Each weekend of Advent, Mass-goers entering church for the weekend Masses will be offered Advent stickers (like “I voted” stickers). The message on each Sunday’s Advent sticker will reflect a theme from that Sunday’s gospel. Take the sticker home and put it where you will see it: at the base of a candle in your home Advent wreath, on the bathroom mirror, maybe on the refrigerator.
As Advent's Days Wane,
A Reflection from Fr. Frank Desiderio, CSP
As Anticipation (and perhaps Anxiety, too) Mounts -
Look for Miracles
In this Fourth Week of Advent, Let Us Believe
The scene in the gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent occurs immediately after the angel Gabriel has come to Mary and invited her to bear the Son of God. As a sign that God can bring this about, Gabriel tells Mary that her elderly relative Elizabeth is now six months pregnant. (Elizabeth’s baby will grow up to be known as John the Baptist.) Responding to the angel’s words, Mary replies, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say.” As soon as the angel departs, Mary leaves her home in Nazareth to visit Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah:
Mary went quickly into the hill country to a town in Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted her relative Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? Behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled.” ~ Luke 1:39-45
After Gabriel tells Mary of the pregnancy of her elderly relative Elizabeth, Mary goes quickly to share Elizabeth’s joy and to help with Elizabeth’s confinement. What joys in the lives of others can you celebrate with them?
John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord. Today’s gospel describes the first encounter of the Baptist with the Lord. Baby John leaps for joy in his mother’s womb. When have you leapt for joy? How has God entered your life during these joyful moments?
Elizabeth praises Mary for believing that the Lord’s word to her would be fulfilled. However, Mary’s belief in Gabriel’s message and her assent to become the mother of the Son of God occur after Gabriel tells her of Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy. Take time to reflect on the people and events in your life. What miracles do you discern? What sort of belief do these miracles call you to?
In This Third & Joyful Week of Advent, Let Us Change
John the Baptist went into all the region around the Jordan River, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the crowds asked him, “What shall we do?” He answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with one who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
Tax collectors also came to be baptized and asked him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
~Luke 3:3, 10-14
Pause to consider ~
John replies first to people with more than they need of life’s basic requirements—clothing and food. What basics do I have more of than I need? Who are the needy people and organizations with whom I could share my surplus?
Next John replies to tax collectors, those in positions in which they could selfishly demand more money than they are due. How have I used my job’s responsibilities for selfish gain? How could I use my power for good?
The soldiers in Judea were well armed deputies of the occupying Roman Empire, and John considers them adequately paid. His reply focuses on how desire for money could corrupt a soldier’s discharge of his duty. In what ways does money tempt me to pressure another unjustly, or to engage in malicious gossip? How does God invite me to rely more on God’s providence?
hope (/hōp/), noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
God, in our solitude, loneliness, and suffering, help us become aware of your presence.
~From I Am Mary An Advent devotional by Carol Howard Merrit
In This Second Week of Advent, Let Us Hope
We offer these works from the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent for your reflection:
The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins: Prepare the way of the Lord! Make the Lord’s paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. Then shall all human beings see the salvation of God.
~Luke 3:2b-3, 4b-5a, 6
For your consideration...
The word of God came to John, and John listened. What enables you to recognize God’s word in your life?
John proclaims repentance as the way to prepare the way of the Lord. How have you experienced the connection between repentance and the Lord’s presence in your life?
Advent’s great message of hope: all human beings shall see the salvation of God. How do your acts of repentance enable others to see the salvation of God?
In the First Week of Advent, Let us Prepare
Let the sight of this week’s sticker remind you of phrases from the gospel for the First Sunday of Advent:
Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”
~ Luke 21:25, 27-28, 34-35
Then consider...
How can I prepare for this time?
Jesus promises our redemption at the coming of the Son of Man. From what do I hope to be redeemed/ saved/freed?
How can I keep the anxieties of daily life from making me drowsy or distracted, less attuned to the ways Jesus comes in my life?