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Advent, December 24th, Mass in the Morning

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Today’s Gospel is a prayer said every morning for the Liturgy of the Hours: the Benedictus of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father. As we saw yesterday Zechariah regained his voice after he’d lacked faith in the promise the angel Gabriel had made to him that he would have a son and that his son would be the prophet immediately before the coming of the Lord. Zechariah’s first words are in praise of God for the coming of the Lord to save his people and for the blessings he had showered upon his son.

With the coming of the Lord Zechariah rejoices that the promises made as far back as Abraham are about to be fulfilled. Today’s First Reading reminds us that the coming of the Messiah is the coming of stability and peace for Israel forever, and a definitive defeat for her enemies. For Israelites who might only see this is something socio-political, as well as those who see a spiritual and religious reign where evil is definitively cast out it is good news. Salvation doesn’t begin with Our Lord’s Passion; it begins with his Incarnation and birth. The minute his little feet hit the manger the work of our salvation has begun in earnest.

As we’ve seen in the last few days before Christmas the Holy Spirit is eager to fill us with joy and a deeper awareness of the mysteries of salvation unfolding in these days. Just as the Spirit showered down these graces upon Mary and all of John the Baptist’s family, let’s ask the Spirit to help us rejoice this evening and tomorrow at the birth of our salvation. At the feet of the manger Our Lord wants to continue to work salvation in us; let’s open our hearts to him.

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1–5, 8b–12, 14a, 16; Psalm 89:2–5, 27, 29; Luke 1:67–79.

Advent, December 23rd

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In today’s Gospel we see a happy ending to Zechariah’s quiet time due to his lack of faith in the message the angel Gabriel gave him a few days ago in the readings. John didn’t believe what the angel said would come to pass and now, after months of silence to contemplate the events unfolding and the angel’s promise coming true, he had an opportunity to get his faith back on track. Instead of being a silent spectator to the wonders unfolding he finally achieved the spiritual maturity to conform to God’s will for him and his family. He didn’t know his voice would be restored, but now he believed and obeyed, confirming that his newborn son’s name should be John as the angel said.

When he emerged from the Temple a few months ago, unable to speak, lips wagged. Now people realized that something bigger was going on, and gossip spread throughout the hill country. It would be years before they realized how big it was. The newborn John was already starting to fulfill the promise in the First Reading: his father turned back to him and turned back to God’s plan. Thanks to Zechariah’s renewed faith he received a voice again to sing the praises of God.

Advent is a time for turning back to God. Ask Our Lord to help you regain a voice of faith in order to welcome his birth and spread the Good News.

Readings: Malachi 3:1–4, 23–24; Psalm 25:4–5ab, 8–9, 10, 14; Luke 1:57–66.

Advent, December 22nd

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In today’s Gospel the Blessed Mother reminds us that her story, and ours, is not one of rags to riches, but of rags to redemption. In singing the Magnificat she is rejoicing that the tatters of a world afflicted by sin with no hope of redemption on its own is taking a turn for the better with the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus. In becoming the Mother of God and of the Messiah she is celebrating that Our Lord is visiting his people and blessing the poor and the lowly, like her. The very fact that God chose this poor and humble girl to be his mother shows that wealth and status don’t mean much to him: he is captivated by poverty of spirit and humility, and that pulls down any pretensions the wealthy and mighty have about their merits before God.

Advent is almost over. Mary reminds us today that our cause for rejoicing should not be how many gifts we receive or how many people remember us at Christmas, but how blessed we’ve been by God. We may not have received everything we wanted this year, but Our Lord has blessed us with everything we truly need. Like Mary we should live this time praising God for the wonders he has worked in our lives and show gratitude to others for the gift they’ve been to us.

Elizabeth yesterday tried to tell Mary how great she was; Mary responded not only by saying how great God was (the Magnificat), but by caring for Elizabeth as she prepared for John’s birth, despite the fact that Mary was in her first trimester, characterized by hormonal ups and downs. Let’s imitate the selflessness of the Blessed Mother and serve others even at the expense of our plans or comfort zone.

Readings: 1 Samuel 1:24–28; 1 Samuel 2:2, 4–8ab; Luke 1:46–56.

Advent, December 21st

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In today’s Gospel Elizabeth has just experienced the happiest two trimesters of her life, despite the morning sickness and hormonal somersaults that come with pregnancy. For Israel having children was a sign of God’s favor, and now she was blessed with motherhood after hoping and waiting for so many years. We can assume that Zechariah, in writing, told her about what happened in the Temple, and so she had the added grace of knowing her son would be blessed by God and had an important purpose not only for his family, but for all of Israel.

Yet Zechariah couldn’t have known about the Annunciation: Gabriel said nothing to him about whose son would be the Messiah or the circumstances, only that his son would be the Forerunner. Somehow Elizabeth knows; there’s no account of her receiving a visit from an angel, but Mary finds her full of the Holy Spirit when she comes to visit her and help her in the last months of her pregnancy. It’s safe to guess that the Holy Spirit revealed to her that her cousin Mary would be the mother of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit is also rejoicing, and moving Elizabeth and little John to rejoice as well, because the Spirit knows the world will soon be reconciled to God through the Son and in the power of that same Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has an important role in Advent as well. Let’s call upon the Holy Spirit in these last few days of Advent to fill us with joy through a deeper understanding of the incredible mysteries of God unfolding in these holy days.

Readings: Song of Solomon 2:8–14; Psalm 33:2–3, 11–12, 20–21; Luke 1:39–45. See also 4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle C.

4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

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In today’s Gospel we share in Mary’s moment just after she’s given her fiat to the angel Gabriel and become the mother of God and mother of the Messiah. Gabriel shares the news of her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy as a sign that nothing was impossible to God, and Mary’s first thought is to hurry and be with her. Did she want to see if Gabriel’s news was true? Unlikely. Did she want to hurry and share the happy news that involved both her and Elizabeth? Probably. Did she want to help her elderly cousin with her pregnancy shifting from the second trimester into the third? Definitely.

Elizabeth had no visit from an angel, but something even better: a visit from the mother of her Lord, and from the Holy Spirit. This is the first moment when the Forerunner and the Messiah, in their mothers’ wombs, meet, and little John is literally leaping for joy. Elizabeth realized how momentous the occasion was, and that it was thanks to Mary’s faith. Sometimes we forget that Mary could have declined the invitation to be the mother of God, but, thank God, she didn’t.

Advent is a few days away from concluding. We may be running around a lot, but the important thing is to whom we’re running toward: Jesus, about to be born, and our family. We bear Jesus already in our hearts through baptism. Let’s hasten to share him with our families as well so that they too have a reason to rejoice this Christmas.

Readings: Micah 5:1–4a; Psalm 80:2–3, 15–16, 18–19; Hebrews 10:5–10; Luke 1:39–45.