Celebrating 100 over years in Irondequoit
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Cycle C
- C244: So - John the Baptist had a lot to say about an event of 2,000 years ago. What does that have to do with me today?
- Value the things that really matter
- Q401: Is the "litany" of people that St. Luke starts out with today (Lk 3:1-6) intended to place this story accurately within history?
C244: So - John the Baptist had a lot to say about an event of 2,000 years ago. What does that have to do with me today?
In 1941 our US Navy - and therefore our country - suffered a devastating loss at Pearl Harbor, all because military and political leaders did not read the "signs of the times" correctly. Or, more importantly, they did not take them seriously, perhaps not being willing to recognize that they could be wrong in their "routine" defense preparations. They were in a rut, and could not think outside of their own routine "boxes." If that could happen so easily at a physical level, what do you think could happen at the spiritual level?
John the Baptist is more than just a "character" with bad breath dressed in camel skins. We tend to put him into "yesteryear" - - those "dumb" Jews: how could they not read the "signs of the times"? How could they not know Messiah was coming? After hearing John the Baptist, how could they not know that they were at the very threshold of a major revelation?
Watch who you are calling "dumb"! In roughly the same time frame as our US Navy, the Jews in the prophet Baruch's time (first reading) had made the same mistake, not responding to the "signs of the times." And now John the Baptist is talking to you, today! Are you reading the "signs of the times"? Do you really hear what he is saying to you personally? Repent! Change your ways! Right now! Are you prepared to defend your faith, and to defend your way of living, to defend your life style, when Jesus comes - and that might be today?
You have heard John the Baptist tell you what to do today: "Repent!" Change your ways! Prepare His way! (Lk 3:3). You have heard St. Paul tell us today how to value only the "things that matter" (Phil 1:10). What are your "preparations" going to be, right now, for the Lord's coming? To remain "dumb"?
Know Your Catechism! We must avoid neglecting the proper formation of our conscience, because we are constantly confronted with situations that involve moral judgments. We try to interpret the data of experience and the "signs of the times" - assisted by the virtue of prudence and the advice of competent people, and the help of the Holy Spirit (CCC #1788). Do not be happy with where you "think" you are on your spiritual journey. Continue to grow (CCC #94-95)!
Value the things that really matter
A fairy tale come to life. Such was the story of Princess Grace of Monaco. The daughter of a self-made Philadelphia millionaire, Grace Kelly, moved from finishing school into acting and from Oscar-winning stardom into marriage with the reigning Prince of Monaco. Over the years a fair number of American women have wedded foreign noblemen, and even foreign rulers. More often than not, however, their marriages have floundered. Not so the marriage of Rainier and Grace. Apart from the trials that come to every couple, they really did "live happily ever after."
Probably the main reason why their match was happy was that Grace Kelly never shirked responsibilities. When she was an actress, she took that profession seriously, and by the time she retired from the screen, she had moved far towards mastering the art of acting. When she became a princess, she also took that role seriously. It was her duty to be a leader to her people, and she was a leader. In his telegram of condolence to Prince Rainier on the Princess's death, Pope John Paul praised her for this trait: "She always fulfilled her mission as sovereign and as mother of a family with a great spirit of faith and in a manner which won her the respect and sympathy of all."
Glamor she had, and very great beauty. But beneath the outward attractiveness lay a strong Christian conviction of the importance of the family and a deep reverence for wife-hood and motherhood. She vigorously opposed pornography, abortion, and whatever else was harmful to human families; and she found in the Mass and in her charitable causes strength and fulfillment.
St. Paul prayed that Christians might "learn to value the things that really matter, up to the very day of Christ:" (Philippians, 1, 10). Grace Kelly was one of the beneficiaries of his prayer.
-Father Robert F. McNamara
Q401: Is the "litany" of people that St. Luke starts out with today (Lk 3:1-6) intended to place this story accurately within history?
St. Luke is a very skillful writer, and may I say, "very cunning." What he is doing is "using history" to make a powerful point. Let's take a closer look at what that point is.
This "litany" of names is all about power. It starts out identifying the superpower of the day, Emperor Tiberius Caesar. Next we see Pontius Pilate, a procurator (officer of the Empire and agent of the Emperor). Then come three tetrarchs, each one a governor of a section of the Province. Having named the big-wigs of temporal power, he now turns to the big-wigs of Jewish religious authority, naming both Annas and Caiaphas who hold the two highest positions in Judaism. The power structure is complete.
But what do we see God doing? This is where Luke's genius comes into play. Luke sees clearly that it is not the emperors, governors, and high priests that God wants to speak through. Instead of using the power structure or political structure, he speaks His word to a simple, God-fearing, locust-eating desert man, who dressed in clothes made of camel's hair (Mt 3:4)! This message was the most exciting message ever heard up to that point in time: the Messiah was coming, and all humankind would see the salvation of God!
God always chooses the lowly, the humble, those who are trying to do His will. Nowhere is this more evident than in the selection of John the Baptist to be the bearer of God's word! This gives us great hope. It is not the exercise of power nor the holding of possessions that matters. The only thing that matters is the condition of our heart, which reflects our relationship with God.
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Two significant Advent values are Hope and Humility - and it can't be coincidental that both are listed consecutively in the Glossary to the Catechism (p.882). Hope enables us to desire and expect eternal life with God (CCC #1817), as we humbly and trustingly await the return of the Lord Jesus in glory (CCC #840).
