Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Last night as I was sitting in my office thinking about this morning’s readings and wondering if anyone was going to be here, I had a couple of thoughts. One is that we’re almost half way through Advent. Just 15 days from today we’ll celebrate Christmas Eve. The time is really flying by.
The second thing I thought of was that this Advent is just as hectic as any other Advent, even though I had resolved not to get caught up in all the secular foolishness that happens during this time of year.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks for the Lord. He says “I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good and lead you on the way you should go.” He goes on to say “If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea.”
It’s true. He does teach us what is good in many different ways. He sent His only Son to live as one of us, to set us on the right path. He gave us Divine Scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments, so that we would know what He wanted for us and from us.
Jesus established the Church, and appointed Peter and the Apostles to spread the Good News. Remember He gave them the power to bind and loose. He said, “Whoever hears you, hears me.” Then, down through the ages, He has inspired many men and women to speak on His behalf. Learned men like St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and others from the past have helped us to understand God’s will for us. More recently, twentieth century writers like my favorite, Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen, whose work inspired the Advent booklet that Fr. Gary sent us. In the 50’s, Bishop Fulton Sheen brought the faith to millions of people through the new medium of television.
More recently, Mother Angelica used the medium of cable and satellite television to bring the Church’s message to people all around the world.
Even my feeble attempts to spread the Gospel are divinely inspired. As Father Benedict Groeschel often says, Jesus road into Jerusalem on the back of a jackass, and He’s still doing it today.
The message in our Advent book today concludes with the prayer, “Lord, free me from all my false worries and concerns so that I can know and appreciate your boundless love for me.” Isn’t that what it’s really all about; His boundless love?
A lot of free-thinking people have the attitude that “The Church can’t tell me what to do.” But, you know what? It’s not the Church, it’s God speaking through the Church that He established over 2,000 years ago. I’m not smart enough to understand all the ramifications of stem cell research, or birth control, or abortion, or capital punishment, or a lot of the other things that we have to worry about today. So, I have three choices. I can try to figure these things out, and have maybe a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Or, I can take the attitude that the Church doesn’t have any business telling me how to think, or how to vote, or what to do and I can take the side opposite what the Church teaches. That’s what I used to do. It didn’t make any difference what the Church said, I would always jump over to the opposite side. Ask my wife. She knows.
Or I can take the third choice, which is to believe that Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” I can believe that Benedict XVI is not only smarter than I am, but that he is surrounded by people who are also smarter. And that, as a descendent of Peter, he is incapable of making a mistake when it comes to matters of faith and morals.
Like the book says, “Lord, free me from all false worries and concerns so that I can know and appreciate your boundless love for me.” In the prayer that follows the Our Father during mass, we pray, “Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our days. In your mercy keep us free from sin and deliver us from all anxieties as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Think about those words. We ask God to keep us from being anxious while we wait for the Lord’s coming.
He’s trying. But, sometimes we just won’t let Him. We create our own worries. He gives us everything we need to be free from anxiety, but sometimes we just won’t cooperate.
As we enter the second half of Advent, my prayer for you is that you will have a peaceful two weeks of preparation for the Lord’s coming. Don’t let the crazyness get to you. Take time to relax and reflect on that boundless love that Jesus has for you, and for me, and for all believers.
The second thing I thought of was that this Advent is just as hectic as any other Advent, even though I had resolved not to get caught up in all the secular foolishness that happens during this time of year.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks for the Lord. He says “I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good and lead you on the way you should go.” He goes on to say “If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea.”
It’s true. He does teach us what is good in many different ways. He sent His only Son to live as one of us, to set us on the right path. He gave us Divine Scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments, so that we would know what He wanted for us and from us.
Jesus established the Church, and appointed Peter and the Apostles to spread the Good News. Remember He gave them the power to bind and loose. He said, “Whoever hears you, hears me.” Then, down through the ages, He has inspired many men and women to speak on His behalf. Learned men like St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and others from the past have helped us to understand God’s will for us. More recently, twentieth century writers like my favorite, Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen, whose work inspired the Advent booklet that Fr. Gary sent us. In the 50’s, Bishop Fulton Sheen brought the faith to millions of people through the new medium of television.
More recently, Mother Angelica used the medium of cable and satellite television to bring the Church’s message to people all around the world.
Even my feeble attempts to spread the Gospel are divinely inspired. As Father Benedict Groeschel often says, Jesus road into Jerusalem on the back of a jackass, and He’s still doing it today.
The message in our Advent book today concludes with the prayer, “Lord, free me from all my false worries and concerns so that I can know and appreciate your boundless love for me.” Isn’t that what it’s really all about; His boundless love?
A lot of free-thinking people have the attitude that “The Church can’t tell me what to do.” But, you know what? It’s not the Church, it’s God speaking through the Church that He established over 2,000 years ago. I’m not smart enough to understand all the ramifications of stem cell research, or birth control, or abortion, or capital punishment, or a lot of the other things that we have to worry about today. So, I have three choices. I can try to figure these things out, and have maybe a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Or, I can take the attitude that the Church doesn’t have any business telling me how to think, or how to vote, or what to do and I can take the side opposite what the Church teaches. That’s what I used to do. It didn’t make any difference what the Church said, I would always jump over to the opposite side. Ask my wife. She knows.
Or I can take the third choice, which is to believe that Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” I can believe that Benedict XVI is not only smarter than I am, but that he is surrounded by people who are also smarter. And that, as a descendent of Peter, he is incapable of making a mistake when it comes to matters of faith and morals.
Like the book says, “Lord, free me from all false worries and concerns so that I can know and appreciate your boundless love for me.” In the prayer that follows the Our Father during mass, we pray, “Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our days. In your mercy keep us free from sin and deliver us from all anxieties as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Think about those words. We ask God to keep us from being anxious while we wait for the Lord’s coming.
He’s trying. But, sometimes we just won’t let Him. We create our own worries. He gives us everything we need to be free from anxiety, but sometimes we just won’t cooperate.
As we enter the second half of Advent, my prayer for you is that you will have a peaceful two weeks of preparation for the Lord’s coming. Don’t let the crazyness get to you. Take time to relax and reflect on that boundless love that Jesus has for you, and for me, and for all believers.
posted by Mike at 10:24 PM
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