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ADVENT OF THE GREATER JOY.

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December 15, 2024. Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday – C. Readings: Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk3:10-18. “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!” (Zep 3:14) “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again:  rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) A Spanish proverb says: “Every season brings its joy.” Another Spanish proverb adds: “Unshared joy is an unlighted candle.” Advent is a time of preparation and commemoration of the three coming of the Lord; the already, the daily, and the yet to come at the end of time. This journey of the Advent requires great hope from us. Thus, the first Advent candle symbolizes. Our Advent expectation calls us also to be instruments of peace; peace with ourselves, peace with others, and peace in our surroundings. Therefore, our second Advent candle, because, the one who is coming is the Prince of Peace. We are today in the Gaudete Sunday, or Sunday of Joy. At his coming, not only will the Lord...
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ADVENT OF PEACE.

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December 8, 2024. Second Sunday of Advent – C. Readings: Bar 5:1-9; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Phil 1:4-6,8-11; Lk 3:1-6. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low…” Luke 3:4s An Ivorian wise man said: “Peace is not a mere word, but a behavior.” A Native American Lakota proverb adds: “True peace between nations will only happen when there is true peace within people's souls.” Peace is a central theme of the Advent. The one who came two thousand years ago, the one who comes into our daily lives, and the one who will come again in glory is the Prince of Peace. He came to set man free from slavery to sin and from every enslavement and dominion. Advent, we insistently said last Sunday, is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. But in that insistence, we noted that it was the time or season of the three comings, the historical, the present, and the Parousia. So, the coming of the...
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ADVENTUS, THE GREAT COMING.

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December 1, 2024. First Sunday of Advent – C. Readings: Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes3:12—4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars… And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Lk 21:25.27 A Ghanaian proverb says: “When a man is coming toward you, you need not to say, "Come here."” A Spanish proverb adds: “Coming events cast their shadow before.” The Lord came, the Lord comes always, and the Lord is coming. We enter today in a very significant time in the Christian life and the life of the Church, the Advent. The season of Advent focuses our attention on three comings of the Lord: His first coming, which took place two millennia ago; His continual coming in our everyday lives; and, lastly, His final and definitive coming in glory. The word Advent, from the Latin, Adventus, means coming, a calling to hope. In this Advent Season, while considering one coming of Jesus, we ...
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KING OF KINGS, KING OF GLORY.

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November 24, 2024. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – B. Readings: Dn 7:13-14; Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5; Rv 1:5-8; Jn18:33b-37. "Who is he, this King of glory?" Psalm 24, singing the great Advent of the Lord, asks us twice to reflect on the Lord's kingship. In verses 8 and 10, it questions the Lord's Kingship. We read that he is King of Glory. From there springs the theme of today's meditation on the word of God. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings, the King of Glory. A Portuguese proverb says: “As the king lives, so live his vassals.” An Ivorian proverb adds: “To love a king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better.” We are celebrating today, the last Sunday of the Ordinary Time B. It is also known as Christ the King Sunday. Our hearts and attentions are called to revolve on Chris today, particularly on the throne of his reign, the Cross. Jesus reigns as a King. His Kingship is manifested when he dies hanging on the Cross. There...
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TIME.

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November 17, 2024. Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Dn 12:1-3; Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11; Heb 10:11-14, 18;Mk 13:24-32. “…It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.” Daniel 12:1 A Scottish proverb says: “Take time while time is, for time will go away.” A Kurdish proverb adds: “Time is like a dagger; if you don’t cut with it, it cuts you. Go ahead and cut. Be quick before it cuts you.” We live in time. We die in time. Time is our greatest asset. Time is also our best enemy. In the Scriptures, the most beautiful writing about time could be found in Qoheleth. The wise man provides us with the poetry of time. We read: "There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted..." Eccl 3:1ss Time and season, that is what the liturgy of this 33rd Sunday is all about. It is a reminder that we are n...
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THE GENEROUS OFFERING OF THE POOR WIDOW.

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November 10, 2024. Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16; Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; Heb 9:24-28;Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44. “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury..." Mark 12:43 A British proverb says: “God looks to clean hands, not to full ones.” A Persian proverb adds: “In this world, generous people have no money and those with money are not generous.” Not to fall into a sinful generalization, but many situations and happenings tell us that poor people, people who are deprived of everything in terms of materials, are very generous. And when they want to give, they give with their heart. The Gospel, but also the first reading of this 32nd Sunday are a calling on generosity, a calling on self-giving seeking nothing in return for oneself. Regardless of our status, rich or poor, we always have something to offer, something to give for the needs of others. We have love to offer. We have our h...
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THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT.

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November 3, 2024. Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Dt 6:2-6; Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; Heb 7:23-28; Mk12:28b-34. "There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 An English proverb says: “He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” A Sicilian proverb adds: “Who loves God with all his heart, lives happy and dies happy.” According to the New Testament, the greatest commandment is two-part: First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. Let's first leave aside today's readings and go to a beautiful work of intellectual art, the Paulinian hymn of love. There, the Apostle of the Gentiles sings in 1 Cor 13:1-13 14: "Though I command languages both human and angelic -- if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing..." And the Apostle ends his poetic litany of love with this solemn proclamation: "As it is, these remain: fait...
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