Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 12-14-03

Reading I
Zeph 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you

he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
he will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

Responsorial Psalm
Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R. (6) Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Reading II
Phil 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Gospel
Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
"What should we do?"
He said to them in reply,
"Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise."
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
"Teacher, what should we do?"
He answered them,
"Stop collecting more than what is prescribed."
Soldiers also asked him,
"And what is it that we should do?"
He told them,
"Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages."

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

The Word Among Us

Sunday, December 14, 2003

Meditation
Luke 3:10-18

What then should we do? (Luke 3:10)

With great dramatic flair, John the Baptist taught his listeners that they must reform their lives in preparation for the Messiah’s coming. He called on his hearers to give generously to the poor, and he called on tax collectors and soldiers to put away corruption from among them. John knew that these types of personal reforms would open up their hearts to receive the one who was coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire—Jesus, our Redeemer.

It seems clear from John’s teaching that he was drawing a connection between reforming our lives and our ability to receive the Holy Spirit. In fact, one of John’s favorite exhortations was: “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). For John, preparing for the Messiah’s coming involved more than just repenting for sin. It also meant making visible changes to our lifestyle as proof of that repentance. Surely a tax collector who suddenly came clean in his business dealings would have caused quite a stir in his town. Imagine the look on people’s faces as he went from house to house returning the money he had overcharged. Imagine their further surprise as he announced loudly that he was a changed man, and that he was now waiting for the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit!

How about you? Can your friends and neighbors see a change in you as Christmas approaches? Do they see more joy, more generosity, and more love? If they do, then you also can count yourself among those who have heard the Baptist’s call to repentance. The family of the soldier who reformed his life after hearing John would surely have gone out to see this preacher who caused such a change in their son. Let us pray that our lives too will inspire others to seek and find this Jesus, who has so powerfully worked in us.

“Jesus, I commit myself to living a life that bears fruit in keeping with repentance. Fill me, Lord, with your Holy Spirit, and give me the grace and strength to be faithful to you. May those I meet today see Christ in me, so that they too will be led to ask: ‘What must I do to be saved?’ ”

One Bread, One Body

<< Sunday, December 14, 2003 >>

Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-18
Philippians 4:4-7

Isaiah 12:2-6
Luke 3:10-18

View Readings

DOING CHRISTMAS

“What are we to do?” —Luke 3:12

“The crowds asked [John the Baptizer], ‘What ought we to do?’ ” (Lk 3:10) Tax collectors asked John: “What are we to do?” (Lk 3:12) “Soldiers likewise asked him: ‘What are we to do?’ ” (Lk 3:14, our transl) As we near Christ’s coming, we too ask: “What are we to do?”

The Lord answers our question through the Church. Traditionally, today is called “Gaudete Sunday.” “Gaudete” is a Latin word meaning “rejoice.” What we are to do is to “shout for joy” and “sing joyfully” (Zep 3:14). We are to “rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice! Everyone should see how unselfish [we] are. The Lord is near” (Phil 4:4-5).

We are not to rejoice because of our circumstances, which may even be tragic. We should not be rejoicing so much in our selves or our pleasures as in the Lord, in fact, our Lord. That is, what we are to do is to rejoice that we have accepted Him as our Lord. Then we no longer try to run our lives. We belong to Him (see Gal 2:20). We rejoice in His salvation (Is 25:9) and in our acceptance of salvation through repentance (see Lk 15:7, 10) and faith.

What are we to do to meet Christ this Christmas? We are not just to rejoice but to rejoice in our Lord. If He is not your Lord, choose Jesus now to be the Lord of your life, including your Christmas.

Prayer: Jesus, my Lord, my Joy, my God, I love You with all my heart forever.

Promise: “With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.” —Is 12:3

Praise: Praise Immanuel, “God with us,” risen Lord!

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Don't Forget
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Sunday, December 14, 2003

Lk 3:10-18

A few weeks before Christmas, a woman who lived in a New York apartment building found a greeting card taped to her door. "Merry Christmas from the custodial staff," it said.

"How nice," she said to herself and promptly forgot about it.

A week later she came home to find another card taped to her door. It was the same message, "Merry Christmas from the custodial staff." But this time, stamped right in the middle in big red letters, were the words, "Second Notice!"

+ + + +

We are all terribly forgetful. None of us is immune. As we immerse ourselves in our daily tasks — as surely we must — we can forget almost anything: birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, our bank balance, our glasses. You name it, we forget it. We make lists so we won't forget and then we forget the list.

But our forgetfulness isn't limited just to the little things. We forget the big things as well: who our real friends are, what really matters in life, who loves us, who needs us, what we were made for. We just forget and forget and forget.

That is why we need to gather here, week after week: to help each other remember who we are, remember what really matters, and remember that we aren't walking this long road alone. We're walking it with the Lord who is right at our side.

