1st Sunday of Advent

Be watchful! Be alert! (Mark 13:33) These words certainly do sound familiar, don't they? Over and over again, we are warned to lock our doors, set our alarms, and not talk to strangers. But that's not waht Jesus was talking about. The watching that Jesus urges us to do--the watching that is at the heart of the season of Advent--isn't meant to make us fearful or tense. On the contrary, it's supposed to fill us with expectation and even joy-- just as we pray at Mass, asking our Father to "protect us from all anxiety as we wait for youful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."

But just what are we watching and waiting for? The fulfillment of God's promises--the time when every tear will be wipred away and all pain and suffering will end (Revelation 21:4). For the time when we will be gathered around God's throne, completely immersed in his love and filled to overflowing with his divine life. We're not waiting just for Christmas; we're waiting for the fulfillment of everything that Christmas began--Jesus' glorious return!

Rather than passively waiting, try to spend this Advent actively anticipating the Lord. Invite him to meet you in prayer and at Mass. Look for him in the face of a stranger--or a difficult family member. Let the sights, sounds, and smells of teh season life your imagination and give you a glimpse of the celebration that awaits you.

Don't sleep through heaven! It's all around us, if we but open our eyes. Don't sleep through the miracle of God becoming man, either. Believe hat Jesus is with you right now, wanting to shower you with his love and grace. Open your eyes, and you will begin to see signs that the kingdom is coming--signs that will fill your heart with hope and expectation.

Meditation: The Word Among Us

HAPPY ADVENT

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Dear Lord, on this Thanksgiving Day, please bring us not only good food and memories but help us remember that it is you we are thanking. When we enjoy our meal with our relatives, may we thank you, who brings all food from the earth. When we enjoy the company of relatives and friends, may we thank you, the source of all life and happiness. And when we pray our prayer of blessing, may our hearts be on you, who is the source of all holiness, joy and every blessing that is showered on us. Amen.

FROM THE PULPIT

St. Theodocius was a monk who lived in Palestine in the 500s. After growing in holiness himself, he decided to start a new monastery, which soon attracted so many vocations that it became more of a monastic city than just a monastery. One of the first things he did when he founded his monastery was rather shocking. He dug a large grave, right in the middle of the cloister. When he had finished digging, the little group of curious monks gathered around the rectangular pit to get an explanation. Theodosius said simply: "Here you see a grave. Here we will all one day be buried and our bodies will return to the dust from which they were made. "Remember this, my sons, so that you never stray from the Lord's sure but narrow road of prayer and self-denial. "It is better to die to ourselves each day and rise again on the Day of Judgment than indulge ourselves foolishly now and remain in the grave forever."

In today’s gospel we are reminded, “whatever you do for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” As we celebrate this feast of Christ the King and also the last day of the church year, it reminds us that as a year comes to an end so does our earthly life. What are we going to do with it? Jesus is very direct and to the point and might sound simple enough but we should ask ourselves do I serve as Jesus served?

This morning I think of my mom who is truly a servant. She is a woman that has and is always dedicated. When I was growing up she juggled a 40 hour job, took care of her family from doing laundry to putting a wonderful home cooked meal on the table each and every day. A few years ago she added my grandfather to her list of responsibilities as he was getting older and couldn’t be left alone. There she was preparing meals, washing him, and just making him feel like a million bucks. Today she continues to serve and I never hear her complain but instead she radiates the love of Christ. What an example she is to me and my family. This is just a few examples that my mom truly lives out her call to serve.

My brothers and sisters we need to realize that at the moment of creation, God’s plan was for us to share in his everlasting life and joy. All that is required of us is to reach out to those among us that need assistance and treat them with respect and dignity as the very presence of the risen Christ himself.

The Solemnity of Christ the King, which every Catholic throughout the entire world is celebrating today, is a new thing. The Church has existed for almost 2000 years, but this Solemnity is less than 100 years old. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He explained his reasons for doing so in an encyclical letter called "Quas primas". First he explained that throughout history liturgical feasts have been instituted in response to particular needs that arise in the life of the world and the Church.

He gives the example of the feasts in honor of the martyrs, of the celebration of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart. And then he explains which need this new celebration addresses.

He was writing this encyclical in 1925, when the world was still trying to recover from World War I, which had devastated Europe and shattered modernity's hopes for unlimited progress based solely on human reason.

