“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (PHL 4: 4-7)
Today Our Lord recommends to us: “Rejoice always; again I will say, rejoice.” Why? Because “the Lord is at hand,” and with Him comes the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” and “will keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” The first fruit of this in our lives is gentleness and kindness (or forbearance). When we are truly united with God, we are truly united with others.
“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” (Gospel Acclamation)
Today is my official, liturgical Anniversary of Priesthood–I was ordained priest 30 years ago on Gaudete Sunday!
Fr. Jay
[Photo by Paweł Sobczyk, added by the blog editors]
“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?” (LK 1: 42-43)
Not only to Elizabeth, not only in Advent, and not only to the very special people, but also to everyone: to you, to me, to our neighbors and friends, without any exceptions,she carries Our Lord, wants to share her love for Him with us, and bring Him closer to us.
“Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go.” (IS 48: 17)
God says: “I am your God”; we say: “Our Father,” and we express the same thing—we are in relationship; He is ours, and we are His. He created us with love, and He knows “what is good for us,” so He leads us “on the way we should go.” It is so simple, like God’s love for us.
“The Lord will come; go out to meet him! He is the prince of peace.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” (IS 41: 13-14)
Our Lord is the One: “Who grasps our right hand,” who is always with us, and “who says to us: Fear not, I will help you.” Our mighty God is helping us always. How often fears try to reach our hearts, bring distrust in our relationships and stop us from action. Our Lord is with us reminding us and assuring us: “I will help you. Fear not. I am with you.” Jesus I trust in You.
“Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars: He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing!” (IS 40: 26)
If the stars “on high,” created by Our God, Who “leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name” are so important to Him, then how importantare we? All His “might and the strength of his power” are used to assure us about His love for us, to protect us and to lead us to His merciful Heart;there is our rest, our redemption and our most secure place.
“Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 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.” (LK 1: 30-33)
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She reminds us about our dignity and of the unconditional love of God—“you have found favor with God.” Our Lady reminds us also that we are called to take responsibility to fulfill our role in God’s plan. Her role was the most important; ours are less, but still God’s salvation needs us to cooperate with Him.
“Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.”
“And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘As for you, your sins are forgiven.’” (LK 5: 18-20)
The “men” who “brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed” expected only (probably the paralyzed man too) that Our Lord would cure him. He received from Jesus forgiveness first—“your sins are forgiven.” Only after the reunion with God came the cure. Our Lord always wants a better life for us, a bigger perspective and a deeper relationship with Him. Our health, job, and many other different expectations are secondary and subordinate to the main one.
“Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth, and he himself will lift the yoke of our captivity.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“For God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.” (BAR 5: 9)
There is nothing more important than love; there is nothing more important than taking care of relatives and friends, and this is what Our God is showing us every single day. He is not only showing but also leading us “in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.” He is love and He rejoices when sharing His mercy and salvation with us.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you.” (IS 30: 19)
Our God is not separated from us, somewhere in Heaven, far away from us. He is closer then we can imagine andalways takes care of us. “When we cry out” — “He will be gracious to us,” When we pray and “as soon as He hears, He will answer us.” He is the One “who will save us.”
“The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King; he it is who will save us.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” (IS 29: 18)
How often our ears and eyes are deaf and blindto anything that comes from outside. We are so busy with our inner dialog and our own visions for our daily lives and futures that we can’t hear and can’t see others. How helpful it is when we open “a book,” the Holy Bible, and we start to “hear the words of a book.” We can and should invite into our hearts Our Lord’s words and listen to Him, and with Him listen to others; we can and will start seeing the world as He sees.
“Behold, our Lord shall come with power; he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.” (Gospel Acclamation)
