The Message of the Advent Wreath

 

Deacon David Previtali · The Message of the Advent Wreath

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, November 28, 2021. Readings: Jeremiah 43:14-16; Gospel of St. Luke 21: 25-36. Theme: The Message of the Advent Wreath 

Well, here we are at Advent once again, with our traditional Wreath front and center, calling us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. You know, most of our beloved Advent and Christmas customs began centuries ago when the vast majority of people were illiterate. So the stories of the Bible had to be taught in appealing and easy-to-remember ways through things like the Advent Wreath, setting up of Nativity Scenes, singing carols and decorating Christmas trees. But these things have become so common-place for us today that we run the risk of taking them for granted. We can easily lose sight of what they symbolize and why we Catholics have been using them for centuries. 

With this in mind, I thought it would be good on this first day of Advent to take a look at the Wreath which we - and Catholic parishes everywhere - set up in our sanctuaries every year. It was originally designed by Christians in Germany centuries ago to pass on the story of our salvation in Christ. The various things that it is composed of were intentionally chosen to teach us about God and how he has reached out to us. The Wreath’s evergreen branches symbolize everlasting life while its circular shape reminds us that God is eternal, without beginning or end. Each candle stands for a particular period in human history and so they are lit week-by-week, visually expressing that God’s intervention into our world was a gradually unfolding process. Even the colors of the candles are meant to deliver a message to us: purple speaks of hope, while pink is the color of rejoicing. And so the Advent Wreath as a whole tells us that we are in a time of hopeful preparation, waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promise to bring joy and gladness into our lives. And don’t we all really need to hear that message today! 

The first purple candle represents the first phase of human history which began with the Creation of Adam and Eve. It reminds us of how God originally created human beings to live in intimacy with him, but that they chose instead to live for themselves apart from their Creator. It calls to mind the promise God made to them in the Garden of Eden, that he would send a Savior, born of a woman. This Savior, called the Messiah, would undo what they had done by offering God obedience in place of their disobedience; by offering the Father love in place of their decision to choose the selfishness of sin. And so, this first candle invites each one of us to join in the story that began in that Garden of Eden. It tells us that we do not have to be part of the problem of sin that began with Adam and Eve. Instead, we can choose to become part of the solution by opening our hearts and giving our lives to Jesus Christ, the Promised One. 

The second purple candle of the Wreath represents the era of history that we call the Old Testament. During that 4,000-year period, God sent prophets to his people Israel who kept the promise of a Messiah alive in the minds and hearts of the people, especially when they were going through terribly difficult times. This candle recalls the prophet Isaiah who spoke of a virgin who would give birth to a son who would be Emmanuel, God-with-us. It calls to mind the words of the prophet Micah who declared that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And it honors the prophet King David, who foretold that important visitors from afar would travel to see the child and bring him gifts. This candle calls us to lift up our hearts like the Jewish people of old and never forget that no matter how challenging things may seem in our lives, God is a Father who always keeps His promises and that he often delivers even more than we can hope for or imagine. 

The third candle clearly stands out as uniquely different because it represents the era of the New Testament, the time when God’s promise of a Messiah comes to fulfillment. Its pink color symbolizes joy and so we call the Third Sunday when we light it, “Gaudete” or “Rejoicing” Sunday. During that week the Wreath summons us to think about and learn from the great figures of the Gospel who are models of joyful preparation for Christ: the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist. It reminds us that the Virgin Mary is called the “Cause of our Joy” because she made it possible for the Messiah to enter into this world and become one of us. It teaches us to trust in God’s plan for our lives like St. Joseph, even when this plan can be so very hard to understand. And it calls us to listen to St. John the Baptist who points us to Jesus and he tells us to prepare a way for the Lord in our hearts. 

