Laudet Dominum

It’s pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we’re celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: “Keep Christ in Christmas”. The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there’s another way that we can “Keep Christ in Christmas”. For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

We may not consciously reflect on God becoming human, but that is precisely what the Gospel passage from St. John’s Gospel is proclaiming this morning. In this opening passage to the Gospel we are told, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Later, we hear, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

This Gospel passage is held to be the greatest proclamation of the divinity of Christ. Jesus was not only a human who had a large following and established a rule of life for us to follow, but was and is truly God incarnate, meaning that He is God become human. Our Lord was with the Father in the beginning, the creation of the universe, and St. John tells us that through Our Lord all of creation came into being. Yet, with all the power and glory due to Him by all creation, the second person of the Trinity deigned to become human, being born as a humble infant in humble surroundings to a simple and humble family.

The Letter to the Hebrews tells us God “has spoken to us through the Son, whom He made heir of all things and through whom He created the universe.” (Hebrews 1:2) As the Son of God, Our Lord is “far superior to the angels”. (Hebrews 1:4) He could have come to Earth in any form that He would have willed, but chose to become one of us as an innocent child.

This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it’s so important to “Keep Christ in Christmas”. Christmas would be pointless if we didn’t recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas Eve, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we’ve all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It’s pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we’re celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: “Keep Christ in Christmas”. The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there’s another way that we can “Keep Christ in Christmas”. For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

In our Gospel this night, we see Jesus being born in a shelter for animals, and being laid in a food trough for the animals. The inns were full, and the Holy Family had to find whatever shelter they could in this small town that had been filled to overflowing. Because of this, Our Lord, the second person of the Trinity, was born in humble surroundings.

As God, he could have been born anywhere He wished, but chose a life of humility. Even the proclamation of His birth by the angels showed humility. Instead of proclaiming to great kings and rulers of the Earth, the angels appeared to humble shepherds, grazing their sheep on the hillsides surrounding the town of Bethlehem. The message the angels proclaimed, however, was not one of humility, but one of exultation: “a savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.” (Luke 2:14) This innocent and humble child, born in simple surroundings to a simple family who lived a humble life, has come to save us. As we heard in the first reading, the hope of Israel foreseen by the prophet Isaiah, in fact the hope of all the world, came into the world as an unknown.

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus “gave Himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness, and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14) This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it’s so important to “Keep Christ in Christmas”. Christmas would be pointless if we didn’t recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas night, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we’ve all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It’s pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we’re celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: “Keep Christ in Christmas”. The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there’s another way that we can “Keep Christ in Christmas”. For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

St. Paul obviously thought long and hard about the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity becoming human. He reminds his listeners, and us in the second reading, that God showed His power and love to the Israelite people during their time of captivity in Egypt, through the Exodus out of that country, and by establishing them as a nation in the Promised Land. This God, who did such great and powerful things for the Israelite people, then deigned to be come one of them, being born as a descendant of the great king David.

In our Gospel this evening, we hear the seemingly long and drawn out genealogy of Jesus. To our modern ears, many of the names seem strange, foreign names from a foreign land. For the people that St. Matthew was writing to, this genealogy set the stage for the fulfillment of God’s promise to His people. In fact, you may have recognized some of the names in the list, such as King David, as would many in the Jewish audience to whom St. Matthew was trying to proclaim the Gospel.

This genealogy is important, not only for Jews of the first and second century but also for us, because it shows the history of salvation from the Patriarchs Abraham, Issac, and Jacob down to the coming of Our Lord. Abraham was promised that he would be the father of a great nation, as numerous as the stars in the sky. This genealogy shows, in a summary, how this promise was fulfilled. More importantly, it shows to us who are not of Jewish descent how salvation came to us through God’s plan for the Israelite nation.

