December2 in Year A 10

From Third week to in Advent to Octave of Christmas A-I

Click on any date to go to the Thought for that Day

Morning Offering: O Jesus, through the most pure heart of Mary, I offer you all the prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your divine heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass. I offer them especially for the Holy Father's intentions:

Pope Benedict's general intention for December is: "That our personal experience of suffering may be an occasion for better understanding the situation of unease and pain which is the lot of many people who are alone, sick or aged, and stir us all to give them generous help."

His mission intention is: "That the peoples of the earth may open their doors to Christ and to His Gospel of peace, brotherhood and justice."

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Prayers today: Lord, you are near, and all your commandments are just; long have I known that you decreed them for ever. Psalm 118: 151-152

Lord, our sins bring us unhappiness. Hear our prayer for courage and strength. May the coming of your Son bring us the joy of salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,...

(December 16) Blessed Honoratus Kozminski (1825-1916)
He was born in Biala Podlaska (Siedlce, Poland) and studied architecture at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. When Wenceslaus was almost sixteen, his father died. Suspected of participating in a rebellious conspiracy, the young man was imprisoned from April 1846 until the following March. In 1848 he received the Capuchin habit and a new name. Four years later he was ordained. In 1855 he helped Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska establish the Felician Sisters. Honoratus served as guardian in a Warsaw friary already in 1860. He dedicated his energies to preaching, to giving spiritual direction and to hearing confessions. He worked tirelessly with the Secular Franciscan Order. The failed 1864 revolt against Czar Alexander III led to the suppression of all religious Orders in Poland. The Capuchins were expelled from Warsaw and forced to live in Zakroczym, where Honoratus continued his ministry and began founding twenty-six male and female religious congregations, whose members took vows but wore no religious habit and did not live in community. They operated much as today’s secular institutes do. Seventeen of these groups still exist as religious congregations. The writings of Father Honoratus are extensive: forty-two volumes of sermons, 21 volumes of letters as well as 52 printed works on ascetical theology, Marian devotion, historical writings, pastoral writings — not counting his many writings for the religious congregations he founded. In 1906, various bishops sought the reorganization of these groups under their authority; Honoratus defended their independence but was removed from their direction in 1908. He promptly urged the members of these congregations to obey the Church’s decisions regarding their future. He “always walked with God,” said a contemporary. In 1895 he was appointed Commissary General of the Capuchins in Poland. Three years before he had come to Nowe Miasto, where he died and was buried. He was beatified in 1988.
The story is told that Francis and Brother Leo, his secretary, were once on a journey and Francis volunteered to tell Leo what perfect joy is. Francis began by saying what it was not: news that the kings of France, England, as well as all the world’s bishops and many university professors had decided to become friars, news that the friars had received the gift of tongues and miracles, or news that the friars had converted all the non-Christians in the world. No, perfect joy for them would be to arrive cold and hungry at St. Mary of the Angels, Francis’ headquarters outside Assisi, and be mistaken by the porter for thieves and beaten by the same porter and driven back into the cold and rain. Francis said that if, for the love of God, he and Leo could endure such treatment without losing their patience and charity, that would be perfect joy (cited in Regis Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., and Ignatius Brady, O.F.M., Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, pages 165-166). Honoratus worked very zealously to serve the Church, partly by establishing a great variety of religious congregations adapted to the special circumstances of Poland in those years. He could have retreated into bitterness and self-pity when the direction of those congregations was taken away from him; that was certainly a “perfect joy” experience. He urged the members of these groups to obey willingly and gladly, placing their gifts at the service of the Good News of Jesus Christ. When the Church removed Honoratus from the direction of his religious congregations and changed their character, he wrote: “Christ’s Vicar himself has revealed God’s will to us, and I carry out this order with greatest faith.... Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that you are being given the opportunity to show heroic obedience to the holy Church.” (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Isaiah 54: 1-10; Psalm 30: 2 & 4, 5-6, 11-12a, & 13b; Luke 7: 24-30;

And when the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak to the people about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who go in for fine clothes and live luxuriously are to be found at court! Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women there is no-one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. All the people, even the tax collectors, who heard him, acknowledged God’s plan as right by accepting John’s baptism. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.” (Luke 7: 24-30)

Praise I have seen several documentaries of occasions when Saint Jose-Maria Escriva, the Spanish priest who lived from 1902 to 1975 and who was beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul II, gave public addresses in different locations around the world.

His practice was that after his address there would be questions from members of his audience. What was notable for me was not only his doctrine, but also his constant readiness to praise. He often praised the people who stood up to address him and ask their questions. He was very encouraging, and left his interlocutors with the feeling that they had made progress along the path of goodness, and that they could make significant further progress. He gave hope and optimism because of his constant readiness to praise. I remember one lady stood up in the audience and told him that her son was a priest working in Africa — and Saint Jose-maria told her that, yes, he knew him. Then he said he was a handsome priest, a holy priest, that he was doing excellent work in Africa, and that she had a son she ought be very proud of. Of course, his words brought great happiness to that lady, but as I have said, what I noticed was that readiness of his to praise. He was always very encouraging. I wonder how often we bring ourselves to praise others, and to praise them highly. It is often pointed out that among our highest duties is that of thanking and praising God. We should praise God for all that he is. Of course, we are helped to do this by being grateful. If we are full of thanks to God for all that he has done for us — including the sufferings he permits — then we shall be led on to praise him. But there is another angle to this, and the example of Saint Jose-maria Escriva reminds us of it. It is that God himself often praises us, his children. Consider the opening scene in the book of Job. Job is a blameless and upright man who feared God and avoided evil. God says to Satan: “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” Satan, though, immediately began to accuse Job. In this, he was unlike God who loves to praise (Job 1: 8-9).

Our Lord often praises people. After his baptism by John and before the commencement of his public ministry, our Lord attracted some of those who would be members of the Twelve. Among those first was Nathanael, brought to him by his friend Philip. Before they spoke to one another, our Lord praised him: “When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he remarked, ‘This man is a true Israelite. There is no guile in him’.” That is very high praise, and given freely. Again, there was the centurion who came to our Lord and asked very respectfully that he cure his servant. He went on to tell our Lord that his mere word would suffice for the cure, as he himself was not worthy to have him enter under his roof. Our Lord was amazed at his faith, and turned to the crowd and told them that he had not found such faith in all of Israel. Our Lord readily gave high praise to the foreign centurion. In our Gospel today (Luke 7: 24-30), our Lord gives the highest praise to John the Baptist. “Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.” John, then, was no ordinary prophet. “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women there is no-one greater than John.” But then comes, we might say, the punch-line, for even higher praise is due to the regime following that of John, and to which John’s life and ministry pointed. As our Lord says, “the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Our Lord is saying that the Kingdom he is inaugurating is far more splendid than the regime of which John was part, and of which he was a peerless specimen. The disciple of Jesus Christ has at hand a treasury of boundless resources of grace, enabling him to aim at high holiness. And so it is that the Church which Jesus Christ founded on the rock of Simon Peter has holiness as one of its distinguishing marks. Its holiness is present in the first instance in its Head, Jesus Christ. When we say that the Church is holy, we mean in the first place that its Head is holy. Christ is the grand protagonist within the Church, and he is holy beyond compare and calculation.

We who are members of the Church by our baptism are members of Jesus Christ, for the Church is his mystical body. As members of Jesus Christ we have constant access to the grace of God provided we are in union with Jesus Christ. God praises and encourages us in our efforts, and he looks forward to acknowledging us in the presence of his heavenly Father and all the angels. Let us be encouraged, then! Let us thank God and praise him for placing us in the kingdom of light, enabling us to renounce sin and Satan, and to put our shoulders to the work of being good with a share in the goodness of Jesus Christ. Let us praise God, knowing that he will praise us.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: "Lord, you are near" (entrance antiphon for today).

The first words from this entrance antiphon, taken from psalm 118,

express a marvellous reality that we ought try to be very conscious of during Advent: the Lord our God is near, very near, and he is always coming with his grace if we open ourselves to him. We ought constantly think of the nearness of our great God. Look around at the world in which we live, its vastness, its beauty, its unimaginable complexity. It surely manifests the might and utter transcendence of God. Our Lord addressed his Father on one occasion as "Lord of heaven and earth." Yet this great God of ours is very near to each one of us, and has revealed himself to be our Father, to whom we can constantly speak in the most intimate fashion, in an ever simple and immediate way. Lord, you are near! Let us celebrate the nearness of God whom we cannot as yet see, but whom we shall one day see face to face in heaven.

We must constantly live in the presence of God, offering to him all our thoughts, words, joys and sufferings as our daily gift. Let us never allow ourselves to lose this sense of being in the presence of the One who is so very near. "Lord, you are near, and all your commandments are just; long have I known that you decreed them forever." (Psalm 118: 151-152).

(E.J.Tyler)

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My little friend, say to him: Jesus, knowing that I love you and that you love me, nothing else matters: all is well.
(The Forge, no.335)

December 17 A-1
(Friday of the third week of Advent A-1)

Prayers today: You heavens, sing for joy and earth exalt! Our Lord is coming; he will take pity on those in distress. (Is 49:13)

Father, creator and redeemer of mankind, you decreed, and your Word became man, born of the Virgin Mary. May we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share our human nature, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 17) Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary
Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the one of whom the Jews said, "See how much he loved him." In their sight Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Some say he followed Peter into Syria. Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters and others landed safely in Cyprus. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years. A church was built in his honour in Constantinople and some of his reputed relics were transferred there in 890. A Western legend has the oarless boat arriving in Gaul. There he was bishop of Marseilles, was martyred after making a number of converts and was buried in a cave. His relics were transferred to the new cathedral in Autun in 1146.
Whatever of the legends, it is certain there was early devotion to the saint. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Genesis 49: 2.8-10; Psalm 72: 1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8,17; Matthew 1: 1-17

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. (Matthew 1: 1-17)

The King Any alert reader of the Gospels will immediately observe that St Matthew’s account of Christ’s ancestry is notably different from that of St Luke (Luke 3: 23-38). The two genealogies are basically the same from Abraham to David: Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron,

Amminadab, Nahshon, Sala/Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, are names common to both accounts. The differences become notable after David — even immediately after David. While Matthew mentions Solomon after David, in Luke it is Nathan who is listed as “the son of David.” There are some scholars who have therefore dismissed the genealogies as having no historical significance. But this is entirely gratuitous and goes clean against Luke’s professed intention of being historical, and Matthew’s plain and matter-of-fact tone in presenting events in his opening chapter. I cannot imagine that Matthew was unaware of Luke’s Gospel scroll, nor that Luke was unaware of Matthew’s, but neither provides us with an explanation of the differences. So, two millennia later, we are at a disadvantage — but it is no answer to dismiss the accounts as unhistorical. While there have been many attempts to harmonize them, there has been one great gain in Scriptural exegesis of the modern era, and that is the appreciation of the different perspectives of each inspired author. This obviously applies in the accounts of the infancy, including the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Matthew’s first chapter, narrating the ancestry and birth of Christ, is plainly from the perspective of Joseph. We may surely take it that Matthew’s sources list some principal names of the remembered genealogy of Joseph. Matthew’s dynastic interest is perhaps shown in the mention of Solomon. Through Joseph, Christ is son, and promised King in the Davidic dynasty. Luke’s perspective on Christ’s infancy is that of Mary, his mother. One may guess that Luke’s genealogy reflects his interest in Mary’s perspective, and the remembered names in her line from David. Perhaps it showed primarily Christ’s Davidic ancestry, leaving to other elements in his account (such as the words of the Angel to Mary) the Davidic dynasty.

Our Gospel today (Matthew 1: 1-17) is Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Jesus is given his title — Christos, Anointed, Messiah — at the outset. It may even be said that the first sentence constitutes the thesis which Matthew intends to unfold throughout his Gospel. Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. In our Gospel passage today, only two names are listed with their titles. There is “David the king,” and there is Jesus “the Christ.” This genealogy is about the promised Kingship. The prophecy regarding it began with Abraham (though actually, at the very beginning) and was illustrated, and in figure launched, in David. Finally it was found embodied in Jesus. Matthew also ingeniously shows the providential hand of the Lord God in the tightly symmetrical schema of ancestors that are presented. Throughout the history of the fulfilment of the Promise, there is a plan. It is shown in the three sets of “fourteen generations.” There are fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the deportation, and fourteen from that deportation to the birth of Jesus Christ. It is characteristic of a religious person that he gradually sees the hand of God at work in his past life. He becomes convinced of a particular Providence. Matthew is here bringing out the hand of the Lord in the history of his chosen people. From the distant past the inspired oracles had predicted the One who was coming, but the story of its fulfilment was confused and ambiguous. Matthew shows that amid all the crooked lines, God was writing straight. There was a straight line, in God’s plan, from Abraham to Jesus the Messiah. But only elements of that straight line were seen during the process. Light suddenly beamed here, and it suddenly beamed there, and all the while a very human process, one marked by much sin, was unfolding. Ever so quietly, however, this turbulent and somewhat muddy stream arrived at its glorious, pure and radiant destination. Joseph and Mary, the most resplendent moral couple of all time suddenly appeared, though paradoxically enshrouded in their simple obscurity. From Mary came the Redeemer. God had written very straight in all the crooked lines.

Let us rejoice in the coming of Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary, foster-child of Joseph her husband, son of David, son of Abraham. He has come, and he will come again at the end. But he comes to us every day in all the little calls of duty and prayer. Let us stand ready always for his coming. He is the King of kings and the Lord of all lords. To him has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the Head of the Church his body, and we are his members. Let us celebrate him during the Christmas season, and let us resolve never to stray from him.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Matthew 1: 1-17)

The saving providence of God We often speak of this or that event in life (or of an event in general history) as being providential.

