“To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (MAL 3: 24)
Especially in this relationship, it is so important because we pray daily “Our Father.” And God, the Father, wants to assure us that we are safe, we are protected, His heart is always open for us, and we are always in His heart.
“O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.” (LK 1: 56)
One of the most important signs of love is to be with somebody. These three months were full of different actions, but we are informed about the most important element: “Mary remained with Elizabeth.” Among many different ways we can say something important to another person is to give him/her time together.
“O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.” (ZEP 3: 17-18)
If we can imagine the impossible—God “will sing joyfully because of us”; “He will rejoice over us with gladness” and “renew us in his love.” But this is true—“God is in our midst,” “a mighty savior” chose us as His beloved children. And there is no other reason than His love.
“O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Then he says, ‘Behold, I come to do your will.’ He takes away the first to establish the second. By this ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (HEB 10: 9-10)
“By this ‘will’ we have been consecrated,” redeemed and loved unconditionally forever. When Our Lord came to us, He had only one plan: “Behold, I come to do God’s will.” All His life, from conception to death on the cross, was just a revelation of God’s love for us.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 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.” (LK 1: 19-20)
It was too much for Zechariah to accept. From his knowledge about fertility, their age put them outside the possibility of being parents. But God’s “good news” announced by Gabriel was bigger and stronger than Zechariah’s lack of faith. God’s promises “will be fulfilled at their proper time” even if he “did not believe [the] Angel’s words.”
“O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘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.” (MT 1: 23-24)
God’s will and our response go together. The more we are connected with God, the more we listen to Him, and the more we respect Him, the better we answer. God invited the most holy people to the most blessed mission —Our Lady and St. Joseph fulfilled His plan to “rescue us with His mighty power.” The answer of St. Joseph was so simple—“he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.”
“O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.” (MT 1: 17)
This is how Mathew wanted to show us God’s presence in history. Even when we see history as a mess, fortuity and uncertainty, God is always present with His love, wisdom and salvation. Nothing is accidental, everything is providential. Like my Colombian friends used to say: no coincidencia pero Dioscidencia.
“O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!” (Gospel Acclamation).
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offence at me.” (LK 7: 22-23)
The Good News is very detailed. God came with answers for all our needs: all kinds of blindness, diseases, deafness, fortunes of life and despair. And this Good News is priceless—“the poor have the good news proclaimed to them”—because Our Lord gives unconditionally. We are sent to be witnesses of this—“go and tell what you have seen and heard.”
“Raise your voice and tell the Good News: Behold, the Lord GOD comes with power.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“For then I will change and purify the lips of the peoples, that they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord.” (ZEP 3: 9)
The ability “to serve God with one accord” is based on unity in prayer: “they all may call upon the name of the LORD.” And God Himself takes care of this “changing and purifying the lips of the peoples.” When we are united in worship and when we are together adoring God, we are able to also do something together—“to serve him with one accord.”
“Come, o Lord, do not delay; forgive the sins of your people.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“‘The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, `From heaven,’ he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, `From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” (MT 21: 25-27)
They seemed to themselves smart, but their “cleverness” didn’t help them recognize the truth about Our Lord. Jesus came with one very simple message: we are loved, we are important, we are God’s children. He has all authority to “do these things” and “grant us salvation.”
“Show us, LORD, your love, and grant us your salvation.” (Gospel Acclamation)