The fact that God fulfilled this promise of salvation of all humanity is amazing enough, but the Gospel goes on to show us the way in which this promise was fulfilled. God could have used a great military leader or political figure to save the people of Israel, but instead He sent His Son as a tiny baby born under humble circumstances. He truly is Emmanuel, “God is with us”. (Matthew 1:23)

This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it’s so important to “Keep Christ in Christmas”. Christmas would be pointless if we didn’t recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas Eve, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we’ve all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Who do we consider the most important people in the world? Is it the person who bags our groceries at the store, or is it the politician with the million dollar smile and thousand dollar haircut? Do we consider important those who live simply, or is it the flashy Hollywood actor or actress that we see on the big screen?

If humans were to choose our savior, we would likely choose a great warrior who defeats enemies with powerful weapons while giving great power and wealth to those who follow him. God’s will is not like human wisdom, however. Our savior came simply, humbly. He was born in a small town, which the first reading described as “too small to be among the clans of Judah.” (Micah 5:1)

Humans would want a savior who came from the “right” people, the people that are held as important in the world, such as the popular political leaders or entertainers. Our Lord came from obscurity, born to a simple, humble woman. Instead of increasing the stature of those who are proud and seen as important, God lifts up the lowly.

Why does God use the lowly to advance His will in the world? By human wisdom, it seems like more could be done by working through those with earthly power. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. Those who gain earthly power frequently are corrupted by that power, seeking to do their own wills instead of the will of God the Father.

To be lowly and humble means having an openness to the will of God and a desire to fulfill that will. The humble realize that what they want is unimportant in the face of God’s will. Mary became the mother of Our Lord because she humbly submitted her will to the will of God.

Our Lord Himself did not come as a great ruler with military might and conquering armies. Instead, He came as a humble carpenter, spending most of His life working a humble job and living a humble life. Yet, He came to do God’s will, and literally gave His life to do it.

In fact, Our Lord’s very death shows the humility that He lived. He could have given His life in a blaze of glory, but instead died in the most humiliating way possible on the Cross. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that “we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10) By Our Lord’s humble death on the Cross, God’s will was completed perfectly. Though He was born lowly and humbly, dying just as humbly, Our Lord’s “greatness [reaches] to the ends of the earth.” (Micah 5:3)

As followers of Christ, we need to overcome our prideful desires and humbly seek the Father’s will. Instead of worrying about what we want to receive as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, we should seek how God wants us to serve Him during the upcoming Christmas season. Perhaps he wants us to give a gift to someone who is in need. Maybe we’re called to spend some time visiting with those who are lonely. It may even be as simple as being called to spend more time in His presence praying that His will be done. There are as many ways that we can humbly give of ourselves as there are those we are called to serve.

As we enter into this last week of Advent and final preparations for the Christmas season, may we each individually take time to humbly seek and fulfill the Father’s will for our lives.

“What should we do?” How many are asking that question right now? We’re getting all our Christmas preparations done. Maybe our gifts have been purchased and wrapped. Maybe we’ve bought only some of our gifts, but have more to go. Maybe none of our gifts have been purchased, and we have no idea what we’re going to buy. Perhaps we’re planning Christmas parties, or planning where to go over Christmas. With all this planning and preparing, we might have the feeling in the back of our minds that something is missing, and we want to ask, “What else should we do?”

We’ve got all these plans and preparations, yet I think we miss one important point about this season of advent: it should be a time of great joy! In fact, St. Paul tells us “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! […] The Lord is near.” In fact, the popular name of this very Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, comes from the Entrance Antiphon repeating St. Paul’s words, which in Latin begins with “Gaudete” – Rejoice.

This should be a time of great joy and anticipation, almost childlike in our joy. We should have the simple joy that children have this time of year when they see the beautifully decorated trees and houses. Children light up during this season; even the snow which us adults complain about excites the kids.

We should be rejoicing always during this season. As the prophet Zephaniah says, “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” This is how we should be approaching this season, with joyful anticipation. Our Lord is coming! It shouldn’t be a time of stress and anguish. We need to prepare for Our Lord.

So again the question, “What should we do?” How should we prepare for our Lord? That’s why John the Baptist was asked the question, after all. He was asked by the crowds who came to hear him preach. He was asked by the tax collectors who came to be baptized. He was even asked by the soldiers who came to watch for trouble. How does he answer? He answers that we should live in virtue. The crowds are told “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” We should be charitable during this season. We should be giving to those who have nothing this Christmas season.

