Advent: Be Prepared

Definition

The term advent derives from the Latin ad venio, which means to “to come.” The Advent season, which marks the Catholic new year, is meant to be one of preparation for the coming of Christ. Most people associate this period with the coming of Christ at Christmas – baby Jesus born in a manger. While this is correct, it is not the full story. Advent is also meant to be a preparation for the second coming of Christ.

Be Prepared

If you have followed the readings for the past week, one of the running themes has been the end of times. To put the message of these reading succinctly: we've got to get right with God because we don't know the day nor the hour that he is coming. SPOILER ALERT: we are all going to die, some of us sooner than others. If you were to drop dead in the middle of reading this post, would you be ready to be called home (or at least purgatory)? Like the Boy Scouts, we are being reminded to always be prepared.

Spiritual Jump Start

The Church knew what she was doing when she organized these special seasons within the Liturgical Calendar. The majority of the year is made up of Ordinary Time when the priest normally wears green. This models the life of Christ who spent the majority of his life in obscure ordinariness. We too spend much of our time conducting the affairs of our own ordinary (normal) lives. Sometimes (often) we fall into ruts, even in our daily prayer lives. Special seasons like Advent are meant to help give us a spiritual jump start.  Like the Lenten Season, we can incorporate three key characteristics to enrich our Advent: prayer, mortification/penance and almsgiving.

Mix Up Meditation Material

Assuming you have already incorporated a spiritual game plan that includes daily personal prayer, I recommend using Advent as a time to mix things up a bit. If you don’t set time aside each day to pray and meditate– start! If you are currently meditating on the daily readings, for example, think about switching to a spiritual classic like The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva or Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales. I am recommending these books because they are meant for the laity.

Practical and Powerful

A practical, yet powerful practice we can include during this Advent Season is to invite a fallen Catholic back to the sacraments. Most parishes conduct Evenings of Reconciliation during Advent. Invite a friend or family member who has been away for a while. You may be the very instrument God chooses to use to bring them back into the Church. What better gift to give during this season than the sacraments?

Plug Into Parish

Finally, we should find ways to plug into our parish activities. Most importantly, we should participate in the rich liturgical celebrations during this month, like the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Feast of St. Juan Diego and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Perhaps your parish has some cultural celebrations like the posadas celebrated in many Hispanic communities. Another way may be for your family to volunteer to light the candles of the Advent Wreath prior to mass.

More to Come

In the next few days I will write more about Advent. I will be reviewing a devotional from Magnificat to help with your daily meditations. I will also be writing about how to use entertainment to get you in the right seasonal spirit. Finally, I will share a number of family traditions associated with Advent and Christmas. Later tonight, I will share our first two posts on the Jesse Tree and Advent Wreath.

Navarre Bible Commentary:1st Sunday of Advent

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Mark 13:33–37

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.”

Catholic Exegesis:

The Second Vatican Council teaches  that if we are to derive the true meaning from the sacred texts,  attention must be devoted “not only to their content but to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the entire Church, and the analogy of faith. […] Everything to do with the interpretation of Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred communion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Dei Verbum, 12).

St. John Paul II, when he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum).

Cited in the Catechism:

Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, paragraphs 672, 2612 and 2849.

Commentary:

13:33–37. “Watch”: since we do not know when the Lord will come, we must be prepared. Vigilance is, above all, love. A person who loves keeps the commandments and looks forward to Christ’s return; for life is a period of hope and waiting. It is the way towards our encounter with Christ the Lord. The first Christians often tenderly repeated the aspiration: “Come, Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20). By expressing their faith and charity in this way, those Christians found the interior strength and optimism necessary for fulfilling their family and social duties, and interiorly detached themselves from earthly goods, with the self-mastery that came from hope of eternal life.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome  

Navarre Bible Commentary:Saturday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Guarding Tomb of Unknown Soldier during Hurricane Sandy

Luke 21:34–36

“But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Catholic Exegesis:

The Second Vatican Council teaches  that if we are to derive the true meaning from the sacred texts,  attention must be devoted “not only to their content but to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the entire Church, and the analogy of faith. […] Everything to do with the interpretation of Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred communion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Dei Verbum, 12).

St. John Paul II, when he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum).

Cited in the Catechism:

Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, paragraph 2612.

Commentary:

The need for vigilance

21:34–36. At the end of his discourse Jesus emphasizes that every Christian needs to be vigilant: we do not know the day nor the hour in which he will ask us to render an account of our lives. Therefore, we must at all times be trying to do God’s will, so that death, whenever it comes, will find us ready. For those who act in this way, sudden death never takes them by surprise. As St Paul recommends: “You are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief” (1 Thess 5:4). Vigilance consists in making a constant effort not to be attached to the things of this world (the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life: cf. 1 Jn 2:16) and in being assiduous in prayer, which keeps us close to God. If we live in this way, the day we die will be a day of joy and not of terror, for with God’s help our vigilance will mean that our souls are ready to receive the visit of the Lord; they are in the state of grace: in meeting Christ we will not be meeting a judge who will find us guilty; instead he will embrace us and lead us into the house of his Father to remain there forever. “Does your soul not burn with the desire to make your Father God happy when he has to judge you?” (St Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 746).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome  

Navarre Bible Commentary:1st Sunday in Advent

Matthew 24:37-44

 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraph 673.

Commentary

24:37–39. In a few strokes our Lord sketches man’s perennial insensitivity and carelessness towards the things of God. Man thinks it is more important to eat and drink, to find a husband or wife; but if that is his attitude he is forgetting about the most important thing—eternal life. Our Lord also foretells that the end of the world will be like the great flood; the Son of man’s second coming will happen unexpectedly, taking people by surprise, whether they are doing good or evil.

