“He has anointed me to bring life to the world in all things.“

In Advent, we celebrate that Jesus comes among us and, in time, we learn His mission is also ours. In the second reading, we are reminded to rejoice in all circumstances because God is with us, working in and through us.

Right here, in the midst of the pandemic, our mission remains: we have been anointed to bring good news and new life to the world by carrying Jesus in our own care for others. What can you do to bring life to others
this week? How are you speaking? Whom are you serving? What gifts and grace are you giving away?

Prepare for Jesus this week by letting Him pour life through you for the sake of the world. And watch for the signs of His grace being poured out for you through others.

“Teach us to rejoice, to pray without ceasing, to be grateful. Fan the flame of the Spirit within us, that we might lose our appetite for every kind of evil. Grow love through us, for our own sake and for the sake of the world. Amen.“

Taken from the CCCB – Reflection

2nd Sunday in Advent – Life flows through change, not around it.

The first lines of the first reading are especially apt in this Advent during a pandemic: “Comfort my people…speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim that her service is at an end.” As an old Testament reading, this text seeks to console the Israelites in exile. God is holding a people heartbroken at the loss of their kingdom. He is saying their kingdom is not the only way. He invites the people, through Isaiah, to make space for another way for God to come. In light of the coming of Jesus, John the Baptist employs the next verse in the same text to show those waiting for the Messiah that the way is going to change again. Both Jerusalem and John the Baptist are not needed today in the same way.

How often do we cling to “the way things have always been”?

This Advent and Christmas need to look very different from our usual way.

Will we let God comfort us and show us a new way to anticipate and welcome Jesus?

Comforting Spirit, wrap your cloak around our disappointment, resistance, and grief. Allow our tears to fall on your shoulders, and open us to the new ways we can long for you in Advent during a pandemic. Our usual family and church traditions are not the only way to touch and taste our longing for you. Prepare the way in us so we can meet you here in what is. Amen.

Taken from the CCCB – Reflection

https://www.cccrs.com/1439-2/

1st Sunday in Advent – Today we begin the season of Advent, which marks the start of a new liturgical year for the Church.

Today’s Gospel is taken from the end of Mark’s Gospel, the chapter that immediately precedes Mark’s account of Jesus’ Passion. Having been questioned repeatedly by the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus is now questioned by his disciples—Peter, James, John, and Andrew—who want details about his prediction of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus answers with many warnings about the difficulties that the disciples will face.

Today’s passage comes at the conclusion of Jesus’ warnings to his disciples. Jesus emphasizes the need for watchfulness. The Son of Man will come without warning; only the Father knows the exact hour. The disciples must not be caught unprepared when this time comes.

Scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel was written around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. Mark’s audience consisted of Christians who were living in difficult social and political times, times of conflict. They were likely beginning to face persecution as followers of Jesus. In this difficult time, it helped to recall that Jesus had foretold of such difficulties. Early Christian communities took courage from Jesus’ warning to remain alert and watchful, and they found in his words a way to persevere through suffering.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that Advent is about more than our preparation for the Church’s celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. Advent is also about preparing ourselves for Christ’s return in glory at the end of time. Like the disciples and the faithful in Mark’s community, we must also stay alert and watchful. Our faithfulness to God, through the good times as well as the difficult times, shows us to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man.

Taken from LoyolaPress – Sunday Connection

https://www.cccrs.com/1st-sunday-in-advent/

Gospel Reading – Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus teaches that when the Son of Man comes in glory, he will judge the nations, separating the sheep from the goats.

Today’s Gospel passage is the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse with his disciples. It is about the end of time, the coming of the Son of Man, and the final judgment. We hear this description of the final judgment at the conclusion of our liturgical year, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. In the context of Matthew’s Gospel, this passage might also be read as a conclusion of Matthew’s report on Jesus’ life and ministry; the remaining chapters report the events of Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes to his disciples the scene of the judgment of the Son of Man. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates sheep and goats upon their return from the pasture. The judgments made by the Son of Man will be based upon the acts of mercy shown to the least ones—the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned. Indeed, Jesus, who suffered on the Cross, identifies himself with the least ones.

Recall that last week’s parable of the talents taught us that the gifts that we have been given are intended to be used for the service of others, especially the least among us. Our judgment before God will be based not only on how we have used these gifts and talents but also on how we have extended ourselves in service to these least ones. Indeed, Jesus tells us that whenever we have served these least ones, we have served Christ himself.

When we read today’s Gospel in the context of the chapters that follow in Matthew’s Gospel, we learn the extent to which Jesus identifies with the least ones. In accepting death on the cross, Jesus shows himself to be one of the hungry, the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned. To accept Jesus is to accept him who suffered and died on the Cross as one of the least ones.

Taken from LoyolaPress. – Sunday Connection

https://www.cccrs.com/solemnity-of-christ-the-king/

God calls us to faithful stewardship which brings life for all.

Both the woman in Proverbs 31 and the faithful steward in the Gospel remind us of God’s call to stewardship. We do not own ourselves, our land, our homes, our money, or anything else. We are stewards of God’s gifts. Faith asks us to treat all these gifts with reverence and to care for creation, for our people, and for ourselves as faithful stewards.

In the second reading, Paul reminds the people at Thessalonica, and us, that nothing we steward will come with us when we die. So, we are to care for the world without becoming attached to it. Most of us have some growing to do in that regard. What in my life do I steward well, with open hands, and what have I become unhealthily attached to, feeling entitled or enslaved? What would it take to deepen my stewardship for the life-giving blessing of all?

“Lord of life, you created all things and asked humanity to be stewards of creation. Reveal to us where we have grown entitled or enslaved, and grow in us a spirit of stewardship that allows us to care for your gifts with open hands. Amen.”

Taken from Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB Reflection)