The tax collectors were told stop collecting more than what was prescribed. At this time, they were allowed to collect more than what Rome required of them. As long as the Empire received the proper amount, the collectors were allowed to keep the rest. The tax collectors would make themselves rich by tacking onto the required tax. John the Baptist challenged them to take only what was required, doing their jobs with virtue and honesty.

Like the tax collectors, the soldiers were called to practice their jobs with honesty and virtue when they were told “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Giving bribes to soldiers in order to keep from getting arrested was an all-to-common practice at this time. Soldiers were challenged to remain virtuous and give up these immoral practices.

We are also challenged during this season to live our lives with virtue and honesty. During this season of Advent, we need to take time to reflect on how are we doing living the virtues. Are we charitable? Are we just? Do we judge others, or treat them fairly? This needs to be a time of great joy, but it also needs to be a time of reevaluating our lives as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord. This is why receiving the Sacrament of Confession should be a priority during this season.

As we draw closer to the celebration of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas, may we be able to receive with joy the answer to the question “What should we do?”

In the passage from his Letter to the Ephesians that we just heard, St. Paul makes a remarkable claim. He states that God “chose us in [Christ], before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” I know that this is an unbelievable claim when I look at my life, as I am most definitely not holy and very much blemished by sin, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Nevertheless, today we celebrate the ultimate example of one being chosen from all time “to be holy and without blemish”. The Blessed Virgin Mary, chosen from the beginning of time to be the Mother of God, was conceived without sin and never had to suffer with the effects of sin. Just as sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin is conquered through the obedience of Mary, the new Eve, and her Son Jesus, the new Adam.

The sinlessness of Our Lady gives us hope that one day we too will no longer be burdened by the pain and suffering of humanity’s sinful nature. In the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus which formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius IX wrote that Mary, “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” Just as we are saved through the merits of Our Lord’s death on the Cross, Mary’s sinless nature was a special grace by God giving her the benefits of the salvation won by Jesus to prepare her to conceive and bear the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

For ourselves, Mary’s sinless nature shows us that we will also be cleansed of sin in Paradise, just as Adam and Eve enjoyed sinlessness before their disobedience brought sin into the world. One day we will no longer suffer from sin and its effects on our lives, but will enjoy the fullness of God’s grace. The Archangel Gabriel called Mary “full of grace” and declared that “the Lord is with you”. It is our hope, and the hope of all Christians, that we too will be in the fullness of God’s grace and be in the presence of God, just as Mary was during her time on Earth and still is today.

As we celebrate this feast of the Immaculate Conception, may the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Blessed Mother of Our Lord and our Mother, be upon us, and upon this nation which is dedicated to the patronage of the Immaculate Conception.

For travelers before the advent of modern highways and automobiles, hills and valleys would have been an unwelcome sight. At best, the hills slowed them down, making the journey more difficult. At worst, a particularly steep hill or deep valley could prove to be impassable, requiring a lengthy detour.

In our spiritual lives, we have hills and valleys that we need to overcome. Now, I’m not talking about the ups and downs that come with our emotions. Instead, these hills and valleys are obstacles placed between us and God by the sins we commit in our daily lives. The challenge before us is how do we “prepare the way of the Lord” in our hearts, filling the valleys and lowering the hills?

The Gospel passage today gives us the ultimate example of preparing the way of the Lord. John the Baptist was born for one purpose only: to announce the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how St. John prepared the people of Israel for Our Lord’s ministry. He preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He knew that sin blocked the people who lived at Jesus’ time from hearing the call of God, and would prevent them from following Our Lord. He wanted to remove the obstacle of sin from their lives in order to prepare them to follow Jesus.

When it comes to sin, things haven’t changed in 2000 years. Sin still prevents us from hearing God’s call and following Him. In fact, there seems to be a denial of sin’s effect on our lives. Either we ignore the fact that particular actions are sinful, or we deny that sin exists at all. Those hills and valleys in our spiritual lives keep getting bigger and steeper.