Everywhere the pope looked, he saw human societies abandoning Christian values and trying to build paradise on earth through other means. But if humanity had been able to perfect itself by itself, without God's help, then Jesus Christ would never have come to earth. The fact is, Jesus did come.

He brought his Gospel and his grace to a fallen race, and only by believing in that Gospel and accepting that grace can individuals and societies achieve true and lasting peace and prosperity.

Pope Pius XI instituted today's Solemnity as a way to remind the world that to reject Christ, either in private life or in public life, is to reject our only hope, and to accept him is to accept salvation. He wrote: "...When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony... That these blessings may be abundant and lasting in Christian society, it is necessary that the kingship of our Savior should be as widely as possible recognized and understood, and to that end nothing would serve better than the institution of a special feast in honor of the Kingship of Christ."

So my brothers and sisters on this solemnity of Christ the King may we worship Jesus our King and realize with him is the only way that will lead us to the way to the Father, give us absolute truth and give us eternal life but we can’t do that without reaching out to him through others who need our assistance this day.

CHRIST THE KING

FROM THE PULPIT

Once Mother Theresa was staying with a community of sisters in Australia. While she was there, she visited an elderly man who lived in total isolation, ignored by everyone; his home was disordered and dirty. She told him, "Please let me clean your house, wash your clothes and make your bed." He answered, "I'm OK like this. Let it be." She said, "You will be still better if you allow me to do it." He finally agreed. So she was able to clean his house and wash his clothes.

While she was cleaning, she discovered a beautiful lamp, covered with dust; it looked like it hadn't been used in years. She said to the man, "Don't you light that lamp? Don't you ever use it?” He answered, "No. No one comes to see me. I have no need to light it. Who would I do it for?"

Mother Teresa asked, "Would you light it every night if the sisters came?" He replied, "Of course." From that day on, the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening. Mother Teresa left Australia; two years passed. She had completely forgotten about that encounter. Then she received a message from him: "Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still."

Today the gospel in a sense is telling us to light as many lamps as we can as we continue on this journey. In our own living out the paschal mysteries we can be too safe and secure. We might be hesitant in reaching out of our “comfort zones.” The servant in today’s gospel was prudent, safe but never took a risk. To have real growth is to take risks. We take a risk when we see someone who is poor and in need and we reach out to them. We take a risk when sharing our talents or volunteering for one of the parish ministries. I remember during my first year in the order when I was stationed in Boston, one day I went downtown to St. Anthony’s Shrine with one of my classmates. There was a group of poor men who were out in the street and wanted some food. So my classmate and I went into the CVS and got him a tray of cookies. When he gave the gentleman the cookies my friend was expecting a thank you but instead got criticized and the man threw the cookies to the side. Now this hurt my classmate’s feelings but he took a risk and reached out to this man in need.

The lazy servant of the parable was cast out into the darkness because he failed to fulfill his life-mission. Why did he fail? Because he had the wrong idea of his master. He feared him like a slave. Maybe he even resented his master for giving him only one talent. And from this self-centered perspective, his life-mission seemed unreasonably demanding. His fear and self-centeredness paralyzed him and kept him from doing what he was meant to do.
We can fall into the same deception - the deception that the devil used in the Garden of Eden. Thinking of God as harsh and unreasonable provides an easy excuse for giving in to laziness and self-pity, something our fallen nature loves to do.

But Jesus is not a harsh and unjust master; he is a good, generous, and powerful King! He proved this by his self-sacrifice on the cross. But he also proved it by the clarity of his teaching, like the revelation he gives us in this parable, a crystal-clear, unambiguous explanation of the meaning of life.

He shows us that our life-mission is to take our God-given gifts and put them to good use, shaping the world around us as Christ would have us. Our destiny, he shows us, depends on our making a decent effort to fulfill that mission. At first glance, such straight talk about heaven and hell may seem shocking. Yet, it flows precisely from his goodness and love: he wants us to know life's true purpose and end, because he wants us to live well now and be with him forever in heaven. That's the kind of God we believe in - a God who wants to save us and give us joy, if we will only trust him enough to follow where he leads.

So my brothers and sisters as St Paul reminds us this morning, “stay alert and sober.” Let us always be ready for our Lord especially as we come to the end of our liturgical year and let us spread the light of Christ to all in need as we take a risk each and every day for the one who took a risk for us.

ETERNAL REST GRANT UNTO THEM O LORD