We mean that God has been clearly at work in the course of events bringing to us or to mankind some special blessing, or even some judgment on our past actions. Most of us have some sense of the fact that God our Father, the Lord of heaven and of earth, works in and through history to achieve his plan. We surely are granted a special sense of this as we read from the first chapter of Matthew's Gospel the genealogy of our Lord from Abraham to Mary his mother. Abraham had been promised that through him all the nations would be blessed. In Matthew's account we have before us God achieving the greatest of his plans for mankind, the Incarnation. Something of the success and sureness of God's working in history is hinted at in Matthew's very symmetrical picture of the sum of generations prior to the arrival of the Messiah: "fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ." God is the full master of his saving plan.

Let us entrust ourselves to the loving care of God our Father, receiving into our hearts the gift of his Son our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier. Let us resolve to fulfill God's plan in our life, so that his plan for all mankind may reach its end.

(E.J.Tyler)

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“I have asked Our Lady for many things,” you were telling me, and then you corrected yourself: “What I should say is that I have brought many things to Our Lady’s attention.”
(The Forge, no.336)

December 18th A-1
(Saturday in the third week of Advent)

Prayers today: Christ our King is coming, the Lamb whom John proclaimed.

All-powerful God, renew us by the coming feast of your Son and free us from our slavery to sin. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, …

(December 18) Blessed Anthony Grassi (1592-1671)
Anthony’s father died when his son was only 10 years old, but the young lad inherited his father’s devotion to Our Lady of Loreto. As a schoolboy he frequented the local church of the Oratorian Fathers, joining the religious order when he was 17. Already a fine student, he soon gained a reputation in his religious community as a "walking dictionary" who quickly grasped Scripture and theology. For some time he was tormented by scruples, but they reportedly left him at the very hour he celebrated his first Mass. From that day, serenity penetrated his very being. In 1621, at age 29, Anthony was struck by lightning while praying in the church of the Holy House at Loreto. He was carried paralysed from the church, expecting to die. When he recovered in a few days he realized that he had been cured of acute indigestion. His scorched clothes were donated to the Loreto church as an offering of thanks for his new gift of life. More important, Anthony now felt that his life belonged entirely to God. Each year thereafter he made a pilgrimage to Loreto to express his thanks. He also began hearing confessions, and came to be regarded as an outstanding confessor. Simple and direct, he listened carefully to penitents, said a few words and gave a penance and absolution, frequently drawing on his gift of reading consciences. In 1635 he was elected superior of the Fermo Oratory. He was so well regarded that he was re-elected every three years until his death. He was a quiet person and a gentle superior who did not know how to be severe. At the same time he kept the Oratorian constitutions literally, encouraging the community to do likewise. He refused social or civic commitments and instead would go out day or night to visit the sick or dying or anyone else needing his services. As he grew older, he had a God-given awareness of the future, a gift which he frequently used to warn or to console. But age brought its challenges as well. He suffered the humility of having to give up his physical faculties one by one. First was his preaching, necessitated after he lost his teeth. Then he could no longer hear confessions. Finally, after a fall, he was confined to his room. The archbishop himself came each day to give him holy Communion. One of Anthony’s final acts was to reconcile two fiercely quarrelling brothers.
Nothing provides a better reason for reassessing a life than a brush with death. Anthony’s life already seemed to be on track when he was struck by lightning; he was a brilliant priest blessed, at last, with serenity. But his experience softened him. He became a loving counsellor and a wise mediator. The same might be said of us if we put our hearts to it. We needn’t wait to be struck by lightning. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19; Matthew 1: 18-24;

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel — which means, God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (Matthew 1: 18-24)

Saviour In the memory of the children of Israel, as expressed in their inspired books, there were many saviours. Joseph, son of Jacob and one of the twelve patriarchs, was a saviour to his father and his brothers despite what his brothers had done to him. As he said to his brothers when he revealed himself to them,

“Do not be distressed nor angry with yourselves that you sold me here; for God sent me before you to save life ... God sent me before you to preserve a remnant for you in the land, and to deliver you in a striking way. Not you but God sent me here...” (Genesis 45: 5-8). Joseph saved his family, and through them his people, from famine and death. Moses was the archetypal saviour in the memory of the Jewish people. In his encounter at the Burning Bush with the God of his father, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,” he received his mission to take the children of Israel out of their land of slavery and oppression and to lead them “into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” God said to him, “Come now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3: 8-10). Moses saved his people from their physical oppression. Joshua completed the liberation effected by Moses, and various of the judges saved the people from the oppression of the Philistines. Samson’s birth was foretold by the Angel, who said that “It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines” (Judges 13: 5). Samson was a saviour of his people from oppression, killing even more of the Philistines in his death than he did during life. There were prophets who saved the people from the snares of idolatry. One thinks of the famous encounter of Elijah with the four hundred prophets of Baal, in which he was victorious — putting all of them to death. From the top of Carmel, he also brought rain to the earth, saving the people from famine (1 Kings 18). The notion of a saviour, not at all uncommon in the experience of mankind, was especially important in the story of Israel, the chosen people of God.

But a Saviour of a different order was dimly awaited. In the inspired account of the origins, the entry of sin and death is described in terms of the drama of man’s original disobedience. God places the man and the woman in the Garden. The serpent tempts them to usurp the place of God by disobeying him, and they deliberately attempt that usurpation. It is the disaster of all history, leading to a catastrophic moral and physical fall, leaving man and his world seriously wounded and cut off from God. The second and third chapters of the Book of Genesis describe the origin and essential character of the worst slavery of all, and man’s consequent need of a saviour. That Saviour is dimly promised: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” God says to the serpent, “between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel” (Genesis 3: 15). It is somewhat vague, but lit up when read with the light of Jesus Christ. Various of the prophecies added light to the emerging picture. Some of the most magnificent were the Servant songs of the scrolls of Isaiah — their dates are disputed. A Servant of the Lord was coming who would bear on his shoulders the sins of the people. But now, with the sudden entry of the Angel into the life of Joseph, as described in our Gospel today (Matthew 1: 18-24), there is a sudden advance in clarity of Revelation. Joseph need not be perplexed, for the child being borne by his holy betrothed is there by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then in one deft sentence, a new kind of Saviour is announced. Joseph will “give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Just what this will mean in the concrete, Joseph is not told. What will be the means of doing this, Joseph is not told. But the Child already conceived has a most singular mission, to save his people not from political or physical oppression but from the most deadly oppression of all, that of sin. He will save his people from their sins. He will be a new Joseph, a new Moses, a new Samson, a new David, a new Elijah, the Servant par excellence of Isaiah, but far more than ever expected. He is the Redeemer of man.

Let us appreciate the wonderful announcement of the Angel to Joseph. The Child of his betrothed is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and he will save his people from their sins. Our toughest fight, one that will last till the end, is our grappling with sin. We are born with our enemy already within the door. It resides within the house, and it is determined to take possession. By the mercy of God, there has been implanted in our house our most powerful Friend — God the Holy Spirit who empowers us to unite with Christ to resist and conquer the enemy within. Let us then unite ourselves to Christ and renounce sin and Satan. By his grace we have the vocation to attain sanctity. Let us not squander this grace, but flourish in it all our days.

                                            (E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Matthew 1: 18-24)

Our Angel and Christmas     During these days of Advent we are invited to prepare for Christmas in as spiritual a manner as possible, and day by day we have the Liturgy of the Word to help us make it so. Today we contemplate the Gospel scene of Joseph preparing for the birth of Mary's divine child. Joseph was full of perplexity and "resolved to send her away privately." From a natural point of view, Joseph could not see for the darkness. He was taken out of this by the intervention of the Angel who instructed him in the meaning of what was happening. The angel helped Joseph prepare for the first Christmas. Let us think of the Angels as we prepare for Christmas. Just as an Angel helped Joseph , so we ought expect the help of our own Guardian Angel. We ought ask our Angel for light, guidance and instruction. He will help us to understand the ways and plan of God generally, and in our particular life too.

The Angels helped our Lady, St Joseph, our Lord himself (for instance, in the garden), and the early Church. They can and will help us. Let us love our Guardian Angel, and grow in devotion to him as we prepare for Christmas.

                                          (E.J.Tyler)

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“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” With him there is no possibility of failure, and this conviction gives rise to the holy “superiority complex” whereby we take on things with a spirit of victory, because God grants us his strength.
(The Forge, no.337)

Fourth Sunday of Advent A

Prayers for today: Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Saviour. (Is 45:8)

Lord, fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the glory of his resurrection, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
or
Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(December 19) Blessed Pope Urban V (1310-1370)
In 1362, the man elected pope declined the office. When the cardinals could not find another person among them for that important office, they turned to a relative stranger: the holy person we honour today. The new Pope Urban V proved a wise choice. A Benedictine monk and canon lawyer, he was deeply spiritual and brilliant. He lived simply and modestly, which did not always earn him friends among clergymen who had become used to comfort and privilege. Still, he pressed for reform and saw to the restoration of churches and monasteries. Except for a brief period he spent most of his eight years as pope living away from Rome at Avignon, seat of the papacy from 1309 until shortly after his death. He came close but was not able to achieve one of his biggest goals — reuniting the Eastern and Western churches. As pope, Urban continued to follow the Benedictine Rule. Shortly before his death in 1370 he asked to be moved from the papal palace to the nearby home of his brother so he could say goodbye to the ordinary people he had so often helped. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24:1-6; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Christ happened. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, intended to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you will call his name JESUS. For he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this was done so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, “Behold a virgin will be with child and will bring forth a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel, which means, God with us.” And Joseph waking from his sleep did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife to himself. (Matthew 1:18-24)

Christmas and sin Several years ago there appeared in the Opinion page of the Sydney Morning Herald (18 December 2004) an article by a regular feature writer who was the mother of a few children. None of her children, she happily wrote, believed in God.

“My children were bequeathed (from their grandparents) a rich religious heritage but they have turned out to be "none": non-scripture, non-believers, non-religious. Before they were 13, they were declared atheists.” “The idea of going to church on Sunday ,” she continued, “seemed to them to be ludicrous. If they had any religion, it was sport.” All this did not worry the mother. She wrote that the lack of a religious upbringing had brought no damage to them, nor to others whom she knew in similar households. What matters to children, she opined, is being loved, having stability, financial security, some rules and boundaries, and being able to communicate with their parents. Religious observance was superfluous to their happiness. Indeed, it exposes children to guilt and boredom. The title of her article was that “the godless, humanist kids are all right.” Her very interesting article showed one thing: the absence of a sense of sin. She was oblivious to the profound sinfulness that is part and parcel of our life. Of course, she therefore saw no need to be delivered from this condition. “Sin,” understood specifically as an offence against God (as distinguished from mere wrongdoing), scarcely occurred to her, and it certainly did not matter to her children. She did not believe that God had revealed anything about it, nor that there is a wonderful answer to this need, an answer coming from the God whose existence she and her children denied. That answer is the Person of Christ. God calls us to a happiness that only he himself can satisfy, and which he wants to satisfy. His plan is to bring us happiness through the fulfilment of his will as expressed in both the natural moral law and in his revealed law. Our problem, lost from the view of the columnist just mentioned, is that we are sinners and we cannot of ourselves overcome the tendency we have to disobey and disregard the will of God, which alone takes us to our true happiness. This is mankind’s basic problem, and salvation is at stake.

All mankind is faced with two alternatives: heaven or hell. Every person will finally be either in heaven or hell, and the one thing that takes each person away from God’s will and therefore from heaven, is sin. Sin has to be overcome, and of ourselves we cannot overcome it. It matters critically that we recognise sin and, with it in full view before us, take the means to defeat it. Now, this is what Christmas is all about. This is what Christmas celebrates. It celebrates the divinely-granted means of overcoming the one thing that can deprive mankind of ultimate bliss. Let us listen again to the words of the angel to Joseph as given in the Gospel: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” God was coming, and has come in the person of Jesus Christ, precisely to save us from our sins. In the process of taking away sin, he gave us something far more wonderful, a share in his own divine life that comes from union with him in baptism and in the other sacraments. If we have a lively sense of our sinful condition, we will appreciate the inestimable benefit of the coming of Jesus. If our sinful condition matters very little to us, if we do not recognise it as such, if other things matter far more, if we are satisfied with the things that this world has to offer and with our own moral and spiritual state, then the coming and the presence of Christ in our lives will seem utterly superfluous. All of this was encapsulated in the interesting but very sad newspaper article I mentioned. Let us prepare for Christmas by thinking of what our Lord came to do for us, as stated by the angel to Joseph, while Jesus was still in the womb. He came to save us from our sins. Years later at the beginning of his public life, St John the Baptist pointed him out and said, “There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Let us recognise that the defeat of sin is what matters, and that the coming of Christ is the means whereby this is done.

The columnist I mentioned was a self-professed secular humanist. Her children had no religion but, she boasted, they “are kind and loving, smart, decent and tolerant. They think for themselves, and they ask questions. You'd have to be proud of them.” Such is the tragedy of secular humanism. By contrast, for the believer, Christmas celebrates the tremendous event of the coming of the Redeemer. Jesus Christ has come, and he gives himself to us in the ministry, in the preaching and teaching, and in the sacraments of the Church, a self-donation that redeems us from sin and makes us holy in his sight. This is the Good News which ought set the world celebrating, and if a secular-humanist world does not celebrate it, let us for our part understand the treasure we have been given, and rejoice in the boundless goodness of God.
(E.J.Tyler)

Further Reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1950-1964 (God’s law)

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The artist stood before his canvas with a deep desire to surpass himself and cried out, “Lord, I want to paint for you thirty-eight hearts, thirty-eight angels bursting with continual love for you, thirty-eight marvels embroidered on your heaven, thirty-eight suns upon your mantle, thirty-eight flames of fire, thirty-eight ardours, thirty-eight feats of madness, thirty-eight joys...”

