From Season to Season

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. —John 1:35-37 If you’re anything like me, the recent celebrations of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord have already faded into memory. I find myself continually distracted by the ceaseless news cycle, the unrest across the nation, the continuing devastation being wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic, as well the “quick succession of busy nothings” of my own life (to borrow a phrase from Jane Austen). And now, here we are in Ordinary Time again, with a very adult Jesus in the early days of his ministry. The Gospel assigned for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time opens with John the Baptist in conversation with some of his disciples. In a sense, John helps to form a bridge between Advent and Christmas and these first days of Ordinary Time (see Pope Francis, Angelus Address for January 14, 2018). John will...

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee  and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open  and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens,  "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."   —Mark 1:9-11 To be baptized is an act of humility. After all, no one baptizes himself or herself. In accepting John’s baptism, Jesus fully embraced what it means to be a human person, with all of humanity’s weakness, limitations, and suffering.  That Jesus, the Incarnate Word, humbled himself in this way shows that he chose humility as the way he would redeem us. The Baptism of Christ by Giotto (1305) As we have heard time and again in these Christmas days, the Savior of the world did not come with any sort of fanfare or grandeur. He came quietly into the world as a baby, the lowest and the least of humanity. Then, after spending thirty years in an...

 And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,  until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star,  and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures  and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh .  —Matthew 2:9b-11 When Saint Luke wrote his account of the birth of Jesus, he spoke of shepherds tending their flocks by night. Inspired an angelic messenger and the multitude of the heavenly host with their songs of God’s glory, these shepherds “went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16). We hear this story in the gospels proclaimed in the Masses of Christmas “ During the Night ” and “ at Dawn .”    Saint Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus has a very different tone. Concerned as he is with demonstrating how Jesus was the fulfillm...

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.   —Luke 2:16-19 To call Mary the Theotokos , the "Mother of God " or “God-Bearer,” is to celebrate the unique role that she has played—and continues to play—in God’s plan of salvation. And as we honor the Theotokos in our celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, on January 1, we also celebrate the Octave Day of Christmas, recalling the circumcision and naming of Jesus on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Luke 2:21).  A contemporary icon of Mary, "Seeker of the Lost" The iconic Christmas image of Mary holding her infant Son embodies the mystery of the Lord’s birth, as it brings together the human and divine elements of the In...

Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.   —Luke 2:51-52 Christmas is a time for family. Whether we are spending the holidays with our biological families, religious communities and parish families, or “chosen” families of friends, Christmas is a season when we come together with those whom we love to celebrate love, especially God’s love enfleshed in the gift of his Son. This truth of Christmas was brought into sharp focus this year, as the realities of the coronavirus pandemic kept us from being with our families and those we love.  Contemporary icon of the Holy Family  by Marko Ivan Rupnik, SJ (2012) The Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, is an invitation to reflect on the lives and relationships of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and on how God’s grace is at wo...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…  And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,  and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.  —Luke 1:1-2, 14 The Gospel of the Christmas Mass “During the Day” Every Christmas we celebrate the truth that God became a human being. This belief is so essential that to deny it or to try to explain it away is to give up the foundational belief of Christians. The Solemnity of Christmas invites us to pause and reflect on what these words really mean.  It is one thing to simply repeat the words of the Nicene Creed: “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man.” It is quite another to allow these words to effect a change in our lives. As Cardinal Basil Hume observed, “The words are simple and direct, but their meaning is far beyond our power to comprehend… But it is not flesh and blood...