And what is this Lord like who walks at our side? Does He walk with us as a critic? a policeman? a judge? or maybe just an impartial observer? In fact He is none of the above.

The Lord walks with us as a partner and mentor who wants to see us succeed and who understands that it's going to take us awhile. Now what more could we ask? How can we not celebrate and rejoice as today's liturgy urges us so insistently? How can we not be confident and hopeful and put all fears behind us. After all, God is with us and for us!

And there's still more. Having God walking with us as partner and mentor gives us the opportunity to be in close conversation with Him hourly. With simple words like, "Well, Lord, what do you think about this?" Or, "Lord, can you help me see this more clearly?" Or simply, "Help, Lord, I can't do this one alone." Those are the kinds of words that partners and friends speak very often.

All of that is what we have come together here to remember. First, remember to rejoice and forget all our fears because He is with us. And second, remember to listen to Him and talk to Him about the real stuff of our lives because He cares more than anyone else...and He knows the way home.

+ + + +

Trust Him, talk to Him, listen to Him. He knows the way home, and He wants to see us safely all the way there. Thank God, He keeps sending us second notices! Thank God, indeed!

From: Philippians 4:4-7

Exhortation to Perseverance and Joy (Continuation)

[4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. [5] Let all
men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. [6] Have no anxiety
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.

Commentary:

4. What St Paul says here is particularly impressive if one bears in
mind that he is writing this letter from prison. In order to have joy it
does not matter if we are living in difficult conditions. "For a
Christian, joy is a treasure. Only by offending God do we lose it,
because sin is the fruit of selfishness, and selfishness is the root of
sadness. Even then, a bit of joy survives under the debris of our soul--
the knowledge that neither God nor his (Christ's) Mother forgets us. If
we repent, if an act of sorrow springs from our heart, if we purify
ourselves in the holy sacrament of penance, God comes out to meet and
forgive us. Then there can be no sadness whatsoever" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ
Is Passing By", 178).

The kind of profound joy that fills the soul with peace does not derive
from the satisfaction of physical or material needs but from
faithfulness to God and his commandments by embracing the Cross. "This
is the difference between us and those who do not know God," St Cyprian
says: "they complain in adversity; but difficulties do not draw us away
from virtue or from the true faith. On the contrary, our virtue and
faith are reinforced in affliction" ("De Mortalitate", 13).

In the Old Testament, God, speaking through Nehemiah, said, "Do not be
grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10). Joy, in
fact, is a powerful ally in the struggle to achieve victory (cf. 1 Mac
3:2ff), to conquer evil with good, for it is something closely connected
with grace. "The true worth of what a Christian does is determined by
the active presence of God's grace in him and his deeds. In a
Christian's heart, therefore, peace is inseparable from joy [...]. when the
joy that is in a Christian heart is poured out on others, it gives
them hope and optimism; it spurs them to be generous in their daily toil
and infects the entire society. My children, only if you have in you
this divine grace which is joy and peace, will you be able to do
anything useful for others" (John Paul II, "Address", 10 April 1979).

5-7. "The Lord is at hand": the Apostle reminds the faithful of the
nearness of our Lord; he wants to encourage them to rejoice and to be
understanding towards one another. These words must surely have brought
to their minds the exclamation "Marana tha" (Come, Lord), which was
often in the lips at liturgical celebrations (cf. note on 1 Cor
16:21-24). In the sort of hostile environment that many of them lived
in, they needed to put their hope in their Savior, Jesus Christ, who
will come from heaven to judge the living and the dead (cf. Phil 3:20;
1 Thess 4:16ff; 2 Thess 1:5). St Paul does not mean to specify when the
"Parousia" or second coming of Christ will take place (cf.
"Introduction to St Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians" in "The
Navarre Bible: Thessalonians; EB", 414-461; note on Mt 24:36). Like the
first Christians, we should make sure it does not catch us unprepared.

Besides, the Lord is always near us, always caring for us in his
providence (cf. Ps 119:151). There is no reason for us to feel ill at
ease. He is our Father, he is near to all who call on him (cf. Ps
145:18); he listens to our prayers, ever ready to instruct us and to
give us whatever we need to overcome difficulties that arise. All that
he asks is that we trustingly tell him our situation, speaking to him
with the simplicity of a child.

Constant dialogue with God in prayer is, as St Paul suggests, a good
way to prevent anything robbing us of peace of soul, for prayer
"regulates our affections", St Bernard teaches, "directs our actions,
corrects our faults, guides our conduct, beautifies and orders our
life; it brings with it knowledge of things divine and things human
also. It determines what we ought to do and reflects on what we have
done, in such a way that our heart never becomes wanton or in need of
discipline" ("Book of Consideration", I, 7).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 3:10-18

The Preaching of John the Baptist (Continuation)

[10] And the multitudes asked him (St. John the Baptist), "What then
shall we do?" [11] And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him
share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do
likewise." [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to
him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" [13] And he said to them, "Collect no
more than is appointed you." [14] Soldiers also asked him, "And we,
what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by
false accusation, and be content with your wages."

