From Season to Season

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...

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...

Advent is a season of contradictions and juxtapositions.  This is the season of "already" but "not yet," as we prepare for the coming-in-fullness of the One who has already been born into time and history.  This is the dark season when we watch and wait from the dawning of the One who is  the Light of the World, lighting the candles of the Advent wreath and praying in the Magnificat antiphon for December 21:  O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:  Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.   This theme of light is a fundamental part of our prayer in these Advent days and we recall John the Baptist, the great prophet of Advent, testifying to the coming of this light (see John 1:6-9 ).  This is the light of the Lord that illumines the darkened heart of a sin- and war-weary world.  Reflecting on this, Quaker writer Isaac Pennington wrote, “But of what nature is this light, which shineth in man in his...

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert:  “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. —Mark 1:2-4 Advent is a complicated season. I’m tempted to say that this is the most complex season of the Church Year. Advent presumes that we Christians have been formed in an adult faith that is prepared to celebrate an adult Christmas. And, as we know, Advent isn’t a season that is focused only on the past, because this is the time we focus our attention on One who is among us right now and who will come in glory in the future. Although Advent is a season of hope, hope seems to be in short supply these days. So, as I was reflecting on this Sunday's readings , I thought about what hope might mean for our Church and the world. In this, I realized that I was making a mi...