Finally, we come to the fourth candle and return to the color purple. This last candle symbolizes the final era of human history, that is, from the present day until that time when Jesus returns to planet Earth as we heard in today’s Gospel. The Wreath urges us to reflect on the reality that Jesus Christ, who first came to us in humility and obscurity in the little town of Bethlehem, will come again in glory and majesty to bring his mission of salvation to its completion. As we heard in the Gospel, his second coming will be preceded by great trials and struggles for the Christian people. But this fourth candle calls us to be strong in spirit and deepen our personal relationship with Christ so that when he comes he will find us ready and worthy, faithful to the end. It encourages us to look forward to that Glorious Day when good will triumph over evil forever, once and for all. From that time on there will be no more suffering, no more struggles and no more tears among God’s people. 

So, as we can hopefully now see, the Advent Wreath is so much more than simply a seasonal decoration for our church sanctuary. As the days of Advent unfold, bringing us to Christmas, it calls us to take a good honest look at ourselves - at who we are on the inside and at how we are living - and to open our hearts to the transforming presence of the Savior, the Messiah, the Promised One, who came to us in history and who wants to come into our hearts today to bring hope, peace, joy and love into the lives of those who trust in him.

 

It is Right to Give Him Thanks and Praise!

 

Deacon David Previtali · It is Right to Give Him Thanks and Praise!

Homily for Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021. Gospel of St. Luke 17:11-19. Theme: It is Right to Give Him Thanks and Praise! 

As most everyone knows, the event which we call the first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated by English Pilgrims in October of 1621. The backstory to it was that they had wanted to reach the colony of Virginia, but poor planning and navigation brought them to instead to the uninhabited land of what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was November of 1620 and they were on their own with precious little food and supplies. Nearly half of their number passed away that first frightful winter. When spring arrived, the survivors set to work plowing and planting. Fortunately for them, the native people, and most especially an Indian named Squanto, came to their assistance. The pilgrims were taught how to plant and fish and ended up being blessed with better health and an abundant harvest that autumn. Their leader, William Bradford, announced the convocation of a festival of gratitude to God for the harvest. In other words, a celebration of thanksgiving for preserving and enriching the gift of life. 

Of the original 102 pilgrims, only 50 survived to that first Thanksgiving Day. And of the 18 women who landed at Plymouth Rock, only four were still alive when they gathered to give praise to their Almighty and Provident Father. And yet, they all gave thanks. They all could focus on the blessings and not the troubles. They all had a confident faith and trust in Christ which enabled them to look beyond the uncertainties and suffering and be grateful that they had endured. 

Like those pilgrims we all know that it is right to give God thanks and praise for the many blessings we have received. But if we focus just on the material things we lose sight of what really matters: the life we have received from God, even if it’s not the most ideal kind of life. And Heaven knows that the past year has been one that we would have ever chosen for ourselves. Yet here we are once again, on this last Thursday of November, giving thanks in the American tradition of the pilgrims. I hope this is because like them we realize that whatever we’ve had to experience over the past many months and are still enduring today, is only a small short part of the entire package that is the gift of our life. And for this, I hope and pray, we are all truly grateful from the inside out. 

The deep abiding faith in God that permeates the spirit and the story of the Pilgrims is part of the national heritage of us all, no matter where we were born. This is why “In God We Trust” is on our currency. This firm faith in God, together with gratitude for His gift of life even amidst hardships, struggles and setbacks encouraged the pilgrims in their thirst for religious freedom. A firm faith in God, together with gratitude for His gift of life, are the very bedrock of this country and have contributed to make its character what it is. If we abandon these things we betray who we are and have been and are meant to be as Americans. 

The Judeo-Christian foundation of our nation is beyond any historical doubt. Yet it has become very vogue and “enlightened” in many academic and elite circles to ridicule the pilgrim experience and denigrate the story of the first Thanksgiving. It’s not because Plymouth Rock, Squanto, William Bradford or any aspect of the pilgrim story was a fable. Rather, it’s because the story reminds us that everything we have or are as individuals and as a nation comes to us from God. There is an intentional crusade to erase God from our national heritage and eradicate the vital role that religious freedom and faith played in the building of America. 

