Episode 36 – Second Sunday of Advent and the Kerygma – Why it Matters: An Exploration of Faith with Archbishop George Lucas
Archbishop Lucas and Kris McGregor discuss the season of Advent and its particular nature in relation to the Kerygma (the pronouncement of the Good News). In this episode, they discuss the gospel reading found in the First Sunday of Advent.
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Day Three
Mother of God, your ribboned sash identified you as a pregnant woman, a woman who bore the Christ Child to a world in darkness and who through two millennia has borne the light and love of Christ to a world that has largely rejected Him. May the love of your Son awaken a hymn of thanksgiving and praise in all pregnant mothers, as happened long ago in the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah.
Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be …
Brothers and sisters:
I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.
Day Two
Mary, Mother of divine grace, you appeared to Juan
Diego standing on the moon and robed in a royal mantle adorned with stars, showing that you are the Queen of Heaven and Earth, yet far from a haughty or distant Queen. With hands folded in supplication, eyes cast downward in humility and compassion, you did not ask for a temple where you could be honored, but one where you could attend to the “weeping and sorrows of … all the people of this land, and of the various peoples who love me….” May all who are sorrowing due to abuse, violence, exploitation, neglect, and all sins against the dignity of life, fly to you, Mother, for comfort and hope.
Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be …
Pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe
(Pope John Paul II, January 25, 1979)
O Immaculate Virgin, mother of the true God and mother of the Church! You, who … revealed your clemency and your pity to all those who ask for your protection, hear the prayer that we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our sole Redeemer.
Mother of Mercy, teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you … we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities, and our sorrows.
Grant peace, justice, and prosperity to our people, for we entrust to your care all that we have and all that we are, our Lady and Mother.
We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his Church: hold us always in your loving hand.
Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we pray to you for all the bishops, that they may lead the faithful along paths of intense Christian life, of love and humble service of God and souls. Grant to our homes the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God.
Blessed Virgin Mary, protect our families, so that they may always be united, and bless the upbringing of our children. Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we will be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come to us from your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
Day One
Holy Mother, you appeared to Saint Juan Diego as a
maiden of his own race to reveal that you are the mother
of all God’s children. Draw close to your heart those who
are facing an unexpected pregnancy, so that like you, they
will say yes to the new life with which God has blessed them.
Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be
AR-SP2- THE GIFT OF HOLINESS AT CHRISTMAS w/ Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B., Ph.D.
This reflection was given during a special advent evening of prayer and meditation service at St. Margaret Mary’s Church, in Omaha, NE.
Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and directs retreats regularly. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
St Gregory Nazianzen
The wonder of the Incarnation
The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to birth had to be treated with honour, virginity had to receive new honour. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it.
He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first.
Holiness had to be brought to man by the humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might overcome the tyrant by force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself through the mediation of his Son. The Son arranged this for the honour of the Father, to whom the Son is clearly obedient in all things.
The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven.
Christ, the light of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom’s friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in preparation for the Spirit.
We needed God to take our flesh and die, that we might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him.
Episode 35 – First Sunday of Advent and the Kerygma – Why it Matters: An Exploration of Faith with Archbishop George Lucas
Archbishop Lucas and Kris McGregor discuss the season of Advent and its particular nature in relation to the Kerygma (the pronouncement of the Good News). In this episode, they discuss the gospel reading found in the First Sunday of Advent.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Day Nine: For the grace to become the praise of the glory of the Holy Trinity
In the heart of the Holy Trinity, the music of eternal praise echoes without ceasing in an eternal “now.” The Son reveals to the Father His glory in the power of the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Spirit the Father blesses His Son anew. This blessing is not a reality of the past or future, but of the eternal present. This means that this very moment we have together resounds with this canticle of love that the Three Divine Persons share with one another. The world came from this music and is directed to it – and the contemplative soul helps this mystery be realized.
The Praise of Glory. Saint Elizabeth believed that this was her vocation – the secret name that God had given her from all eternity. She believed that Saint Paul had revealed it to her.
In Ephesians, we learn that we have been predestined in Christ, the Beloved of the Father, for this great purpose. This is the Father’s plan of love for us. This praise of glory is what the Holy Spirit produces in us – if we will surrender ourselves completely to His Divine touch.
Saint Elizabeth sees us as musical instruments capable of joining in the Holy Trinity’s this great hymn of praise. This music is beautiful, but to produce it, the Holy Spirit must “tune” us first. This is painful. As long as we get caught up in internal emotional storms or else allow ourselves to be distracted by things that are not God’s will, we are out of tune. Conversely the more our interior life is in harmony with His mystery, the more beautiful the praise we are able to offer.
To ponder this is to begin to understand the last petition of Saint Elizabeth’s prayer to the Trinity – namely – she asks the Trinity to be buried in her so that she might bury herself in the Trinity. To be buried – this speaks about a death and being laid to rest. Saint Elizabeth understands the radical extent to which the Holy Trinity has given itself to humanity. Revealed in Christ crucified and buried in the tomb., the humanity of Christ makes known that God will hold nothing back to rescue us from death and to win our heart to join His eternal praise of glory. She sees her own heart as the tomb in which God has buried Himself. The death of Christ is always personal for her – “He gave Himself for me.”
To accept this gift in a personal way is to be caught up in the mystery of salvation. Just as Jesus was laid in the tomb on Good Friday, the Trinity can come into a soul and rest there in a new way – and the more it rests in the soul, the more that soul has the opportunity to rest in the Trinity. This feels like a total annihilation, but it is a radical identification with Christ’s salvific offering. Just as Jesus transformed His tomb into a sign of victory – He transforms hearts that accept his total gift of love on the Cross. If they will die to themselves, He will give them life. To believe in Jesus is to die to oneself in the Trinity, to be laid to rest in the Trinity, to be buried in the Trinity – in order that the mystery of the Holy Trinity through the life of Christ within might raise one up on high.
In this mystical death, the new life of Christ takes root in our souls.
He is the praise of the Father’s glory and when we die to ourselves, we allow His praise to swell up anew within us. The Holy Spirit “tunes’ our hearts by communicating the whole mystery of Christ into us and identifying all the inner movements of our hearts with the movements of Christ’s. Every thought is captive and every inordinate desire dies away, and our inner strength is perfected. The new desires and glorious thoughts of Christ Himself make it possible to praise the Father as the Risen Lord praises Him together with all of the heavenly hosts. Together, delighting the Heart of the Father anew, we have found a way extend the salvific work of Christ in our lives and in our communities – at a time when our neighbors most need a word of hope. Let us pray that the vocation of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity becomes our own vocation too – to be this praise of glory.
O My God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to be established in you as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to disturb my peace, nor make me depart from you, o my Unchanging One, but may each moment carry me further into the depths of your Mystery. Pacify my soul, make it your heaven, your beloved abode, your resting place. May I never leave you there alone, but may I be entirely present, my faith completely ready, wholly adoring, fully surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I would like to be a bride for your heart. I would like to cover you with glory, I would like to love you… unto death. I feel my powerlessness, however, and I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to defeat me, to overwhelm me, to substitute yourself for me, that my life might be but the radiation of your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Healer, as Savior. O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to be completely docile, ready to learn everything from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all weakness, I want to fixate on you always and to remain under your great light. O My beloved Star, fascinate me so that I would not be able to forsake your shining light.
O Consuming Flame, Spirit of love, come over me until my soul is render into an incarnation of the Word; may I be for Him another humanity in which he renews His whole Mystery.
And you, O Father, bend over your little creature, cover her with your shadow, and see in her only the Beloved in whom You are well-pleased.
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I loose myself, I surrender myself as prey. Bury yourself in me in order that I might bury myself in you, while waiting to contemplate in your light the immeasurable depths of your grandeur.
Amen
The Novena to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles S.T.D.
O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee,
by the precious blood
which Thy Divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging,
deliver the souls in purgatory,
and among them all,
especially that soul which is nearest
to its entrance into Thy glory;
that, so it may soon begin to praise Thee and bless Thee forever.
Amen.
O Lord, hear my prayer
And let my prayer cry come unto thee.
O God
the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant unto the souls of thy servants and handmaids
the remission of all their sins
that through our devout supplications
they may obtain the pardon they have always desired.
Who live and reign world without end…Amen.
Say the following prayers:
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.
Day Three
