On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18, 2016
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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
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.”
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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.
“The Lord hears our cry” Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC
Here is an article from Celebrate! Magazine from 2010. Hope you enjoy the Advent theme.
Originally published by Celebrate! Magazine, November 2010
– PDF version –
My parents decided to sell our family home in Edwardsburg, Michigan the year after I was ordained a priest. Even though I had not lived in the cozy house for ten years prior to that decision, the news of my parents’ move devastated me. I was an adult having made decisions about my future, but my past seemed to be slipping out from under me. This charming white, renovated home sitting on the edge of Garver Lake was not just a commodity; it felt as if it were at the core of my identity.
I did not realize the emotional power of this piece of land and the house with the open view to the lakefront until I visited my parents just before they sold our home. I walked into the familiar setting to see cardboard boxes being…
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Third Sunday of Advent 2016 Bulletin Cover: “The blind regain their sight…” Pastel: Ronald Raab, CSC
My column for this weekend’s bulletin and cover drawing
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Dear Believers in the Baptized Christ,
Today is “Gaudete” Sunday, a Latin word meaning, “Rejoice.” We rejoice that we are half-way to Christmas. This rejoicing means that we experience and are aware of the miracles of the Incarnation. We know what Jesus can do for us because of his passion, death and resurrection and through the gift of our own baptism. The liturgical color for today is “rose” and we light the rose candle on the Advent wreath. However, the profound nature of our spiritual path goes well beyond a liturgical color.
We see the depth of our Advent journey in today’s gospel (Matthew 11:2-11). John the Baptist is in prison and hears of the work of Jesus. Jesus is demonstrating the reasons why we “rejoice” in the first place. “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.”
Jesus’ actions are at the heart of our spiritual journey. These actions are not left in the past. These are the encounters that Jesus has with his people. He still is inviting us to bring our pain, our burdens, our ill health and our complicated lives to him. He wants our hearts. He desires us. This is Advent Hope striving to break open our cynicism, our desperation and our apathy.
In our day and time, Jesus is asking us to be his instrument of justice in our world. As Christians we still need to build bridges of acceptance to become a community of peace, a city of hope, a neighborhood of mercy to bring all people together. We listen to the Advent gospels with hearts that are wide open to the needs of people today. We act as Jesus did so that hope and rejoicing remains in our world today.
We are constantly being called to reveal our identity as Christians in our world. The good works in today’s gospel revealed Jesus as the Messiah. Our role is to strive for justice for all people. We use our gifts and talents to make the world understand the mercy, tenderness, and healing powers of Jesus Christ. We never sit back in our comfort and wait for someone else in faith to change the world. Don’t wait for the pastor to do it. Don’t wait for the Pope to do it alone. Don’t wait for an organization or institution to put into place the justice that Jesus calls for. Jesus is waiting for you to be converted, changed into a hands-on believer who finally understands that we need to enter into relationship with the blind, the lame, the underserved, and the destitute. We need to finally co-operate with the graces Jesus is offering us in order to show the world that he is the Messiah.
The Advent journey takes us to the beauty and wonder of the Incarnation at Christmas. This means that every life has meaning. Every person is to be held in the light of Christ’s love and hope. In other words, the core of our faith is about “people”. It is through humanity that we all experience the awesomeness, the richness, and the integrity of Jesus Christ. We are all called and challenged to put our lives in the center of exactly what we hope for, the Coming of Christ Jesus. In today’s gospel, we see this miracle made real exactly as the disciples did when we extend our lives to hurting people and to the love of God. Rejoice when the poor have the good news preached to them, when the blind see, when lepers are cleansed and when the crippled leap for joy!
Blessings in this Advent Season,
Fr. Ron
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
(This week’s show does not have the opening and closing from the station)
Third Sunday of Advent, December 11, 2016
The promise of God is real. God comes into our lives of blindness, lameness and sinfulness. God opens up and helps us see, allows us to dance and God forgives. Advent rejoicing is real on this “Gaudete” Sunday.
Advent 2016: Quick Draw, Ronald Raab, CSC
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
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“Mary” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC
Broken But Not Divided 