude of power not only to relieve them but even to deliver them from their pains."

Again, she told that as a compassionate Mother, she condescends to go herself often into that Holy Prison to visit and comfort her suffering children. To her children who are devoted to the recitation of the Holy Rosary every day, Our Lady promises "to personally deliver them from purgatory herself." That promise is pictured in the painting of the Last Judgment by Michaelangelo, where Our Lady is seen pulling two souls out of purgatory by means of the chain of the Holy Rosary.

And how about Our Lady's second great scapular promise known as the "Sabbatine Privilege," which was given by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Pope John XXII in the year 1322: "Those who wear the Scapular and fulfill two other conditions (Chastity and Prayer) can obtain early liberation from Purgatory, through the special intercession of the Virgin Mary, on the first Saturday after their death, the day consecrated to her."

St. Bernadine of Siena said the Blessed Virgin has the power of delivering souls from purgatory, but more particularly those who were most devoted to her.

The church teaches that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most effective means of assisting souls in purgatory. Another effective means is reciting the rosary. By the rosary, we offer to God all the merits of Our Lord in union with Mary for the suffering souls.

How much it must please Our Lady when we offer the rosary in union with her to liberate her suffering children from that holy prison to be with her in heaven, and in the process, she promises to also liberate us from that prison to be with her forever. 

The Message is What Matters, Not Prestige

My dear brothers and sisters, all readings at 31^st Sunday Mass remind us that our receptivity to a message should not be determined by our esteem or scorn for the messenger, but by whether that message is true. When we are the messengers, we must also remember that anything we do to contradict the message hinders even the truest things we try to share.

In the book of Malachi, the Lord laments the fact that his priests are playing favourites instead of carrying out the office entrusted to them. Priests are held to a high moral standard, even today, and when they do not live up to it, their lifestyle sends the wrong message and imparts the false teaching.

Jesus in the Gospel Matthew does not criticize the Pharisees so much for what they teach as much as for what they do. They do not do what they teach. Being revealed as a hypocrite is one of the most detestable things imaginable. A hypocrite transmits two contradictory messages and, even when one of them is true, he clouds the ability to get to the truth. The Lord today warns the priests who are showing partiality and hypocrisy that their blessings will become curses: when the truth is revealed about them an apparent blessing is revealed to be a lie for everyone to see.

St. Paul in his first letter to Thessalonians paints another portrait of a minister of God: a humble, caring, and loving messenger. Humility is about speaking the truth, no matter what the consequences. Paul's actions show his sincerity in holding himself up as an example not only of a shepherd of souls but of any believer.

He has put the Lord's invitation to be meek and humble of heart into practice, seeing his ministry as one akin to a nursing mother. Like the mother of a newborn, he not only nourishes them on the Gospel but offers them his very self. His motivations are not selfish: he cares for them because he loves them. Unlike the burdensome Pharisees Our Lord decries in today's Gospel; he doesn't seek to be a burden to anyone. In Acts, it is mentioned that he practiced his livelihood (tent making) while carrying out his ministry (see Acts 18:1-3; 20:33-35). He didn't seek out money but was grateful when it was offered to help him help others (see Philippians 4:14-16). It wasn't about the money. If any servant of Our Lord were just in it for the money, they would probably change careers (see Paul's "boast" in 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 if you want a job description). Paul received satisfaction from knowing that through his example the Thessalonians truly believed that he had shared the word of God with them and put it into practice as a result. Every servant of Our Lord couldn't be happier if he helped someone in this way.

In today's Gospel Jesus makes an admonition to the disciples that for us has become an essential rule of thumb: practice what you preach. He also reminds us that with prestige and recognition come expectations. All believers are brothers because they all share one Father in Heaven, and they are all disciples because they follow the teachings of one Master, Christ. Through baptism we've all received an equal dignity in the eyes of God, and when any member of the Church forgets that other members of the Church suffer through their bad example. At the same time, Our Lord does not deny that the scribes and Pharisees whom he is criticizing have an authority that comes from Moses that is to be respected.

Today there are some who are tempted to discard the preaching because certain preachers do not practice it. That's not what Jesus teaches us. It's sad when a preacher gets in the way of the message by putting himself first, but if he is preaching what has been handed down to us from Christ through the apostles and their successors, it is still a teaching that is necessary for us, because it is true. That's the ultimate criterion for accepting anyone's message: whether it is true or not. Prestige or infamy don't change what's true.

The core lesson today to bishops, priests, and deacons is not to let themselves get in the way of communicating the message: it's not about ego, titles, or honours, but, instead, about communicating the message Our Lord has entrusted to the Church's pastors through the centuries. This is a lesson for every believer: through our bad example we can hinder the spread of the Gospel, the message everyone needs to hear and believe.

