Posted on 12/15/2024 8:47:37 AM PST by fidelis
The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” Luke 3:10
Among those within the crowds who were asking Saint John the Baptist this question were tax collectors, soldiers and ordinary people. John gave an answer to them all, first telling them to turn away from the sins that they struggled with the most. Sin takes on many forms and often is closely associated with our daily duties in life. Some sins are sins of commission, meaning sins we commit by an intentional act. Some sins are those of omission, meaning a lack of certain virtues or a failure to do what we ought to do.
After addressing the particular sins that those in the crowds were struggling with, John then turns their attention to Christ. He states to them that “one mightier than I is coming” and that “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” In other words, John was giving the people a twofold command. First, work to overcome sin. And second, turn your eyes to Him Who is coming to you. Repenting from sin is not enough. Once we repent, we must then fill the void within our souls with the presence of Christ.
Advent, just like Lent, is an important time within our liturgical year to heed these messages. Though it’s true that we must work to overcome sin and turn to Christ every day of the year, God knows we need a special time each year when we give concerted effort to these spiritual endeavors. So before Advent passes you by, heed the words of the Baptist and take some time to examine your conscience thoroughly. Perhaps use a detailed list of the Ten Commandments or the Seven Capital Sins. Once you do that, seek out an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Doing so is essential to a fruitful Advent season.
Once you thoroughly repent of the sins you struggle with the most right now, turn to the Savior of the World with special attentiveness to the miracle of the Incarnation this Advent. Spend time adoring the God Who came to us in the form of a little child. Meditate on this Gift. Gaze at a nativity scene prayerfully. Read the Scripture passages about the birth of Christ. Close your eyes and imagine yourself there at His birth.
Reflect, today, upon this twofold exhortation from John and apply it to your Advent preparations. Cleanse your soul in a special way from all sin this Advent. Then prayerfully ponder and meditate upon the reality we are preparing to celebrate. As John says, allow the Christ Child to truly “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” through your deepening devotion and prayer this Advent.
My dear Jesus, please help me to see my sins as You see them. Help me to be attentive to every sinful action I commit and even those smaller sins of omission. As I ponder my sin, please draw me to Your mercy and grace so that I can then open the eyes of my soul more deeply to see You and to adore You more completely this Advent. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
December is the month dedicated to the Immaculate Conception:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”
(Luke 1:26-28)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Psalms of Joy in Zion
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[14] Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, 0 daughter of Jerusalem! [15] The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. [16] 0n that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, 0 Zion; let not your hands grow weak. [17] The LORD, your God, is in your midst, warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing [18] as on a day of festival.
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Commentary:
3:14-18a. Now the promise becomes a song of jubilation. The Lord, the Savior, sees to it that all is joy (v. 14), and there is no room for fear (v. 16). The Christian, in reading these verses, cannot but be reminded of the scene of the Annunciation: Mary, too, the humble Virgin (Lk 1:48), is invited to rejoice (Lk 1:28) and not to fear (Lk 1:20), because the Lord is with her (Lk 1:28). And indeed, with the Incarnation of the Word, the Lord did come to dwell among his people, and the salvation that was promised came to pass.
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Second Reading:
Philippians 4:4-7
Exhortation to Perseverance and Joy (Continuation)
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[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.
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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).
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Gospel Reading:
Luke 3:10-18
The Preaching of John the Baptist (Continuation)
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[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.
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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.
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