God Is Faithful

My dear brothers and sisters, every human heart is absolutely starving for someone to trust. Someone who not only will promise to never let us down, never judge us, never abandon us, but someone with enough goodness and enough power to keep that promise. Every one of us needs someone we can lean on no matter what, someone we can go to no matter what, someone who will be glad to see us no matter what - someone who is utterly, totally, unhesitatingly, faithful. That someone is God.

The coming of the Wise Men to adore the baby Jesus is one of the Bible's most beautiful proofs of God's faithfulness. More than 500 years before Christ's birth, God had promised, through his prophet Isaiah, that he was going to lead "all the nations" to Jerusalem to share in the light of salvation. He even promised that they would bring gold and incense.

The Wise Men came from the non-Jewish world; they represent the nations. By coming to Christ, they enter into the light of salvation bringing gifts. This shows us that God is good because he kept his promise. It also shows us that God is all-powerful - the ups and downs of history are under his control. And this is our God, the same God that we come to worship Him today. The same God who will give himself to us today in the Eucharist.

All of God's goodness and power are ours because we belong to Christ and Christ is the incarnation of God's faithfulness. Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.

It means trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:

• Let nothing trouble you / Let nothing frighten you
• Everything passes / God never changes
• Patience / Obtains all
• Whoever has God / Wants for nothing
• God alone is enough.

The Sacred Heart Keeps His Promise

We have all heard of the famous promises that the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to Saint Margaret Mary. One of these promises was that anyone who faithfully goes to Mass and worthily receives Holy Communion on nine First Fridays of the month in a row is sure to die with the sacraments.

On summer, 2008 there was tragedy struck a Catholic high school in Chile. This particular school practices the First Friday devotions every year. On the fateful day, a busload of 27 girls was traveling on an annual, week-long field trip.

The bus was driving along a winding country road near the mountains. The inexperienced bus driver took one of the turns too fast, and the bus slammed into the barrier at the side of the road. The bus tipped over and rolled several times before it crashed to a stop only a short distance away from a ravine 200 yards deep. Some of the girls were thrown out of the bus; some were pinned underneath it; others were stuck inside of it. All of them were injured, and some lay there dying.

It just so happened that a few hundred yards behind the bus, on the same road, there was a Catholic priest driving back to his parish. When he turned the corner where the accident occurred, the dust hadn't even settled yet. He saw the overturned bus, pulled off the side of the road, and rushed to the scene with his stole and his holy oils. Nine of the teenage girls in the accident died, but they died with the comfort and grace of the sacraments, and their families can rest assured that they are with the Lord.

The Sacred Heart had kept his promise, because he is faithful. Christ doesn't always show his faithfulness by shielding us from the cross (though many times he does); rather, he shows his faithfulness by staying right by our side and sharing our crosses, even when they hurt the most.

Following the Star of Conscience

God is always guiding us, always accompanying us; he never forgets about us. To live in tune with this beautiful, powerful truth of our faith - that we can count on God - means to freely obey our conscience. Conscience is the secret chamber of the soul. Only two people have the key: you and God.

In that secret chamber of our conscience, God shows us the star that can lead us to true meaning and joy. In that secret chamber of our conscience, God tells us what we need to leave behind in order to become truly free.

What has he been telling us our conscience? What has he been asking of each of us? He loves each of us more than we love ourselves, and so he is always urging us forward on the path of life.

Like a good coach, he never stops encouraging us to give our best, to be true to our Christian calling. Maybe he has been nudging your conscience, telling you to break off an unhealthy relationship or to take the first step to heal a broken one. Maybe he has been inviting you to follow your true vocation, maybe to the priesthood or the consecrated life. Maybe he has been warning you to be more faithful to a particular relationship or responsibility.

Only you and God know which star he has been pointing out. Sometimes we are afraid to follow it. Today he is reminding us that we have nothing to be afraid of. He is trustworthy. During this Mass, let's ask for the grace to follow that star. And at Holy Communion, let's pray for all those people who have stopped following it, or who still haven't seen it. God hasn't given up on them, and neither should we. 

A lawyer and law professor named Frederick Larson recently applied his legal logic to this very question. Professor Larson studied St Matthew's description of the Magi's adventure and discovered a group of specific, measurable characteristics having to do with the star of Bethlehem.

Then he used modern astronomical know-how to search for a non-mythical and non-mysterious explanation. His investigation could never have been done before modern times, because it required computer technology. With computer software, you can recreate what the night sky looked like on any date in history, from any point on the earth's surface.

The first thing he discovered had to do with the Magi themselves. He looked at other references to the term "Magi" or "wise men" in the Bible. Then he looked up references in other ancient literature. He discovered that Magi were, basically, the "scientists" of the ancient world. Quasi-scientists, from our perspective, since they didn't have the benefit of the modern scientific, experimental method. But even so, they did make a rational, logical study of philosophy, medicine, and the natural world - including the stars.