Our Lord also reminds us today that with prestige and recognition comes expectation: the expectations we have, but also the expectations of others. When we seek recognition or prestige for their sake, climbing the social ladder, trying to get ahead in life, etc., at some point, we come to the realization, if we're fortunate, that we're milking past glories instead of doing the things that'd merit recognition. That's vainglory.

Even if we don't realize it, we can be sure that others do. Jesus puts us on guard against resting on our laurels, as some scribes did, who focused on maintaining and increasing their prestige instead of helping people to understand God's word, which is what they were trained to do, and what was expected of them.

If we focus on giving the best of ourselves for the sake of others, receiving recognition for it or not doesn't matter to us. This is a healthy way of keeping our accomplishments from getting to our heads.

True Friends Level with You

When someone is struggling with substance abuse, sometimes their loved ones and the professionals helping them resort to some "tough love" through what is called an intervention, hoping a loving shock to the addict's system will help him seek help. The addict is confronted in a safe environment about his destructive behaviour by loved ones (and one or more professionals who help arbitrate and provide professional advice) and offered an immediate opportunity to seek rehabilitation (usually they arrange a place for the addict to go before they confront him).

Each loved one in the intervention writes in advance and presents: How they have been wrongly affected personally by the addict's behaviour; Changes they have noticed in the addict's personality, reliability and self-control; The overall impact that the addicted person's behaviour has had on their relationship; Dreams and goals they have for the addict post-treatment; A statement of unconditional love for the addict, but a promise that the intervener can no longer help the addict destroy himself.

You can imagine the reaction of a person in the grip of addiction as he hears his loved ones telling him truths, he may not want to hear anger, confusion, paranoia, denial. Deep down he knows the message is true and those he loves are trying to help him face the truth. True friends' level with you.

The Invisible Messenger

My dear brothers and sisters, if a courier walked into your office and was rude it would reflect poorly on his company. Imagine how our conduct reflects on what people think of Christians. Let's ask Our Lord today to help us be good brothers and disciples who share his message with those who need it without ego trips so that they welcome the message and don't get hung up on the messenger. Let's stand out this week as being messengers of the Gospel who don't stand out in any way that would contradict the Gospel we share. 

Let us die with Christ, to live with Christ!

We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ, and death a gain. What does "Christ" mean but to die in the body, and receive the breath of life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We have a doctor to heal us; let us use the remedy he prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Though we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body, but we must desire before all else the gifts of grace.

What more need be said? It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if he did not want to, but he did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided, and he could have found no better means to save us than by dying. Thus, his death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of his death; when we pray, we preach his death; when we offer sacrifice we proclaim his death. His death is victory; his death is a sacred sign; each year his death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labour and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

The soul has to turn away from the aimless paths of this life, from the defilement of an earthly body; it must reach out to those assemblies in heaven (though it is given only to the saints to be admitted to them) to sing the praises of God. We learn from Scripture how God's praise is sung to the music of the harp: Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not revere and glorify your nature? You alone are holy; all nations will come and worship before you. The soul must also desire to witness your nuptials, Jesus, and to see your bride escorted from earthly to heavenly realities, as all rejoice and sing: All flesh will come before you. No longer will the bride be held in subjection to this passing world but will be made one with the spirit.

Above all else, holy David prayed that he might see and gaze on this: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to see how gracious the Lord is. 

The Church has encouraged prayers for the dead from the earliest centuries as an act of Christian charity. As early as the second century, Christians commemorated the remembrance of the dead, especially of the martyrs. The day of remembrance for the dead that we practice today originated in the seventh century and it is known that Saint Isadore of Seville promoted it. The monks of Cluny instituted November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints, and in the fourteenth century, Rome spread that practice to the universal Church. The practice of offering three masses on this day began in Spain in the fifteenth century. It was Pope Benedict XV who spread this privilege to the entire Church.

The celebration of All Holy Souls Day recalls the suffering and death of Christ, which gives meaning to the death of the Christian faithful. As we have died with Him, so shall we share in His resurrection. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and belief in our resurrection should assure us to take life seriously. Death is not something that we as Christian face with fear; it is not a threat to our lives. If we understand it as the necessary prelude to resurrection, then it will help us to determine how to live. We will then consider our time in this life as a series of opportunities for believing, hoping, loving, and growing. Such opportunities are unique, are gifts from God, and will not be repeated. So, we should not miss them!

Our destiny has been designed by the same Father who raised Jesus from death. He wants us to join his Son in glory where we will live with more intensity than ever before, and forever. All Souls is a feast of God's triumph, in Jesus, over sin and death, and "a promise that we will one day enjoy the vision of God's glory in the kingdom where hope is firm for all who love, and rest is sure for all who serve." (Sr. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, in Scripture in Church, v. 15, n.60, p.403).

Perhaps we will be more conscious of the Communion of Saints, which the Church teaches at every Mass, where our deceased loved ones join the Lord and the visible priest in the sanctuary. We are much closer to them at Mass than at any cemetery. They are always with the Lord, and He is with us as the true Celebrant of every mass.