Then, humbly, he had to admit that it was all in his imagination and desire. In reality what confronts him are thirty-eight figures which haven’t come out properly and which mortify the sight rather than give pleasure.
(The Forge, no.338)

December 20th A-1
(Monday of the fourth week of Advent A-1)

(December 20) St. Dominic of Silos (c. 1000-1073)
It’s not the founder of the Dominicans we honour today, but there’s a poignant story that connects one Dominic with the other. Our saint today, Dominic of Silos was born in Spain around the year 1000 into a peasant family. As a young boy he spent time in the fields, where he welcomed the solitude. He became a Benedictine priest and served in numerous leadership positions. Following a dispute with the king over property, Dominic and two other monks were exiled. They established a new monastery in what at first seemed an unpromising location. Under Dominic’s leadership, however, it became one of the most famous houses in Spain. Many healings were reported there. About 100 years after Dominic’s death, a young woman made a pilgrimage to his tomb. There Dominic of Silos appeared to her and assured her that she would bear another son. The woman was Joan of Aza, and the son she bore grew up to be the "other" Dominic — the one who founded the Dominicans. For many years thereafter, the staff used by St. Dominic of Silos was brought to the royal palace whenever a queen of Spain was in labour. The practice ended in 1931. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end. How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 26-38)

Scripture and Church During the year 2010 the Holy See promulgated an arrangement (called a “Constitution”) whereby bodies of Anglican clergy and laity, having accepted Catholic doctrine, could seek communion with the See of Rome with the prospect of continuing to live with many elements of their

traditional religious culture within the Catholic fold. This was in recognition of the riches of Anglicanism, and an acknowledgment that these riches could enhance the life of the Catholic Church, as had many Uniate Eastern Catholic bodies in the past who entered into full communion with the See of Rome. Now, one of these riches is the great emphasis placed on Sacred Scripture — a point characteristically shared by the Protestant world. The error of Protestantism, as the Catholic Church has taught it to be, has never been this emphasis as such. What the Catholic Church has taught to be an error is the particular kind of exclusive emphasis summarised in the dictum, Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone). This implicitly propounds that Revelation is contained in Scripture alone, and confers on the individual reader the final authority to determine what Scripture teaches to be revealed. It denies that the Church’s Tradition is a formal means of the transmission of this Revelation, and denies too the authority of the Church to determine both the sense of Scripture and what has been revealed. The Catholic Church insists that in the first instance Christ entrusted himself and his revelation to his living Church which he founded on the Twelve with Peter as its visible Rock. This is not the moment to survey the issues involved in this dramatic controversy, but it ought be recognized that the Protestant stand on Scripture has had a profound influence on what the average person takes to be the criterion of Christian belief. It has had a powerful effect on the Western religious mind. Commonly, a person accepts that a teaching is Christian if it can be shown to be taught by the Bible, and in particular by the New Testament. Conversely, if this cannot be shown, then there is thought to be no warrant for saying that a particular point is part of the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Now, of course, this common assumption is just that — it is an assumption. It is assumed that it is only Scripture which is the repository of divine Revelation, and that it is only by means of Scripture that the individual believer comes to know and understand this Revelation. This is a principle which began with Protestantism, though there were occasional precedents. It was never the position of the Church, nor can it be shown to have been taught by Christ, nor is it formally taught anywhere in Scripture itself. The great dogmas of the first ecumenical councils were not determined primarily by debates with heretics on the textual meaning of the Scriptures. When Arius propagated the notion that the Person of Jesus Christ was not divine, the Council of Nicea did not reaffirm the divinity of Christ because Arius had been defeated in Scriptural analysis and debate. The ground of his condemnation consisted in his manifest departure from what had been the faith of the Church. The belief of the Church as discerned and formulated by the Church’s bishops in union with the See of Rome was the criterion of the truth being applied. Nor did this involve a neglect of Scripture, but Scripture (as analysed and explained by this or that teacher and his following) was not the sole indicator of revealed truth. Truth to tell, the dogmas of the Church — such as that Jesus Christ is divine (Council of Nicea), and that his mother must be regarded as, and called, the Mother of God (Council of Ephesus) — indicate what is to be found in Scripture, even if at first sight it is veiled. It is not so much that some of the formal dogmas of the Church are not to be found in Scripture. Rather, the teaching Church, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, enables the faithful to discern in Scripture what would be otherwise missed. The Church in her teaching and dogma forms the mind of the faithful to read Scripture with a fuller understanding, an understanding moulded by what the Church knows and teaches to be revealed by God. It was to the teaching Church that Christ sent the Spirit of truth, to teach her “all things and to remind you of all I have told you” (John 14: 26).

A case in point is the Church’s doctrine on the Virgin Mary. Our Gospel passage today (Luke 1: 26-38) is rich in its presentation of her figure. The Angel greeted her as the favoured one, the one fully in the grace and favour of God. The Church has formally declared that this grace and favour was hers from the first moment of her conception to the last moment of her life. Never did she sin, and death could not retain its hold on her. She now is in glory in heaven, body and soul, our mother given to us at the Cross by her divine Son. Mother of God, in Christ she is, as the Second Eve, mother of mankind and especially mother of the Church. Let us be grateful for Christ’s gift to us of the Church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, lighting up the meaning of Scripture and opening before us the treasures of divine Revelation.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Luke 1: 26-38)

Preparing for Christmas with Mary St Paul tells one group of Christians: be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Jesus our Saviour would say to us, these words of Paul may be understood as pre-eminently words of Mary. Mary is the first and the perfect Christian, the closest disciple of our Lord, his perfect imitator and image.

Elsewhere among his letters, St Paul says, "let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus". The mind and heart of Mary perfectly mirrors that of Jesus. She is our model, and of course she is our mother because she is the mother of the Redeemer. Let us then prepare for Christmas by being filled with the thoughts of the Saviour that filled her mind. We know what they were in essence, because we have the words of the angel addressed to her at the Incarnation. Undoubtedly the account of them comes ultimately from her. They would have been etched on her mind and heart with a tremendous vividness. She would have pondered on them endlessly, for they were words that came from heaven. She treasured and pondered on them in her heart — especially as the day of the birth of the Messiah in her womb approached. Those words of the angel tell us about Christ and his grandeur. No other figure in history can compare with him. "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1: 31-33)

Let us think of these words in union with Mary as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.

(E.J.Tyler)

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We have no right to claim that the Angels should obey us... but we can be absolutely sure that the Holy Angels hear us always.
(The Forge, no.339)

December 21st A-1
(Tuesday of the fourth week in Advent)

Prayers today: Soon the Lord God will come, and you will call him Emmanuel, for God is with us. Isaiah 7:14; 8:10

Lord, hear the prayers of your people. May we who celebrate the birth of your Son as man rejoice in the gift of eternal life when he comes in glory, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 21) St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597)
The energetic life of Peter Canisius should demolish any stereotypes we may have of the life of a saint as dull or routine. Peter lived his 76 years at a pace which must be considered heroic, even in our time of rapid change. A man blessed with many

talents, Peter is an excellent example of the scriptural man who develops his talents for the sake of the Lord’s work. He was one of the most important figures in the Catholic Counter-Reformation in Germany. His was such a key role that he has often been called the “second apostle of Germany” in that his life parallels the earlier work of Boniface. Although Peter once accused himself of idleness in his youth, he could not have been idle too long, for at the age of 19 he received a master’s degree from the university at Cologne. Soon afterwards he met Peter Faber, the first disciple of Ignatius Loyola, who influenced Peter so much that he joined the recently formed Society of Jesus. At this early age Peter had already taken up a practice he continued throughout his life — a process of study, reflection, prayer and writing. After his ordination in 1546, he became widely known for his editions of the writings of St. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Leo the Great. Besides this reflective literary bent, Peter had a zeal for the apostolate. He could often be found visiting the sick or prisoners, even when his assigned duties in other areas were more than enough to keep most people fully occupied. In 1547 Peter attended several sessions of the Council of Trent, whose decrees he was later assigned to implement. After a brief teaching assignment at the Jesuit college at Messina, Peter was entrusted with the mission to Germany — from that point on his life’s work. He taught in several universities and was instrumental in establishing many colleges and seminaries. He wrote a catechism that explained the Catholic faith in a way which common people could understand — a great need of that age. Renowned as a popular preacher, Peter packed churches with those eager to hear his eloquent proclamation of the gospel. He had great diplomatic ability, often serving as a reconciler between disputing factions. In his letters (filling eight volumes) one finds words of wisdom and counsel to people in all walks of life. At times he wrote unprecedented letters of criticism to leaders of the Church — yet always in the context of a loving, sympathetic concern. At 70 Peter suffered a paralytic seizure, but he continued to preach and write with the aid of a secretary until his death in his hometown (Nijmegen, Netherlands) on December 21, 1597.
Peter’s untiring efforts are an apt example for those involved in the renewal of the Church or the growth of moral consciousness in business or government. He is regarded as one of the creators of the Catholic press, and can easily be a model for the Christian author or journalist. Teachers can see in his life a passion for the transmission of truth. Whether we have much to give, as Peter Canisius did, or whether we have only a little to give, as did the poor widow in the Gospel (see Luke 21:1–4), the important thing is to give our all. It is in this way that Peter is so exemplary for Christians in an age of rapid change when we are called to be in the world but not of the world. When asked if he felt overworked, Peter replied, "If you have too much to do, with God's help you will find time to do it all." (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Song of Songs 2: 8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18; Psalm 33; Luke 1:39-45

At that time Mary rose up and went in haste to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! (Luke 1:39-45)

Holy Spirit One of the many notable features of each of the Gospels is the sudden introduction of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Spirit of God is referred to many times in the Old Testament. In Job 33:4 Elihu says that the “spirit of God made me.”

Elsewhere, “the spirit of God” indicates God’s creative activity (Genesis 1:2) and active power (Isaiah 40:13). The spirit of God also works in providence (Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30), in redemption (Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26-27), in upholding and guiding his chosen ones (Nehemiah 9:20; Psalm 143:10; Haggai 2:5), and in the empowering of the Messiah (Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1). In short “the spirit of God” is God himself in action. While the Christian in his reading of the Old Testament would naturally see these texts as referring, at times explicitly and at times obliquely, to the Person of the Holy Spirit, such an interpretation would never occur to a reader prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. But at the outset, each Gospel includes in its very first chapter an explicit mention of the action of the Holy Spirit. St Matthew, having given seventeen verses to the genealogy of Jesus Christ, introduces his birth with the matter-of-fact statement that “Mary ... was found with child of (of/by, ™k) the Holy Spirit” (1:18). Joseph is then informed by the Angel that “what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (1: 20). In both statements there is a definite title, “the Holy Spirit,” denoting a distinct, divine Agent, perhaps even more clearly than would the expression “Spirit of God.” In the Gospel of Mark, where there is no discussion of the birth and infancy of Jesus, the “Holy Spirit” — same term again — is introduced with the proclamation by John of the mission of the coming Messiah. “I have baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit” (1:8). Then, in the form of a dove, “the Spirit” descends on the newly-baptized Messiah. In the Gospel of St John, John the Baptist bears witness to the descent of “the Spirit” on Jesus, and to Christ’s mission of baptizing “in the Holy Spirit” (1:33). In each of Matthew, Mark and John, the Holy Spirit is mentioned as a divine Protagonist with whom the reader is quite familiar.

While in Mathew, Mark and John the Holy Spirit is mentioned once or twice in the opening chapter of each, in Luke He is mentioned four times. The Angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that “the Holy Spirit” will fill his great son even from his mother’s womb (1: 15). The same Angel informs the Virgin Mary that the “Holy Spirit” will come upon her, and the One to be born of her will be called “the Son of God” (1:35). When Mary greets Elizabeth, “the child leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (1:41). Thereupon she spoke with a loud voice blessing Mary and the Child of her womb (1:42). A little later, Zechariah is “filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied” of his son John (1:67). So Luke displays a special love for and interest in the Holy Spirit, a love and interest which is shown also in his Acts of the Apostles. In his Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary. He effects the coming of the Messiah who, we learn elsewhere, will baptize in the Holy Spirit. He then comes upon the unborn Precursor, upon his mother Elizabeth and upon his father Zechariah. These are the persons who make up the opening chapter of the Gospel of St Luke, and the Holy Spirit as the divine Protagonist enters their lives to launch the Redemption of man. This is to say that Luke begins his Gospel by presenting the Holy Spirit and showing at the outset the pre-eminent importance of his action in the story of the redemption. Our Gospel today (Luke 1:39-45) is Luke’s description of the meeting of Mary with her kinswoman Elizabeth, and the Holy Spirit is the decisive Actor. The Angel had predicted to Mary that the son of her kinswoman would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, and so it was. Mary arrives and the Holy Spirit descends on the unborn child, but he also descends on his mother Elizabeth. She then “in a loud voice” utters an inspired blessing on Mary and the fruit of her womb. That this double arrival of the Spirit of God occurs at the coming of Mary is surely significant, and to be noticed by every Christian reader. If Mary comes to us, we can expect a further coming of the grace of the Holy Spirit, as happened with Elizabeth and her unborn son.

There is a famous prayer which includes the words of Elizabeth, uttered under the power of an inspiration from the Holy Spirit who had come to her. “Blessed are you among women,” Elizabeth said to her, “and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That prayer is prayed daily by countless numbers: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” These are the words of the Angel. “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” These are the words of Elizabeth in our Gospel today. “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Let us pray that prayer daily, and pray it well.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection (Luke 1: 39-45)

The coming of Mary before Christmas Christmas is very near, so let us take the lead offered us by the word of God each day, and prepare with Mary the Mother of Jesus. She had the Messiah within her womb,

yet she "set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth" (Luke 1: 39). That is to say, she gave herself over selflessly to the care of another — her kinswoman Elizabeth. Let us make our needs known to her during these days as we in our turn prepare to celebrate the coming of the Lord. She, Mary our Mother and the Mother of the Lord, will hasten to us as she hastened to Elizabeth. She will greet us, gaze upon us, attend to us. Most especially, she will bring Jesus into our lives with her coming, together with the Holy Spirit. "Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1: 40). St Paul tells us that in Christ we receive every heavenly blessing, and Christ came to mankind in and by means of Mary.

Let us resolve too, during this Christmas period, to take Mary not only as our Mother but as our Model. Let us resolve to be imitators of her in our everyday life, attending selflessly, silently, humbly, in our everyday and very ordinary life to the needs of those around us, just as she did. We in our turn due to our baptism, confirmation and reception of the other sacraments bear Christ within us. We have the mission to bring him to others in our everyday life through our service of their needs. Let us take our cue from Mary.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Allow God to lead you. He will lead you along “his path”, making use of innumerable adversities... possibly including your own sluggishness, so that it may clearly be seen that your work is being carried out by him.
(The Forge, no.340)

December 22nd A-1
(Wednesday of the fourth week in Advent)

Prayers today: Gates, lift up your heads! Stand erect, ancient doors, and let in the King of glory.

God our Father, you sent your Son to free mankind from the power of death. May we who celebrate the coming of Christ as man share more fully in his divine life, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 22) Blessed Jacopone da Todi (d. 1306)
Jacomo, or James, was born a noble member of the Benedetti family in the northern Italian city of Todi. He became a successful lawyer and married a pious, generous lady named Vanna. His young wife took it upon herself to do penance for the worldly excesses of her husband. One day Vanna, at the insistence of Jacomo, attended a public tournament. She was sitting in the stands with the other noble ladies when the stands collapsed. Vanna was killed. Her shaken husband was even more disturbed when he realized that the penitential girdle she wore was for his sinfulness. On the spot, he vowed to radically change his life. He divided his possessions among the poor and entered the Third Order of St. Francis. Often dressed in penitential rags, he was mocked as a fool and called Jacopone, or "Crazy Jim," by his former associates. The name became dear to him. After 10 years of such humiliation, Jacopone asked to be a member of the Franciscan Order. Because of his reputation, his request was initially refused. He composed a beautiful poem on the vanities of the world, an act that eventually led to his admission into the Order in 1278. He continued to lead a life of strict penance, declining to be ordained a priest. Meanwhile he was writing popular hymns in the vernacular. Jacopone suddenly found himself a leader in a disturbing religious movement among the Franciscans. The Spirituals, as they were called, wanted a return to the strict poverty of Francis. They had on their side two cardinals of the Church and Pope Celestine V. These two cardinals, though, opposed Celestine’s successor, Boniface VIII. At the age of 68, Jacopone was excommunicated and imprisoned. Although he acknowledged his mistake, Jacopone was not absolved and released until Benedict XI became pope five years later. He had accepted his imprisonment as penance. He spent the final three years of his life more spiritual than ever, weeping "because Love is not loved." During this time he wrote the famous Latin hymn, Stabat Mater. On Christmas Eve in 1306 Jacopone felt that his end was near. He was in a convent of the Poor Clares with his friend, Blessed John of La Verna. Like Francis, Jacopone welcomed "Sister Death" with one of his favourite songs. It is said that he finished the song and died as the priest intoned the Gloria from the midnight Mass at Christmas. From the time of his death, Brother Jacopone has been venerated as a saint.
“Crazy Jim,” his contemporaries called Jacopone. We might well echo their taunt, for what else can you say about a man who broke into song in the midst of all his troubles? We still sing Jacopone’s saddest song, the Stabat Mater, but we Christians claim another song as our own, even when the daily headlines resound with discordant notes. Jacopone’s whole life rang our song out: “Alleluia!” May he inspire us to keep singing. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Samuel 1:24-28; 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7; Luke 1:46-56

And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as he said to our fathers. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1: 46-56)

Close and active An important result of the advent of the scientific age was that people far more readily accounted for the happenings of life in terms of natural causes. In classical Roman myth, Neptune was god of water and the sea, brother of Jupiter and Pluto, and analogous with the Greek god Poseidon.

He was, for instance, thanked for naval victories. To a point the gods took the place (and were a projection) of the laws and forces of nature — and we see this in much of popular religion over the millennia. With the rise of science and its domination of Western culture, the divine seemed unnecessary. Perhaps this was because all too frequently the “divine” had been regarded as simply That which accounted for happenings that otherwise had no explanation (a “deus ex machina.”) For believers, science has helped purify their notion of God as the transcendent Stay of all that is, including the laws and forces of the world. For instance, in the second half of the nineteenth century, Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) began to tell on popular religious belief. If natural selection was the law or natural force which brought new species into existence, why was there need for recourse to a Creator? Deeper minds immediately integrated this hypothesis into their religious world-view. Newman, for instance, saw no problem in Darwin’s scientific proposal. It simply required that we place God’s creative activity at a deeper level — the process of natural selection itself was in the hand of the Creator, and was an integral part of his creative activity. However, science in the hands of those not disposed to believe in a supernatural realm and in historical Revelation, told on Western culture. God was ignored and set aside as not needed, irrelevant, and while allowable for pious fancy was easily done without. God reverted, we might say, to the status of the typical high god of natural religions. He got things going, and then retired from the scene as having done his one and only work. The Creator became the Initiator, and having initiated, was lost from sight. Putting it in more modern terms, he set off the Big Bang, and then the world with its natural laws did and does the rest.

This is to say that a very common image of God for modern man is of a God who is very inactive. He does very little. It is a disappointing experience to rely, for instance, on prayer — prayer does not work much, because God seems inaccessible and immoveable. Life carries on without him, and the successful person is the person who takes life into his own hands rather than regarding it as being in the hands of God. All this is to say that our danger now is to think that in effect the world is all there is, and that the only true activity going on is that which we see, hear, touch or smell. The only agents of change are physical or moral, but certainly not supernatural. Karl Marx decried religion as leaving the masses with their foolish pie in the sky, and therefore, we might add, with no pie on the plate. But now, what is the God of Revelation really like? He is a very active God, though respecting the laws of nature — the laws that he himself implanted in the constitution of the world. In our Gospel today we have the soaring prayer of the mother of the Messiah, the one whom the Angel addressed as full of grace and with whom the Lord abode. We could say that Mary’s prayer as given in Luke is a powerful summary of the spiritual vision of the living God that characterizes the Old Testament and takes it into the New. What does Mary say of the Lord God? She praises him precisely for his powerful activity. He is very active in the world. He can be depended on by the lowly to defend and protect them. Consider how active he is: “the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as he said to our fathers” (Luke 1: 46-56). Mary’s prayer, encapsulating supernatural Revelation to that point, shows that God is intensely and powerfully active in the world.

If we wish to gain a true idea of the intense activity of God in the world, we must immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, and read them with the mind of the Church. Just how God acts in the world while respecting the laws which he has made to govern the world, is not our concern here. What we must do is deepen our awareness of the immediacy of God. He utterly transcends the world, but at the same time he is unimaginably immanent to it. His finger touches every shade of created reality and he hears all our whispers to him. In this, as in all, let Mary be our teacher.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Luke 1: 46-56)

Mary the servant of the All-Merciful We are blessed in having the inspired prayer of Mary as she

awaited the birth of her Son the Redeemer. Mary extols the greatness of God. God is great! she exclaims. This prayer, incidentally, ought commend her to every Muslim, who, likewise, exclaims that God is great. But let us notice how Mary sees this greatness of God — great especially in his power — being manifested. God manifests his great power in his mercy. The divine plan of salvation is his great act of power and mercy. God does wonderful things for his lowly servants. Mary exults in God as her Saviour, because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. The Almighty has done great things for her. Mary is the servant of the great God who is all-merciful.

Now, we are Mary's spiritual children, so let us contemplate how great God is, precisely in his mercy as shown in his saving plan in Christ. Let us see and learn of this in the inexhaustible treasures of Revelation, and in the course of our own individual lives, marked as they are with suffering and disappointments. Let God write the book of our life, and let him achieve his plan. We are his lowly servants gathered around Mary, the first and foremost Christian, mother of Christ and mother of the Church. God alone is great, and his plan for all shows forth his mercy.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Ask him without any fear, and insist. Remember that scene of the multiplication of loaves we read about in the Gospel. Notice how magnanimously he says to the Apostles, How many loaves do you have? Five?... How many are you asking for?... And he gives six, a hundred, thousands... Why?

—Because Christ sees all our needs with divine wisdom, and with his almighty power he can and does go far beyond our desires.

Our Lord sees much farther than our poor minds can discern and he is infinitely generous!
(The Forge, no.341)

December 23rd A-1

Prayers for today: A little child is born for us, and he shall be called the mighty God; every race on earth shall be blessed in him. (Isaiah 9:6; Ps 71:17)

Father, we contemplate the birth of your Son. He was born of the Virgin Mary and came to live among us. May we receive forgiveness and mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 23) St. John of Kanty (1390?-1473)
John was a country lad who made good in the big city and the big university of Kraków, Poland. After brilliant studies he was ordained a priest and became a professor of theology. The inevitable opposition which saints encounter led to his being ousted by rivals and sent to be a parish priest at Olkusz. An extremely humble man, he did his best, but his best was not to the liking of his parishioners. Besides, he was afraid of the responsibilities of his position. But in the end he won his people’s hearts. After some time he returned to Kraków and taught Scripture for the remainder of his life. He was a serious man, and humble, but known to all the poor of Kraków for his kindness. His goods and his money were always at their disposal, and time and again they took advantage of him. He kept only the money and clothes absolutely needed to support himself. He slept little, and then on the floor, ate sparingly, and took no meat. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, hoping to be martyred by the Turks. He made four pilgrimages to Rome, carrying his luggage on his back. When he was warned to look after his health, he was quick to point out that, for all their austerity, the fathers of the desert lived remarkably long lives.
John of Kanty is a typical saint: He was kind, humble and generous, he suffered opposition and led an austere, penitential life. Most Christians in an affluent society can understand all the ingredients except the last: Anything more than mild self-discipline seems reserved for athletes and ballet dancers. Christmas is a good time at least to reject self-indulgence. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-10 and 14; Luke 1:57-66

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, No! He is to be called John. They said to her, There is no-one among your relatives who has that name. Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, His name is John. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbours were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, What then is this child going to be? For the Lord's hand was with him. (Luke 1: 57-66)

John A principal focus of our Gospel passage today is the naming of the child of Elizabeth and Zechariah. It is worth pondering carefully, and in context. The Gospel of St Luke, introduced with an assurance of its historical reliability, begins with the annunciation by the Angel of the birth of the Precursor of the Messiah.

The Angel tells Zechariah not to fear. His prayer has been heard, and his wife will bear him a son, and he will give him the name of John (1: 13). So the naming of the child as John is obviously important, for it is the first thing that the Angel does, after which there follow four verses of description of the child. When we turn to the next great event of the chapter some six months later, one that surpasses the annunciation to Zechariah, there is a similar pattern. The same Angel appears to Mary. In Zechariah’s case, he sees the Angel, is troubled and fear falls upon him — at which the Angel reassures him, telling him not to fear. In Mary’s case, the Angel instantly speaks to Mary, greeting her fulsomely as one full of grace, with whom the Lord abides. Then Luke tells us that Mary was “greatly disturbed,” whereas Zechariah had been “disturbed.” While Zechariah is troubled and full of fear at the angelic apparition, Mary was “deeply troubled” at the overflowing respect with which the Angel had addressed her. Moreover, while Zechariah was “troubled, and fear fell upon him,” “fear” is not explicitly attributed to Mary — perhaps it is included in her being “greatly disturbed.” The Angel tells Zechariah not to fear, and the reason is given: for his prayer was heard. His wife would bear him a son whom he would name John. The Angel, having warmly and respectfully greeted Mary (which he did not do to Zechariah), likewise tells her not to fear — but this time the reason is that she has found favour with God. He then informs her that it is God’s plan that she bear a son whom she will name Jesus. In both cases, the naming of the child follows fast on the commencement of the angelic address. In each, the conception of the child is spoken of, and the name is thereupon given.

It is clear, then, that the name is important. In both cases, God himself has insisted on giving the name. The prerogative of the parent is set aside, for in each case the child will have a course of life determined by a divine mission. In Luke’s Gospel, the Angel gives no explanation of why the names were given. He informs Zechariah that he is to call his son John, and he informs Mary that she is to name her son Jesus. This stated, he then proceeds to describe each child and his mission. In Matthew’s Gospel (1: 21), the Angel instructs Joseph to name the child Jesus “for he will save his people from their sins.” So the very name “Jesus” (God saves) expresses his mission as Saviour. This is not explained in Luke, but we may presume that it was understood. So then, the naming of the Precursor by Heaven was very important. Indeed, this importance is illustrated by a further detail in our Gospel passage today (Luke 1: 57-66). While we have been told that Zechariah learnt the name John from the Angel, suddenly Elizabeth requires that he be named John — hinting that she too has been illuminated by Heaven on the matter. All this shows the great significance of the very name. “John” is derived from the Latin Ioannes, which is in turn a form of the Greek Io-anne-s. This Greek name is a form of the Hebrew name Johanan, which means "God is gracious." With both Elizabeth and Zechariah having insisted on the name John, there follows Zechariah’s inspired prophecy. His prayer of praise blesses God for his mercy and for the prophetic mission of his child. God has visited and redeemed his people. He has saved them from their enemies, and has enabled them to serve him without fear. He is a God of tender mercy, and the child will go before the Lord to give the people knowledge of his salvation. John’s life and mission would be, then, spent in witnessing to the graciousness, the kindness and the mercy of God. John points to the distinctive revelation that would soon be granted in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is the image of the unseen God, who is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2: 4). It is this which the Precursor will herald. For this reason, his name is “God is gracious.”

