31 December 2023 - +JMJ+

Today's Readings

(Audio)

They took him up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord

Mary and Joseph were faithful to the law of the Lord to the best of their ability. They didn't have the resources to offer more so they offered "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons", the sacrifice prescribed for the poor for Mary's purification. They didn't hold back their child from being presented to the Lord, consecrated in a special way to belong to God. This might have seemed like a risky move, as though it would have been safer to keep Jesus entirely under their control. After all, they might have reasoned, he was a precious and miraculous gift. Consecration to the Lord was, historically, no guarantee of a peaceful life. It would not be for Jesus either. The fidelity of Mary and Joseph to the law assures us that this presentation to the Lord was no idle gesture, but a sincere offering from their hearts. This was in spite of the fact that Joseph had promised to take Mary into his home and to watch over her and the child as caretaker and protector. Having a child consecrated to the Lord was not going to make this role easier, especially for someone who many think might have been advanced in age, and unlikely to be around for critical events in the life of the child.

“Behold, this child is destined 

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted 

—and you yourself a sword will pierce— 

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Imagine Joseph, in particular an aged Joseph, hearing this prophecy. He had signed on to be the protector of Mary and Jesus only against his natural instinct. By default, Joseph preferred silence, and to avoid being the center of attention. But the angel assured him that, because he was descended from King David, he had an important part to play. And so he gave his own sort of fiat to participation in the plan of salvation. But then so much of what he was called to do came down to faith and not to a show of strength. He was an example of the meekness praised by Jesus, strength under control.

He took him into his arms and blessed God

We imagine Joseph, the head, looking to Mary for whether such a handing over of the child to Simeon was to be allowed. He demonstrated servant leadership, for only such leadership made sense in a family when the mother and child were without sin and only the father struggled with imperfection. But rather than action, Joseph chose faith. He chose both faith in God and in the way God chose to work through the mother and the child. 

Hearing the prophecy of Simeon about the mother and the child, both of whom were in his care, there must have been some sense in which a sword pierced the heart of Joseph as well. His role as protector was not meant to protect them from everything. He did keep the family safe from Herod the Great by leading them into Egypt and then eventually back to Nazareth. But he was not meant to keep them from the cross. Only by faith could Joseph become such a father and protector as he was called to be. It was like the faith of Abraham, which was able to see beyond the call to offer his son Isaac and to believe in God's ability to somehow, in spite of apparent impossibility, deliver on his promises.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, 

and he who had received the promises was ready to offer

his only son,

of whom it was said,

“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”

He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,

and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Although Joseph seems to have left the scene, and was probably deceased by the time Jesus endured the cross, he was nevertheless present for the practice run when the child Jesus was lost for three days before being found again in the temple. Did he take offense when Jesus said that he must be in his Father's house? (see Luke 2:49). Most likely not. Joseph did not appear in anyway jealous of the Father's prerogative over the Son entrusted to him. Only in this way had he been able to embrace his own role in faith. Because of the faith that filled the Holy Family we can imagine that what Paul described in his letter to the Colossians was preeminently true of their household:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 

as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, 

singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs 

with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Damascus Worship featuring Aaron Richards - Hail Joseph

30 December 2023 - desire of nations

Today's Readings

(Audio)

She never left the temple,

but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

Anna was an example of one who did "not love the world or the things of the world", and was filled, as a consequence with the love of the Father. Rather than "sensual lust" she fasted. Rather the "enticement for the eyes" she opened the eyes of her heart in prayer. Rather than a pretentious life of worldly recognition she never left the temple. Although she was a widow she recognized the one who would call himself "the bridegroom", even when he was still an inconspicuous infant. Having a heart given over to God she was able to recognize God's action. Looking to him for fulfillment, just as Simeon did, she was able to experience it when it came.

And coming forward at that very time,

she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child

to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

All around the recently born child new and wonderous things were happening. Around him prophetic voices, once long silent, began to speak, sending out ripples of hope into the world. His relatives could not help but wonder what this child would become.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;

and the favor of God was upon him.

The child grew ever more fully into the fulfillment of the desire of those who awaited and welcomed his birth, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, and others. Others in the world missed out entirely because they loved the things of the world so much as to be blind to spiritual things. But note the great reversal in play. Those things of the world, the ones that would seem to be the source of power, solidity, and permanence, were precisely the things that were passing away. The little child was the one that would remain forever. So too, we know, for all who are united to him. When we are united to Jesus what was true of him becomes true of us as well. His strength, wisdom, and favor fills us and we can believe John when he tells us that he is writing to remind us that we "have conquered the Evil One", "know the Father", and "know him who is from the beginning". 

Let's turn away from a disordered attachment to the world and look instead to what Anna and Simeon found in Jesus, learning to believe John when he reminds us about the promises we have received in him.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.

He has made the world firm, not to be moved;

he governs the peoples with equity.

CeCe Winans - Worthy Of It All

29 December 2023 - finding fulfillment

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of

a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,

in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Mary and Joseph were faithful to all that was expected of them, attending to the legal requirement of purification with a lesser sacrificial option available for those who were too poor to offer more, as well as to the presentation of Jesus, their firstborn, in the temple, giving him in a special way to God. Mary and Joseph were therefore among the righteous poor who had a particular claim on the heart of God.

This man was righteous and devout,

awaiting the consolation of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

We are meant to be imitators of Simeon in the way he set his greatest hopes and desires on the coming of Christ. When we ask ourselves the question of what would give us the greatest sense of fulfillment for our lives as a whole, what answer do we give? Is Jesus, the desire of all nations, truly our desire as well? When he comes to the temple of our hearts do we too find such joy that we need nothing else? We don't have the give the pious answer for the sake of piety. We should be realistic about where we are so we can express a genuine desire for deeper conversion to where we would like to be. After all, what happens for us each day at mass is something even greater than Simeon taking Jesus into his arms. We receive Jesus entirely, flesh, blood, soul, and divinity, in holy communion. Then, just like that, we are out in the world once more, preoccupied with worldly desires, and the sense that a little bit more of this and a little less of that would finally give us complete fulfillment.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

By faithfulness to prayer and to the Scriptures Simeon had trained his heart to hope in the Lord. The Holy Spirit himself was the one who prepared him to find such joy in the presentation of Jesus. Through prayer and faithful reading of the Scriptures Simeon learned about the amazing things the Lord planned to do through the messiah. He became increasingly certain that this would be the thing that would not only be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel but the satisfaction of the longings of his own heart as well. What he found when Jesus was presented in the temple was the fulfillment of the prophesy of Malachi.

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts (see Malachi 3:1).

Scripture and the Spirit had taught Simeon to desire and to delight in the Lord. Because his heart was ready he was able to say "Lord, now let your servant go in peace". In other words, he finally had all that he needed. His restless heart had finally find rest in the Savior. 

What about us, whose priorities are, at best, more skewed? We too can learn to discover what Simeon found in Jesus. The degree to which we don't currently experience it is precisely and invitation for ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us as he did for Simeon.

"Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

(and you yourself a sword will pierce)

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Parts of us, our old self seeking fulfillment in the temporary things of this world, must fall, so that the new life of Christ can rise within us. The things the contradict Christ must be removed from our hearts so that we too can find the peace that Simeon found in him. It is not only possible but is exactly what God intends for us.

Matt Maher - Canticle Of Zechariah

Saint Meinrad Schola - Lauds: Canticle of Zachary

28 December 2023 - original innocents

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,

and stay there until I tell you.

Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."

Herod was known from history to be suspicious to the point of violence to anyone who would lay claim to his throne. His pretense to desire to pay homage to the new born king was actually only his attempt to find him out so he could eliminate one more potential threat. But the magi correctly understood his evil intentions and didn't return to Herod to convey where they had found him. If things had stopped there it might have been explained as merely human cruelty but a more diabolical motivation became apparent when Herod ordered the massacre of all boys under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. Jesus was not merely the victim of political corruption but also the target of the unseen forces of evil from the very first. Those forces would make use of corrupt kings and religious leaders throughout the lifetime of Jesus until, in Judas, they finally found the success the sought. 

As the rightful king of Israel, and in fact the world, Jesus was always going to be the target of those who cherished their own power above all else. And he was so good, such light in the darkness, that the powers of darkness were always going to try to snuff him out. But our Gospel reveals that, while the forces of evil and the worldly powers connived in planning against the child, God himself had a deeper plan.

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night

and departed for Egypt.

He stayed there until the death of Herod,

that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,

Out of Egypt I called my son.

As Moses had been protected from the slaughter of young children so too was Jesus protected. As Israel was called out of slavery in Egypt so too would Jesus, as a new Moses, lead the spiritual Israel of the Church out of slavery to sin and death. Even the apparent casualties on the side of goodness and truth turned out, mysteriously, to be sharers in victory beyond what anyone would have guessed.

A voice was heard in Ramah,

sobbing and loud lamentation;

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she would not be consoled,

since they were no more.

In fact her children were not no more, but already reigning with the king for whom they died. Jesus had taken the lot of the outcasts, the unwanted, and the underserved. He had allowed the hatred of the world for the lowest and the least to fall on himself. In doing so he raised and elevated all of those who were thus oppressed and persecuted, making them, in some sense, martyrs for him. Because he had taken on their lot, they no longer suffered that lot alone or for nothing, even if the eyes of the world could only see tragedy with no decipherable meaning.