During this season of Advent, this season of preparation, we hear the call of John the Baptist, as well as the prophet Baruch, that the valleys be filled and the hills be brought down. We need to remove the obstacles that sin places within our lives by expressing true sorrow for our sins and asking God for forgiveness through the Sacrament of Confession. Much as a new road needs to be prepared by leveling the ground, filling in valleys and cutting through hills, regular Confessions help us overcome sin’s grasp on our lives and open us to receive more of God’s grace.

This is a process that will take a long time to complete. Our sinful nature is deeply rooted within us, and we will struggle throughout our lives with its effects. If we regularly approach Our Lord and Confess our sins, say once a month, we will find that we become less willing to commit our “favorite” sins. This is not to say that we will ever become sinless on Earth, but regular reception of the Sacrament of Confession will prepare us for the day when we will be made “pure and blameless for the day of Christ”, as St. Paul says.

This Advent season, I encourage you to make use of the Sacrament of Confession in preparation for the coming of Our Lord, and to make regular reception of this Sacrament a habit in your lives.

We’re once again entering into a new year in the Church’s liturgical calendar. Once again, we begin this new liturgical year by entering into Advent, this four-week period of anticipation, of looking forward. If you ask most Catholics to explain who or what we’re looking forward towards, they’ll immediately say that we’re looking forward to the celebration of Jesus’ birth on Christmas. They’d be correct by saying that, but it’s not the complete answer. We’re also looking forward to Christ’s coming again at the end of time.

The word Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus”, which translates roughly as “to come to”. In this season of Advent, we prepare for Our Lord Jesus Christ “to come to” us, both in His birth which is celebrated at Christmas, but also in His second coming at the end of time. In this way, we join the Jewish people in the anticipation that they must have felt when they heard the promise of the prophet Jeremiah, which we also heard in our first reading. Just as the Jews were waiting for a great king who would free them from slavery and the bondage of the Babylonian exile, we symbolically await the coming of our great King who frees us from the slavery and bondage of sin.

St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that this symbolic anticipation is not the only reason we celebrate this Advent season. By praying that “the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all,” St. Paul makes it clear that we should be preparing for “the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” (1 Thess. 3:12-13)

Sadly, I think this preparation for Christ’s second coming has been lost in large part by many Christians today. It seems as if many people view Advent as a period to get everything ready for Christmas. We have to decorate the houses and stores, spend lots of money on Christmas gifts, make Christmas goodies, and watch hours upon hours of Christmas specials. We’re pretty clear on the preparing for Christmas, but few recognize the eternal significance of Advent.

Traditionally, Advent has been a time to slow down and reflect on our lives and how we live as Christians, instead of speeding up our lives by shopping, baking, and decorating. It’s traditional that decorations within the Church become very simple and meditative, instead of bright and joyous, as we see after Christmas. This time before Christmas needs to be a period in which we reflect if we are “conduct[ing] ourselves to please God,” (1 Thess. 4:1) as St. Paul says. If we truly lived Advent as it should be, this would be a period of rest and refreshment before the grand celebrations of the Christmas season to come. Sadly, I think many people are more worn out by preparing for Christmas than they are by the Christmas celebrations themselves!

As we go through this Advent season, we need to keep today’s Gospel reading in mind. Jesus tells His disciples that “your redemption is at hand.” (Lk. 21:28) He also reminds them to “be vigilant at all times.” (Lk. 21:36) Of course, this is good advice for us as well. We do not know when we will be called before the throne of Our Lord’s judgment, but Jesus reminds us “that day” will “catch you by surprise like a trap.” (Lk. 21:34-35) This season of Advent reminds us that we need to be prepared for the day of judgment that we will all have to face, whether at the end of our lives or when Our Lord returns again at the end of time. In either case, we need to be prepared “to stand before the Son of Man,” (Lk. 21:36) and we have been given this season of Advent as a reminder.

As we enter into this Advent season, may we spend this time in prayer and preparation for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, both in our celebration of His birthday at Christmas, and in His second coming at the end of time. Come Lord Jesus!