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Every year on the second Sunday of Advent, the Church has us ponder the words and deeds of Saint John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the coming of the Lord. Luke introduces John in a way similar to how the Hebrew Bible introduces the prophets, with a full reference to who was in power at the time. Luke is careful to include the full list of Roman and Jewish officials in office (secular and religious) at the time of John's debut around 27 AD and Jesus' movement from his hidden life to his public ministry. Jesus' emergence in Israel, emphasized through a genealogy that stretches not only past Abraham but all the way back to Adam, has implications for everyone everywhere.

As soon as the feast of Thanksgiving is over, we tend to fuss over our Christmas preparations with a flurry of activities to decorate our homes, shopping for gifts and of course planning the food platters. In households with roots in the Italian American tradition, cooking up a feast of seven fishes makes for a very special Christmas Eve, with generations of cooks in the kitchen and favorite foods that return year after year. But the Church calendar puts a kind of break and damper by highlighting the season of Advent. If Christ has already been born, what is this Advent waiting all about? Have we forgotten about His birth? Strangely the latter question contains part of the answer. It has to do with Jesus’ birth into our hearts and our forgetfulness.

Royalty and Kingship, for most of us these days, is the stuff of tabloids and cartoons and for the younger generation challenging computer games. Our last collective focus on the matter of kings and queens occurred during the media attention given to the car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France on Sunday August 31, 1997, when Princess Diana died. I was visiting Germany at that time, enroute to a seminar in Rome before my missionary assignment to Kenya, in Africa. Five days later the world mourned another death with less tabloid attention but with more worldwide participation when Mother Teresa died at the age 87 on Sept. 5, 1997. The high contrast of the two events had impacted me at that time as I had personal encounter with Mother Theresa several times and I also had admiration for the efforts that Princess Diana made particularly in raising global awareness of landmine victims and the indiscriminate nature of the weapons. Countries came together later in 1997 to sign the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa.

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the theme of end times is proclaimed in the reading at the Eucharist. The word ‘Revelation’ comes from the Greek ‘apokalypsis’. The common feature of apocalyptic literature is an unfolding of matters generally unknown, such as heavenly regions or the events of the future by someone who has been granted a special revelation of these things by God, either directly or through an intermediary, such as an interpreting angel. In many cultures like the Mediterranean culture of Jesus time, when a bride walks towards the groom, she is wearing a veil; a veil which prevents her from seeing the groom clearly and becoming close to him. The intimacy that is initiated when the husband lifts his new wife's veil will be like that for the church when Christ returns. Christ is the groom, and the church is His bride.

Our Catholic Faith teaches us to cherish the memory of our dear departed. It urges us to commune in prayer, especially at Mass, with the souls of those we loved while they walked this Earth. We are continually reminded that “life is changed, not ended.” Just as “the living” are helped over the rough patches of this early life by experiencing the love, sympathy and solidarity of their friends and family, so also, we believe that the dead are consoled and helped as they pass through the often painful “cleansing” which we call ‘purgatory’ in preparation for their ultimate encounter with God and enjoy eternal peace. We remember in a special way the members of our parish family who passed on in the last year.

When asked about the smallest measurement of time, a humorist went beyond the Planck Time (light travel) and Zeptosecond (particle physics) and coined a term, ‘honky second’ as the measurement of time between the light turning green and the honking of the car behind you at a stop on a busy highway. Stopping at a red light could bring different reactions in people. Some see it as a bother or a freedom limiter, while others see it as a safety guide and a prevention of rash driving. These attitudes can also indicate a person’s general reaction to rules and commandments as well.

I am writing this note from my room as I am convalescing from a viral infection with covid like symptoms. So, I followed the last Sunday’s events from the sidelines, away from the crowds as I did not want to be a ‘herald of virus’ but would like to remain the ‘bringer of God’s Good News’! I thank the Catholic Daughters of America for their continued dedication to their ministry of being a ‘leaven of change’ in our society. Their many charitable outreach ventures and sponsoring of our deserving youth to college education are very commendable. As they renewed their commitment to action on the past Sunday, we accompany them with our prayers. They have also started a social lunch out and invite you to join them. Please contact Christine Mooney .

One of the most intriguing passages of the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) is Isaiah Chapter 53, from which our first reading for this Sunday is taken. Isaiah describes the suffering of God’s servant, whose personal sacrifice of himself brings about redemptive healing to the people. While some Jewish interpretations view the "servant" as representing Israel collectively, the details align remarkably with Jesus' individual experience. For Christians, Isaiah 53 powerfully foreshadows Christ's atoning work on the cross and continues to be a cornerstone text connecting Old Testament prophecy to New Testament fulfillment. Some scholars even call it, “The passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Isaiah” written 700 years before the actual event of Christ’s passion and death.

The fascinating story of the young man eagerly running to Jesus to get the answer to a burning desire in his heart, in many ways, mirrors the inner quest and disappointments of many in society. “What must I do for eternal life?” Our efforts and achievements are not enough. Our place and honor in society seem to have something still wanting. Our faithfulness to the legal system and basic commandments has been commendable and in fact, we kept them from our early days.

From the ‘rib-tickling’ account of the creation of the woman from Adam to the ‘knee-jerk’ teaching of Jesus that ‘What God has joined together; no human being must separate’ we have a brilliant scriptural beam of light that casts clarity on the current mired perception of modern-day marriage in contrast to God’s plan. While the exact timing of angelic creation is not specified in scripture, it is widely interpreted that they were created before humans based on their roles and presence during the creation narrative. Yet, after making the first human being, God muses that it is not good for him to be alone! The creation of Eve from Adam's rib holds profound symbolic significance in the biblical narrative. This act demonstrates the intimate connection between man and woman, emphasizing their shared essence and complementary nature. By using Adam's rib, God showed that Eve was not a separate creation, but an integral part of Adam, highlighting their unity in marriage. The rib's location near the heart symbolizes the close emotional bond between spouses. Additionally, the rib's ability to regenerate suggests that Adam's temporary loss resulted in a greater gain - a lifelong companion. In the original Biblical language, it was rendered as ishsha (“woman”) is made from isha (“her man”) signifying how men

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off … And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off … And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out …” These are stark words that make us cringe. Jesus spent three years curing the sick, giving sight to the blind and making the lame walk. This teaching seems to go diametrically against His actions. Interpreters are inclined toward giving these verses figurative rather than literal meaning. Surely, Jesus did not intend to gather a band of lame and blind followers around Himself. Though this view has merit, we must not forget even today in some Middle Eastern countries maiming punishments are meted out by courts to blasphemers and convicted criminals.

Jesus Christ's message was profoundly subversive to the traditional value systems of His time, which were centered on power, status, and hierarchy. His teachings and actions challenged the established social, religious, and political order in ways that were radical and transformative. The Scripture for this 25th Sunday offers us three insights. The first is that we need to take a deeper dive into Christ’s way of thinking, which is often counter cultural to our own popular notions. The second is to take a second look at our personal ambitions and our tendency to use every opportunity to our personal advantage. And finally, we need to accept that we are all finite beings in a finite and tainted world and striving to live by the wisdom of God will open for us a “God-willed” pathway through suffering!

Standing Firm Against Evil Forces We human beings tend to take extraordinary measures to create memories. Imagine a young man taking his fiancee to an exotic location to make a proposal for marriage or a family going to a far off land to celebrate a mile-stone event. Jesus brought his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi before his final journey to Jerusalem. They had been together for almost three years and were followed by crowds wherever they went. Here, in this northeastern area of Israel not frequented by pious Jews, Jesus would have some private time to prepare His disciples for the inevitable. Jesus’ teaching in Caesarea Philippi would be the first time He spoke about His future church, and it seems curious why Jesus chose this faraway, pagan location for one of His most important lessons and revelations. Jesus, however, was a masterful, intentional teacher and storyteller. He must have selected this area for a powerful visual illustration of the disciples’ future challenges and responsibilities.

There is always a ‘buzz’ in media when a miracle-like happening takes place. When a disaster is averted or a few people survive a terrorist attack or are rescued from captivity, we get excited and glue our attention to the TV channels. The atmosphere in the time of Jesus was also fascinated with miracles. Not only was a miracle greeted with excitement but there was an underlying expectation that the messianic times had already arrived.

In his history of the Jewish people, Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish historian Josephus, himself a Pharisee, identifies four influential Jewish sects that existed during the time Jesus was alive: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and the Fourth Philosophy. The New Testament mentions just the first three, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Biblical scholars estimate that there were about 6,000 Pharisees, 4,000 Essenes, and substantially fewer Sadducees who in spite of it, wielded great influence in the Sanhedrin (Jewish religious authority of elders) and the Temple Liturgy. At the time of Jesus, there were approximately 4 million people living in Palestine.

With today’s section we complete the reading of Chapter 6 of St. John’s Gospel, and it took us 5 weeks to do so. This chapter is known as the Discourse of the Bread of Life and is a pivotal part of the New Testament that intertwines the themes of sustenance, belief, radical choice and eternal life. This chapter not only reflects on the miracles of Jesus but also draws connections to the Old Testament and introduces new theological perspectives.

The Book of Proverbs — a collection of wise sayings — is classified as “wisdom literature.” This means it is primarily focused on how to live a good, faithful, meaningful life. Wisdom literature relies on human experience, an awareness of God’s presence in our world and in our daily lives and on inspiration, when we look at our life from the higher perspective of God. In a world where we want everything fast and easy, and where we’re always expected to have a clever comment or a quickly formed opinion, wisdom is no longer the valued commodity it used to be. The life of sages and the stories of men and women seeking solitude in the wilderness or deserts are not attractive lifestyles today. Wisdom grows slowly from experience, patience, and listening.

The shocking headlines that come on our TV screens of terrorist’s attacks draw our attention to the power of ideologies that are used by fanatics who attribute transcendental purpose to frame violence as morally justified. Sadly, the terrorist's attempt to connect with transcendent meaning through violence is a tragic perversion of the human need for purpose and significance. The readings from 1 Kings and John deal with this same theme of our very human lives as an adventure with the transcendent God. The prophet Elijah, in his dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal and their defeat with the miracle of the burnt offering through a thunderbolt from heaven drew the anger of Queen Jezebel who sent a whole army in pursuit of the fleeing prophet.

In the last week’s passage from St. John Chapter 6 we reflected on the wonderful miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. A meal of plenty with a mountain of food left over (12 wicker baskets full) from the little picnic lunch of a small boy. Anyone in the crowd would have been impressed. The people in Jesus’ time accepted life as a direct connection between work and bread. In fact, the just wage of one denarius was sufficient to buy bread for a family. It is no wonder that the people are looking for Jesus so that they can stop this ‘bonded labor connection to bread’ by enquiring what sort of deeds they need to perform to get an abundant supply of food.

Jonathan Roumie, best known for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in the TV series "The Chosen," delivered a significant speech at the National Eucharistic Congress on July 20, 2024. His talk took place during the final revival night of the event, which aimed to energize and inspire the thousands of attendees to "be alive again in Christ." Roumie shared personal anecdotes and reflections on his faith journey, emphasizing the importance of the Eucharist in his life. He stressed the Catholic belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, referring to it not as a symbol but as a reality. He wore a shirt with Flannery O'Connor's famous quote, "If it's a symbol, to hell with it," emphasizing the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.