We who have been blessed to live to adulthood are not as innocent as the Holy Innocents we celebrate today. We've tarnished the complete victory won by Christ by our collusion with the forces of darkness in the world. In fact, we too prefer at times to protect the throne of our hearts from the possible incursion of some rumored rightful king. But God did not come only for the innocent. He came especially for sinners, to seek and to save the lost. Where we have embraced darkness God himself stands ready to shine his light once more.

But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous one.

He is expiation for our sins,

and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

Third Day - O Holy Night

27 December 2023 - what we have seen

Today's Readings

(Audio)

John, the beloved disciple, was the one who reclined on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper. His close connection with the savior, and then, with the mother of the savior, provided the space for contemplation that gave us his profound insight into the incarnation, when the word became flesh. It was as if John never lost the sense of wonder that such a thing should happen. Whenever he mentions it in his writing there is sense of freshness as though he is realizing it again for the first time.

What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life —

for the life was made visible;

The main reason John was so persuaded of the incarnation was probably because of the resurrection, in which all of the claims of Jesus were vindicated. Jesus was not just one more failed revolutionary, not just another persecuted prophet, or wise man condemned by society. He possessed an indestructible life, as the author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote (see Hebrews 7:16). Just as John had first hand experience of Jesus' life, and of his majesty revealed during his transfiguration, so too did he directly encounter the risen Lord. And it was this encounter that gave shape to all the rest, that, as it were, filled in all of the missing pieces, and was the final answer to all of the mysteries. 

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

and arrived at the tomb first;

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

Though younger and in some sense closer to the Lord he nevertheless waited out of respect for his senior, the one whom Jesus had entrusted with authority. He went after Peter and beheld evidence of the miraculous event that had occurred. Unlike in the case of Lazarus, the burial clothes were left in the tomb and the cloth was rolled up in a separate place. Grave robbers wouldn't have left these valuables behind. It all spoke to an event that had no precedent. 

Then the other disciple also went in,

the one who had arrived at the tomb first,

and he saw and believed.

It took more than one encounter to bring even the beloved disciple to a mature faith in the resurrection. But in stages God drew him ever deeper into a faith that was increasingly unshakable. This culminated in the events of Pentecost when the power of the risen Lord descended on him and the others as tongues of fire.

John would have us know to have an encounter with the risen Lord was not reserved to him and the first disciples alone. He wrote precisely so we could know it, and by knowing it, to share in his fellowship.

what we have seen and heard

we proclaim now to you,

so that you too may have fellowship with us;

for our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

Given that most of us would probably not yet describe our own joy as complete we should attempt to seriously attend to the words of the Beloved Disciple. If he could imagine all of the mysteries of Jesus again for the first time, so too can we, with his help.

Third Day - Jesus Light Of The World

26 December 2023 - on the second day of Christmas..

Todays Readings

(Audio)

Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts

and scourge you in their synagogues,

and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake

as a witness before them and the pagans.

We might be a little disoriented by today's gospel and feast. Just like that the infant in the manger recedes into the background for the celebration of the first martyr, Saint Stephen. How, we might well wonder, did we get from there to here? Yet although it is abrupt, there were from the very first hints that the story of the baby Jesus was tending toward more than mere sentimentality. The baby was already sharing the lot of the outcasts and the unwanted by being born in manger, already hinting that he was going to become food for the world. Further hinting at the difficult destiny that awaited, he was given myrrh by one of the Magi, an oil used for to anoint bodies for burial. Then later, when he was presented in the temple, Simeon predicted that he would be a sign that would be opposed. One early revelation of this opposition is the feast of the Holy Innocents that we will celebrate in a few days. Jesus' own infancy did not leave much room for sentiment.

Saint Stephen was the first example of one whose explicit testimony to Jesus himself led to his persecution and death. But because of this he was the first example in which we see the entire life of Jesus reproduced by the power of his Spirit. Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Jesus into the world. But today we celebrate the fact that the one who was born into the world was also born so completely into the heart of Stephen his follower. We celebrate that what was true of Jesus by being born among us as a man becomes true of his disciples.

When they hand you over,

do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

Stephen was indeed given a lengthy defense to make to those who opposed him. But even more than that the Spirit urged him on toward imitation of Christ, forgiving his persecutors and even handing over his spirit to Jesus just as Jesus had handed over his own Spirit to the Father. In giving us this feast immediately after Christmas it is as though the Church does not want us to neglect the full picture of our salvation. It would not profit us that Jesus was born on earth if he is not born in our hearts. And this necessarily means taking up our crosses and following him. But this need not be a cause of destress for us. Like Stephen we can maintain an angelic countenance in spite of great difficulties precisely because we do not face them alone. It is Jesus who is living his life through us. And in our shared yoke, he does the heavy lifting.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

We are called to not only begin, but to continue without turning back. We need to convert our initial enthusiasm and fervor into a plan for the long game. Mary as the perfect model of how this is done. She "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (see Luke 2:19). 