24:40. It is in the context of the ordinary affairs of life—farmwork, housework etc.—that God calls man, and man responds: that is where his eternal happiness or eternal punishment is decided. To be saved, one does not need to meet any special conditions, or to be in a special position in life: one simply has to be faithful to the Lord in the middle of ordinary everyday affairs.

24:42. Jesus himself draws from this revelation about the future the practical moral that a Christian needs to be on the watch, living each Christian needs to be on the watch, living each day as if it were his last. The important thing is not to be speculating about when these events will happen and what form they will take, but to live in such a way that they find us in the state of grace.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Navarre Bible Commentary:Thursday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 21:20-28

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it; 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all that is written. 23 Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; 24 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraphs 58, 671, 674 and 697.

The great tribulation in Jerusalem

21:20–24. Jesus gives quite a detailed prophecy of the destruction of the Holy City. When the Christians living there saw the armies getting closer, they remembered this prophecy and fled to Transjordan (cf. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3, 5). Christ had advised them to flee as soon as possible because this is the time when God would punish Jerusalem for its sins, as the Old Testament predicted (Is 5:5–6).

Catholic tradition sees Israel as symbolizing the Church. In fact, in the Book of Revelation the Church triumphant is called the new Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21:2). Therefore, by applying this passage to the Church, the sufferings the Holy City experiences can symbolize the contradictions the pilgrim Church will experience due to the sins of men, for “she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the children of God” (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 48).

21:24. “The times of the Gentiles” means the period in which the Gentiles, who do not belong to the Jewish people, will become members of the new people of God, the Church, until the Jews themselves are converted at the end of the world (cf. Rom 11:11–32).

The coming of the Son of man

21:25–26. Jesus refers to the dramatic changes in natural elements when the world is coming to an end. “The power of the heavens will be shaken”; that is to say, the whole universe will tremble at the Lord’s coming in power and glory.

21:27–28. Applying to himself the prophecy of Daniel (7:13–14), our Lord speaks of his coming in glory at the end of time. Mankind will see the power and glory of the Son of man, coming to judge the living man, coming to judge the living and the dead. Christ will deliver this judgment in his human capacity. Sacred Scripture describes the solemnity of this event, when the sentence passed on each person in the particular judgment will be confirmed, and God’s justice and mercy to men throughout history will shine out for all to see. “It was necessary not only that rewards should await the just and punishments the wicked, in the life to come, but that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment. Thus they will become better known and will be rendered more conspicuous to all, and a tribute of praise will be offered by all to the justice and providence of God” (St Pius V, Catechism, 1, 8, 4).

This coming of the Lord is, then, a day of terror for evildoers and of joy for those who have remained faithful. The disciples should hold their heads high because their redemption is at hand. It is the day they will receive their reward. The victory won by Christ on the cross—victory over sin, over the devil and over death—will now be seen clearly, with all its implications. Therefore St Paul recommends that we be “awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13).

“He [Christ] ascended into heaven whence he will come again to judge the living and the dead, each according to his merits. Those who have responded to the love and compassion of God will go into eternal life. Those who have refused them to the end will be consigned to the fire that is never extinguished” (Paul VI, Creed of the People of God, 12).

Navarre Bible Commentary:Friday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Source: Washington Times

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Friday, November 15, 2013

32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 17:26-37

The Coming of the Kingdom

26 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.28 Likewise as it was in the days of Lot—they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.33 Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left.”[a] 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the eagles[b] will be gathered together.”

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraphs 1889 and 2463.

Commentary

17:23-36. These words of our Lord are a prophecy about the last coming of the Son of Man. We should remember that prophecy often involves events on different levels, many symbols, a terminology of its own; the "chiaroscuro" which they create gives us insight into future events, but the concrete details only become clear when the events actually occur. Our Lord's last coming will be something sudden and unexpected; it will catch many people unprepared. Jesus illustrates this by giving examples from sacred history: as in the time of Noah (cf. Genesis 6:9-19: 7) and that of Lot (cf. Genesis 18:16-19:27) divine judgment will be visited on men without warning.

However, it is useful to recall here that everyone will find himself before the divine Judge immediately when he dies, at the Particular Judgment. Thus Jesus' teaching has also a present urgency about it: here and now a disciple should scrutinize his own conduct, for the Lord can call him when he least expects.

33. "Will preserve it": what the Greek word literally means is "will engender (his life)", that is to say, "will give true life to the soul". Thus our Lord seems to mean the following: he who wants to save his life at all costs, making it his basic value, will lose eternal life; whereas he who is ready to lose his earthly life -- that is, to resist even to death the enemies of God and of his soul -- will obtain eternal happiness through this struggle. In content this passage is almost identical with Luke 9:24.

36. In the Vulgate this verse reads: "Una assumetur, et altera relinquetur. Duo in agro; unus assumetur, et alter relinquetur" ("One will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left"). These words seem to be an addition to Luke, taken from Matthew 24:40; they do not appear in the better Greek manuscripts, which is why the New Vulgate omits them.

37. "Where the body is, there the eagles will gather": the Greek text uses a word which could mean either eagle or vulture. In any event the proverb indicates the speed with which birds of prey swoop down on their victims -- apparently referring to the sudden, unexpected way the Second Coming or Last Judgment will happen. Sacred Scripture also deals with this subject in other passages: "But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Once more Jesus is exhorting us to be watchful: we should never neglect the most important thing in life -- eternal salvation. "All that, which worries you for the moment, is of relative importance. What is of absolute importance is that you be happy, that you be saved" (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 297). So curious are the Pharisees and the disciples about the time and place of the Last Coming that they are distracted from Jesus' main point; the same thing happens to us: for example, we can spend a lot of time pondering the circumstances of the deaths of people we know, and fail to grasp the warning these deaths contain -- that this life is going to end one way or another and that after it we too will meet God.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome