We greeted the Christ-child just a few short weeks ago, but in today’s readings Jesus emerges as a man embarking on his public mission. In the first reading, Isaiah prophesies that God will send his “chosen one with whom he he is pleased,” and that he will place his spirit upon him. Isaiah says that this “servant” of God will bring justice to the nations, not by shouting in the streets, but in gentleness, teaching truth and bringing light. In the Gospel, we see Isaiah’s prophesy finally come to pass: Jesus comes, in humility, to be baptized by his cousin John. In that moment, God sends his spirit upon Jesus, proclaiming that “this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Today with the wise men, rejoice at the sight of the star of the Lord- the child Jesus, who “is the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). Let us all welcome this light into our hearts. Letting Him into our hearts, after all, is the most fitting way to “pay him homage” and “open our treasures to him, ”as the wise men did long ago on this most special feast. The darkness has not, and will not, overcome the light of the newborn King. May His light enter all of our hearts today!

Today the Church celebrates the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Together they are the greatest model of family life. But what is it about their family dynamic that makes it so great?

We often picture the Holy Family as portrayed in Christmas cards. And while I’m sure they shared many serene, beautiful moments, that image can give us a very unrealistic sense of what their life was actually like.

Merry Christmas dear friends! An angel of the Lord, bathed in light, illumines the night and brings glad tidings to the shepherds: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Lk 2:10). God has become one of us to make us like Himself and so bring us together to the embrace of the Father.

In these final days before Christmas, the liturgy slowly draws us into the mystery of the Incarnation—the Savior born for humanity. As we keep watch in silence with Mary and Joseph, I invite you to reflect on this poem by St. John of the Cross:

Happy third Sunday of advent!

Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation for the birth of Jesus; the first two weeks have been focused on preparation. This Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, is marked by the pink candle on the advent wreath and is a joyful day. In Latin, Gaudete translates to “rejoice”; today is about the excitement, anticipation, and hope we feel as Christmas quickly approaches.

In our Gospel today, we hear from John the Baptist. We don’t know much about his life other than a few pivotal moments, but what we can glean from the few words that we hear from John in the recounts of his life is that he was a man of great focus. One thing alone mattered to him. His ministry was one of prophecy, and of preparing the people to meet their Divine Bridegroom and King. His words awoke people to the reality of their sin, and the necessity to respond to that reality.

dvent has begun! What a mysterious and beautiful season of the year; a season of hope and of anticipation.

I’m sure in the last several weeks we’ve all experienced the great hurry that our general culture is in to celebrate Christmas. Like clockwork, as soon as Halloween is over, stores and advertisements and local decorations seem to transform overnight into Christmas, with barely a moment to pause for Thanksgiving, let alone for this special season of Advent.

Today’s Gospel can be very intimidating and prompts a powerful reflection on our willingness to speak out and profess our faith to others. This Gospel reminds me of the gravity that our testimonies have and the effect that we can have on each other if we share with each other how God is working in our lives. Hearing these stories will not only inspire our brothers and sisters in the faith but also those that do not yet have faith. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that the Holy Spirit will provide the words we need in that time. We must trust that God will help us make our testimonies and will guide us.

Happy “Becoming Saints Month!” We’re excited to have a whole month dedicated to the saints, which raises a few questions: “Who are the Saints?” and “What is holiness?” In the Catholic tradition there are canonized saints, officially recognized for their lives of exemplary virtue. But in reality “the saints” refers to all the faithful in Christ, both in heaven and those of us journeying on earth towards heaven. Through our baptism, we have been made holy and set apart, together in the Communion of Saints.

How lucky are we to have the hope of eternal life. As St. Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Romans, Hope does not disappoint! Particularly as we begin the month of November, we get to remember and pray for our loved ones who have passed, knowing that our God is so merciful and graciously humbled Himself unto death. What a gift that He reconciled us to Himself in this way despite our imperfections. Thanks to His sacrifice, we can have confidence in the fact that the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and that no torment shall touch them, as Solomon writes in the book of Wisdom.

That image of clouds appears again in today’s first reading, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds” (Sirach 35:21). It echoes the message from last Sunday’s gospel—God hears and answers every prayer. He listens when we are oppressed. He is not deaf to our cries. We are willingly heard, and He will not delay. The promise of our small prayers is powerful—strong enough to pierce the clouds. But how can that be, when we feel so small and our voices so soft? Perhaps it’s because we are already close to His ear. Like a child whispering into the ear of a parent, our petitions reach the heart of the Father.

When it comes to perseverance in prayer, it’s helpful to know that it will be a battle. Prayer will not always be a place of felt emotions or spiritual consolation. We will go through deserts, and seasons where taking time to pray is inconvenient. In these times, let us beg for grace to grow in fidelity to the Divine Bridegroom, as we are His spouse, the Church.

After they began walking, they were still lepers. They were still sick, still hurting, still in pain. Yet they obeyed the Lord’s command, uncertain of what would happen. How often are we invited into an action that we do not fully understand? We step forward not knowing the outcome… and only afterwards, looking back, do we see that we have been healed.

Jesus’ response to this request is surprising though. He doesn’t say, “Sure, I’ll give you more faith.” Instead, He reminds them that even the tiniest amount of faith—even the size of a mustard seed—has incredible power. That’s good news for us. Sometimes we think we need to have our lives perfectly in order before God can work through us but Jesus is telling us that God can do great things even with the little trust we can muster in the middle of our mess and chaos.

Today’s readings invite us to consider how we are treating the poor, how we view our own wealth and resources, and how we are pursuing heavenly reward.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a parable of a steward who has been accused of wasting his master’s goods. At risk of being fired he acts quickly, lowering people’s debts in order to win their favor. Strangely, the master praises him, not for his dishonesty, but for his resourcefulness and creativity.

Today the Church takes an unusual break from our typical Sunday liturgical calendar. Of the three levels of liturgical celebrations (Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials), generally only Solemnities could supersede the proper prayers and readings of the ordinary Sunday liturgy. But today is one of those rare days that the Church allows a “Feast” to outrank the ordinary Sunday celebration. We do so for a special reason—to commemorate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!

Jesus boldly tells us in today’s gospel, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” These words are radical, and might be confusing to us at first. How can Jesus, who embodies divine love and reconciliation, be telling us to hate one another in order to be his disciple?