The baby who was born to die is born in us to reproduce his life and death within us. But as in his own life, when we surrender in obedience to the Father's will, death is not the end of our story, just as it was not the end of his. Even before Stephen surrendered his spirit into the hands of Jesus he already reached out in faith to the life of heaven that awaited him.

Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man

standing at the right hand of God.

Matt Maher - Love Has Come

25 December 2023 - word made flesh

Today's Readings - Mass During The Day

(Audio)

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. 

Before anything was created, men, earth, angels or heaven, God the Father was not alone. Knowing and comprehending himself completely, he eternally spoke everything that he was as an eternal Word, which like the Father himself, had no beginning or end. The Father and the Son loved one another with a love so real that it was itself a person, the Holy Spirit. Before time began the Triune God shared in a mutual embrace of joyful communion. But what we celebrate this morning is that they refused to keep that joy to themselves, couldn't help but share it, even if they had to create an entire universe in order to fill it with individuals who could receive it.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

Creation came about through the Word of God. Creation was not itself the Word that would become incarnate in Jesus. But it was in some way made through him, as if he were the divine blueprint. The content of the eternal Word was in some sense reflected in the words spoken to create time and space. The apex of this creation was undoubtedly the creatures made in the image and likeness of God, humankind. The eternal Word found its most clear representation when this image and likeness was spoken into being. In particular, when those made in God's image were themselves joined in relationships of loving communion God saw something which he could not help but call, "very good" (see Genesis 1:31).

It is important to know our origin story. From it we understand that there is a reason why there is something rather than nothing. We tend to look around us in see the damage this universe has sustained and the battle scars that mark the human race in particular and see mostly darkness. We are tempted to believe that we are just an accidental blip in history as entropy progresses inexorably to the heat death of the universe. We are assured by scientists that since we are created by evolution and evolution is a directionless process that we too must be without purpose. But if we recognize why there is a world where such processes as evolution can play out we can recognize in our creation a hand of providence at play at a level still deeper. God is so transcendent that he can even work through things like evolution without usurping the causality proper to them.

God knew that we would be tempted at times to believe that things were coming from darkness and heading back toward it with light being but a momentary aberration or dream. He knew that at times the universe would appear to give evidence to the lie that darkness has triumphed over the light. Even if we perhaps came from a loving God it is sometimes hard to believe that the many problems we see in the world could ever be solved. It seems at times as though Satan had has way and that the light and love that is in the world is too little, too late. But because God knew that we would be tempted to believe things like this he chose to manifest the fullness of his light and the depths of his love for us by sending the Word to become incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. His incarnation reminds us where we came from and of the real truth of the destiny intended for us by God. Not only that, but he himself is the bridge that makes it possible for us to leave sin and death behind and reach out to embrace that destiny.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

...

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God

By appearing on earth Jesus himself became the like a new master recording that could be used to correct the errors and damage sustained by those created based on that original image. We see in watching him what we are meant to be. And he himself, by the power of his Spirit, makes his life present in us and enables us to conform to the original pattern. But there is more. He demonstrates why we should desire it. We see the original joy from which we came as the place to which we are invited to return. The incarnation creates for us the bridge to return to that joy. No wonder, then, the joy that filled Isaiah when he foresaw it.

Hark!  Your sentinels raise a cry,

together they shout for joy,

for they see directly, before their eyes,

the LORD restoring Zion.

Third Day - O Come All Ye Faithful

24 December 2023 - a new Eve for Christmas

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Mary found favor with God. Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit called her the most blessed among women (see Luke 1:41-42). But she was not blessed simply for her own sake. And indeed the blessing at first appeared to be more of a challenge and a cross to bear compared to the normal blessings given to those less blessed than she. Many women were made able to bear children who were then able to live their lives and watch their children thrive. From the beginning Mary was forced to share in the hatred heaped up by the world upon her child, from the time she was forced to flee with Joseph to Egypt to when she kept her station beneath the cross. With blessings like these, we might think, who needs curses? If her blessedness was meant to be something for her to enjoy alone it need not have been this way. But then too it could never have amounted to much. It was because her blessedness was for the sake of the world that it could not be shallow. Like Israel, she was blessed, but her blessing was for the sake of the entire world. This meant that it could not be a story that merely ignored death until it could be put off no longer. It was rather a story, the only story, that would turn death inside out. Because of this there was no other way besides the way her son chose, the way of the cross.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there will be no end.

The blessedness of Mary did not consist chiefly in the honor that was her due as the mother of the king. That honor would have been a shallow thing indeed if she was a mere figurehead or decoration. Her blessedness consisted chiefly in the fact that by responding to the angel in faith, her love opened the way to the redemption of the world. To give such a yes was to tell God that no matter what he wanted to do through her, no matter how he chose to work through her, she wanted it, and assented to it, even if it be a cross. Only because she lived in the freedom of one not tainted by original sin could she even truly mean her words when she said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word". The honor that is her due as the Queen of heaven is thus not merely about position, but about the love we received and indeed continue to receive through her. We can be confident from her yes to God that she will always be a faithful advocate for us before the throne of her son. Before that throne the chief thing that she desires for us is that we learn to say yes with less and less reservation until we can say it, as she did, with our whole being.

