“Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock.” (IS 26: 4)
Every construction needs good ground. Our God, who is “eternal Rock,” can give us all kinds of support and stability, especially when our lives are a mess. He reminds us: “trust in the LORD forever!” There is no situation where He can’t help. He is always with us.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call him while he is near.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.” (MT 15: 29-31)
Our Lord likes to be visible, even from a long distance: “went up on the mountain.” He came for us, who have all kinds of needs: “the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others,” to bring us closer to God the Father, and we have a place “at His feet.” And His answer is always the same: “He cured them.”
“Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (LK 10: 23-24)
We are luckierthan “many prophets and kings who desired to see what we see” but “did not see it.” During every Holy Mass, we can look at Our Lord, and when we do this our eyes change into “blessed eyes.” We can take our “blessed eyes” to our homes and look at our spouses, children and friends with a new glance because Our Lord “will enlighten the eyes of his servants” and will help us to see in a new way, a blessed way.
“Behold, our Lord shall come with power; he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.” (MT 4: 19-22)
In both cases “they left” “immediately” and “at once,” which gives us an idea of the urgency, radicalism and desires of our hearts. When Our Lord comes to us with the daily readings, we are invited to answer in the same way as the apostles and leave our “nets”—our mistaken patterns of interpretations, where we are trapped or our “boats”—our preferred ways of communication and to “follow Him” with creativity in charity. In the end, when we follow Him, we will find our deeper identity.
“Come after me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.” (1 THES 3: 12-13)
To “abound in love for one another” is the shortest way “to be blameless in holiness” because there is no holiness in self perfection or in scrupulous observance of the commandments. Only “love for one another and for all” can “strengthen our hearts” and can bring us closer to God. Advent gives us a fantastic opportunity to grow and “abound in love for one another,” especially with our spouses and with our families—protecting our relationships, protecting time for us and increasing our respect for each other and creativity in being a gift of self.
“Show us, Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” (LK 21: 34-35)
Our hearts are a special place for our relationship with God and with our dearest relatives. So it is our responsibility to take care of our hearts and protect from “the anxieties of daily life.” One of many ways we do this is to remember our identity—who are we? to Whom do we belong? and pray often with short prayers.
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”
“He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.” (DN 7: 14)
Our Lord is the King of the Universe, and “He received dominion, glory and kingship.” It is not like any other kingdom; “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away.” All of this is just for one reason: to assure us that we are loved and protected forever.
“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (LK 21: 28)
The difference between believers and non-believers isin their reaction to “these signs.” The person who loves God and always looks at Him and follows His will can “stand erect” because “redemption is at hand.” When our main concern is to look at Him, naturally our attention will go to the Person who is coming and not to “what is coming upon the world.” We are person-oriented and not object-oriented. “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” (LK 21: 13-15)
We are invited to be witnesses of God’s love. Our Lord, who came to proclaim God’s love, was rejected, and we can expect the same treatment, but even so we are still invited to be His witnesses. Our Lord himself will “give us a wisdom in speaking,” so instead of planning our testimony or defense, we should focus on Him. From Him we receive everything.
“Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” (Luke 21, 7)
The days from the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, to the next Sunday are very special. It is like an examination of our conscience when we are in the last days of the church’s year. Next Sunday we will start a new year in the Catholic Church, but right now we have to finish and summarize this year. Are we in a new place after this year? Are we closer to Our Lord; is He present more in our daily lives; do we love each other more with gentleness and respect? Is our gift of self joyful? free? creative?
We do not know when the real end of the world will come or when we will be invited to heaven—“when will this happen?” We don’t know when, but we know what we can do—“remain faithful until death.”
“Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)