Articles for Advent

   Mary received the Archangel Gabriel’s message—she received her call that she would be the mother of the Savior of the world. And, what happens shortly after is that—Mary sets out in haste—quickly, with purpose and conviction to visit Elizabeth. Mary, now with child, could have had every legitimate excuse not to make the…

  This week, we have reflected on the joy of God’s presence, revealed through His transforming work, His faithfulness across generations, His strength in trials, and His surprising ways. Today, we gather all these threads together in the readings, which show us the culmination of joy in the fulfillment of God’s promises. In the Song…

  This week, we’ve journeyed through the joy of God’s presence, revealed in His transforming work, His faithfulness through history, His strength in trials, and His surprising interventions in unexpected places. Today’s readings bring us to the ultimate surprise: God’s presence comes to us not only through His promises but in the Word made flesh,…

  Throughout this week, we’ve reflected on the joy of God’s presence: in His transforming work, His faithfulness through history, and His strength in our trials. Today, we see this joy breaking through in a surprising and profound way—God’s presence is often revealed through the utterly unexpected, challenging us to expand our faith and trust…

  This week, we’ve been reflecting on the joy of God’s presence. First, we considered how God’s presence transforms curses into blessings and calls us to open our hearts in faith. Then, we marveled at His enduring presence in salvation history, working through generations to fulfill His promises in Christ. Today, our readings call us…

  Building on yesterday’s reflection, we continue to explore the joy of God’s presence—a joy that is not fleeting but rooted in the unfolding of His eternal plan. Yesterday, we saw how God’s presence transformed a curse into a blessing in the prophecy of Balaam and invited us to open our hearts to His authority.…

  Today’s readings draw us into the mystery of God’s presence—a presence that brings joy, not through human effort, but as a gift of grace to those who are open to receiving it. In Numbers, though summoned to curse Israel, Balaam is instead moved by the Spirit of God to proclaim blessing. His vision reveals…

   Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice, a moment of lightness as we approach Christmas. Today’s readings are brimming with encouragement and hope, showing us how to live joyfully in the truth of God’s presence and His work in our lives. In the first reading from Zephaniah, we hear a powerful promise: “The Lord…

  The Church has purposely set aside these four weeks before Christmas as preparation time. During this time, we are supposed to be preparing to meet our Lord. This means looking at oneself and recognizing what we need to fix or change so as to have a clean heart and soul to meet the Savior…

  I’m okay admitting that sometimes I need another person to help me see and understand something. Yes, it can be the case that I don’t understand something, and another person’s perspective helps to communicate what I need to know. I think that’s what Jesus is going in our gospel today. He’s calling out the…

  For a second time this week, we honor our Blessed Mother. This time it is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Almost 500 years ago, a woman converted the New World to Catholicism. She did not do this for her own sake, but for the sake of the one she was carrying in…

  When I was a little kid learning how to ride my bicycle, I was terrified of getting the training wheels removed from the bike. When dad took them off, my older brother helped to calm my fears by running beside me while I was on my bicycle. He had one hand on the handle…

  “Mostly” doesn’t cut it, not in God’s eyes. Jesus gives this image of a sheep that strayed away from the flock and got lost. The shepherd went looking for this lost sheep and with great joy found it. Out of 100 sheep, ONE went missing! There may be some who may believe that it’s…

  It’s been 14 years since my mother passed away, and we’re coming up to Christmas. Every Christmas, she made hundreds of tamales! I miss her and her tamales! I remember saying to others, “my mom makes the best tamales, she makes them perfectly!” Of course, growing up around lots of Hispanics, I’d hear my…

   We are in the second half of the football season. A lot of the players are getting hurt, getting tired, and the person who helps them stay fit is a person critical in sports—very critical, it’s the trainer. A trainer works with an athlete. They get the athlete physically ready, exercising with them…

   Today is a day of new beginnings! Today we begin the season of Advent. The cycle of the Church’s liturgy begins anew. We begin again the cycle of celebrating and reflecting on the mysteries of our salvation. These are the themes of advent: the cycle of salvation—the time of salvation. The coming of…

