Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Second Sunday of Advent
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty, verses one thru five, nine, ten, & eleven;
Psalm Eighty-five, verses nine & ten, eleven & twelve, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Second Letter to Peter, chapter three, verses eight thru fourteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter one, verses one thru eight.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel compels us to come to grips with the great Advent figure of John the Baptist. It’s really impossible to grasp the significance of Jesus without passing through the cleansing bath of John the Baptist. He provides a lens through which Jesus is properly interpreted.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
John, we learn today, made his appearance as a preacher in the desert of Judea. Deserts are places of simplicity and poverty, places where distractions and attachments are eliminated—and hence where the voice of God can be heard. Wealth, pleasure, power, honor—and all of their avatars and priests—are shouting at us, luring us, tempting us. But what is God saying? We have to go to these silent and deserted places in order to hear.
What is the first thing that the prophet says? We read in another Gospel that he says, "Reform your lives!" In other words, "Repent!" This word cuts to the heart of every one of us, precisely because we all know that our lives are not where they are supposed to be. We have all fallen short of the glory of God; we have all fallen into patterns of self-absorption and addiction. So let us hear John’s word today: "Repent!"
Video reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D.: Breaking the Bread.
Video reflection by David: New Catholic Generation.
Mass Journal: Week 50
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
If the Catholic Church is to change, grow, thrive, & fulfill its mission in this modern climate, it will be for one reason: because we became a more spiritual people. Only then will this renewed spiritual health burst forth into authentic action. It would seem to me that education & evangelization are the keys to helping the whole Church to blossom. They are the pillars of renewal. It is impossible to know God & not love Him. It is equally impossible to experience God & not want others to experience Him as a result. Those who do not evangelize simply have not had an intimate experience of God. If you went into an ice cream parlor & there was no ice cream, you'd say, "There's a problem!" If you went to a chocolate shop & there was no chocolate, you'd say, "There's a problem!" The mission of the Church is to share the Gospel, & to teach, encourage, & challenge people to become more like Jesus Christ. So how is it that we can belong to a local church community that goes year after year with almost no outreach to the unchurched & underchurched in our area, with very few people becoming markedly more Christ-like, & not think there is a problem? Let me tell you, if this describes your church community, there's a problem!
Otherwise, 10 December would be the festival of Our Lady of Loreto & the Translation of the Holy House: Madonna-link, Holy House-link, & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Holy House, Batman!
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Miltiades, Pope (died 314), thirty-second Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pontiff.
'Twould also be the festival of Saints Edmund Gennings, Polydore Plasden, & Eustace White, Priests; & Swithun Wells, Martyrs (died 1591), martyred in the reign of the queen Elizabeth I, four of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Echo Golf & Wikipedia-link Echo Golf; Martyr-link Papa Papa & Wikipedia-link Papa Papa; Martyr-link Echo Whiskey & Wikipedia-link Echo Whiskey; Martyr-link Sierra Whiskey & Wikipedia-link Sierra Whiskey; Martyrs-link XL & Wikipedia-link XL.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Sidney Hodgson, Martyr (died 1591), martyred in the reign of the queen Elizabeth I: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Bl. Sidney was martyred alongside Ss. Edmund & Swithun, but is not counted one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales. That canon was never meant to be exhaustive, merely representative of the innumerable faithful Catholics put to death by the tyrannical Tudor & Stewart dynasties & their self-worshiping Church of England.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint John Roberts, Priest & Martyr, O.S.B. (1577-1610), founder of the community that eventually settled at Downside Abbey; martyred in the reign of the king Jams VI & I, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey; Martyrs-link XL & Wikipedia-link XL.
Saint Quote o' the Day
"Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself."
—Pope Bl. Paul VI (26 September)
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