When we pray for them, we experience a wonderful communion of help and companionship. They pray for us and look forward to our reunion one day. We can be aware too that we are also making our way to the fullness of life and happiness in Jesus. That life is the gift that He has won for us.

Each year, as we celebrate the Commemoration of the Holy Souls, may the God of all consolation "bless us with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life." And as the closing prayer of mass for All Souls reminds us, "To us who are alive may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light, happiness, and peace." 

Love for God and Neighbour Cannot Be Separated

My dear brothers and sisters, the "law and the prophets" that Jesus refers to in the Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 were considered by the Jews to contain the absolutely unique self-revelation of the one, true God to his only Chosen People. Possessing this revelation made ancient Israel more privileged than all other nations and peoples.

Therefore, when the Pharisee (who, like all Pharisees, was an expert in "the law and the prophets") asks Jesus to identify the greatest among the 613 commandments of the Old Testament, he is really challenging Christ to give an interpretation of the entire history and reality of the Israelite nation. We can imagine Christ fixing his eyes on those of the questioner, wondering how sincere the question really was.

St Matthew doesn't tell us how the Pharisee reacted, but we can imagine that he was surprised, if not downright shocked. Jesus had been asked to name one commandment, but then he listed two. The shrewd Pharisees would have noticed this.

In listing two commandments, Jesus was pointing out that you cannot separate loving God from loving one's neighbour. And that's exactly what many of the Pharisees did every single day.

God is our Creator and Savior; his love is both universal and personal. He loves every single human being so much that he gave his life on the cross to pay the price for each person's sin, to open the gates of heaven to every single person who is willing to follow him.

And so, if someone truly loves God with all their heart, it would be a contradiction not to treat one's neighbours - those very people whom God loves and suffered to save - with sincere and self-sacrificing respect. The old saying applies above all to God: A friend of yours is a friend of mine.

St. Almachius Beats the Gladiators

This is one of the great differences between Christian saints and the wise spiritual heroes of other religions: the saints learn to be close to God, but they also learn to constantly go out of their way to serve their neighbors.

One surprising example is the case of St Almachius [ahl- MAHK-ee-uhs]. He lived in Palestine around the year 400. From an early age he felt called to love God wholeheartedly by following a life of prayer and penance. For many years he lived as a hermit in the desert wastelands, doing just that. Eventually, however, the Holy Spirit entrusted him with a surprising mission to his neighbors.

Even though Christianity by this time was the Roman Empire's official religion, the infamous and very pagan gladiatorial combats were still regularly held in the Roman coliseum. The Romans loved those "sporting events," which inevitably resulted in unjust, bloody, and cruel deaths for valiant men.

Many gladiators were prisoners or slaves being forced to entertain the crowds by their gruesome combat, as if they were no better than savage beasts. It was a frontal assault against the human dignity of these men who had been created in God's image and redeemed by Christ.

Driven by the Holy Spirit, Almachius made his way to Rome when one such event was in full swing. He entered the amphitheatre, climbed down to the arena floor, and interposed himself between the primary combatants, who were engaged in their death struggle.

This scrawny hermit did his best to separate them, invoking the name of the Lord. The fans, thirsty for blood, were furious. They hurled every manner of projectile at the unprotected monk, stoning him to death.

Fortunately, the Emperor heard about the affair and took it as a sign from God. From then on, such beastly games were forbidden; Christian love had been victorious.

A Secret Weapon for Christ-like Love

In today's world, people are very busy. Sometimes we even feel much too busy to take time to reach out to neighbours in need. It is very possible, however, that at the end of our life we will see things quite differently. But even in the midst of our busy-ness, we can make an effort to love God by loving our neighbour, precisely in the way we interact with the people around us.

A true Christian should always remember that people matter more than things. We should never be too busy for a kind word or a sincere smile. But those of us who really are super-busy can also make use of a secret weapon that allows us to do more in less time, to fulfill both of Christ's two great commandments in one action.

And it doesn't add anything at all to our to-do list or calendar. It's so simple that you might be tempted to shrug it off when I tell you - but that would be a major mistake. What is this secret weapon? Praying for other people.

When we pray for people, we are exercising both loves at the same time: we show our love for God by talking to him and expressing confidence in his goodness and power, and we show our love for our neighbour by caring about them. Each one of us should have a list of people we pray for regularly - family members, coworkers, orphans, politicians, Christians suffering persecution...

We should keep the list somewhere that we will have a chance to use it - near the windshield of the car or the counter where we fold the laundry... (The pope keeps his on his kneeler, where he does his morning and evening prayers.)

To pray regularly and sincerely for others - it's the secret weapon for loving God and loving our neighbour. During the Mass, let's promise to use that weapon well.