[15] As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their
hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, [16] John
answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but He who is mightier
than I is coming, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie;
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. [17] His
winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear the threshing floor, and to
gather the wheat into His granary, but the chaff He will burn with
unquenchable fire."

[18] So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the
people.

Commentary:

12-13. With honesty and courage St. John the Baptist lays bare each
person's fault. The chief sin of tax collectors lay in their using
their privileged position as collaborators of the Roman authorities to
acquire personal wealth at the expense of the Jewish people: Rome
specified how much Israel as a whole should yield by way of taxes; the
tax collectors abused their position by extorting more than was
necessary. Take the case of Zacchaeus, for example, who, after his
conversion, admits that he acquired wealth unjustly and, under the
influence of grace, promises our Lord to make generous restitution (cf.
Luke 19:1-10).

The Baptist's preaching contains a norm of natural justice which the
Church also preaches. Public position should be regarded, above all,
as an opportunity to serve society, not to obtain personal gain at the
expense of the common good and of that justice which people holding
such positions are supposed to administer. Certainly, anyone who has
fallen into the temptation of unjustly appropriating what belongs to
another must not only confess his sin in the Sacrament of Penance if he
is to obtain pardon; he must also resolve to give back what is not
his.

14. The Baptist requires of everyone--Pharisees, tax collectors,
soldiers--a deep spiritual renewal in the very exercise of their job;
they have to act justly and honorably. God asks all of us to sanctify
ourselves in our work and in the circumstances in which we find
ourselves: "Any honest and worthwhile work can be converted into a
divine occupation. In God's service there are no second-class jobs;
all of them are important" ([St] J. Escriva, "Conversations", 55).

15-17. Using excessive imagery, John announces Christian Baptism,
proclaiming that he is not the Messiah; He, who is on His way, will
come with the authority of supreme Judge that belongs to God, and with
the dignity of the Messiah, who has no human equal.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. John of the Cross was born in Spain in the year 1541 and was
the son of a wealthy silk merchant. Shortly after the birth of John, his
father died and the family was forced into poverty. The whole family
worked to support itself and John was able to receive a basic
education at a school for poor children. At the age of 17, John began
to work at a hospital. While there, he impressed the founder of the
hospital who became his sponsor and allowed John to study at the
Jesuit College. John did well in his studies and was given many
chances to live a comfortable life as a priest, John did not want a life
like this so he decided to pursue the religious life.

John decided to join the Carmelites and entered the Carmel at the
age of 20 and was allowed to continue his studies. John was
ordained to the priesthood in 1597. Shortly after he said his first
Mass, he met Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun. Together John and
Teresa began a reform of the Carmelite order seeking to return to a
more strict, primitive observance of the Rule. The reform grew and
eventually became the order of Discalced Carmelites. At first John
and Teresa reformed from within their monasteries, but soon they
met with much resistance and were forced to start a new order. For a
time, John was imprisoned by the Carmelites who were resisting
reform and during this time he wrote much of the poetry which is still
popular today. After some time, John escaped and traveled to
Southern Spain and became more successful at his efforts of
reformation. In 1580, the Discalced Carmelites were given the right
to erect their own Province and became completely free of the
Calced Carmelites in the year 1593.

Due to some disagreements with the General of the order, John was
sent to La Penuela to await the outcome. After a month, he became
seriously ill and within several months he died. John died at the age
of 49 in the year 1591, was canonized in 1726 and declared a doctor
of the Church in 1926. His works include "Ascent of Mount Carmel,"
"The Dark Night," and "The Spiritual Canticle" among others. St.
John is known as the mystical doctor.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Just as we can never separate asceticism from mysticism, so in St.
John of the Cross we find darkness and light, suffering and joy,
sacrifice and love united together so closely that they seem at times
to be identified. -Thomas Merton

TODAY IN HISTORY

867 Pope Adrian II begins his reign
872 Pope John VIII begins his reign

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. It marks the turning point of the
season where we refocus from Christ's Second Coming to his
original birth on earth. This change is marked in the rose colored
vestments worn by the priest. This color symbolizes the joy and
expectation during a season of penance.

The Third Sunday of Advent was formerly known as "Gaudete
Sunday" because the opening antiphon of the Mass began with the
Latin word "gaudete." This word is a command for the Faithful to
rejoice and be glad. It recognizes the rising anticipation that is
naturally felt as an important event approaches.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for the safety of all people who will be traveling during
the approaching holiday season.

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