It’s so very important that we preserve and protect the true meaning of Thanksgiving which has the distinction of being our only nationally sanctioned religious holiday. Unique to it also is its ecumenical spirit in which all people of every faith offer their gratitude to God as they understand him to be, thus uniting us all as one people under God. And so, rightly should we pray today in the prayer offered at that first Thanksgiving by William Bradford on behalf of all:

“From small beginnings greater things have come, produced by the hand of God, who has made all things from nothing…and, as one small candle first gives light to a thousand, so the light here kindled today among us will shine to many, even to our whole nation. Let the glorious name of the Lord our God be forever praised.”

Viva Cristo Rey!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Viva Cristo Rey!

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, November 21, 2021. Gospel of St. John 18:33-37. Theme: Viva Cristo Rey! 

At 10AM on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 1927, a 36-year old Jesuit priest who had become one of the most wanted men in Mexico, was taken from his jail cell and marched across the prison yard. As he walked he held a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other. One of the guards approached him and with tears in his eyes begged forgiveness for his participation in what was about to happen. Upon arrival at a stone wall that was riddled with bullet holes, the priest asked permission to pray before being executed. Then extending his arms in the form of a cross and, facing the firing squad, cried out in a loud voice, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”, that is, “Long live Christ the King!” 

Shots rang out and the priest fell to the ground. To the surprise and frustration of the government authorities - and despite the dangers of police repercussions - 60,000 Catholics attended this heroic priest’s funeral. And throughout the ceremony they proudly and defiantly repeated over and over again the last words of the martyr : “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Long live Christ the King!” 

The priest was Father Miguel Pro, whom we honor as a martyr and saint. Living amidst the bloody religious persecution of Catholics in Mexico in the 1920’s, he actually came to California for a short time and stayed not too far from here in Los Gatos. He had become the most wanted man in Mexico precisely because he believed with all his heart in the importance and meaning of the Solemnity we are celebrating today: that Christ the King is Lord of all things including politics and public social life, and that no earthly government, no civil authority, has the power to deny people their human, civil and religious rights. 

You see, the Solemnity of Christ the King was made a liturgical celebration in the Church in 1925, just 2 years before Fr. Pro’s death. What brought it about was the rise in Socialist and Totalitarian political parties and governments that were hostile to faith and sought to banish God from public life. So Pope Pius XI hoped that Christ the King Sunday would remind Christians that faith must influence our political and social lives, that Christ must reign in our hearts before anything or anyone else, and that we have a duty to spread the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ by building a culture rooted in peace, justice and mercy. 

Just as the celebration of Christ the King had so much to say to Blessed Miguel Pro about the relationship between faith and politics, so does it have much to say to us in our day. Today in our own nation many government officials ignore our inalienable right to freedom of religion and seek to banish God from public life. There are those who seek to limit and in some cases illegally prosecute the full free practice of faith even in private business and private education. There are those who reinterpret truth and twist its meaning in regards to the sanctity of human life, the nature of marriage and even the scientific evidence of basic human anatomy and biology. These social militants against faith and justice want religion to stay within the confines of the church building or within the limited arena of personal private life. 

Blessed Miquel Pro is a very meaningful and powerful witness and intercessor for us today. He knew that faith in Christ is not meant to be kept within the walls of a church or confined politely to our private lives. He ministered amidst constant danger in a land whose laws forbid people to express and display their faith in public. He preached by his life and testified by his death that our relationship with Christ and our commitment to live his Gospel must be a priority in all that we do. If our faith is truly an integral part of who we are then it must influence and guide us just as much in our civil life and our politics, as it does in our private lives. Our decisions and behavior must reflect our relationship with Jesus in all that we are and do, at home and at work, in business and in the trades, in law and in politics, in education and in entertainment.

