“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…” (Is 40: 1-2)

Our merciful God always takes care of us. He knows our difficult lives, our weaknesses and limitations, which constantly humiliate us; our good will and many good promises, which fade with the end of the week. He knows all about it and still loves us because His love is unconditional, patient and kind; He speaks tenderly to us. And so should we.

“The day of the Lord is near: Behold, he comes to save us.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“…He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” (Eph 1: 4)

When we are asked “how old we are,” we give information about when we were born; there is a country where people answer when they were conceived, but we should remember that our beginning is “before the foundation of the world.” I was loved and expected before my parents were born. There is no one single second from the beginning of the world when we were not loved. We are here because God wants us to be with Him for eternity.

“I rejoice hardly in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels.” (Entrance Antiphon)

“Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care”. (Is 40: 10-11)

God who “comes with power” and who “rules by his strong arm” appears finally as a shepherd, who gathers in his arms the lambs, “carrying them in his bosom.” All God’s power and strong arms are for carrying, are for protecting and are for showing His love. The all powerful God is the merciful One. He comes to us as a child; defenseless but at the same moment Redeemer, helpless but at the same moment Victorious, dependent but at the same moment Protector.

“O people of Sion, behold, the Lord will come to save the nations, and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart.” (Entrance Antiphon)

“No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: ‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you would turn to the right or to the left.” (Is 30: 20-21)

Our Lord becomes much more for us. He is not only the One who gives directions behind us, but also He is for us The Way and He is “no longer is hidden.” We can see Him in the Church in the Blessed Sacrament; He comes to us with absolution, healing and strength; He supports married couples and priests—His servants with the Sacraments. He is with us in every situation. We are His temples and His holy people.

“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.” (Is 29: 18)

“The deaf shall hear the words of a book” because every person created by God has the right to hear about unconditional love we are loved by Him. With every word He brings us love: understanding, healing, compassion and forgiveness. No one is excluded: “on that day” the deaf, the blind, the poor and the lowly will “rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

“We await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our mortal bodies, to conform with his glorified body.” (Communion Antiphon)

“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” (Is 25: 9)

Everyday, but especially during the Advent, our eyes are focused on Him: “the Lord for whom we look.” He is our Savior and Redeemer; He is our hope and the One, who takes care of all our needs. He cures all our weaknesses and knows when we have nothing to eat. His heart is always moved with pity.

“Behold, the Lord, comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” (Is 2: 3)

To see God’s ways and to “walk in his paths,” we need to “climb the Lord’s mountain.” The right perspective is from His position not from ours. How often we are overwhelmed by daily concerns; we can easily forget where our destination is. He comes everyday with His word, “instructs us in his ways,” and empowers us by His presence and His wisdom.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; declare it to the distant lands: Behold, our Savior will come; you need no longer fear.” (Entrance Antiphon)

“You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not”? (Is 63: 16-17)

Today, with the First Sunday of Advent, we start a new Year—a Catholic liturgical year. We will go deeper and deeper during this year to understand who Our God is and who we are. His first message to us is that He is our Father and our Redeemer. And this is His name forever. How different our lives will be when we do not “harden our hearts” to believe in this?

“Show us Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent” (2 Samuel 7:2)

It was about the ark of God, it was about the Son of God. Not a luxury, but simplicity. To be close to people.

God chose to be, as He announced, Emmanuel: God-with-us. And among us.

That is why we try to have churches in every part of the city, in every village and in every home of consecrated people. God came to us to be with us, not to live in a “house of cedar”, where it would be so difficult to visit Him.

Today is the last day of Advent. In a few hours He  will come. To our homes, to our families, where He is so expected by our children.

He doesn’t need any special place, our heart will be perfect. Open, warm, protective, tender and totally for Him.

with a lot of prayer and close to you

Father J. 

“What, then, will this child be?” (Lk 1:66)

The basic concern of every parent. What, then, will this child be? Specially if our child is delicate and sensitive and needs a little bit more attention then other children.

Have you got any idea how stressful it could be for parents to know something about God’s plan for him or for her? Think about Elisabeth and Zachariah: “even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the good sense of the upright, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.“ (Lk 1, 15-17); or about Mary and Joseph. This is your son and the Son of God, “he will save his people from their sin” (Mt 1, 21). Take care of Him. Prepare Him for the future. Prepare your son to His role.

What they did as parents? They did nothing special. Jesus spent thirty years in normal family life. No special schools for very talented children future Redeemer of the world! “He went down with them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority… And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people.. (Lk 2, 51-52). Maybe this is a good advertisement for home schooling. 😉

How often do we think about profession, some important role. Can we prepare our child to be e.g. president of the country? What we think is important for the future of our children we will give them. The majority will think about education. As good as possible. The best kindergarten, the best primary school, high school, college, university. The better education we’ll give the better career they will have.

Others will think about giving them a good start in life through covering all the basic needs, like apartment with good equipment, car, some savings for nice vacations or other needs. And so…

Do we remember that our child is not ours. She or he is a miracle, a gift from God. Our child IF IT BELONGS to anybody, belongs only to God. Remembering about this is the most important “education” and “good start” for our child.

And even if our child becomes a president of our country or Apple or Google CEO, at the same time probably he or she will be a husband or wife.

So, what we really can do for the best future for our children is to help them understand and believe that he/she is a miracle, a wonderful gift from God, always loved and always worthy.

The other thing we can do is to show them how to protect our love in the family, how to respect a woman, how to take care of our relationship.

With prayer for you

Fr. Jay