Read today’s readings from the USCCB
By Sam Pierre
Advent is a time that I often catch myself dreaming of home. The celebration of a recently married couple inviting a new member into their family always makes my heart yearn for my own family. It truly is a time when I simply want to shut myself in with those who mean the most to me and smile contentedly about how much love surrounds me. And yet, today’s first reading reminds me of how much more overwhelming the thought is of living in the house of the Lord. Our Psalm points out a similar theme in that, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” We have reason to eagerly await our invitation into Heaven: rich foods, choice wines…I mean, Jesus throws a heck of a Christmas party! The Apostles, popes, archangels, the Blessed Virgin Mary; it’s a pretty great guest list to be on!
Meditating on the joy of living in the house of the Lord puts my heart in a beautiful state of peace and excited anticipation. However, sometimes I get homesick for Heaven and ignore the reality in which I live now. That love which we anticipate enjoying fully in Eternity is the same love which we must share with God’s people on earth.
Someone had to give up his/her dinner in order for Jesus to perform his miracle in today’s Gospel reading. Sure, Jesus did the heavy lifting when it came to multiplying the seven loaves and a few fish, but someone donated that food. Similarly, Jesus only performed the miracle, he did not walk around physically feeding the crowd, other hands served in that way. Jesus “needed” the service of those around him in order to fully bless the crowd that day.
In what ways is God calling each of us to be his hands and feet? Significant tithing is a new phenomenon for me. For the first time in my life, I am making a real paycheck and I am recognizing the call to utilize a portion in service to God. And yet, as a severely indebted medical resident, my financial resources are limited. But how many people in today’s Gospel actually served Jesus financially? Only a few. The vast majority served by organizing, spreading the food and cleaning up the leftovers. Could I donate some of my time? Might I carry some granola bars and a few inexpensive winter hats to keep in my car to offer to the homeless guy I pass on my way to the hospital each morning? How about simply going out of my way to offer a word of encouragement to a downtrodden neighbor? In spite of my newfound ability to donate financially, the Gospel is calling me to a well-rounded service approach.
Together let us meditate on the anticipated joy of our invitation into Jesus’ Heavenly party. Then let’s apply the love we derive from that excitement to acting as our Lord’s instruments of service in a multitude of ways during this giving season.
From Creighton University
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Today’s First Reading from the Book of Joel is taken from its final chapter. The second half of Joel concerns the judgment of the LORD at some unspecified future time. This “day of the LORD” is described in apocalyptic terms that are much more sweeping than the prophecies Joel makes in the first half of the book.
Eschatology is the branch of theology that concerns “the last things”. The Greek word “eschaton” means “end” in the sense of “goal” or “fulfillment”. In both the Old and New Testaments, the “end times” includes the LORD’s judgment. But with the coming of the Gospel, this judgment was revealed in a new light. That light, of course, is “the light of the world” [John 8:12]: Jesus Christ.
Old Testament eschatology, however, is not without hope even if it is without saving knowledge of the One who will bring that hope. Today’s First Reading uses language that can seem dramatic and frightening, but which is finally reassuring for those who are truly the LORD’s people. For example, we hear today that the “heavens and the earth quake, but the LORD is a refuge to His people….” For us Christians, we can reflect on this First Reading in light of the Church being the People of God, and how our sharing in the life of the Church reflects our closeness to the Lord Himself
Diocese of Wichita
Today’s Readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. St. Ignatius lived about 400 years ago, a time when a lot of people were not being obedient to God and to His Church.
Ignatius was a soldier from the country of Spain. During a battle, he was hit by a cannonball, which shattered his leg. So of course he had to spend a lot of time in the hospital to recover. He liked to read adventure books, but the people in charge couldn’t find any books like that, so they gave him a book of the lives of the saints to read instead. And as Ignatius read that book, he found the lives of the saints more interesting than his own life, and he realized that up until then, he had not been obedient to God. Ignatius realized that God had a certain plan for him to follow.
Much later, after spending many years in prayer by himself, and many years studying in schools all around Europe, Ignatius felt that he was ready to begin doing special work for God. He founded a new religious order called the Society of Jesus, whose members, called Jesuits, made a special promise to God. They made four promises to God, and the fourth promise was a promise to be obedient to the Holy Father, the pope, doing whatever he asked them to do.
Immediately the pope asked the Jesuits to begin traveling throughout the world to teach the Catholic faith, and this is what they did. Today, there are Catholics in many parts of the world who were first taught the Faith by the Jesuits, and Jesuits today continue to have a special job in schools all over the world of teaching the Faith that Jesus gave us, and that the pope and the bishops of the world explain to us
Commentary for Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Zacchaeus is a rich collector of taxes. Each of us, like him, is attached to worldly things. Zacchaeus, like you, wants to see who Jesus is. But Zacchaeus has two strikes against him.
The first strike against Zacchaeus is the crowd, because everyone wants to see Jesus. It’s easy to get lost and not to be loved in the crowd. One might ask himself, “How can Jesus love everyone?” The second strike against Zacchaeus is his small size, which may represent the size of our soul. One might feel unworthy of God’s love, and ask himself, “How could Jesus love little old me?”
So Zacchaeus climbs up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus. This is all Zacchaeus wants: to see Jesus. But that’s not enough for Jesus.
Here’s the turning point in this gospel passage. When Jesus reached the place where Zacchaeus had climbed the tree, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly; for today I must stay at your house.” Jesus takes the initiative to reach out to this individual. And just as he reached out to this little sinner, he is trying to reach into your life.
Catholic Diocese of Wichita