Reflection/Homily: Fourth (4th) Sunday of Advent Year C (December 20 2015)

Theme: The Joy of the Visitation

Last Sunday traditionally known as the “Gaudate Sunday”, we were invited to rejoice for the Lord is in our midst. In today’s readings, we see in concrete terms, a manifestation of that joy, the joy that comes from the presence of the Lord. This joy is the reason for today’s visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. This joy was first prophesied by the prophet Micah in the first reading (Micah 5:1-4). He delivered a message that brought great joy to all who heard it. It was a message of hope and of deliverance concerning the One who is to be born in Bethlehem and who will bring in the day of peace when all nations will look to Jerusalem.  He will be great and will rule over the people with power and majesty and He himself will be peace.

In the Gospel reading (Luke 1:39-44), we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth after the message of the Angel to Mary in Luke 1:26-38. Mary accepted the message of the Angel with great joy and when she was told that her cousin Elizabeth was already six months pregnant. With joy, she hurried off to meet her. Mary must have gone to share the Good News that she received from the Angel with her cousin Elizabeth, to witness God’s goodness in the life of Elizabeth whom people call barren, to share in her joy and finally, to offer her some assistance until she put to bed. That was why she spent her first trimester there in humble service to Elizabeth. 

Reflection/Homily: Third (3rd) Sunday of Advent Year C (Gaudete Sunday - December 13, 2015)

 Theme: Rejoice, The Lord is Near

Traditionally, the third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin name Gaudete, which means rejoice is taken from the first word of the entrance antiphon of the Mass which is: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near” (Phil. 4:4-5). On this day, the Holy Mother Church invites her children all over the world to rejoice because our Lord is near. The first reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18) makes this invitation clear when it invites Zion to shout for joy and Israel to sing joyfully for the Lord is in their midst. His presence calls for courage and joy among His people. John the Baptist in his preaching also proclaimed the message of God’s nearness to His people when he admonished them to repent and believe in the Good News for the kingdom of God is close at hand (cf. Mark 1:15).

Homily/Reflection for the Second (2nd) Sunday of Advent Year C (December 6 2015)

Theme: Prepare the Way for the Lord

In the fifth year of the Babylonian exile around 583 BC, God raised the prophet Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary to speak to the Israelites about their sins. Hearing the words of the prophet Baruch, they went into the depths of their hearts, wept, fasted and prayed for forgiveness. They contributed some money and sent to the priest Jehoiakim and other priests in Jerusalem for holocaust and sin offering (cf. Baruch 1:1-7).  As a result of their repentance and being true to His steadfast love especially on all repentant sinners, God forgave their sins, consoled them and blessed their land. This forgiveness, consolation and blessing of Jerusalem is what we see in the first reading (Baruch 5:1-9). In it, God promised to show the splendour of Jerusalem to every nation under heaven and He gave her the name “Peace through integrity and honour through steadfastness”. God also promised to flatten every high mountain, fill the valleys and make the ground level for the Israelites to walk back home in safety under the glory of God.

Homily for the First (1st) Sunday of Advent Year C (November 29 2015)

Theme: How Prepared are you for the coming of Christ?

 

Today, we live in a world where too many prophecies are told daily. Several preachers and prophets, both real and fake, claim to disclose the mind of God. As it were, many believe these prophecies ranging from total eclipse to one plane crash or the other or even to the end of the world. On several occasions, the world had been prophesied to end on a particular date. Because of the failure of these prophecies to come to pass, many people now, do not listen to end time prophecies again. Towards the year 2000, there were great speculations that the second coming would take place and that the world would come to an end after three days of darkness. This made several persons change their life styles for good out of fear but when the prophecy failed to materialize, they went back to sin while many became less interested in the second coming of Christ and saw it as a fairy tale.

Reflection/Homily: Fourth (4th) Sunday of Advent Year C

Reflection/Homily: Fourth (4th) Sunday of Advent Year C 

 

Theme: The Joy of the Visitation

Last Sunday traditionally known as the “Gaudete Sunday”, we were invited to rejoice for the Lord is in our midst. In today’s readings, we see in concrete terms, a manifestation of that joy, the joy that comes from the presence of the Lord. This joy is the reason for today’s visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. This joy was first prophesied by the prophet Micah in the first reading (Micah 5:1-4). He delivered a message that brought great joy to all who heard it. It was a message of hope and of deliverance concerning the One who is to be born in Bethlehem and who will bring in the day of peace when all nations will look to Jerusalem.  He will be great and will rule over the people with power and majesty and He himself will be peace.

In the Gospel reading (Luke 1:39-44), we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth after the message of the Angel to Mary in Luke 1:26-38. Mary accepted the message of the Angel with great joy and when she was told that her cousin Elizabeth was already six months pregnant, with joy, she hurried off to meet her.

Mary must have gone to share the Good News that she received from the Angel with her cousin Elizabeth, to witness God’s goodness in the life of Elizabeth whom people call barren, to share in her joy and finally, to offer her some assistance until she put to bed. That was why she spent her first trimester there in humble service to Elizabeth.

Reflection/Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent Year C (December 16 2012)

Theme: The Lord is Near

In the prophecy of Zephaniah, the ninth of the twelve Minor Prophets, he warned the people of Judah and the entire Jerusalem about the “day of the Lord” when God will visit them with judgment for falling to keep to their religious obligations (1:4-7). After the woes he pronounced on the people and on Jerusalem, he concluded in the second part of the third chapter with the prophecy of the Messianic Kingdom, a privilege reserved for the remnants of Judah. This prophesy as we see in the first reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18) is a message of hope that the Lord is near, in fact, in the midst of His people. His presence calls for courage and joy among His people.

The message of God’s proximity to His people was also delivered by John the Baptist when he said “the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe in the Good News” (Mark 1:15). John went further to preach the nearness of the Kingdom of God and the necessity of repentance to the people and as we see in today’s gospel reading (Luke 3:10-18), the people touched by his words asked him: “What must we do, then?” Specifically, to the crowd, he asked them to love (to share what they have with those who lack), he asked the tax collectors to be just (to collect only what is due) and to the soldiers he asked to be contented (no intimidation or extortion). With John’s reply, he emphasized the virtues of love, justice and contentment.  

Reflection/Homily: 2nd Sunday of Advent Year C (December 9 2012)

Theme: Prepare the Way for the Lord

In the fifth year of the Babylonian exile around 583 BC, God raised the prophet Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary to speak to the Israelites about their sins. Hearing the words of the prophet Baruch, they went into the depths of their hearts, wept, fasted and prayed for forgiveness. They contributed some money and sent to the priest Jehoiakim and other priests in Jerusalem for holocaust and sin offering (cf. Baruch 1:1-7).  True to His steadfast love, God forgave all their sins and consoled them.

God also consoled and blessed their land; Jerusalem and that is why in the first reading (Baruch 5:1-9) we see the consolation and blessing of Jerusalem. God promised to show the splendour of Jerusalem to every nation under heaven and He gave her the name “Peace through integrity and honour through steadfastness”. God also promised to flatten every high mountain, fill the valleys and make the ground level for the Israelites to walk back home in safety under the glory of God.

We all are like the Israelites in our spiritual journey. We have remained unfaithful to God and as a result, have fallen into the captivity of sin and death. When the prophets remind us of our sinfulness, we feel very sorry and offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Before now, those sacrifices were imperfect and incapable of perfect cleansing. A perfect victim was needed for a perfect sacrifice and for this perfect sacrifice to take place, there must be an authentic and perfect preparation.