They were like the scholars and professors of ancient times. But instead of working in universities, they usually worked for kings. A king would finance his own group of scholars, using them as consultants and translators, and also to enhance his kingdom's reputation.

One group of these scholars revered throughout the ancient world was the Chaldean Magi, based in the city of Babylon, just south of Bagdad, in modern Iraq. This school was already well-established 600 years before Christ, when the prophet Daniel was exiled from Jerusalem.

The King of Babylon at the time forced Daniel and a few companions, some of Israel's most promising scholars, to join his school of Magi. There they studied, learned, did amazing deeds, and even kept their faith in the one, true God, as the Book of Daniel describes. The prophet Daniel never returned to Jerusalem. He lived his whole, long life as a top-scholar and royal adviser among Babylon's Magi, where he not only learned from others, but also shared Jewish history, prophecy, and beliefs.

It is not unreasonable, therefore, to think that his prophesies were known, studied, and passed down through the generations by the Magi there. And if that's the case, it would make a lot of historical sense for St Matthew to tell us that the wise men "from the east" had seen signs of the Savior's birth and come to worship "the newborn King of the Jews."

What Was the Star?

That is a reasonable, interesting, and enlightening explanation of who the Magi may have been, but it doesn't explain the star of Bethlehem. For that, Professor Larson needed to put modern astronomy to work.

He programmed his software to show what the stars would have looked like in Babylon in the year 3 BC. He knew the star of Bethlehem couldn't be a shooting star, or a super nova, or even a comet. Those things would have been obvious to everyone, and yet, King Herod and his advisers were astonished by the Magi's news.

King Herod even asked when the star had appeared - so it couldn't have been an obviously dramatic phenomenon. Instead, it must have been something extraordinary inside the ordinary - something that would be truly remarkable, but that only the expert Magi would have noticed.

Did anything like that occur in the sky, in the year 3 BC? Yes. That September, the Planet Jupiter, the brightest planet in the night sky, followed its normal retrograde motion back and forth, but this time that motion created an elliptical, crown-like pattern above the star known as Regulus.

The Magi would have known Jupiter as the King Planet - the brightest and biggest planet. And the name "Regulus" also means "king". The King Planet giving the King Star a coronation - the first coincidence.

At that time and place, this unusual conjuncture occurred inside the constellation known as Leo, or the Lion. The Magi would have recognized the Lion as the Biblical symbol for the Israelite tribe of Judah. And the Old Testament prophesies predicted that the Messiah would be born of the tribe of Judah - the second coincidence.

Also at that time, the constellation that rose in the east after Leo was Virgo - the Virgin. And right at the feet of the constellation, at that particular moment, was the new crescent moon, the "birthing" moon. Another Old Testament prophecy predicted that the Messiah would be born of a Virgin - coincidence number three.

Together, these starry coincidences linked three concepts: King, Jewish, and Birth - the King of the Jews being born.

Nine months later, things got even more interesting. In June of the year 2 BC, the Planet Jupiter, the King Planet, was no longer in conjunction with the King Star, Regulus. Instead, on the horizon of the western sky, Jupiter was having an even more spectacular rendezvous. Jupiter came so close to the Planet Venus that their light merged, becoming the brightest light in the night sky - the brightest the Magi would have ever seen. And the Magi, along with the rest of the pagan world, knew the planet Venus as the Mother Planet - the icing on the cake.

If at that point the Magi had begun their journey, by the time they reached Jerusalem the orientation of the Jupiter-Venus conjunction would have changed. Looking up from Jerusalem, the Magi would have seen it in the south - the exact direction of Bethlehem. Also at that time, Jupiter's retrograde motion made it appear - relative to the position of the other stars - to have stopped in its tracks, just as St Matthew says.

Here is a historical and scientific hypothesis that not only doesn't contradict the Biblical evidence regarding the star of Bethlehem and the journey of the Magi, but actually sheds new light on it. 

My dear brothers and sisters, I wish you a Merry Christmas. May the infant Jesus bring you joy and peace.

Finally, St. Luke through his Gospel reminds us that the Holy Family, and every holy family, is centered on Christ. He's the ultimate bedrock of our love. Simeon was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. He didn't know when, he didn't know how, but when the moment came the Holy Spirit led him to the baby Jesus in the Temple and revealed Jesus to be the Christ. Simeon didn't just rejoice for his sake at finally meeting the Messiah, but for all of Israel that had been waiting for him. A whole family of faith built on love for God through love for Christ was being born.

Anna's married life was short; she spent more of her life as a widow than as a wife, but all those years were full of prayer. Anna spent many years in prayer and expectation, but when the moment came, she didn't shy away from giving witness as well. She was attentive to the signs of the times, helped by the Holy Spirit, and she saw that the time of redemption was at hand.

Both Simeon and Anna remind us that the elderly have a great vocation to prayer and to sharing their wisdom. Who can deny the impact of grandparents and even great aunts and uncles in their lives?