If we truly wish for a spiritual renewal of our nation then we must live and act and work so that Christ the King can influence every aspect of our American culture, of our California culture, or our Marin County culture. This can only happen through people of faith, people like you and me. And since our nation is a democratic republic, this means that we must bring our faith into the ballot box which is where social and political decisions originate. Our faith in Christ must inform our politics and not the other way around! What a glaring difference this is from some politicians these days who on one hand declare quite openly that they are devout Catholics and yet, on the other hand mock the Gospel of Christ by their actions, and boast that they will not allow faith to have influence over their public service and legal decisions! 

And so, we cannot be silent, we will not be silent, even if our media and our culture tell us to be quiet and keep our faith to ourselves. The Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King tells us otherwise. It reminds us that as Christians, we have a solemn duty to bring the light and truth of the Gospel into the public arena. And so we must live and act in such a way that his final words of Blessed Miguel Pro and countless other martyrs of political oppression and religious persecution, ring true in our own hearts and lives: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Long live Christ the King!”

Not a Threat, But a Promise

 

Deacon David Previtali · Not a Threat, But a Promise

The Catholic Liturgy for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 14, 2021. Readings: Daniel 12:1-3; Gospel of St. Mark 13:24-32. Theme: Not a Threat, But a Promise. 

I want to start off by saying that there's a very important fact about the Bible which we must keep in mind if we want to truly understand our readings today and in the next couple of weeks. And it’s this: God’s Word was written in ancient Middle-Eastern style and we’re not going to readily grasp its message if we treat it as modern day literature. This means that we need to know the mindset of the ancient Hebrew people and how they described things in order to properly understand what God is saying to us. Failure to do so is the # 1 reason why people come up with some quite odd and at times even spiritually dangerous interpretations of Scripture. 

For example, today we hear Jesus foretelling things that seem quite incredible and frightening such as the elements of nature going berserk, and the universe itself falling into some kind of death-dealing chaos. Hearing all this as 21st century Americans we tend to think of some kind of horrible cosmic cataclysm that would make for a fantastic special effects sci-fi movie! But St. Mark’s 1st century audience were quite familiar with this kind of highly symbolic religious language and so they understood these words of Jesus correctly. His message filled them with hope not fear. 

They knew that Jesus was saying that sometime in the future there’s going to be a spectacular, world-shaking, never-seen-before event in human history. And this event would show once and for all, to every human being, God’s glory and power, his justice and mercy. In our Christian tradition we have come to call this event the Second Coming of Christ. After judgment by Jesus, every human being will rise up from the dead as the prophet Daniel foretells in our first reading. Those who have been faithful to God will receive a new and glorious eternal existence, while those who have lived selfishly and intentionally apart from God will experience eternal shame and horror. We profess this belief and remind ourselves of this message every Sunday in the closing words of the Creed. 

Both the prophet Daniel and the Lord Jesus are using dramatic language to wake us up out of our complacency and get our attention. They want us to look at the bigger picture of our total existence and never forget that planet Earth is only the starting point of our story. Life in this world as we know it is only a very small part of who we are and of what we shall become. This message might shake up a few people or even frighten others, but we have to remember that Jesus' words are always “Gospel” which means “good news” and so his words are not not a doom-and-gloom threat, but rather a threefold hopeful promise. 

The first promise is that Christ will, indeed, return to planet Earth. Unlike when he came the first time in the quiet and stillness of Bethlehem, this Second Coming will be powerful and public. All peoples will recognize what is happening at the same time no matter who they are or where they live. 

The second promise is that we who belong to Christ shall be safe from all spiritual harm when this all comes to pass. Daniel prophesied for us that St. Michael the Archangel, who has been charged with the mission of being the Guardian of God’s People, will defend us in the battle, protect us from harm and lead us in our escape from evil and into the Presence of God. 

