Learning God's Story from the Advent Wreath

 

Deacon Dave · Learning God’s Story From the Advent Wreath

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022. Gospel of St. Matthew 24:37-44. Theme: Learning God’s Story From the Advent Wreath 

Well, here we are at Advent once again, ushering in the Christmas holiday season that is always so special in everyone’s heart. You know, so many of our holiday customs like Christmas trees, lights and carols began centuries ago when the vast majority of people were illiterate. And so creative ways of passing on the story of the coming of Christ were designed that made it easy for people to remember. 

Among the most common of these is the Advent Wreath which can be found in churches and homes throughout the world at this time of year. Its evergreen branches symbolize eternal life while its circular shape proclaims the awesome mystery of God who has no beginning or end. The candles speak to us of the passing of time because each one of them represents a particular phase in the history of the world. They are intentionally lit gradually, week-by-week, so as to visually emphasize that God's revelation of himself and intervention into our world was an unfolding process. Even the colors of the candles deliver a message. Purple is the liturgy’s color of preparation, while pink is its color of rejoicing. So, the Wreath tells us that we are preparing for something that will bring us tidings of comfort and joy. 

The first purple candle represents the genesis of humanity which began with the Creation of Adam and Eve. When we light it we call to mind the promise God made to them in the Garden of Eden. After having turned away from their Creator by disobedience, they repented and in turn God promised to send a Redeemer who would undo what they had done. Through perfect love and obedience, this Savior, called the Messiah (in Hebrew) or the Christ (in Greek), would lead the human race back to God. And so, this first candle of the Wreath invites us to become part of the solution to sin by preparing our hearts and lives to welcome and follow Jesus, the Promised One. 

The second candle represents the next phase of salvation history that we call the Old Testament. During this 4,000-year period, God built up and guided his people Israel through such leaders as Abraham, Moses and King David. He sent prophets who kept the promise of a Messiah alive in the minds and hearts of the people especially when they were going through difficulties and suffering. This candle calls us to never forget that, no matter how things may seem in our lives, God is a Father who always keeps His promises and who often delivers even more than we can hope for or imagine. 

The third candle stands out from among the rest. Its pink color symbolizes joy and since we light it on the Third Sunday of Advent, we call that day, “Gaudete” or “Rejoicing” Sunday. It proclaims the fulfillment of God’s promise and represents the era of the New Testament that began with the Blessed Virgin Mary’s “yes” to God’s invitation to become the Mother of his Son. This third candle invites us to turn to Our Lady whom we call “Cause of our Joy”, asking her to bring us to Jesus and to help us prepare our hearts for his coming into our lives. 

Finally, we come to the fourth candle and we return to the color purple. This last candle symbolizes the final era of humanity, from the present day until that time when Jesus returns in glory to planet Earth. It calls us to look forward to that Last Day when good will triumph over evil forever, once and for all. It will usher in an eternity in which there will be no more suffering, no more struggles and no more tears among God’s people. 

So, as we can see, every year the Advent Wreath invites us to become part of God’s story of salvation. As the days of Advent lead us to Christmas, we are called to take a good honest look at ourselves - at who we are and at how we are living - and open our hearts to the transforming presence of the Messiah, the Promised One, the Prince of Peace who comes to give deep meaning and purpose to each one of our lives.

Viva Cristo Rey! Christ the King Lives!

 

Deacon Dave · Viva Cristo Rey! Christ the King Lives!

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Nov. 20, 2022. Gospel of Luke 23:35-43. Theme: Viva Cristo Rey! Christ the King Lives! 

At 10 a.m. on Nov. 23, 1927, a 36-year old Jesuit priest, who was among the most wanted men in Mexico, was taken from his death-row 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 what was about to happen. Upon arrival at the wall of execution, the priest asked permission to pray. Kneeling before the wall that was stained with blood and riddled with bullet holes from previous executions, he asked God for the grace to remain faithful to the end. Then, he stood up, extended his arms in the form of a cross and, facing the firing squad, exclaimed in a loud and steady voice: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Christ the King Lives!” Shots rang out and the priest fell to the ground. 

I am sure he was welcomed by Jesus with the very same words we heard said to the thief on the cross in today’s gospel: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” To the surprise and humiliation of the government authorities - and despite the danger to themselves by forming an illegal assembly - 60,000 Catholics attended the heroic priest’s funeral in Mexico City. And throughout the ceremony the defiant but prayerful last words of the martyr were repeatedly shouted by the crowd: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” “Christ the King Lives!” 

That priest was Father Miguel Pro, whom we now honor as a martyr and saint and his feast day is rightfully celebrated this week very close to the Solemnity of Christ the King. Born and raised during the bloody religious persecution of Catholics in Mexico in the 1920’s, he actually lived for a short time not too far from here down in Los Gatos. He had become the most wanted man in Mexico precisely because he believed with all his heart what we are celebrating in today liturgy: that Christ the King is Lord of all peoples and all things including politics and public social life, and that no earthly government has the authority to deny people their religious liberty or eject God and his ways from civic life. 

Blessed Miquel bravely and unselfishly ministered in a nation whose anti-freedom laws forbid people to express and display their faith in public. In order to evade the police he became a master of disguises, continually avoiding capture and persistently bringing the Gospel and the Sacraments to the Catholics of Mexico City. He preached by his life and testified by his death that a person’s faith-relationship in Jesus Christ is not simply a private matter. It is not something to be reserved just for Sundays, or confined to the walls of a church, or kept politely within the parameters of personal life. The light of Christ the King is meant to shine on everything, to shine on everyone! It is meant to transform people and thus also transform society. 

And it is by the grace of our Baptism and Confirmation that we Christians are supposed to be the ones who help to make this happen. We are called to be like “living candles” whose flame of faith enlightens those with whom we live, work and socialize. This means that our decisions and behavior must reflect our relationship with Jesus in all that we are and do, in private and in public, at home and at work, in all aspects of our lives no matter what that might be. This is how we do our part to enable the kingship of Christ to have a real influence in our families, our workplaces, our laws and society in general. 

This social reign of Christ the King is truly the only sure solution to the rampant violence, drug deaths, confusion and division that plagues our nation. Many people think that the answer to our social troubles lies in education and politics, but these things are not the final answer because they are utterly powerless to bring about real change by transforming the human person. You see, society is simply the reflection of those who compose it and so the only way to renew and change it is to renew and change us, the people. And this can only happen by the grace and power of God when he is enthroned in the human heart and begins changing us from the inside out. 

We celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King to remind us that it’s only through his reign of love and justice that people can have the hope of living in peace and freedom. And this brings me right back to where I started with the story of Blessed Miguel Pro, who could not be stopped from spreading the Faith and who would not be silenced even to his dying words, from proclaiming in public that Christ the King Lives! Viva Cristo Rey!

The End is the Beginning!

 

Deacon Dave · The End is Really the Beginning!

Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 17, 2019. Gospel of Luke 21:5-19. Theme: The End is Really the Beginning!

When will the end of the world happen? That's what the people were asking Jesus in today’s Gospel and it’s what many have been trying to figure out ever since. The confusion, violence and destruction that Jesus describes as being associated with the end has always been present in human history. They are part and parcel of the kind of world that the human race has built through our corporate rebellion against God. And so in every era people experience this global upheaval and think that the end must be near! Pope Sylvester II thought it would happen in the year 1000 AD, to coincide with the close of the first thousand years of Christianity. Martin Luther said the end would come no later than 1600 AD, and his theological descendant, the world-famous Billy Graham, preached that it would happen in the 1950’s. 22 years ago everyone thought that the Y2K bug would bring about the end of the world as we know it, while others looked at the ancient Mayan calendar insisting that it predicted the end on Dec. 21, 2012. 

We Catholics have several other names for it besides “end of the world”. We call it the Second Coming of Christ, the Resurrection of the Dead, the Final Judgment, or simply, the Last Day. And ever since Jesus’ ascension into Heaven people have been trying to figure out the time of his return. But the bottom is that we really don’t know! The only thing we do know is that it will surely come because Jesus has promised it. But no matter what it’s called, it was never something that the early Christians feared. Rather, it was something that they eagerly prayed for! They longed and yearned for the end, knowing that it would really be a beginning because it would bring about a new world rooted in peace, justice and love. They knew it would be the glorious conclusion to Jesus’ mission of establishing the Kingdom of God among us, and that all remnants of evil and sin would be destroyed once and for all. So, you see, the early Christians could not wait until the Risen Lord returned! 

Along with the end of the world, Jesus informs us that we will be persecuted just as he was. He warns us about this because he wants us to be prepared and persevere in our relationship with him. He doesn’t want us to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to live forever with God in a real world, a new world, where there will be no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more death. He doesn’t want to hide this difficult truth from us but assures us that he will be with us through it all, encouraging us to not give up. He promises the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit who will give us the strength we need to keep on keeping on even when the going gets tough and others stand up against us. 

But if we do not have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus NOW or we will not be strong enough to remain faithful THEN. Simply put, we will not be able to withstand persecution of whatever kind that will come our way. And so, we must consciously grow every day in our friendship with Jesus through personal prayer from the heart, through receiving and adoring his Eucharistic Real Presence, and by reading and reflecting on him in the Gospels. These things must become so much a part of us that when people interact with us, they can be positively influenced by our relationship with Jesus and desire to learn more about him. 

This doesn’t mean that all of our conversations are about the Lord for such a thing can easily turn people away. But what it does mean is that people will notice that we are somehow different from the inside out in how we speak and act and often they will ask why this is so. It’s at such a point that we can witness to our faith and introduce them to the difference that Jesus makes in our lives. This is what Pope Francis means when he repeatedly calls us to be “missionary disciples” who witness to Jesus in every aspect of our lives. The last words we hear and say at Mass are reminders of our calling to live as missionary disciples. The words that the deacon says at the end of Mass such as “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” or “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your lives” are not simply polite ways to dismiss people. They are words of mission, words of being officially sent forth to go out among others to witness to Christ and spread his Kingdom.

We are sent out from the Mass to invite others to share in this kind of relationship we have with Christ that is nourished by his Word and Sacrament. So, let’s ask the Lord to make us truly committed missionary disciples among those with whom we live, work and socialize. We love them and so we want them to share with us the joy and fulfillment of the life to come when Jesus returns in glory and finally brings about the promised Last Day.

Our Sure and Certain Hope!

 

Deacon Dave · Our Sure & Certain Hope!

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 6, 2022. Readings: 2 Maccabees 7:1-14; Gospel of Luke 20:27-38. Theme: Our Sure and Certain Hope! 

Just a few years ago, we were horrified to see an Islamic-terrorist propaganda video showing 21 Christian men in orange jumpsuits kneeling on a beach in Libya. One by one they were asked to deny Christ to embrace Islam, and one by one to a man, they refused. Instead they began praying aloud, praising Christ and encouraging one another. Their executioners carried out their bloody evil deed and the 21 men received the glorious crown of martyrdom. What enabled these men to remain faithful to Christ and face death with such serenity as can be seen on their faces in the video? 

The Gospel of Jesus we heard today and the words of faith spoken by the seven brothers in our first reading, answers this question for us. Both remind us that the immortality of our souls and the future resurrection of our bodies from the grave are not a “maybe” or an “I hope so”. These things are neither fantasy nor wishful thinking. Rather, they are a sure and certain hope for us Christians. Those 21 men professed their faith in the reality of this truth while kneeling on that beach. And we profess it as a reality every Sunday when we stand to recite the Creed, saying, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” 

These things call our attention to a topic that is very much avoided by our modern day culture: death and what happens to us afterwards. Actually, maybe I am wrong in saying that we avoid this topic. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that we go to great lengths to pretend that it doesn’t exist. Our secular materialistic culture encourages us to try and hide our true age, to masquerade our maturing looks, and to spend great amounts of money to avoid facing the truth that we are all on a trajectory that will bring our lives to their natural end on planet Earth. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look our best, to be fit and healthy, and make the most out of the gift of life. But we need to do so with a realistic outlook and a firm grasp on our dignity as the children of God. And as Christians, a healthy realistic outlook includes the sure and certain hope that physical death is not the end to our existence, but rather, the beginning of its fullness. It’s the conviction that when our time on planet Earth has come to its natural conclusion, we move on to a new mode of living, a new way of being, which is really just a change of address, so to speak. As our Catholic funeral liturgy puts it: “in death life is changed, not ended.” 

Those 21 men trusted in their hearts and proclaimed with their lives that Christ destroyed the sting and the power of death by his Cross and Resurrection. And they believed firmly that he gives this very same victory over death to all who are united with him by baptism. They knew that because of our baptismal relationship, a Christian does not merely die. A Christian dies in Christ. And those two words, “in Christ” make all the difference in the world! They mean that we do not belong to death; we belong to Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life! 

So, for those who live and die in Christ, who strive to remain faithful to their baptismal relationship, death is no longer a black-hole of nothingness. It is instead a doorway to a fuller experience of life. And this fuller life will include not just our immortal souls but, at the Second Coming of Christ, also our glorified risen bodies! This is what the seven brothers of Maccabees in our first reading were proclaiming as they refused to deny their covenant with God. They trusted that he would give back to them what was being taken away. Like them, we trust that God who is all-powerful will raise us up from the dead to enjoy forever a very real life in a very real place which the Bible calls “a new heaven and a new earth”. 

And so, we Christians need not be confused or silent in the face of death, as are those who do not have faith. We must speak out with our voices and with the witness of our lives that we believe in the resurrection of the dead. We believe in the life of the world to come. For we know that whatever we may have to endure for the sake of our fidelity to Jesus in this world, is nothing compared to the glory, the joy and the total fulfillment awaiting us in the next. It’s our sure and certain hope!

The 21 Martyrs on the Libyan beach refusing to deny Christ!

The Faces of the 21 Martyrs who have been declared Saints.  

They were just ordinary men, workers with families, hope and dreams. 

They have reached the ultimate success of human life: eternal union with God!