  Well, here we are, it’s Christmas Eve, and we’ve just participated in one of the shortest Advent periods. But before jumping into tonight’s celebration, let’s look at what our readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are trying to tell us. From our first reading from Second Samuel, we hear how King David is…

You aren’t the Messiah, and I am not the Savior. Now that we have that established, let’s focus on who we are and what we are to do. Based on the Scripture readings, our role is fairly clear: to prepare the way. For an entire year, I told a seminarian whom I was working with…

  An authentic encounter with the Lord brings joy. Mary does for Elizabeth what she does for every Christian who seeks her intercession. Mary puts us in proximity to Jesus. Mary does it physically as she carries Jesus in her womb and His presence is acknowledged by John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb.…

  Mary pondered. She pondered and allowed her heart to move to a place of acceptance of God’s will. It’s often the case in life that we will experience things we do not understand, do not like, or cannot change. Every moment like this is an opportunity to ponder—which is to say, reflect in silence.…

  An angel of the Lord appears to Manoah’s wife and promises that she will conceive and bear a son. Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord visits the lowly and humble. God comes in the small and ordinary circumstances when we call upon Him with great faith. Greatness isn’t measured in popularity and worldly esteem but…

  There are countless examples in the Bible of humanity not listening: Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, Pharaoh hardened his heart to God and did not listen, and the Chosen People, once freed from slavery in Egypt the people’s grumbling and complaining, which can also be seen as their refusal to listen.…

  Many of my friends, especially those with young children, have mixed feelings about the holiday season. On the one hand, they look forward to the time spent with family and friends, the anticipation of preparing and celebrating Christmas. But, they also feel overwhelmed by the pressures to buy more, or try to accomplish everything…

  Elijah and John the Baptist were like fire; their words were like a flaming furnace. As the saying goes, the truth hurts, and the prophets’ vocation was to point out the truth of people’s sin they hoped to ignore. Fire is destructive, yes, but fire is also purifying. We know that the lifecycle of…

  A little mystery is a good thing. However, as a pastor and as an administrator in a seminary, I have found under-communication can be a serious mistake. When you don’t connect the dots, people can, and will, speculate wildly. And misunderstanding often causes the confused to assume the worst about you. When Jesus cleanses…

  What a shift we have had in Isaiah’s prophecy! We heard about a worldwide banquet in God’s presence, with enemies in the animal kingdom becoming friends. By contrast today: “O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel.” In fairness, the context is: “Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel. I will help you, says the…

  Isaiah tells us today that our God is strong if we are weak, and in fact, He makes us strong when we are weak. This is essential to remember. Why? Because sometimes we like to cling to our problems. This must sound crazy. Why would anyone want to stay in pain, sin, or resentment?…

  In my iconography class at the seminary, we paint sacred icons in a traditional Byzantine-Slav style. Christ and Mary are depicted as persons with Mediterranean appearances, corresponding to the places where the original artworks developed as much as trying to be culturally sensitive. However, I have been asked if Jesus and saints could be…

  The Advent season presents us with images of the Messianic Age. Today, it is the highway for the Lord. What made empires strong in the ancient world were their roads. The spread of the gospel happened rapidly in the Roman Empire because of the well-paved and protected roads that epitomized the Pax Romana. Yet,…

   Here at the seminary, we are entering finals’ week. I look around at students’ glazed-over faces. It seems like there is never enough time in a day to get everything done. For parents, between work and children’s seasonal programs, it’s particularly hectic. For the elderly, doing anything takes all day it seems. For…

  “Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, … proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, … At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were ….like sheep without a shepherd.” The New Interpreter’s Study Bible comments on the context here: “[Jesus’] actions manifest God’s powerful…

  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” Our Basilica, the abbey to which we belong, the congregation of Benedictine monks we belong to ,and the country we live in—all are under the patronage of…

  “…like the wise man who built his house on rock.” In our first reading, from Isaiah, we learn of this rock: “The Lord is an eternal rock.” Is my life built upon this rock? The Sacred Scriptures teach us that the solidity of such a building comes through the ear: Jesus tells his hearers…

  “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.” There was a synod on evangelization in 1974. In the document preparatory to the synod, evangelization was defined as “bringing people to the mystery of Christ.” The Advent Season reminds us of three comings of Christ: in history, in mystery, and at the end of…