The third and final promise is that this will be the time when good finally claims its ultimate and total triumph over evil. We who have struggled to remain faithful to God shall all be vindicated and, as Daniel tells us, we shall live forever in shining glory. This is when everything will be made right and payback will be given to those who thought they were so very clever in manipulating others. They defrauded the poor, took advantage of the lowly, ignored the sanctity of human life, and did so many other injustices to their brothers and sisters in the human family. But we are promised that hatred and division, sin and suffering will all end and evil shall never more be known among those who live on forever with one another in the Kingdom of God. 

Yes, big changes are coming for humanity but this should not surprise us. But what remains for us always as a constant is the love and mercy of God. When we hear messages such as those proclaimed to us in today’s liturgy, we must never forget that God is not a Lord of threats but rather a Father who loves his children and always keeps his promises

"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, 

and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, 

from the end of the earth to the end of the sky." (Gospel of St. Mark)

God is Never Outdone in Generosity

 

Deacon David Previtali · God is Never Outdone in Generosity

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, November 7, 2021. Readings: 1 Kings 17:10-16; Gospel of St. Mark 12:38-41. Theme: God is Never Outdone in Generosity 

The stars of today’s main liturgical readings are both widows and they teach us a very important but difficult lesson to learn: that God will never ever be outdone in generosity. The reason it's a hard lesson to learn is because it rests upon trust and the degree of our trust rests upon the strength of our relationship with God as a provident Father. In both the first reading and in the Gospel, we hear about two widows who have nothing but who are nevertheless extremely generous and trusting in giving what little they have for the needs of others. 

In the first reading, we see how the widow of Zarephath is on the brink of consuming her last morsels of food. Years of drought have taken their toll and she has little to nothing left in her pantry for her and her son. Resigned to her fate, she encounters the prophet Elijah asking for some food. And so she has a choice to make: ignore the hunger of a holy man of God so that she and her son can have one last meal or relieve his hunger at the risk of increasing her own. How would we respond in this situation? 

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us about a poor widow who puts all that she has to live on in the temple treasury. This treasury was a collection of monetary gifts the Jews made for the upkeep of the temple, for the offering of sacrifices to God, and for charitable works. It would be very similar to donation boxes in Catholic churches today by which we support both parish worship needs and parish ministries for the needy. We are not told any details about this widow: Is she young or old? A mother or childless? It is doubtful that she has any living male relatives to support her because Jesus says she gave all she had to live on. These are important questions because back in those days a woman was utterly powerless and socially invisible unless she was connected to an adult male in some way. 

But here is the amazing moral to both stories: neither widow is focused on herself to the extent that she ignores the needs of others. And neither widow is greedy and fearful, holding onto what little she has for her own needs. Instead, both of them manifest a living trust in God that enables them to take a huge leap of faith. And both of them receive a reward from the God whom they love, trust and honor. The widow of Zarephath has her generosity returned to her a hundredfold by the ongoing miracle of the jar of flour and jug of oil that never runs out! We do not know the specific reward of the Gospel widow, but we do know that her unselfish action has earned her a public spot in the Gospels and Liturgy of the Church. For a woman who lived in a culture where she did not count for anything, she has become an immemorial example of trustful generosity for billions of believers for 2,000 years! 

The Scriptures and the saints are all unanimous in telling us that God will never ever be outdone in generosity. And this is the fundamental lesson that today’s two widows teach us. What this means is that the more we give to him - and by extension to our neighbor in need - the more he will bless us with what we truly need to live. We will never, ever, be without what we need to sustain our lives. The trouble is that oftentimes what we consider necessary is in actuality superfluous, because in our hyper-materialistic consumer society we are led to confuse our wants with our actual needs. Slick advertising tells us to “buy, buy, buy” and we will find happiness. The Word of God tells us to “give, give, give” and we will experience the ultimate joy that never ends. 