Ultimately, we are led to appreciate ever anew the graciousness and kindness of God our Father in sending his Son our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit our Counsellor and Sanctifier. John bore witness to the revelation of the love of God made incarnate in Jesus Christ. Let us resolve to entrust ourselves in faith to this gracious love of God for us, and to bear witness to it in our daily life, just as John bore such magnificent witness to it in his life.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Luke 1: 57-66)

Christmas and repentance As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Lord we are reminded by the Church of the birth of his divinely appointed herald and precursor, John the Baptist.

Today the prophecy of Malachi predicting the coming of a messenger to prepare God's way is placed by the Church together with the gospel passage narrating the birth of John. John's birth is the fulfilment of this prophecy. He is the Elijah to come. John reminds us that we must prepare for the coming of the Redeemer. Part and parcel of the Christmas spirit is to prepare oneself spiritually. In a spirit of joyful expectation we must strive to repent. It is especially John, among the prophets, who symbolises the call to repent in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. We must repent if we are to benefit from the great blessing that is ours — the Redeemer. In Christ, as St Paul says, we have received every heavenly blessing.

Let us mark this Christmas, as every Christmas, with a wholehearted welcoming of Christ, characterised by a joyful renunciation in our daily life of anything opposed to his way. The kingdom of God is at hand in the person of Christ, so repent!
(E.J.Tyler)

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When we’re working for God we have to have a “superiority complex”, I told you.

But isn’t that a sign of pride? you asked me. — No! It is a consequence of humility; the humility which makes me say: Lord, you are who you are. I am nothingness itself. You have all the perfections: power, strength, love, glory, wisdom, authority, dignity... If I unite myself to you, like a child who goes to the strong arms of his father or the wonderful lap of his mother, I will feel the warmth of your divinity, I will feel the light of your wisdom, I will feel your strength coursing through my veins.
(The Forge, no.342)

December 24th in the morning

Prayers today: The appointed time has come; God has sent his Son into the world. Gal 4:4

Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay; give new courage to your people who trust in your love. By your coming, raise us to the joy of your kingdom, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 24) St. Adele
Widow. A daughter of King Dagobert II of Germany, St. Adele became a nun upon the death of her husband, making provisions for her son, the future father of St. Gregory of Utrecht. She founded a convent at Palatiolum near Trier and became its first Abbess, ruling with holiness, prudence, and compassion. St. Adele seems to have been among the disciples of St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, and a letter in his correspondence is addressed to her. After a devout life filled with good works and communion with God, she passed on to her heavenly reward in 730.

Scripture today: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29; Luke 1:67-79

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1: 67-79)

Zechariah’s prophecy It is agreed that Luke was a gentile convert, but he displays a great knowledge of Hebrew history, its Scriptures, and its story of salvation. One of the interesting features of the first chapter of his Gospel is that a brief survey of this sacred history is presented as a prophecy. I refer to our Gospel of today.

The Person of the Holy Spirit is introduced four times in the first chapter. The Angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his child will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. Subsequently he announces to Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her. As a result her Child will be called the Son of God. The other two references to the Holy Spirit are the visitations of the Holy Spirit on Elizabeth and on Zechariah. When Mary arrives at the house of Zechariah, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she spoke with a loud voice,” praising the virgin Mary and her unborn Child. Then when John is born, Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied over his child. In fact, this is the only part of this chapter which Luke formally calls a “prophecy.” Zechariah “prophesied,” speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. His prophecy offers to the reader a survey of salvation history — as did the words of the Virgin Mary in response to Elizabeth’s blessing of praise. The prophecy of Zechariah gives us a glance back at what God had done to that point — a summary of the Scriptures, we might say — and a glance forward into what God would be doing in and through Zechariah’s child. It is a glimpse at the story of redemption. God has “visited and redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant.” He has spoken by the prophets of our being saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. The promises of mercy, the “holy covenant,” and the “oath he swore to our father Abraham,” are all alluded to. We would be thus enabled to serve him without fear all our days. That was the promise, and the story of the people offered token upon token of its final fulfilment.

Then Zechariah’s prophecy reaches its climax, gazing into the future. John is declared to be a prophet of God. He will go before the Lord to prepare his way, and here the point becomes explicit. His mission will be to give “knowledge of salvation to his people in freedom from their sins” (1: 77). The past involved a revelation of the promises, the covenant, and the mercy of God in saving his people from their enemies. This “salvation” had a certain ambiguity about it — it involved political, social and economic liberation as well as liberation to serve God according to the worship he required. Yet it always looked forward to a grander salvation yet. But now, Zechariah’s prophecy explicitly mentions salvation from sin. In fact, it is the first time in the Gospel of St Luke that the “forgiveness of sins” is referred to. In the Gospel of St Matthew the Angel tells Joseph that he is to call the Child “Jesus,” for he will save his people from their sins. In the Gospel of St Luke, the prophecy of Zechariah foretells that John will go ahead of the Lord to give them a knowledge of the salvation from sin that is coming. This, then, is the climax of the prophecy, and it sets the stage for the next scene of the gospel, the birth of the Messiah at Bethlehem. Our Gospel today (Luke 1: 67-79) provides us with an inspired overview of the Old Testament and brings it to the very threshold of the New. Zechariah’s prophecy could perhaps be regarded as of the order of the psalms — very many of the psalms look back on the saving action of God, and with that action in mind, look to him in hope. In the utterance of Zechariah, the past is surveyed, and a future full of hope is presented. The redeeming action of God in the past is about to attain a new height and depth, for now sin, the greatest of man’s enemies, is to be confronted. John is the herald of the coming victory. “All this is the work of the kindness of our God,” Zechariah continues. He “shall visit us in his mercy” to light up the darkness of those in the shadow of death, and to bring us to peace.

I would suggest that we read and re-read the prophecy of Zechariah, using it to contemplate what God had done in the past, and what he was about to do in the future. The entire Scriptures could be seen as encompassed in its rapid survey. It is a song of praise and of thanksgiving, which looks with great hope on what is to come. As such it is timeless, and for that reason the Church uses it every day in her Morning Prayer of the Divine Office. Let us treasure this gift of the Holy Spirit, and allow it to nourish our appreciation of all that God has done and is doing for us.
(E.J.Tyler)

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If you are aware of God’s presence, high above the deafening storm, the sun will always be shining on you; and deep below the roaring and destructive waves, peace and calm will reign in your soul.
(The Forge, no.343)

Christmas: The Birth of the Lord (December 25)

Mass at Midnight:

Prayers today: The Lord said to me: You are my Son; this day have I begotten you (Psalm 2:7)

Father, you make this holy night radiant with the splendour of Jesus Christ our light. We welcome him as Lord, the true light of the world. Bring us to eternal joy in the kingdom of heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.

Scripture readings: Isaiah 9: 1-6; Psalm 95; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-14

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, his betrothed, who was expecting her child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests. (Luke 2: 1-14)

Christian poverty It is a great joy when a child is born to a young couple, especially, perhaps, their first-born. I have a cup that has been handed down over more than a century and a half. On it is engraved the name and birthday of the first child of a young couple who married early in 1859 in England.

It is clear that the birth of their son was a wonderful event in their lives. They went on to have many more children, and, sadly, that first-born son died at the age of thirty-two. Whenever a child is born to a royal couple, it is a cause of national celebration. When Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark met and married Mary Donaldson of Australia, it was portrayed as a modern fairy-tale romance. On 15 October 2005, Mary gave birth to Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John. The event was splashed across the world in all the media. Then on 21 April 2007, Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe was born. Such events are typical moments of great rejoicing. Over two thousand years ago, heaven itself erupted with rejoicing over a birth that scarcely anyone else in the world was aware of, that of Jesus, son of Mary, and whose foster-father was Joseph, Mary’s husband. As our Gospel passage for midnight of Christmas describes, out in the hills of Bethlehem there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and the glory of the Lord shone around them. While no messages sped across the Empire from courier to courier, Heaven could not restrain itself from telling someone. But did the Angel announce it to the courts, or to the Roman Senate? No — it was told to unknown shepherds in the hills of Bethlehem. “Do not be afraid,” the Angel said to them. “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” The Saviour of the world had been born, but what was especially notable was that he was born in poverty and obscurity. It is this which God chose and preferred for his divine Son, rather than fame and riches.

It is a good and wholesome thing to be loved, and to have the esteem of others. Indeed, if a person is not loved, and if he does not have the esteem of others, it may well be due to serious fault on his part — though not necessarily so. It is also a good and wholesome thing to possess certain of the goods of this world, and if a person is making little effort to possess at least what he needs, then this too may well be due to serious fault on his part. Generally speaking, God intends that we enjoy the regard of our fellow-man, and he wants us to have the material possessions that we need. He implants in us the natural desire for these things. But our fallen nature inclines us to desire them to excess, and to prefer them above all else. Fame and wealth gratify our self-love and feed the desire to place self at the centre of our world. So much of the history of mankind has been consumed with the desire for wealth, power and notoriety. The Caesars were driven by it, as was Alexander and those who followed him in governing his divided empire. The kings and emperors of this world, the barons of business and the heroes of various exploits, attain fame and wealth. Life is regarded as successful if elements of these things are attained. Accordingly, a young person sets out in life and if he “makes it to the top,” gaining power in his field, or social acclaim, or much wealth — well, who would not regard him as being in an enviable position? He has been “successful.” What would such persons, or the world at large, think of an individual who is born in utter obscurity, who passes his years with but modest possessions, and who finishes his life being reviled and executed? But this was the course of Jesus Christ. It went clean against what the world regards as in any sense acceptable. As St Paul writes, Jesus Christ was rich, but he made himself poor — and he did this in order that we might be made rich. This choice by God of poverty, not only in material possessions but in the other goods which the world esteems, such as fame and power, is most instructive. On Christmas day, let us contemplate long and frequently, the poverty of the King of kings, born in Bethlehem.

It is the greatest of graces to desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, for love of him. If anyone wishes to be my disciple, our Lord said, let him take up his cross every day and follow in my footsteps. Let us observe that from the outset, from his very birth, the Son of God chose the path of poverty. Somehow and in some real sense, the disciple of Christ will want to follow Jesus Christ in his poverty. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit, to Mary and to Joseph, asking for the grace to do this, and for the wisdom to see what it involves in our particular situation and vocation.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Christmas Day Mass at Dawn

Prayers for Dawn Mass: A light will shine on us this day, the Lord is born for us: he shall be called Wonderful God, Prince of peace, Father of the world to come; and his kingship will never end. Is 9: 1, 5; Lk 1: 33

Father, we are filled with the new light by the coming of your Word among us. May the light of faith shine in our words and actions. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
or
Almighty God and Father of light, a child is born for us and a son is given to us. Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night, and now your Church is filled with wonder at the nearness of her God. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Scripture for Dawn Mass: Isaiah 62:11-12; Psalm 97:1, 6, 11-12; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:15-20

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. (Luke 2:15-20) (Gospel for Christmas Dawn Mass)

The new beginning There have often been reports of a moral shift in society — indeed, of a moral decline. For instance, years ago (December 22, 2004) there appeared an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Chris McGillion, p.13) which reported the findings of a research Institute of Ethics in California, USA.

This Institute had been monitoring the moral attitudes of American high school students for more than 20 years. It found that the number of students admitting to cheating, stealing and lying had climbed significantly during that period. That related merely to a population of students — without touching the moral attitudes of society at large. But so it is that many who discount education in religion have called for a greater emphasis on education in moral values. Sadly, many deny religion, but few would deny the importance of ethics. The challenge lies in determining a correct ethical system. Ethics is a central interest in much of investigative reporting. All admit that ethics is central to family life, the school, the workplace, business, politics, recreation, wherever man acts in society. The danger in the modern era lies in reducing ethics to the useful, and in dismissing religion, including Revealed Religion, as being unnecessary for an ethical life. It is one thing to have the intellectual capacity to develop an ethical system, and even to have a good education in ethical behaviour. It is quite another to have the character and the virtue to live up to it. A child who reaches the age of reason knows by then many things that are right and wrong. He has been helped by the education in moral values given to him by his parents and hopefully by his teachers. But he has to have the qualities of character, which is to say, sufficient virtue, even to know and judge what is right, then to choose to do it, and then to persevere virtuously in that choice. The one without this moral character or virtue may know what is right (at least vaguely) but will not act accordingly. Further, our conscience tells us that, beyond knowing and doing right actions, we ought we seek to be good in our inmost selves. We are called to be good, in the core of our being.

That is to say, we are called to do the right thing for the right motive, the right motive ultimately being the love of God. But God has revealed that we are born into a morally wounded condition, which makes it impossible for us, of our own powers, to achieve the full moral goodness to which we are called. Further, we are called — and our conscience intimates it to us — to communion with our Maker. That is to say, paradoxically, a proper ethic will include religion. Religion itself is part of the good life which our conscience recognizes as required of us, and as necessary for our full humanity. But St Paul tells us that of ourselves we are under the power of sin. We cannot reach the goals we know we are called to attain, which is inner moral goodness and communion with God. This is something greater than simply “doing the right thing,” because we can “do the right thing” for the wrong motives. A person can be bad in intent, while doing what appears to be good. This is why God sent his Son to become man, to be born in a stable at Bethlehem, to grow up, to suffer, die and to rise again. He did this in order to enable us not only to do what is good, but to be good, good with a share in his own goodness, holy with a share in his own holiness. He did all this to enable us to become God’s children, living with his own life now and in the life hereafter. By our baptism we have been granted a share in his own divine life, and with that share in his life we have been given the spark of divine goodness that we must fan into a flame, so that it completely fills our being, overcoming sin and transforming us into the image of Jesus. Christ is the image of the Father, and we are called to be transformed into the image of Christ, not just in respect to our actions, but at the level of our inmost mind and heart. Christmas offers us the opportunity to welcome Christ as the Lord of every aspect of our lives. Let us ask him to lead us on to genuine goodness and holiness of life, in his likeness. Let us look to Mary as the perfect Christian, the Mother of our Redeemer who was utterly filled with grace and goodness. She points to what we should be striving for, goodness and holiness of mind and heart and soul by the loving fulfilment of God’s will.

