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Fourth Sunday of Advent – Living Faithfully and Firmly in God’s Favor
The Prophet Isaiah, Benedetto Gennari, 17th century, Burghley collection
FIRST READING
Isaiah 7:10–14
December 22, 2019
Today we return to the 8th century BC with First Isaiah. Indeed, we can date it rather precisely to 735 BC and the Syro-Ephraimite War. Although this is a rather grubby incident in Jewish history, it provided Isaiah with an opportunity to demonstrate artistic craftsmanship, theological profundity, and political acumen.
We must begin with the political realities—indeed with the basic political reality of the day. The two major powers, in what we have now come to call the “Middle East,” were Egypt to the south and a power to the north, usually the Babylonians or Assyrians. Smaller nations and tribal groups had to make their way around them. We have seen that this has been true with the two Hebrew nations of Israel (the north) and Judea (the south). Another political entity, which had to play the same game, was Syria, which constituted the area around Damascus.
The leaders of Israel and Syria thought that Assyria was declining, and they could rebel against it. They pressured King Ahaz of Judea to join them, and when he refused threatened to attack him and place another on his throne. The ensuing war is called the Syro-Ephraimite war, because Ephraim was the most powerful tribe in Israel.
When this news reached Jerusalem, “the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.” (Is. 7:2)
All three writers who used the name Isaiah in the Old Testament believed that their God was the Lord of history, and that, having chosen the Jewish people, would never abandon them. This indeed is one of the great kept promises of history. Isaiah 2 and 3 celebrate the miraculous return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem after the exile, and we see the otherwise inexplicable survival of the Jewish people to this very day.
This hope is found not only in Isaiah but throughout the Bible, most clearly in 2 Samuel 7:12–16 when the LORD said to David: Continue reading “Fourth Sunday of Advent – Living Faithfully and Firmly in God’s Favor”
Pope’s Message on Meaning of Nativity Scenes
Selections from the Apostolic Letter Admirabile signum
on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene
Pope Francis
December 1, 2019Under the sponsorship of the Religious Education Ministry, we at St. Charles Borromeo have for several years have blessed the baby Jesus figures that will be used in our home crèches at Sunday Mass. Pope Francis understands the need for all of us to have family traditions and devotions which are passed down from one generation to the next and has given us this year a wonderful meditation. The full text may be found at http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20191201_admirabile-signum.html. Selections however may be found below:
on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene
Pope Francis
December 1, 2019Under the sponsorship of the Religious Education Ministry, we at St. Charles Borromeo have for several years have blessed the baby Jesus figures that will be used in our home crèches at Sunday Mass. Pope Francis understands the need for all of us to have family traditions and devotions which are passed down from one generation to the next and has given us this year a wonderful meditation. The full text may be found at http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20191201_admirabile-signum.html. Selections however may be found below:
The enchanting image of the Christmas crèche, so dear to the Christian people, never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder. The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture. As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him.
With this Letter, I wish to encourage the beautiful family tradition of preparing the nativity scene in the days before Christmas, but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares. Great imagination and creativity is always shown in employing the most diverse materials to create small masterpieces of beauty. As children, we learn from our parents and grandparents to carry on this joyful tradition, which encapsulates a wealth of popular piety. It is my hope that this custom will never be lost and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived.
The landscapes that are part of the nativity scene also deserve some mention. Frequently they include the ruins of ancient houses or buildings, which in some instances replace the cave of Bethlehem and become a home for the Holy Family. These ruins appear to be inspired by the thirteenth-century Golden Legend of the Dominican Jacobus de Varagine, which relates a pagan belief that the Temple of Peace in Rome would collapse when a Virgin gave birth. More than anything, the ruins are the visible sign of fallen humanity, of everything that inevitably falls into ruin, decays and disappoints. This scenic setting tells us that Jesus is newness in the midst of an aging world, that he has come to heal and rebuild, to restore the world and our lives to their original splendour.
God’s ways are astonishing, for it seems impossible that he should forsake his glory to become a man like us. To our astonishment, we see God acting exactly as we do: he sleeps, takes milk from his mother, cries and plays like every other child! As always, God baffles us. He is unpredictable, constantly doing what we least expect. The nativity scene shows God as he came into our world, but it also makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life. It invites us to become his disciples if we want to attain ultimate meaning in life.
Bulletin for December 22, 2019
Please read the bulletin for December 22, 2019 here.
Christmas/New Year’s Schedule
Monday, 12/16: Reconciliation Monday – Joining with all the parishes in New York City and Long Island, the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance, Confession) will be offered at St. Charles from 4PM to 8PM in the Church. All are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.
Tuesday, 12/17: St. Saviour Catholic Academy tour with Fr. Bill at 9 AM. You can schedule your own tour at https://saintsaviourcatholicacademy.org/calendar/.
Sunday, 12/22: Blessing of Baby Jesus Crèche figures at all Masses (9 AM, 11:15 AM, 7 PM)
Tuesday, 12/24: Christmas Eve – Children’s Vigil Mass with Nativity Pageant at 5 PM.
Christmas Mass During the Night (Midnight Mass) at 8 PM.
Wednesday, 12/25: Christmas Day – Mass at 9 AM and 11:15 AM. (No 7 PM Mass.)
Tuesday, 12/31: Weekday Mass at 12:10 PM; Mary, Mother of God Vigil Mass at 5 PM.
Wednesday, 1/1: Mary, Mother of God. Holy Day of Obligation. Mass at 9 AM and 11:15 AM.
3rd Sunday of Advent – 11:15 am (Msgr. LoPinto homily)
Transcript:
Each year, the children present us with this very beautiful reenactment of the Christmas story, and they do that with great enthusiasm and excitement. Witness the dedication to detail – the preciseness of their costumes, as well as the way they make the whole scene flow. So they remind us that this is a very special time of the year.
But I think, unfortunately, in the midst of the world in which we live, much gets lost of the symbolism, the meaning and significance of this special time. So when the children present the beautiful scene, I ask you to take a moment to reflect, to reflect on the scene, for Luke and Matthew – that’s where the gospel today came from: a combination of Luke and Matthew who the record for us the infancy story – they did that with great deliberation and they wanted in a sense in the scene that they were portraying capture the universality of this event, for it was an event that brought together of the mystery of God’s creation.
Mary and Joseph, come to Bethlehem, because Caesar Augustus has decided he wants to count all the people. He wants you in a sense to build his power, build his power, by saying, look all the people I rule over. How can anyone doubt me, how can anyone challenge me? Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Advent – 11:15 am (Msgr. LoPinto homily)”
3rd Sunday of Advent – Fr. Smith Homily
Whenever Jesus blesses us, we know that he is telling us to do something we don’t want to do. Look at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: we are told that, among other things, those who mourn, are peacemakers and are persecuted—especially the persecuted—are blessed. I, for one, do not wish to do or be any of these things. So, when we are told today that we are blessed when we do not take offence at Jesus’s comments on the Kingdom, we should expect that we will most likely take offence at him.
Let us look at why and begin with John the Baptist.
John has been arrested. He will soon be executed and as Dr. Johnson well said: nothing so wonderfully concentrates the mind as impending death. Has his life been worth the sacrifice, will the kingdom of God come? Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Advent – Fr. Smith Homily”