So what might this all mean for you and me today? Perhaps it's that generosity requires trust, not money. No one can live generously without trusting the Lord. A wealthy person can give vast amounts of money but true generosity requires sacrificial giving. Generosity pushes us further into knowing and trusting the love of God. No matter my income level, if I don’t trust God to provide for me, it will lead to hoarding my resources and closing in on myself and my own needs. To avoid this we must trust that God is truly a good Father who will indeed provide for us and really believe that every aspect of our lives - no matter how seemingly insignificant they may seem to us- matter a lot to Him.

The Widow of Zarephath

The Widow's Mite

The Widow's Mite

 

Deacon David Previtali · The Widow's Mite

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, November 7, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 12:38-41. Theme: The Widow’s Mite 

The teaching Jesus gives us about the Widow's Mite, as this story is traditionally called, can be an important lesson for us when it comes to making the gift of ourselves and our money at the Offertory of the Mass. In case you need a short refresher on its meaning, the Offertory of the Mass is, as its name implies, when we offer God the gifts of bread and wine so that they can become for us the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also called the Presentation of the Gifts and includes the giving of our donations for Church ministries. 

And as you well know, the Offertory is when we take up the collection and this isn’t just for convenience sake! It’s intentional that the collection happens at this moment of the Mass because our gift of money is meant to represent the gift of ourselves. This is because it is the fruit of the labor of our hands and our heads, it’s the sustenance of our material lives and as such it represents who we are. Ideally, the amount we donate is meant to reflect the degree of gratitude which we have in our hearts for having been blessed with these talents. It is also a thanksgiving for the employment we have which enables us to live a decent life and provides for the needs of our poorer neighbors. 

I think that our modern day grasp of what the Offertory means has been tainted by the fact that we give money rather than the actual goods we have labored to produce. For most of church history, people gave actual gifts of food, drink, and clothing, and sometimes money, though that was rare back then. This is still the case in many Masses celebrated in Third-World nations where most of the people don’t have money to give. So they give the actual fruit of their handiwork: hunted game, woven blankets, handmade utensils, cooked dinners. These gifts help both the local clergy to live and provide needed sustenance for the poor of their villages and towns. It is a more visible connection and direct link between the gifts given and the Giver who is praised in the giving. 

With the importance and meaning of the Offertory in mind, let's see how the poor widow of the Gospel can help us give our gifts at Mass with a good spirit. It seems to me that she teaches us two important things. 

First, she reminds us to avoid making a show of what we give. She simply dropped two little coins into the treasury box without fanfare. She stands in stark contrast to the Jewish leaders whom Jesus criticized in the beginning of the story as examples of giving or doing religious things for the sake of being noticed, thanked and praised. Now, most of us don’t make a show of what we put into the basket, but we still need to be careful that we aren’t praising ourselves in our minds, thinking of how good and generous we are, or looking forward to seeing our names on a “generous donors” list. 

Second, the poor widow teaches us that truly generous giving means donating from our wants and not simply from our surplus. Jesus praised her contribution as having much more significance than the large sums of the wealthy because she herself was needy. She gave more, we would say, “than she could afford”. Now, it is good and ordinary to give from our surplus, and it is what most of us probably do. That’s not being contested or condemned here by Jesus. What he is saying is that it is better, it is holy and praiseworthy, to give out of one’s need because that is how love works. As Mother St. Teresa of Calcutta used to say, “real love hurts.” 

This was true about Jesus Crucified who loved us and so gave the total gift of himself for us on the cross. And it must be true about us as Christians, people marked by the cross, as well. Sacrificial love should be the motivation of our giving. And it should be done for the love of God which is shown in the love we have for our neighbor, a love that just might hurt. With this in mind, the Offertory of the Mass should be something very meaningful to us. When the deacon is preparing the altar with the Gifts and the priest is blessing God for them, we should prayerfully and mindfully place the gift of ourselves, of every aspect of our lives, on that paten along with the bread and in that chalice along with the wine, to be offered along with Christ, to the glory of God the Father and for the relief of our neighbor’s needs