Pastor’s Corner – Nov 27

Pastor’s Corner – Nov 27

The calendar year, 2016, is quickly moving on and we are enjoying the cool autumn weather and the long Thanksgiving weekend. We have followed through with the guidance of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Jubilee Year of Mercy from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in December 2015 to the Feast of Christ the King last Sunday. May the mercy of the heavenly Father continue to bless, to forgive, to heal and to inspire us as we go forward. The Church begins a new Liturgical Year with the first Sunday of Advent. The Church appreciates time in a very different way than most other people. Time for us who have faith in God centers on the person of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Savior and the Messiah. The events, the teachings and the example of Jesus are the real focus of all we honor and celebrate as Catholics and as Christians.

In the Liturgy of the Church the mood of the coming four weeks will be about waiting, about preparing and about anticipating the coming and the arrival of someone who is important. The word, advent, comes from the Latin word, adventus, which means the arrival or the coming of someone or something of great consequence. The weeks and days between now and Christmas will remind us of the three comings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first coming of the Messiah was foretold throughout the prophecies of the Old Testament with the words of the Prophets. The biblical readings that will be proclaimed during the Masses of Advent will speak beautifully and hopefully of the coming of the day of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah will give us some inspirational and eloquent verses that prepare the People of God for the coming of the Messiah. During Advent, take time to read, to pray and to meditate with the prophecies of all the Prophets, especially Isaiah. The Jewish Prophets constantly speak hopefully that the kindness and the fidelity of God will save and redeem the People of God and free them of their sins. The prophecies come to fulfillment with the Birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem. The coming of the Messiah was the manifestation of God in the history of mankind and his divine presence in the person of the Infant Savior born of Mary, the humble Virgin, was the beginning of the new eternal relationship that God has with us now. In Jesus Christ, the divine and the human are one; God has made his dwelling with the human race. We are forever God’s chosen people; we are the children of the living God.

The second coming of the Lord Jesus, the Parousia and the Rapture, has yet to happen. The Bible has many references about the Second Coming of the Lord, especially in the New Testament. The Bible does not give any specific time for that event and it is impossible for us with all the biblical evidence to come to an exact day and time for the Rapture. The most helpful advice that the Scripture offers is the guidance of Jesus in the Gospel of today’s Mass: “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Matthew 24:42-44) During the days of Advent, may we indeed be watchful, vigilant, alert, prayerful and attentive. During the Advent time of preparation for Christmas, may we seek to be more observant, more thoughtful, more in harmony with what is going on in our spiritual lives. May we grow closer to the Lord and more accepting of his guidance.

The third coming of the Lord is his coming to us in our daily lives. The Lord is present within us and among us through his Spirit and everyday, the Lord reveals himself to us in the events, in the circumstances and in the challenges of our lives. The Lord is always present to us; his love, his mercy and his good will is ever providential to each one of us. During Advent, may our hearts be open to the Lord in times of prayer and meditation as the Lord wants to transform us more and more into his divine sacred heart: ‘Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.’

My best wishes, love, prayers and gratitude to you and to your loved ones for who you are, for all you do for the good of the Lord and all you do for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3)

SHALOM!
Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of November 27 – December 3
Romans 13:11-14

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