Brian Doerksen - Resting Place

23 December 2023 - gracious and merciful

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,

they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,

The relatives had their own name planned and ready for the child. In one way it was a nice nod of respect to the father. It was a way of saying that they were so fond of Zechariah that they wouldn't mind another from the same mold. But Zechariah had already managed to communicate to Elizabeth that the child was not going be quite so mundane or familiar, not simply more of the same.

"No. He will be called John."

She was set on obedience to the angel who had told Zechariah that the name of the child would be John, a Hebrew name meaning, the Lord is gracious and merciful. Her relatives pushed back, willing to override the mother's choice in the absence of any word from the father. They were looking for a name that was already in use among the relatives of Elizabeth. They seemed to desire something predictable, something easy to interpret that would readily fit into the patterns of life in their community. But John was to be anything but familiar and predictable. Surely, they thought, the Father would concur with their desire to show him honor by naming the son after him?

So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.

He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"

and all were amazed.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had decided to put their trust in the plan communicated by Gabriel for their child, not in their own instincts, much less in the suggestions of the crowd. Just as it was doubt in that plan that rendered Zechariah speechless so now it was his assent that opened his mouth and freed his tongue.

Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,

and he spoke blessing God.

Zechariah was like a microcosm of Israel, for whom the voice of prophecy had fallen silent due to a lack of covenant fidelity, but was now again to be unleashed upon the world. And his canticle, blessing God, was certainly prophetic. But it was to be in John that the full return of the prophetic voice was to be found.

Then fear came upon all their neighbors,

and all these matters were discussed

throughout the hill country of Judea.

The neighbors had preferred comfort and predictability. The unexpected entrance of the action of God in their lives led to an unsettling fear for it meant, if nothing else, that change was coming. They had tried to avert this possibility by controlling the name of the child, by closely regulating what speech was allowed and what was prohibited. But God was unwilling to let his plans be hindered and thus found those few, holy and righteous, that would agree with his word and allow his desire for the redemption of the world to find a voice.

Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

But who will endure the day of his coming?

And who can stand when he appears?

We tend to think of the coming of Jesus, and therefore too of the coming of John, as something sentimental and sweet, something tame to the degree of being trivial. We therefore tend to forget the earthshattering reality and the full ramifications of God's desire to come some close to humankind. We often try to keep such control of our lives and our world as to leave God no room to act. But the incarnation demonstrates that, although Jesus comes to us in a way that makes us trust and love him, it also opens us and makes us vulnerable to the ways in which he will be a complete surprise and a challenge. But this is important. If he had come any other way we probably would have figured out a way to stop him before he even arrived. But by being born as a child he demonstrated a desire for reciprocal trust and mutual love. This love would go a long way to make us willing to receive his work of refining and purifying us, like gold or silver, that we too might offer to the Lord our due sacrifice. And what sacrifice is that? Right praise, like that of Zechariah, who spoke, blessing God.

Matt Maher - Canticle of Zechariah

22 December 2023 - magnify

Today's Readings

(Audio)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

The Magnificat is the song of thanksgiving of who knew where she was situated within salvation history, one full of faith, steeped in Scripture. She sang this song of thanksgiving even before the miraculous birth of her son. It was still far from obvious that God had indeed done the things for which Mary praised him: showing strength, scattering the proud, casting down the mighty, or sending the rich away empty. Yet Mary perceived by faith that these things were already as good as realized with the conception of Jesus, or even before that in the eternal plan of God. 

Mary recognized that God had acted toward her in a way that was characteristic of his action in every generation. Yet that action was not just another instance of similar stories such as that of Hannah. It was a pinnacle, peak, or apex. Hannah had received a special mercy from the Lord because she feared him. But the mercy unleashed through Mary would redeem the world. Through her child all those who were lowly would be lifted from the deepest afflictions of sin and death. God had miraculously fed others in the past, but through the son of Mary he would provide the entire world with the bread of life.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones

and has lifted up the lowly.

We must be clear that it was not obvious to the purely secular or rational observer that any of this had taken place. But it was nevertheless what Mary and Elizabeth celebrated together, and the cause of their great joy. Their faith in the promises of God allowed them to reach out and receive the blessings of a future not yet come even then and there.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Mary knew that the promise to Abraham was not for her alone. The Magnificat is meant to be an invitation for us to recognize, as she did, the marvels God has done, and to see our lives situated in salvation history as she did. We are not alone and isolated, forced to struggle to give meaning to our own existence. We are each of us individually willed by God, chosen to be heirs to the same promises in which Mary rejoiced. We are all too ready to complain about the things which Mary, for her part, regarded as already over and past. If we learn to embrace the posture she taught, that of humility and holy fear, she can teach us to sing the Magnificat, and by doing so, to begin to dwell already in the new world to come by faith, just as she did.

We Will Magnify

21 December 2023 - joy bringers

Today's Readings

(Audio)

We are getting ready to celebrate the blessed fruit of the womb of Mary. Today we pay special attention to her who was the most blessed among women, the ark of the New Covenant who brought the presence of the Lord to Elizabeth and then to the whole world.

"Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary's desire to help others connect with her son didn't stop at his birth. We see that clearly in her intervention during the wedding at Cana. We see it her appearances at places like Lourdes and Fatima. Her mission is never to cause other people to focus on her but rather to lead them to her son. Even beyond her relatively rare physical appearances she is constantly at work on a spiritual level to draw her all peoples to her son. Just as Jesus was hidden from the eyes of the world but revealed to Elizabeth through Mary so too can Mary help us to recognize and receive the hidden spiritual presence of Jesus in our lives.

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Mary's greeting can be for us a cause of great joy. Just as David danced before the ark, and as John the Baptist leaped for joy in the womb, so too can we be inspired by Mary's word to leap and dance for joy. This is the power of God at work in one who responded with complete acceptance and faith to his invitation.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.

We are, however, not meant to be only passive recipients of joy. We too are meant to see Mary as our model and bring the presence of Jesus to others. This was why Jesus said of his followers, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (see Matthew 12:49-50). Just as the disciples were empowered to bestow the peace of Jesus on the places they visited so too can we (see Luke 10:5-6).

Mary moved in haste because she realized she had become a part of a story that was bigger than herself, part of God's story. In similar circumstances we would probably tend to get bogged down in the details, in uncertainty, doubt, and preoccupation with ourselves. But Mary can show us how to be a part of a larger story and the joy that comes when we do so.

Here he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattices.

Jesus is so close. There are only a few days left until the feast of his incarnation. Often these days seem to pass almost without our awareness leaving us to wonder what happened. But let us allow some anticipation to build within us. We really can be different after this feast than before if we open ourselves to the grace it is meant to convey. If we truly invest our hope in it we can be transformed from a place of fear to one of hope, peace, and joy. What if our spiritual winter is truly and finally past? Just think of what that might mean for us.

My lover speaks; he says to me,

"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,

and come!

"For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

Liam Lawton - Canticle Of The Turning

20 December 2023 - hail, full of grace

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

She may have pondered how this greeting was an echo of past Scriptural prophecies calling the daughter of Zion to rejoice. Also, the angel had addressed her as full of grace, as though that was her name or her definition. This was something else to ponder. While Mary might not have denied being aware that grace had been working mysteriously within her for her entire life, it was nevertheless not her inclination to exult herself in the way Gabriel clearly had. This provoked a response of holy fear, of Mary's heart moving to ensure it was in the proper posture before the messenger sent by God. Further echoes of past prophecies were to be found in the response of Gabriel, telling Mary, "Do not be afraid":

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing (see Zephaniah 3:15-37).

The communication between Gabriel and Mary seemed to be a realization of these prophecies, a coming alive, an embodiment of the promises in the context of Mary's own life. But there was more. She was to miraculously conceive a child who would fulfill still more and greater prophecies. He would gather together all peoples within a Kingdom to which there would be no end. The promise made to David, that seemed to have been lost and forgotten, was to be realized in the son of Mary. This message from Gabriel also brought to mind the vision of the Son of Man which had been seen by the prophecy Daniel:

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed (see Daniel 7:14).

Even for one who was not tainted by the effects of original sin it was a lot to take in. But unlike Zechariah, she did not doubt the words of the angel. Instead, she asked for clarification about how this would happen in spite of the fact that she was a virgin. She was most likely vowed to virginity and knew the birth couldn't come about the normal way. But as to how else God might bring it about she didn't presume to guess.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

The glory of the Lord that had been present over the tent of meeting in the time of Moses, indicating the presence of God, would come even more intimately upon Mary herself, bringing about the conception of the child directly and miraculously. Although he was to be true son of Mary he was also at the same true Son of God. This was something beyond what anyone had ever dreamed, more than any prophet ever dared to hope. It was to be the fulfillment of the promise to Ahaz:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:

the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and shall name him Emmanuel.

Emmanuel, meaning, God is with us. And he was to be with us in a greater way than anyone could have ever imagined. All of this was, as we have said, a lot to take in. But unlike Zechariah, Mary, full of grace, trusted and voiced her consent. And in this moment the redemption of the world began.

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word."

Damascus Worship featuring Seph Schlueter - Hail O Queen

19 December 2023 - circumstantial evidence

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,

because your prayer has been heard.

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,

and you shall name him John.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were to be the next in the series of biblical couples who had not been able to have children on their own, but were enabled to conceive by God himself. Like Sarah, Hannah, and Manoah's wife, Elizabeth too seemed past the age of childbearing but nothing would be impossible for God. Zechariah, being righteous and obedient, ought to have understood the precedent for this promised divine intervention. But instead he doubted. In faith he should have spoken his agreement with the angel. But instead he gave voice to his doubt.

Then Zechariah said to the angel,

"How shall I know this?

For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

Instead of considering the fact that there was before him a messenger from God Zechariah chose to focus on his circumstances, and the way those circumstances dictated things would normally unfold. We should be sympathetic because we too often look at our circumstances rather than the promises of God. Creatures such as ourselves whose minds have been affected by the fall, tend to doubt the goodness of God, and lack trust in our creator. He makes promises that seem to us to be too good to be true.

Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 397).

We should make no mistake. The promises to Zechariah from Gabriel were indeed impressive. It was not just any son his wife would bear, but a nazarite after the mold of Samson and Samuel. Further, he would fulfill the prophecy of Malachi to prepare a people for the Lord. The child would revive the voice of prophecy which had long since seemed to be silent in Israel. Zechariah was perhaps perfectly capable of believing in the goodness of God in the abstract. But when it came to his own life it was easier to believe, based on circumstances, that he was an exception to that goodness.

But now you will be speechless and unable to talk

until the day these things take place,

because you did not believe my words,

which will be fulfilled at their proper time.

Happily, this doubt of Zechariah did not cause Gabriel to go off and find another more worthy of the promise. Instead, he provided a way in which Zechariah could reflect and mentally prepare until he was ready to speak in agreement with God's plan. So too with us, when the promises seem to good to be true. If we aren't ready right away that doesn't change God's desire to bless us. It may be that we need to fast a while from an excess of our own words and ideas until the reality of the word of God finally takes hold of us.

I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;

O God, I will tell of your singular justice.

Saint Meinrad Schola - Lauds: Canticle of Zachary

18 December 2023 - Joseph, son of David

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

yet unwilling to expose her to shame,

decided to divorce her quietly.

Mary was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph, since he was a righteous man, and having known Mary to have unquestionable integrity, could never have doubted her character. What he doubted was himself, whether he was fit to be a part of such fearful and miraculous events that were beginning to unfold. He worried that his involvement would tarnish the whole project and so decided extricate himself from it in such a way that it wouldn't reflect poorly on Mary. 

Such was his intention when, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

"Joseph, son of David,

do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit

that this child has been conceived in her.

The angel came to Joseph to reassure him, not so much of anything about the character or integrity of Mary, but about that part he was meant to play. Hence the angel called him "son of David" indicating the royal lineage that Joseph possessed and was to convey to the child of his betrothed. The angel reminded him that what was happening was under the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. As such even his own involvement fell under the auspices of divine providence. He had acted as though his involvement was only accidental and unintended by divine providence. But the angel seemed to assure him that he meant to be part of the story. Hence the angel continued:

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins.

Joseph, son of David, was meant to be the one to give the name to the child conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary. He was to call him Jesus, meaning, "God saves" "because he will save his people from their sins". The fact that Jesus, called "God saves" would be himself the one to save according to the angel was establishing a close connection between God and Jesus himself.¹ It was a connection that alone could fully explain the name Emmanuel, prophesied by Isaiah, meaning "God is with us".

When Joseph awoke,

he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

and took his wife into his home.

He had no relations with her until she bore a son,

and he named him Jesus.

Joseph, obedient to the angel did the two things commanded of him. He took Mary into his home and when the time came he bestowed the name commanded by the angel. Jesus is the righteous shoot to David, the king that reigns in heaven and governs all things wisely, because of the ancestry that he received through Joseph. As we celebrate our king whose name is above every name let us also thank Joseph son of David for his obedience to the word of the angel. May he teach us not to shrink from our own call to be involved in God's divine plan of salvation, no matter how unworthy we may feel.

1) Mitch, Curtis; Sri, Edward. The Gospel of Matthew (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (A Catholic Bible Commentary on the New Testament by Trusted Catholic Biblical Scholars - CCSS) (p. 44). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Jim Cowan - This Is Jesus

17 December 2023 - the testimony of John

Today's Readings

(Audio)

And this is the testimony of John.

The testimony of John the Baptist was primarily about who he was not. He openly declared that he was not the Messiah, that he was not literally Elijah returned to earth (see Malachi 4:5-6), and that he was not the prophet promised by Moses, like Moses to whom people would listen (see Deuteronomy 18:15). These answers frustrated those who came to ask him who was so that they could give an answer to those who sent them. Their quest was to focus on the identity of John. But John redirected any attempt to fixate on himself to the purpose of his mission.

He said:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,

‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”

as Isaiah the prophet said.”

It would have been easy for someone like John, popular with the crowds, to fall in love with his own self-image. Since "all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him" (see Mark 1:5) he might well have grown impatient with waiting and sufficiently self-confident to answer yes to every question about identity that he was asked by his interlocuters. Was he Elijah? It was prophesied that John would move in the spirit and power of Elijah and that his mission was to be precisely along the lines predicted by Malachi, that being "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared" (see Luke 1:17). He even dressed and ate like Elijah. His life was in some way a recapitulation of the theme's of Elijah's life. But he absolutely refused to claim an identity that would allow his audience to fixate their fascination on him. He was a prophet. But the Prophet was still too come. He was anointed by the Spirit from his birth. But the one who would give the Messiah who would give the Spirit without measure was yet to be revealed (see John 3:34).

John answered them,

“I baptize with water;

but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,

the one who is coming after me,

whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

John allowed himself to be entirely defined, not by who he was in himself, but by his mission, and his relationship to the one who was to come after. He saw himself as the friend of bridegroom whose role was to announce the coming of the bridegroom and then step aside, to decrease that he could increase (see John 3:29-30).

Unlike John we tend to define ourselves by how we see ourselves, as if we inhabit a story that is centered around ourselves. And this is the reason we so often lack joy. There is no story of which we are the main character that can ultimately end anywhere we really want to be. We are not meant to inhabit such a story. And that is why the three commands of Paul in today's second reading are such a good corrective to help us refocus the center of our lives where it should be, on Jesus himself.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.

In all circumstances give thanks

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks are all activities that can only make sense and have meaning if they are centered around God. Joy such as this world can give is fleeting, not all circumstances lead to thanksgiving, and prayer is emptied to be instead empty wishing. But the joy that Jesus gives is one which the world cannot take from us, meaning we really can give thanks at all times. Prayer is the means by which we inhabit this world centered around Jesus rather than around ourselves, in which we both give thanks, and receive joy.

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you (see John 16:22).

When we experience this promise of Jesus we can say with the prophet Isaiah:

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,

in my God is the joy of my soul;

for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation

and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,

like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,

like a bride bedecked with her jewels.

Matt Maher - Isaiah 61

Newsboys - Joy

Carl Tuttle - Rejoice

16 December 2023 - forerunner

Today's Readings

(Audio)

As they were coming down from the mountain,

the disciples asked Jesus,

"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

It was written that Elijah would return to lead the people to repentance and holiness before the coming of the day of the Lord.

You were destined, it is written, in time to come

to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,

To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,

and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.

The angel Gabriel told Zechariah that this prophecy would be fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist.

He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord (see Luke 1:17).

The question of why Elijah must come first received a definitive answer in the ministry of John the Baptist. He drew people into the desert, away from the distractions of life in the world, called them to repentance, and pointed out the lamb of God when he appeared on the scene. There was vague messianic expectation at the time of John, but John shaped and channeled it so that it could find its proper fulfillment in Jesus himself. 

but I tell you that Elijah has already come,

and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.

There might have been quite a different expectation surrounding the coming of a powerful prophet like Elijah that would pertain more to Israel's political situation than to its spiritual stagnation. The people might have hoped that Elijah would have come to inauguration the throwing off of the yoke of hostile foreign oppressors. But although John did have a message for corrupt kings just as Elijah once did it was not the purpose of this first coming of the messiah to bring about a political victory. Its purpose was to bring forth first a victory of righteousness, seen preeminently in the death and resurrection of Jesus himself, but also previewed in the faithful death of the forerunner John the Baptist.

So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.

The fact that John the Baptist had an obvious significance, but one which defied common expectation was meant to help ready the people for a messiah who would also take a different path from what many anticipated. At a glance both John and Jesus appeared to be defeated by corrupt worldly authorities. But a deeper look revealed that in them both a deeper, more lasting, and more important victory had been won. Defeating a set of corrupt politicians could only have led eventually to another set taking their place. But the defeat of sin and death set the stage for a Kingdom that could not be destroyed. The weapons of the world would be useless against such a Kingdom. Even the temporal authority of the state could begin to be shaped and directed by hearts that did not yield to the corrupting influence of the world the flesh, and the devil. Given that the perfection of such hearts would not be perfect in the world, neither would the Kingdom be fully manifest during the age of the Church. Thus the age of the Church was primarily an age of the Spirit, rather than a perfection of the physical order. But after what was primary was established Jesus would indeed return with the hosts of heaven to set all of creation free.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (see Romans 8:22-23).

For our part let us heed the message of the forerunner as he calls us to find some stillness in which we can recognize our own need for the messiah. Then, when he is revealed, and John points us to the lamb, we can go to meet him with open arms and open hearts.

Then we will no more withdraw from you;

give us new life, and we will call upon your name.

Paul Wilbur - Days Of Elijah Kadosh