3rd Sunday of Advent (Year A)
Isaiah 35:1-6,10 | Psalm 145(146):6-10 | James 5:7-10 | Matthew 11:2-11

‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’ (Matthew 11:11)

Indeed, we are all far removed from what we could be, when we are reunited with our heavenly Father on the last day. This world is but a shadow of a reflection of the kingdom of God, a shadow distorted into an almost unrecognizable blob by steamy sin and tempestuous temptation.

Yet we live in hope, for Christ has given us that hope.

Even the great John the Baptist had his doubt while languishing in prison, unsure if he’d “backed the wrong horse”. I wonder if Jesus’ response to his query in today’s Gospel was actually meant as a gentle rebuke, a kindly “o ye of little faith”.

Of course, we should have no such uncertainty, for after centuries of tumult and schism, Mother Church still stands firm, still preaches the same salvific message: “Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Yet when we encounter trouble at work, or household unrest, or even an irresistible temptation, it can be hard to keep faith with God, and keep practising Christian virtue. These are the times when we need to “double down” in prayer, fasting and generosity, to help us get over the humps of daily life and continue down the Way of Truth and Life.

May we remain steadfast in our love for God and each other, and so depart from this existence with as clean a slate as we can humanly manage, confident that He will grant us the grace we need to stand in His presence and glorify Him forever…next to John the Baptist.

Lord, help us keep our eye on the ultimate prize: glorious reunion with you and the Father in heaven. Help us stay the course of righteousness and love, and give us each day what we need to stay true to You. Amen.

Saturday of the 2nd week of Advent (Year I)
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12 | Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19 | Matthew 17:10-13

Today’s Word talks about Elijah, the great prophet who worked many miracles in his time, and who was to return and herald the “great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 3:19). Jesus even points to John the Baptist as the spiritual successor of Elijah.

So he’s one of a kind then? No, for we too are called to be Elijahs of our time.

Why is that? Because “Elijah” literally means “my God is the Lord”, a name filled with intent to proclaim the greatness and goodness of the I AM.

So how do we go about this then? For starters, we don’t have to put ourselves out trying to work miracles like Elijah, miracles which this world would probably pooh-pooh anyway.

Instead, we proclaim through our words of love, backed up by our deeds of love. Feeding the hungry, slaking the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, etc. (Matthew 25:35-40)

As we prepare to welcome our new-born King, let us proclaim to all in no uncertain terms:

Elijah! My God is the Lord!

Amen.

Friday of the 2nd week of Advent (Year I)
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Isaiah 48:17-19 | Psalm 1:1-4,6 | Matthew 11:16-19

‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’ (Matthew 11:18-19)

I had an interesting conversation with my oldest friend and business partner on the way to lunch yesterday. We were chatting about “mobile zombies”, people you often see walking around with their eyes glued to their smartphones, oblivious to their surroundings and headed on a collision course with you.

I mentioned that I’d been tempted many times to “accidentally” bump their phones out of their hands. The conversation then took an interesting direction, as do most of our chats:

Me: “I think that’s a good sign that I’m growing in my faith.”

Him: “Huh? But you were tempted to do something nasty!”

Me: “Yeah, but I didn’t.”

Him: “Yeah, but you were tempted!”

Me: “Yeah, but not too long ago, I would’ve considered it my God-given right to ‘teach them a lesson’!”

Him: “…”

Dear brothers and sisters, now that you know that about my past, do you think I have any business writing daily about the Word of God?

If you knew my secret fantasies about “teaching a lesson” to the fit young people I see hogging the train seats each day, to the detriment of the elderly passengers standing around them,

fantasies that involved giving them 60 years in the blink of an eye, so that they could experience age-related degeneration for themselves,

would you trust me, a closet vigilante, to steer you right in my daily exhortations?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

This is an inconvenient truth that we all face in our faith journey: we often judge the message by the messenger, but usually by how well the message aligns with our own desires.

When we find out that the priest we’ve known and loved for many years was a secret pedophile, or is accused of conscious financial naughtiness, how many of us have faith so weak as to be shattered by this man of the cloth, who swore to dedicate his life to God and His children, yet managed to do evil things?

And how many of us would admit that this fatal blow to our beliefs stems not from what someone else did, however high a pedestal we raised them on, but because we secretly wanted to turn away all along,

to free ourselves from the “shackles” of our faith,

to get in the good graces of the rich and powerful who think God is nonsense, and join them in unholy indulgences of excess and petty judgement, without fear of moral constraint?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

In today’s gospel, Jesus calls out the many people who reject salvation, and call its purveyors all sorts of names as an excuse to not believe. May we recognize that the Word of God has been resilient enough to survive thousands of years of sinful Christ-bearers, and so listen carefully especially when it’s shared by folks with tons of experience in failing to live up to it.

After all, who would you trust to teach you self-defence, the pretty boy with no visible scars, or the grizzled veteran with a broken nose and bruises aplenty?

Lord, grant us the patience and widsom to discern Your Living Word, regardless of its source. Amen.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Genesis 3:9-15,20 | Psalm 97(98):1-4 | Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 | Luke 1:26-38

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live. (Genesis 3:20)

Today, we celebrate the mortal beginning of she who was to be the “new Eve”, the mother of all those who live in the love of the Lord. As the original Eve brought forth the suffering of separation from God through original sin, so Mother Mary would bring forth the redemption of reconciliation with God through the “new Adam”, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The similarities don’t end there. Just as Eve would know the pangs of childbirth, and all womankind through here, so Mary would, as St. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Redemptoris Mater:

will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the suffering Savior, and that her motherhood will be mysterious and sorrowful. (§16)

So today’s title isn’t just a lousy pun on a rather lousy movie.

Lord Jesus Christ, your earthly mother never ceases in her urgings to turn our faces to You. Help us to heed her call to love You as she always had, without hesitation or reservation. Amen.

Wednesday of the 2nd week of Advent (Year I)
Saint Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor
Isaiah 40:25-31 | Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10 | Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28)

I just had a frustrating hours-long session trying to fix my dad’s PC, and I left with a nagging feeling that my work wasn’t quite done yet. It was a sobering reminder of why I gave up on Windows over 20 years ago, choosing to use the less convoluted Linux operating system at my first workplace even when it hardly user-friendly.

But then I got home, ate a light dinner, showered, watched the nightly news, and am now sitting down to compose this blog entry. All that frustration and tiredness just melted away, as I contemplate the Word for today.

Truly, the yoke that Christ has laid on my shoulders, the nightly opportunity to think about my relationship with Him and with those around me, is a light burden indeed. He’s neither loud nor demanding, more like a quiet cup of joe at my favorite coffee shop.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

In memory of St. Ambrose during this season of Advent, I unearthed one of his compositions from all those centuries ago, Veni, Redemptor Gentium. We haven’t quite reached the octave before Christmas, during which this Ambrosian hymn features in the Divine Office, but there’s no reason we can’t now sing in our hearts “O come, redeemer of the earth”.

In Latin:

In English (the closing hymn of the 2008 movie Doubt):