We have to aim at this daily. We must strive to be consistently holy. This is a long and hard battle, the struggle of a lifetime and every day counts. Let us take up that challenge, striving with the holy family of Bethlehem, Jesus, Mary and Joseph as our daily model. Christmas day constitutes an opportunity of a new beginning, not only in respect to a new year, but a new beginning in our religious and moral life. Christ is our model and our means. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Let us receive him into our hearts, resolving to follow generously in his footsteps.

(E.J.Tyler)

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For a son of God each day should be an opportunity for renewal, knowing for sure that with the help of grace he will reach the end of the road, which is Love.

That is why if you begin and begin again, you are doing well. If you have a will to win, if you struggle, then, with God’s help, you will conquer! There will be no difficulty you cannot overcome!
(The Forge, no.344)

Holy Family Sunday A
(Sunday within the Octave of Christmas)

Prayers today: The shepherds hastened to Bethlehem, where they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. Lk 2:16

Father, help us to live as the Holy Family, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, …
or
Father in heaven, creator of all, you ordered the earth to bring forth life and crowned its goodness by creating the family of man. In history’s moment when all was ready, you sent your Son to dwell in time, obedient to the laws of life in our world. Teach us the sanctity of human love, show us the value of family life, and help us to live in peace with all men that we may share in your life for ever, we ask this through Christ our Lord.

(December 26) Saint Stephen, first martyr (d. 36 A.D.?)
All we know of Stephen is found in Acts of the Apostles, chapters six and seven. It is enough to tell us what kind of man he was: At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) Christians complained about the

Hebrew-speaking Christians, saying that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.... (Acts 6:1-5) Acts says that Stephen was a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders among the people. Certain Jews, members of the Synagogue of Roman Freedmen, debated with Stephen but proved no match for the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. They persuaded others to make the charge of blasphemy against him. He was seized and carried before the Sanhedrin. In his speech, Stephen recalled God’s guidance through Israel’s history, as well as Israel’s idolatry and disobedience. He then claimed that his persecutors were showing this same spirit. “You always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors” (Acts 7:51b). His speech brought anger from the crowd. “But [Stephen], filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God....’ They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him....As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:55-56, 58a, 59, 60b).
Stephen died as Jesus did: falsely accused, brought to unjust condemnation because he spoke the truth fearlessly. He died with his eyes trustfully fixed on God, and with a prayer of forgiveness on his lips. A “happy” death is one that finds us in the same spirit, whether our dying is as quiet as Joseph’s or as violent as Stephen’s: dying with courage, total trust and forgiving love. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

After the Magi had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying: “Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt and remain there until I tell you. Herod will seek the child to destroy him.” Joseph arose and took the child and his mother by night and retired into Egypt. He was there until the death of Herod in order that it might be fulfilled what the Lord had said by the prophet: Out of Egypt have I called my son. When Herod died an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying: “Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel. Those who sought the life of the child are dead.” Joseph arose and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of Herod his father he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream he retired to Galilee. There he dwelt in a town called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was said by prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23)

Holy Family One of the features of our age that has come into general view is the sad state of married life. There is a tremendous instability within very many marriages, and divorce rates have been high for years. This has a variety of causes, and many who suffer the trauma of a

breakdown of marriage can in no way be blamed — in fact for some, a civil divorce is the only practicable course for them to take. Their spouse may have been incapable of making a true decision in the first place, or may have lacked other essential qualities for entering the married state. The result is a trail of tears. I remember seeing a programme on television featuring a young woman who showed some beautiful moral qualities. She had had a hard upbringing because of the behaviour of her father. As a result, she said on the programme that she intended never to marry — what she had seen in her own family destroyed her confidence in marriage as a path to happiness. The beauty and possibilities of God’s plan for marriage have been obscured for many people, due in considerable measure to the gradual transformation of culture. The culture of the West — so influential in the modern age — has become secular. Religion, and specifically the Christian religion, has been relegated to the margins of mere personal opinion. Its norms are not taken to be objective. This assumption seeps into the springs of individual life, and it also has an effect on public law and morality. Accordingly, there are attacks in society and in the media on marriage as a sacrosanct natural institution, let alone as a divine institution sanctioned by Revelation. Forces press for the recognition, as marriages, of unions between persons that are profoundly sinful in the sight of God. In particular, the obfuscation of the idea of freedom sways national legislatures into passing laws that in fact encourage the breakdown of marriage and family life. Somehow there has to be the recapturing of a different model of man, and in particular of the human family. That model is found in the person of Jesus Christ, and in the family of which he was part.

There was a family in history that, in the plan of divine providence, is the model and inspiration for all families for all time. It is the Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It was a humble, obscure and seemingly very ordinary family, so like the vast majority of families throughout history. It was part of a tiny backwater village in the obscurity of an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its life and activities were made up of what most people would call the ordinary things of every day. Everyone can relate to that family. Everyone can say, that family was in many respects like mine, so what it suggests, I can take to heart. I can learn from it and profit by contemplating it continuously and deeply. Now, there is a simple key to the understanding of the inner life of this family of Nazareth — it is holiness. The holiness of this seemingly ordinary family was incomparable, incalculable, and barely imaginable in its height, extent and depth. This Family teaches us the true source of grandeur, and that every family is meant by God to be the home and the school of holiness. In holiness, the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was perfect. It is an enthralling and fascinating thought that in the midst of this family was a Man who is the all-holy God. He, the incarnate God, God become man, subjected himself in loving obedience to his utterly sinless mother, sinless from conception to the end of life. He subjected himself also to his foster-father, Joseph, the spouse of Mary his mother. How holy Joseph was! His intimacy with Jesus was constant, protracted, and after Mary his spouse, unique. If our ambitions for family life are largely in the direction of financial and social success, or some other goal connected with material happiness, the Holy Family will not seem to offer much. Indeed, it will not seem of relevance at all. But if our ambitions are those of God himself, namely moral and spiritual perfection, the perfection in our hearts and lives of the love of God and neighbour, then the Holy Family will be appreciated as an extraordinary phenomenon in history. In the sight of God and of all heaven, the Holy Family shines out with immense brilliance because of its moral and spiritual life, its holiness and its love. Yet all this was beneath a simple, humble and obscure appearance, in an obscure and morally very imperfect village community.

Gazing on the holy family in our prayer, let us ask ourselves, what is it that is truly important for my family? The important thing for my family is union with God, attained by living in union with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. So then, let us resolve as families to live in their presence day by day. The Christian family that lives in the presence of that Holy Family will pray for a share in its holiness. It is to holiness that all of Christ’s faithful, and every Christian family, are called. This holiness was lived perfectly by the Holy Family, and the Holy Family gives this holiness to the family that tries to live in imitation of it. The desire to love God and one another is a great grace from God, but in so many families there is little of that desire. Let us have the ambition this coming year of modelling our family on the Holy Family, not just as a pious thought, but as something we live out in daily action.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Make your way to Bethlehem, go up to the Child, take him in your arms and dance, say warm and tender things to him, press him close to your heart...

—I am not talking childish nonsense: I am speaking of love! And love is shown with deeds. In the intimacy of your soul, you can indeed hug him tight!
(The Forge, no.345)

Feast of St John the Evangelist (December 27)

(December 27) St John the beloved disciple
It is God who calls; human beings answer. The vocation of John and his brother James is stated very simply in the Gospels, along with that of Peter and his brother Andrew: Jesus called them; they followed. The absoluteness of their response is indicated by the account. James and John “were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and

immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him” (Matthew 4:21b-22). For the three former fishermen—Peter, James and John—that faith was to be rewarded by a special friendship with Jesus. They alone were privileged to be present at the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemane. But John’s friendship was even more special. Tradition assigns to him the Fourth Gospel, although most modern Scripture scholars think it unlikely that the apostle and the evangelist are the same person. John’s own Gospel refers to him as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (see John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom he gave the exquisite honour, as he stood beneath the cross, of caring for his mother. “Woman, behold your son....Behold, your mother” (John 19:26b, 27b). Because of the depth of his Gospel, John is usually thought of as the eagle of theology, soaring in high regions that other writers did not enter. But the ever-frank Gospels reveal some very human traits. Jesus gave James and John the nickname, “sons of thunder.” While it is difficult to know exactly what this meant, a clue is given in two incidents. In the first, as Matthew tells it, their mother asked that they might sit in the places of honour in Jesus’ kingdom—one on his right hand, one on his left. When Jesus asked them if they could drink the cup he would drink and be baptized with his baptism of pain, they blithely answered, “We can!” Jesus said that they would indeed share his cup, but that sitting at his right hand was not his to give. It was for those to whom it had been reserved by the Father. The other apostles were indignant at the mistaken ambition of the brothers, and Jesus took the occasion to teach them the true nature of authority: “...Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28). On another occasion the “sons of thunder” asked Jesus if they should not call down fire from heaven upon the inhospitable Samaritans, who would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. But Jesus “turned and rebuked them” (see Luke 9:51-55). On the first Easter, Mary Magdalene “ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him’” (John 20:2). John recalls, perhaps with a smile, that he and Peter ran side by side, but then “the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first” (John 20:4b). He did not enter, but waited for Peter and let him go in first. “Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (John 20:8). John was with Peter when the first great miracle after the Resurrection took place—the cure of the man crippled from birth—which led to their spending the night in jail together. The mysterious experience of the Resurrection is perhaps best contained in the words of Acts: “Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they [the questioners] were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
The evangelist wrote the great Gospel, the letters and the Book of Revelation. His Gospel is a very personal account. He sees the glorious and divine Jesus already in the incidents of his mortal life. At the Last Supper, John’s Jesus speaks as if he were already in heaven. It is the Gospel of Jesus’ glory. It is a long way from being eager to sit on a throne of power or to call down fire from heaven to becoming the man who could write: “The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 John 1:1-4; Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; John 20:1a and 2-8

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him! So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (John 20:1a and 2-8)

Right dispositions Each of the four Gospels, of course, report the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and they do it in different ways. Matthew’s Gospel has 28 chapters, and the last, consisting of 20 verses, is given to the Resurrection account. Mark’s Gospel has 16 chapters, and the last, consisting of 20 verses is given to the Resurrection.

The two accounts have similarities. Luke’s account is more than twice the length of each, with 53 verses given to the Resurrection. It is vivid and more extensive in its detail, and in various respects rather unlike the narrative of both Matthew and Mark. Our Gospel passage for the Feast of St John is drawn from the Gospel of St John. In what might have been the original conclusion of the Gospel (chapter 20), 31 verses are given to the Resurrection appearances in the vicinity of Jerusalem. In the last chapter (21), perhaps a subsequent addition to John’s Gospel, there are a further 25 verses on the Resurrection appearance at the Sea of Tiberius in Galilee. All up, therefore, the Gospel of St John provides us with the fullest account of the Resurrection. Further, this account is notable for its living and concrete detail — and in this respect is like that of Luke. Luke informs us that the women told the Apostles what the Angels had said to them, and that the Apostles did not believe. Some Greek manuscripts add the detail (in verse 12) that Peter “arose and ran to the tomb, and stooping down, could see nothing but the wrappings — so he went away full of amazement at what had happened.” Other manuscripts (as in the Nestle Version) do not have this at all, but it is taken up by John in his Gospel and given vivid detail. It is this which we have in our Gospel today. Yes, Peter did run to the tomb as Luke describes, but there was more to it than this. John accompanied his older friend, and both sprinted from their dwelling in Jerusalem to the burial place outside the City. It was early, and still dark — perhaps not absolutely dark, for the women had been to the tomb and back. Through the streets they ran, hearts pounding. Both ran at full capacity, the younger man perhaps barely out of his teens outstripping the older. The body of Jesus their Master had gone!

Today we think of John the Apostle and Evangelist. But in his Gospel, John insists that we think of him as associated with Simon Peter. Reaching the tomb first, he looked inside and saw the burial wrappings on the ground, as if this detail were important. Peter arrived and immediately entered the tomb, and likewise saw the wrappings — with this addition, that he also saw the piece of cloth which had covered the head of Jesus — it was rolled up in a place by itself. It is to be noted that the sight by both Apostles of the burial wrappings on the ground is given a certain importance. After Peter, the other disciple went in and, we are solemnly told, “he saw and he believed.” It looks as if the detail about the burial cloths had something to do with his believing, for the intriguing mention of the former immediately precedes the latter. It might also suggest that the significance of these burial cloths and their position was perceived by Christians in the ambience of John’s influence, or at least that John considered they would understand it. I say this because there is no further explanation in the text — as if John considered that the reader would understand the connection. Be all this as it may, John “saw” and in some sense, to some degree, “he believed.” He saw some indications, something about the empty tomb, that led him to believe — perhaps while still requiring the further appearances, but nevertheless belief in the living Jesus had replaced the terrible vacuum of his loss. There was no longer a vast void, and this on the basis of his having seen the empty tomb with the wrappings. I cannot help but wonder whether John was pointing out to his reader that, even though he had not yet seen the glorious Jesus in the flesh, even though he had but seen the empty tomb and the wrappings, even though he had seen only some indications — some “evidence,” we might say — that sufficed for some belief. That is to say, the knowledge that Jesus has risen does not require the sight of him that John himself was subsequently granted. What is critically important is the prior disposition of soul that will enable the hearer to judge correctly the significance of the details of the Gospel narrative.

At the end of this chapter, John writes that he has recorded the “signs” performed by Jesus in the presence of his disciples, and this recording of them was meant to help the reader believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. By and large we have “signs” to go on, “signs” brought to us by the entirely credible witness and testimony of the Church. We do not have a mathematical demonstration. But these “signs,” if received by one who has the right dispositions of mind, heart and soul, can bring him to absolute certainty, a true faith in Jesus Christ and his Resurrection as being a most certain fact. On this feast of St John the Evangelist and Apostle, let us resolve to make his loving dispositions our own.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (1 John 1:1-4)

John's Reverence for Jesus The fourth Gospel denotes St John as the beloved disciple — the “disciple Jesus loved.” St John was profoundly aware of the special friendship our Lord showed him.

This was not to claim that he loved our Lord more than all the others — in fact Our Lord expected Simon Peter to love him more than all the others ("Simon, do you love me more than these others?"). Nevertheless, throughout the Gospel, John is described as the one whom Jesus loved somehow in a special manner. What do we see John saying about this? It is clear from his first Letter that he was always profoundly moved by the thought of Who it was who had granted to him the privilege of this special intimacy. It was the Word, the Word made flesh, the Word of God who is life. He had granted to him and to each of them that they could see him, watch him, touch him and be in union with him — with him who is the Word of life! St John's profound love and reverence for the exalted person of Jesus shines through his inspired writings, his Letters, his Gospel, and the Apocalypse.

Let us take our cue from John in this respect, and strive to grow in a profound appreciation for who Jesus is. Let us never take Jesus for granted or underestimate him. Jesus gives himself in all intimacy to us, though he is Almighty God. Let this lead us to reverence and love for him, and with this attitude let us bring him to others.

(E.J.Tyler)

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We should let Jesus know that we are children. And when children are tiny and innocent, what a lot of effort it takes for them to go up one step. They look as though they are wasting their time, but eventually they manage to climb up. Now there is another step. Crawling on their hands and knees, and putting their whole body into it, they score another success... one more step. Then they start again. What an effort! There are only a few more steps to go now... But then the toddler stumbles... and — whoops! — down he goes. With bumps all over and in floods of tears, the poor child sets out and begins to try again.

We are just like that, Jesus, when we are on our own. Please take us up in your loving arms, like a big and good Friend of the simple child. Do not leave us until we have reached the top. And then — oh then! — we will know how to correspond to your Merciful Love, with the daring of young children, telling you, sweet Lord, that after Mary and Joseph, there never has been nor will there ever be a mortal soul — and there have been some who have been really crazy — who loves you as much as I love you.
(The Forge, no.346)

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Prayers for today: These Innocent children were slain for Christ. They follow the spotless Lamb, and proclaim forever: Glory to you, Lord.

Father, the Holy Innocents offered you praise by the death they suffered for Christ. May our lives bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, …

(December 28) The Holy Innocents
Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of

extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother and his sister’s two husbands, to name only a few. Matthew 2:1-18 tells this story: Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, offered him their gifts and, warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus escaped to Egypt. Herod became furious and “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under.” The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah,/sobbing and loud lamentation;/Rachel weeping for her children...” (Matthew 2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob/Israel. She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.
Twenty babies are few, in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognize the greatest treasure God put on the earth—a human person, destined for eternity and graced by Jesus’ death and resurrection. “Lord, you give us life even before we understand” (Prayer Over the Gifts, Feast of the Holy Innocents).

Scripture today: 1 John 1:5-2:2; Psalm 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8; Matthew 2: 13-18

When the Wise Men had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. Matthew 2: 13-18

Suffering Despite the theories of some that the Bethlehem of Judea was not the site of Christ’s birth (because of a perceived lack of archaeological evidence), but that of Galilee, the clear assertion of the Gospels is overwhelming. As Jerome Murphy-O’Connor has argued, the authoritative testimony of Matthew

and Luke — independent of each other — is supported by the extremely well supported tradition of the cave of Bethlehem, known to have been the site of Christ’s birth. The cave is mentioned by Justin Martyr, and by the second-century A.D. author of the Protoevangelium of James. It is later mentioned by Origen (185–254 A.D.), who reports that “there is shown at Bethlehem the cave where he [Jesus] was born.” The cave apparently attracted regular visitors, including Origen himself sometime between 231 and 246 A.D. St Jerome (342–420 A.D.), who lived in Bethlehem from 386 A.D. until his death, informs us that “From Hadrian’s time [135 A.D.] until the reign of Constantine, for about 180 years” the cave had been converted into a shrine dedicated to Adonis. He states that “Bethlehem (is) now ours, and the earth’s, most sacred spot..” The fact that there are few archaeological remains of the Bethlehem of the time of Christ’s birth suggests it was but a small village, though hallowed in the minds of the chosen people because of David the great king, and because of the prophecy connecting it with the Messiah. So we may imagine a small, quiet village — disturbed somewhat at the time of the census because of the influx of descendants of David. These included Joseph, accompanied by Mary his betrothed who was with child. The census passed, and the quiet humdrum of life at Bethlehem resumed, with Joseph staying on, earning his living by his trade. Perhaps they dwelt in the cave where Christ was born. But suddenly and quietly, perhaps after dusk or before dawn, a party with purpose in the face arrived, and immediately set to work. From house to house or from farm to farm they went, and the infants, perhaps a small number as it would have been a small village, were summarily dispatched. It was all over, and the visitors slipped away.

But Joseph had gone, with Mary his betrothed and the precious Child. Herod’s people had arrived, but Joseph was already on his way towards Egypt. Behind them was a grief-stricken village, uncomprehending, completely bewildered at the terrible turn of events. The crime did not make it to the annals of history in the way other assassinations by Herod did. Nevertheless, it was a tragedy of immense proportions for those who bore it. They did not understand why this had been visited upon them, for there would have been no explanation. They were innocent, and doubtlessly the families thus afflicted were God-fearing members of the chosen people. Evil and suffering had descended upon them, and for no apparent reason. It was a terrible mystery, the mystery of evil — a pattern to be seen all through human history. There are evils that people bring upon themselves because of their mistakes or their moral decline. Napoleon Bonaparte’s cascading troubles at the end of his arrogant dominance of Europe were brought on by himself. Everyone can think of troubles they have brought on themselves. But there are others that are not. There are people who are blessed with fortune when they do not deserve it, and there are others who are afflicted with evil and suffering when they do not deserve it. We may take the murder of the Holy Innocents as a paradigm of all those innocents who suffer — even the ultimate deprivation, that of life itself — when they do not deserve it. What is to be made of it? The Innocents and their families did not know that they were suffering because of hatred for Christ. In fact, theirs was a privileged position in the eyes of God. It is a privilege to suffer because of hatred for Christ, as our Lord himself makes clear. But they did not know that this was their case, and in any event, they had no choice in the matter. But their being snuffed out had a place in the divine plan. All is in the hands of God our Father — not a hair falls from our head without our heavenly Father knowing it, as our Lord reassured us. Whatever happens to us, if it is not the fruit of our sin, and if permitted by God, will have its place in the providence of God. He, the loving Creator, will bring good out of our suffering.

There are so many things in life that frustrate our plans, including our plans for serving God. We have perhaps hoped for so many things, and so many of them have come to nothing despite our best intentions. Evil, disappointment and suffering have come our way, and it may have been due to injustice or the thoughtlessness of others. Cast it all into the hands of the Lord, knowing that he is mightier than any other force that might seem to crush us. He can bring forth the fruit he intends. Let us take the Holy Innocents, celebrated as martyrs of the Church, as our inspiration.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Matthew 2: 13-18)

The mystery of evil Consider how the lives of these infants were suddenly snuffed out, and terrible suffering brought to their families. It appeared to have no meaning. While God could have prevented Herod from this murderous deed, mysteriously he did not. This sudden evil would have seemed a terrible mystery.

Yet the Church reveres and celebrates these children as martyrs. So there was a meaning to their deaths, though they and their families had no idea of what that meaning was. They mysteriously and unconsciously bore witness to Christ in all innocence, showing to human history his sovereignty and the unique Kingdom that Herod was trying to do away with. This ought help us to believe, if not to understand, that whatever be the evils that visit us there will be a meaning and purpose in it provided we endeavour to do God's will. While those infants were not consciously trying to do God's will, in their innocence they were unconsciously doing it. Evil came upon them, unasked and not understood, and their deaths are seen by the Church as having great value, the value of a hidden Christian martyrdom. Their deaths as martyrs will be celebrated by the Church till the end of the world.

We may be ignored, and circumstances or people may afflict us or sweep us away into unjust oblivion, and all for no apparent reason. Yet God has allowed it, and He will know the value of a course of life so marked by apparent meaninglessness.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Don’t be ashamed of doing little childlike things, I advised you. As long as they are not done out of routine, they will not be fruitless.

— For example: Imagine that a soul who is following the way of spiritual childhood is moved each night, during the hours of sleep, to wrap up a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin.

Our intelligence would reject such an action as quite useless. But a soul, touched by grace, understands very well that a child would indeed act like this out of love.

And then the strong will, which all those who are spiritually tiny have, insists and moves the intelligence to give way... And if that childlike soul were to continue each day wrapping up the statue of Our Lady, there would be repeated each day a little childlike act which would be fruitful in the eyes of God.
(The Forge, no.347)

Fifth day in the Octave of Christmas A

Prayers for today: God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him might not perish, but might have eternal life. Jn 3: 16

All-powerful and unseen God, the coming of your light into our world has made the darkness vanish. Teach us to proclaim the birth of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(29th December) St. Thomas a Becket (1118-1170)
A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December

29, 1170. His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162), resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life! Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven years. When he returned to England, he suspected it would mean certain death. Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops favoured by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral. Thomas Becket remains a hero-saint down to our own times.
No one becomes a saint without struggle, especially with himself. Thomas knew he must stand firm in defence of truth and right, even at the cost of his life. We also must take a stand in the face of pressures — against dishonesty, deceit, destruction of life — at the cost of popularity, convenience, promotion and even greater goods. In T. S. Eliot’s drama, Murder in the Cathedral, Becket faces a final temptation to seek martyrdom for earthly glory and revenge. With real insight into his life situation, Thomas responds: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

Scripture today: 1 John 2: 3-11; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6; Luke 2: 22-35

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too. (Luke 2: 22-35)

Holy Spirit An especially striking feature of the inspired writings of St Luke is his interest in and mention of the Holy Spirit. In both his Gospel and in his Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit has his formal title (“the Holy Spirit”) and acts decisively as a divine Person.

It suggests to me not only that Luke is profoundly aware of the formal teaching of the early Church on the Third Divine Person and wishes to instil it, but that he knows the Holy Spirit and his action from personal experience. The first chapter of his Gospel narrates the mention of the Holy Spirit by the Angel Gabriel to both Zechariah and Mary, and his action in inspiring both Elizabeth and Zechariah to prophesy. Four times the Holy Spirit is referred to in this opening chapter. In the second chapter the Holy Spirit is the decisive Agent in the intervention of Simeon. In the third chapter it is announced by John the Baptist that the Messiah, about to appear, will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Then the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove. In the fourth chapter he fills the soul of Jesus Christ and leads him into the wilderness for an immediate confrontation with Satan, after which Jesus returns “in the power of the Spirit” to Galilee. Back in Nazareth, our Lord cites the prophecy of Isaiah in which “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” and applies it to himself. It seems especially at the beginning of our Lord’s life, and then at the beginning of his public ministry, that Luke takes pains to record the Person and the action of the Holy Spirit. There are of course specific references to the Holy Spirit during his public ministry, but it is our Lord himself who is the prominent Actor then. Having risen from the dead, Christ informs his disciples (Luke 24: 49) that he will send to them “the promise of my Father” — and they are to await it in the City, till “you are clothed with power from on high.” In the Acts of the Apostles, the Spirit will take over. In our Gospel today, which is part of the narrative of Christ’s infancy, the Holy Spirit intervenes as he did with Zechariah and Elizabeth causing them to prophesy. Here, he leads the holy Simeon to the Messiah, enables him to recognize and gaze upon him, and then to utter a prophecy over him.

In our scene today, the Holy Spirit himself is bearing witness to Jesus by leading Simeon to him. He then empowers Simeon to bear witness to him before his holy parents. All of the actors in our scene are profoundly docile to the action of the Spirit of God. It is a magnificent coming together of the very cream of the Old Testament. We may take it that never had there been such a sparkling constellation of the highest reach in the Old Testament. There was in that humble meeting, Simeon, a man led by the Holy Spirit, taught by the Holy Spirit, and blessed by the Holy Spirit with the sight of the One who was the raison-d’etre of God’s choice of Israel. There was holy Mary, peerless in sanctity, accompanied by her holy spouse, Joseph. No-one, past or present or future, would equal them in grace and fidelity — with Mary surpassing all, and her husband second after her. Soon to join them was Anna the prophetess. But above all, in their midst was the divine Child, God the Son become man. He was the very source of the sanctity in which they all shared. Now, this astounding though hidden sanctity was the work and life of the Holy Spirit. Their coming together, too, was his work. May we not see in their coming together an act of triumphant joy in what he, the third divine Person, had so gloriously done? Mary was the new Eve, and her divine Child was the new Adam. Near to them were the best of saints. A new beginning had been made, and it was the work of the Spirit. A new creation had begun, a new Covenant would soon be established, a new and most glorious prospect lay ahead. Then Simeon approaches, takes the Child into his arms, and acts as prophet of the Most High. The Spirit of God is upon him, and he announces the word of God about the Child. The Child is the salvation God offers, a light to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people. But — and this is surely the burden of the Spirit’s activity in this Gospel scene — he must and will suffer, as will those closely associated with him. He is, Simeon says to Mary, “a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2: 22-35).

Let us cultivate a deep devotion to the Holy Spirit. Let us ask him to reveal the Person of Jesus Christ to us, just as he did to Simeon. Let us ask him to help us enter into the life and mission of Jesus Christ, and especially to accept for love of him the path of suffering for his sake which is, mysteriously, so necessary in the plan of God. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, our Consoler, our Counsellor, our Teacher. He is the one who, by his grace, transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. Let us love the Holy Spirit, then, and never — as St Paul warns in one of his Letters — make him sad.
(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: St Thomas a Becket

Resistance to the spirit of the world St Thomas a Becket spent his ecclesiastical life largely resisting undue influence and control of the Church by the English monarch. It was a matter of battling to preserve the lordship of Christ over his Church and the preservation of his plan for the Church. There are many ways the Church can be held in bondage to society and to the world. It can come through control by the state, as in Henry II's time. But there are other ways, such as the dominion of public opinion and the values of the world. We must be alert to this ever present danger, and be prepared to resist it at great cost — the cost of rejection by others who see the influence of the world as very reasonable.

We must always be renewing our choice for Christ and his plan, and resisting whatever is against it. St Thomas a Becket made this choice and kept to it to the point of martyrdom. He saw, too, that essential to Christ's plan for the Church was constant recognition of the universal jurisdiction and authority of the successor of St Peter. Resistance to the influence of the world in the Church goes hand in hand with this recognition of and love for Christ's vicar on earth. Many in the course of English history laid down their lives for this doctrine of the faith. Let us hold to that choice, and help others to hold to it.
(E.J.Tyler)

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When you are genuinely a child and you follow the ways of childhood — if you are moved by God to follow this path — you will be invincible.
(The Forge, no.348)

Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas A-1

Prayers today: When peaceful silence lay over all, and night had run half of her swift course, your all-powerful Word, 0 Lord, leaped down from heaven, from the royal throne. Wisdom 18: 14-15

All-powerful God, may the human birth of your Son free us from our former slavery to sin and bring us new life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,..

(30th December) St. Egwin (d. 717)
You say you’re not familiar with today’s saint? Chances are you aren’t — unless you’re especially informed about Benedictine bishops who established monasteries in medieval England. Born of royal blood in the 7th century, Egwin entered a monastery and was enthusiastically received by royalty, clergy and the people as the bishop of Worcester, England. As a bishop he was known as a protector of orphans and the widowed and a fair judge. Who could argue with that? His popularity didn’t hold up among members of the clergy, however. They saw him as overly strict, while he felt he was simply trying to correct abuses and impose appropriate disciplines. Bitter resentments arose, and Egwin made his way to Rome to present his case to Pope Constantine. The case against Egwin was examined and annulled. Upon his return to England, he founded Evesham Abbey, which became one of the great Benedictine houses of medieval England. It was dedicated to Mary, who had reportedly made it known to Egwin just where a church should be built in her honour. He died at the abbey on December 30, in the year 717. Following his burial many miracles were attributed to him: The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the sick were healed. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 John 2: 12-17; Psalm 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10; Luke 2: 36-40

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him (Luke 2: 36-40)

Anna It is intriguing to notice Luke’s almost casual way of introducing Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, as a “prophetess.” Luke gives us a detail of fact: her father was Phanuel, and Phanuel was of the tribe of Asher. There is no mention of her mother, as the important link in terms of her tribe was her father,

just as Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah, counted as such because of Joseph his foster-father. We know nothing of Phanuel other than his mention by Luke, so where did Luke obtain his information? Presumably it derived from Mary, the mother of Jesus, as would most of his infancy narrative. That said, Anna was a “prophetess.” The Hebrew prophet was not merely, as the word commonly implies, a man enlightened by God to foretell events; he was the interpreter and supernaturally enlightened herald sent by Yahweh to communicate His will and designs to Israel. His mission consisted in announcing God’s word, whether this amounted to preaching or, occasionally, foretelling. The great majority of “prophets” whose declarations are preserved in the Scriptures were men, but there are records of a few prophets who were women. For instance, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, was a prophetess. After the crossing of the Red Sea, she led the women in the refrain, “Sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea” (Exodus 15: 20-21). Deborah was a prophetess in the time of the Judges. We read that “Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappodoth, was judging Israel at that time... and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment" (Judges 4: 4-5). There is another mention of a prophetess, in the time of the reign of the good king Josiah of Jerusalem. When the book of the Law was found in the temple, Josiah asked Hilkiah the priest and others to consult the Lord what to do. We read that Hilkiah “went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the (suburb known as) Second Quarter; and they talked with her” (2 Kings 22:14). In reply, she announced the word of the Lord to them.

In fact, each of these references in the Old Testament seem to imply that there were other prophetesses in the history of the people, just as there were probably many more (at least minor) prophets than those whose writings and declarations are included in the sacred books. Luke’s mention of Anna being a prophetess is almost a casual mention — as if not a unique phenomenon. Let it be remembered too that not all “prophets” were saintly people. In the book of Nehemiah (6:12-14), “Nboadiah the prophetess and the other prophets” opposed Nehemiah at the time of the return to Jerusalem. In the Book of Revelation (2:18-21), there is a condemnation of “that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.” The point I am making is that Anna was one of those many in the history of God’s people who were used by God to make his will known — at times on a very small scale, at times on the large scene of the nation as with, say Elijah and Jeremiah in the Old Testament, and John the Baptist in the New. Anna was one of the minor prophets who would never have been known to history were she not led to witness the entry of the Child Jesus into the Temple. She gave thanks, and then spoke “about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Much more important than her being a prophet, though, was her saintly life. We are reminded of that occasion in our Lord’s public ministry when a woman from the crowd raised her voice in praise of him: “Blessed is the one who bore you,” she called out — blessed is the one who had you for her son! But our Lord replied, “Blessed rather is the one who hears the word of God and puts it into practice” (Luke 11: 28). Anna was a prophetess, with gifts of the Holy Spirit, and a calling to serve the people of God within her sphere of life and activity, but her greatest glory was her fidelity to the will of God over a long life. She “never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying” (Luke 2: 36-40). She led a magnificent life of worship, fasting and prayer, and as a prophetess served as a fit instrument of the Holy Spirit in revealing the will of God to others. It is a cause of joy that Luke saw fit to record her life and her intervention in his inspired account of Jesus Christ.

As we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, let us make our own the holy joy that filled the soul of Anna the prophetess, who lived for God night and day in the Temple. Let us place ourselves in the midst of the circle that gathered on this occasion in the Temple — Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, with the Child of the ages in their midst. All were gazing on him in wonder and love, for from him would come the redemption of the world. Let us give thanks and let us resolve to live a good and holy life in imitation of him, made possible by his grace.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (Luke 2: 36-40)

The prophetess Anna In today's Gospel the Church places before us the grand and beautiful figure of the prophetess Anna. The account comes from Luke,

who presumably received it from our Lady. As a prophetess, Anna would have, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, on occasion told to others what God wanted them to hear. Her life had been filled with the love and service of God, living in the Temple a life of constant prayer and penance. Constantly open in mind and heart to the will of God, she was led instantly to recognise in the Son of Mary the One who was the Messiah. She thus exemplifies the point that the one who lives faithful to the grace given will be disposed to recognise and respond to further grace. Let us observe too that, praising God for the arrival of the Messiah, she spoke of him to all who looked forward to the coming redemption. She was, through her prayer and penance, able to be apostolic. She could speak of the Child because she had been faithful to grace and generous with God.

Let us take our cue from Anna and make God the object of our entire life, with prayer, penance and apostolic activity as the distinguishing characteristics of our Christian life. Anna was one of the Lord's very first disciples, becoming one just a few days after his birth. Let us learn from her, and learn from the two other protagonists who loom far larger in the scene — Mary our Mother and Joseph our father.
(E.J.Tyler)

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The confident petition of a small child: Grant me, Lord, the sort of compunction which those who have pleased you most have had.
(The Forge, no.349)

Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas A-1

Prayers today: A child is born for us, a son given to us; dominion is laid on his shoulder, and he shall be called Wonderful-Counsellor. (Isaiah 9: 6)

Ever-living God, in the birth of your Son our religion has its origin and its perfect fulfilment. Help us to share in the life of Christ for he is the salvation of mankind, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(31st December) St. Sylvester I, Pope (d. 335)
When you think of this pope, you think of the Edict of Milan, the emergence of the Church from the catacombs, the building of the great basilicas, Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter’s and others, the Council of Nicaea and other critical events. But for the most part, these events were planned or brought about by Emperor Constantine. A great store of legends has grown up around the man who was pope at this most important time, but very little can be established historically. We know for sure that his papacy lasted from 314 until his death in 335. Reading between the lines of history, we are assured that only a very strong and wise man could have preserved the essential independence of the Church in the face of the overpowering figure of the Emperor Constantine. The bishops in general remained loyal to the Holy See and at times expressed apologies to Sylvester for undertaking important ecclesiastical projects at the urging of Constantine.
It takes deep humility and courage in the face of criticism for a leader to stand aside and let events take their course, when asserting one’s authority would only lead to useless tension and strife. Sylvester teaches a valuable lesson for Church leaders, politicians, parents and others in authority. To emphasize the continuity of Holy Orders, the recent Roman breviary in its biographies of popes ends with important statistics. On the feast of Saint Sylvester it recounts: "He presided at seven December ordinations at which he created 42 priests, 25 deacons and 65 bishops for various sees." The Holy Father is indeed the heart of the Church's sacramental system, an essential element of its unity. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 John 2: 18-21; Psalm 96:1-2, 11-12, 13; John 1: 1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ From his fullness we have all received one grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No-one has ever seen God, but God the Only Begotten, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1: 1-18)

Word made flesh It is, of course, very difficult if not impossible to sum up the religious world of classical times, which is to say the time of the appearance of the Christian religion. There was the popular and official religion of Greece and Rome, with its vast array of gods and goddesses.

In the Greek world, for instance, there was the typical hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control over all the others. Some deities had dominion over certain aspects of nature. Zeus was the sky-god, sending thunder and lightning, Poseidon ruled over the sea and earthquakes, Hades exercised his power throughout the realm of death and the Underworld, and Helios controlled the sun. Other deities ruled over a facet of life — for instance, Aphrodite controlled love. The gods acted like humans, and had human vices. At times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. It was a human scene enlarged and acted out on an other-worldly stage. Those who were not satisfied by the public cult of the gods could turn to various mystery religions which operated as cults into which members had to be initiated in order to learn their secrets. At the same time, several notable philosophers criticised the prevailing belief, although it is difficult to sum up the position of Greek philosophy on religion. Xenophanes opposed the vices of the gods as well as their human-like depiction. So different was Socrates’ view from that of the state that, in 399 BC, he found himself before a jury of 500 of his fellow Athenians accused of refusing to acknowledge the gods recognized by the state, and of corrupting the youth. He was condemned to death, and died by drinking the prescribed hemlock. His disciple Plato seems to have believed in what he called the Form of the good, and which he believed was the emanation of perfection in the universe. Plato's disciple, Aristotle, also discounted polytheism, because he could not find evidence for it. He proposed the Prime Mover which had set creation going, but was scarcely interested in the universe. Many other examples could be given of the polytheism of the peoples of classical times.

How different is the grand beginning of the Gospel of St John (John 1: 1-18), which is the passage for the end of the Octave of Christmas, the last day of the civil year. It is set at a height and a depth without parallel in the religion of the ancient world. At the same time it is presented as plain and hard fact — in this sense, the most down-to-earth of statements. Plato and Aristotle attained exceedingly valuable abstractions, mixed with errors, and these abstractions would be used by the greatest intellects of the Christian religion. But here we have simple statements presenting plain facts that revealed the life of the ineffable God. In the beginning was the Word — that Word that had been uttered by God in the beginning, and due to which all things that exist were made. The Book of Genesis speaks of God and his word. John informs us here that this word was with God in the beginning, and in fact was God. The word of God was the Word, with a capital “W.” He was a Person, and was with God in the beginning, and was God. Whoever heard of this? It is a remarkable doctrine, and were it not proved to be true by the Person and life of Jesus Christ, its remarkable character would itself be cause for intense interest and reflection. It is absolutely unique among the religions of man. Further, this divine Word became man and dwelt among us. He is the light of the world and of every man in it. Whatever be the value of the work of the philosophers, it cannot compare with the light available to the world in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Word of God become flesh. His was the glory, and that glory was seen by those who knew him and were his friends. “We have seen his glory,” John writes, “the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” It is seen by those who come to know, love and follow him. Those who do not know him will not see his glory except at the end when he comes again on the clouds, accompanied by the Angels. Indeed, it is very likely that they will reject and persecute him, as did Paul — before he was confronted by the glorified Jesus, who said to him, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” Let us appreciate anew the wonder of Jesus Christ and his revelation!

Let us take our stand on what God has revealed. The countless religions of man deserve the respect that man deserves. They represent his yearning for the Beyond. But we have been granted a wondrous revelation by God. We know the true and only God, that he is one in being and nature, yet three in persons. The Father has sent his Son as our Redeemer, and this work of redemption done, Father and Son have sent the Spirit to his Church to be our Sanctifier. Let us embrace anew all that God has revealed, and do our best to bring it to the world.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Second reflection: (John 1: 1-18)

Reverence for the Word of God There is an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt.

When one has constant and familiar contact with something of great value, there is a danger of losing respect for it. In the sacraments Christ himself acts on us and for us, most obviously in the holy Eucharist, which is Christ himself, giving himself to us. All too often we disregard and neglect our Lord's real presence in the Eucharist, and make little effort to preserve a lively conviction of this presence. In the opening passage of St John's Gospel, commonly called the Prologue (1: 1-18), in simple yet austere terms our Lord's grandeur is presented. He is the Word of God. From all eternity he was with God. He was and is God, while being other in Person from the Father. Everything came to be through him. He became flesh in order that those who accepted him might become children of God.

Let us constantly contemplate these simple truths from St John's opening lines, so that our reverence and appreciation of the person of Jesus will grow constantly. Let us never take him for granted, and by our witness let us ensure that the world does not take him for granted.

(E.J.Tyler)

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Small child, you would cease to be one if anyone or anything came between you and God.
(The Forge, no.350)

Liturgical Season	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Third Week Advent A-I					16	17	18
4th Week Advent / Christmastide A-I	19	20	21	22	23	24	25 Christmas Day
Christmastide A-I	26 Holy Family Sunday	27 St John, Evangelist	28 Holy Innocents	29	30	31