Following Mary's Wise Example

My dear brothers and sisters, as we know all children take after their parents; their parents' example teaches them how to be human. The same thing goes for our spiritual life.

St Paul reminds us today that through God's grace we have all become brothers and sisters of Christ and, therefore, children of God. This is what happened at baptism. At that moment we were born again, supernaturally; God infused his divine DNA into our souls. The spiritual life consists of the gradual spread and development of that DNA, until each one of us becomes a mature, wise, and fruitful follower of Jesus Christ.

Today's Solemnity reminds us that if we have become Christ's spiritual brothers and sisters, we have also become spiritual children of Mary. She was his mother in the flesh, and she is our mother in grace. And just as we learn from our natural mothers how to be good human beings, so we learn from Mary how to become mature Christians. She is the living school where we learn every virtue that leads to happiness and holiness.

In today's Gospel, she teaches us one of the most important virtues of all: wisdom. St Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."Just as Mary's womb was open to receiving God's living Word at the moment of Christ's Incarnation, so her heart was constantly open to receiving God's ongoing words and messages as he continued to speak through the events of her life.

This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart on God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. And we can never become mature, courageous, and joyful followers of Christ unless we develop it.

Family is a Domestic Church

What does the Church mean when she calls the family the domestic church? The term "Domestic Church" refers to the family, the smallest body of gathered believers in Christ. Though recovered only recently, the term dates back to the first century AD. The Greek word ecclesiola referred to "little church." Our Early Church Fathers understood that the home was fertile ground for discipleship, sanctification, and holiness.

St. Augustine of Hippo. He preached that father of families, like bishops and clergy, have an ecclesial role, being responsible for the care of the souls under them. St. John Chrysostom does not use the term "domestic church" but does call the home a "little church." In a commentary on Genesis, he encourages parents to "make your home a church to put the devil to flight" and to work towards the conformation of the family to Christ. Unlike Augustine, who thought that the domestic church flows from Baptism, Chrysostom stresses the effort parents need to take to turn their homes into little churches.

Despite its use by the Church Fathers, the term fell out of use for more than a millennium. After Vatican II, it has become more common, securing a place in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states: "The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion, and for this reason it can and should be called a domestic church" (no. 2204); this term is explained in greater depth in the section of the Catechism discussing the sacrament of Matrimony (see nos. 1655-1658).

According to the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: "The family is so to speak, the domestic church." (Lumen Gentium #11) This means that it is in the context of the family that we first learn who God is and prayerfully seek His will for us.

Lumen Gentium ("Light of the Nations"), describes the family as the 'domestic Church' because it is the first place where young, baptized Christians learn about their faith. It states, "From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries" (Lumen Gentium, 11). You may have heard it said that families are the fundamental 'building block' of society; similarly, families provide a foundation for the continuation and strength of the Church among the lay faithful.

Lumen Gentium goes on to explain that this domestic Church has a particular role and responsibility in leading souls to heaven: "In it, parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state" (Ibid). Through this letter, the Council Fathers intended to emphasize that Christ is the Light of the Nations, and that, as the Church, we each have a responsibility to bring the Light of Christ to others. Within the domestic Church, this means that parents are to cultivate a family life that is centered on Christ.

In the following bullet points you will find some suggestions on how to build your "domestic church" through a life of prayer that can help all the members of your family.

Begin praying as a family and reading from Scripture daily, certainly before meals, but also first thing in the morning or before bed. Find a time that works for your family. Use the liturgy of the Church as a model for prayer, and try to include heartfelt unstructured prayer as well.

• Pray a Family Rosary (each member leads a decade, and everyone shares intentions).
• Have a crucifix in a prominent place in the home, and in every bedroom.
• Make the Sacraments a regular celebration – take the whole family to Confession and Mass!
• Begin family traditions based on the seasons celebrated in the liturgical calendar.
• Make your vacation a holy pilgrimage by visiting the shrines and saints of our land and the world.
• Make worshiping God a priority. Never miss Mass, even while traveling.
• Teach stewardship and charity to your children, through word and example.
• Demonstrate love for your spouse, your children, your neighbors, and the world. Remind their children that they are loved by God and have been given gifts to serve others.
• Talk freely about the presence of God in the joys and sorrows of your life.
• Welcome into your home and support priests, brothers, sisters, deacons, and lay ministers in the Church.
• Participate in the lay ministries and activities of your parish community.
• Allow your children to witness you in private prayer. Encourage your children to pray daily on their own, to listen for God's call, and if heard, to respond.

The Catholic Church recognizes that grace builds upon nature. Family is one of the most basic, yet important gifts that God has given us. Through a firm marital commitment between men and women, and through their active participation in the faith and their pledge to raise their children with a love for Christ and his Church, the domestic Church is one of the first places that young Catholics experience the light of the faith in their own lives. 

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: