News - December 2021 RSS Feed

The birth of Jesus was first announced to Jewish shepherds, representing the people of Israel. The next people to seek and find him were "magi from the east," representing the Gentiles - all who are non-Jewish. As the Responsorial, Psalm 72 says, "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.  On this feast, sometimes called "little Christmas," the liturgy concerns the manifestation, the "shining forth" of Jesus to the Gentiles, for which we can truly rejoice and be thankful!

It's important to try to accurately read and interpret the signs of the times. In any situation, I try to ask two questions: 1) what is God doing and 2) what is the devil doing? Another question would be, "What is the Lord saying to us in these circumstances?"

Football teams aren't the only ones who run options! Today's liturgy offers a number of them: alternate possibilities for the first reading, responsorial psalm and second reading...even for the Alleluia Verse.  Today, we honor and celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The readings contain instructions for Christian families as well. Because the traditional readings are so well suited to family life and the alternates less so, it is not completely clear why the options were even added.

Are you ready for Christmas? That's the question we hear a lot this week. Preparations need to be made for gifts, decorations, food, travel, etc. Likewise, in today's liturgy we anticipate the coming of our Savior, Shepherd, Messiah and King. The question is, are we ready to receive him when he comes?

It is no big secret as to what today's liturgy wants to communicate. Everything bespeaks joy, gladness, rejoicing and exultation. Today is, of course, Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for "rejoice." The celebrant has the option of wearing rose-colored vestments instead of violet. In the midst of so much bad news, we can and should rejoice at all the truly good news we celebrate - Christ has come, is now with us, and will come again!

Psalm 126, our Responsorial today, has inspired many sung versions, including the old standard "Bringing in the Sheaves," written in 1874. The psalm depicts the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon to their homeland in joy. It is symbolic of our life's journey in this "vale of tears" being transformed by God into eternal glory.

Has the Lord ever spoken to you through a road sign? I think that has happened to me. Once I was tempted to compare my ministry with some other people in ministry, wondering why mine didn't have the same scope and effectiveness that theirs did. (Not my finest moment, I admit!) I was thinking about this while driving across the Causeway Bridge - 24 miles over Lake Pontchartrain. There are road signs galore, but I kept noticing one in particular: "STAY IN YOUR LANE." Then it hit me - the Lord was saying that to me about the question I was pondering. In other words, "Drive where I have placed you and don't worry about what I've given others to do!"