On the Margins: Christmas Day, 2016

LISTEN NOW: CLICK HERE

We are all searching for Jesus. Today we celebrate the Word-Made-Flesh, the Incarnation, the manifestation of Love. Believe that God’s love is for you, within you, within your despair and uncertainty. Christmas is real.

Merry Christmas, Fr. Ron

Reading 1 Sg 2:8-14

“Do not be afraid” Painting: Ronald Raab CSC

Gospel Lk 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.

Once when he was serving as priest
in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in reply,
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”

“Angel of Hope” Painting and Bulletin Cover: Ronald Raab, CSC

Read my column from this week’s bulletin and view my cover painting. Click on link to read the full bulletin. 

READ BULLETIN: CLICK HERE

Dear Believers in the Word-Made-Flesh,

Today’s gospel (Matthew: 1:18-24) reveals to us a shift in the Advent liturgy and prayers. For the past three weeks, we have been focusing on the end times, the Second Coming of Christ Jesus. We now move into a reflection on Jesus’ birth and the movement toward celebrating Christmas.

In this gospel, Joseph receives a message from an angel. He had found himself in quite the unusual situation. It was against the law for him to marry a woman who was pregnant. His intention was not to abandon his future wife, yet he did not understand what to do. So this angel comes in the night to tell him, “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” The angel goes on to explain that the Holy Spirit has given the couple this child and that the child is going to change not only his earthly parents, but also the entire world.

This gospel shows us the validity of our dreams. I want every individual and every family to hold on to this passage from Matthew at Christmas. I really want our dreams to change us. Our dreams can show us that our lives do not have to be perfect in order for some amazing and beautiful things to happen within us. God plants within every human person the seed of goodness, hope and the talents to enrich our earthly existence. So dream on! Dream big!

If you notice within the gospels that whenever something new is about to happen to Jesus, an angel says, “Do not be afraid.” We, too, are to be open to God in changing times. When Jesus is about to be born, do not be afraid. When the resurrection is about to be revealed, do not be afraid. When the Holy Spirit is celebrated, do not be afraid. Through all of these transition moments, the gospels show us that fear is not to be the motivating action.

I invite us to not be afraid. I pray for your families in the conclusion of this Advent season so that fear will not be a guest at your table when your family arrives for Christmas dinner. I pray that when you reminisce about the events that have happened this year, that fear will not guide you into the future. I pray that you take to heart what Joseph realized, that your families do not need to be perfect in order to be faithful. If Joseph’s family was not perfect, do not think that your family has to be perfect. I pray for our parishioners this week that fear does not override our mission to serve people most in need. I pray that fear does not motivate our prayers about our nation, the decisions of our national leaders, our neighbors, friends, relatives or our brothers and sisters in poverty, loneliness and illness.

In this week before Christmas, light a candle in the stillness of evening. Dream with those you love even if they are not in the same room. Recognize the burdens you carry. Entrust your life again to Jesus, the Light of the World. Pray for those who need forgiveness from you. Pray for peace and the end of division and hatred. Allow your heart to enter into the message of an angel that fear is not the answer. Live the peace you pray for. Embrace differences. Listen to Saint Joseph. Turn off old judgments in your mind and enter the love of Emmanuel, “God is with us.”

Advent Blessings,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18, 2016

LISTEN NOW: FROM MATER DEI RADIO STATION

Do not be afraid. The angel comes to Joseph’s dream. God comes to us in our cumbersome lives so we may release our fear. This Advent time is one of great hope, of mercy and comfort and joy as we learn from Joseph to follow our dreams.

“John the Baptist” (This was a mock up for week two bulletin) By Ronald Raab, CSC

Gospel Jn 5:33-36

Jesus said to the Jews:
“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.”

– – –

This is my reflection for today published in Give Us This Day, from Liturgical Press. To order a subscription to Give Us This Day, CLICK HERE

Cultivating Hope

The Scriptures and prayers of Advent rouse within our hearts a deep, passionate desire for God. If we have the courage to pray together in Advent, sifting through the tragedies of life and the aches of our human spirits, we may find the compassion God promises us in our day and time.

As a pastor I know how fragile relationships can become. Only God can call us back to trust in miracles again. Just as Isaiah likened the people of God to a wife forsaken and lost, we find our way back home in these rather uncertain days of Advent. Advent cultivates hope within our souls to carry on as parents, families and believers.

We hope that our child struggling with addictions will return home from college and join us at the Christmas table so we can be a family again. We pray that a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s will recognize her children and grandchildren when they come home to visit next week. We wait for an unfaithful spouse to return with body and soul this wintery Christmas. We question our faith because the debilitating cancer has returned to our thirteen-year-old niece.

As struggling believers, we cling to the words of John the Baptist, who insists that we focus on the Kingdom of Heaven. Even in the excruciating suffering of the present, we find the eternity of love that has roused hope in human life for generations. “At nightfall, weeping enters in, but the dawn, rejoicing.”

Fr. Ronald Raab

Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC, is pastor of the Tri-Community Catholic Parish in Colorado Springs. He formerly served as associate pastor at Saint Andre Bessette Church in Old Town, Portland, OR. Learn more at http://www.ronaldraab.com

CLICK HERE TO READ ADVENT ALARM

Here is another Advent article from Ministry and Liturgy Magazine, 2010.