Isaiah the Prophet: Reflection and painting

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“Isaiah the Prophet” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 

Reading 1 Is 40:1-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

A voice says, “Cry out!”
I answer, “What shall I cry out?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.
So then, the people is the grass.
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,
the word of our God stands forever.”

Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

The Prophet Isaiah offers us hope and challenge in Advent. The four weeks of Advent become a school of prayer and prophesy if we learn to listen with our full hearts and attention. Isaiah is our master teacher, our mentor in Advent.

Isaiah shows us that our lives and our world will wither and fade but not the glory of God within us. God is our surety and hope for all life. In fact, God will run toward us to find us in ways we least expect. God will gather us into his fold and heal us. God will hold our tired bodies and give us comfort. God will lead us when we stray.

Today, we need to lean into the mystery of our prophets. The prophets shed light and hope in the midst of our sex scandals and institutional darkness. We are called and invited to cleanse our souls. We are challenged to trust in God and yet we cling to our self-righteousness. We have abandoned our children. We resist communion with our enemies. We are quick to divide and to take sides. We point our fingers in blame. Only God can show us the way through this incredible darkness.

God promises to reach out to the lost and today we are all lost. Today, hope is at hand if we believe that God is calling us more deeply into integrity, justice and peace. In this Advent, the Church calls out to our ancestors for help and direction. Let us trust the words of Isaiah, “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.”

Second Sunday of Advent: Prayers of the Faithful

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Second Sunday of Advent

Let us pray that God will continue the good work of our commitments within the Church, especially our dedicated prayer and loving service. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray that our deserts of violence become valleys of peace, that hopelessness may be transformed into joy, that sarcasm may turn to shouts of praise in this Advent season. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray that we may listen to John the Baptist and receive the challenge to walk in the glow of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Let us discover our treasure of integrity here on earth. We pray to the Lord.

Let us sort through our false purpose and hypocrisy this Advent. That genuine compassion may flow from our mouths like honey toward our enemies as well as our loved ones. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for children who feel they do not belong within their families, for our children with disabilities, for our grandchildren struggling to find adequate employment, and for our children trapped in addictions. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for people suffocating in grief and loss. We remember our dead who have journeyed home to heaven. We pray to the Lord.

Fragments from the Word: The Second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 2018 (audio)

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Listen to an audio version or read the text as a reflection on the gospel, Luke 3: 1-6, for the Second Sunday of Advent, 2018.

LISTEN NOW: CLICK HERE

Clear our throats

John the Baptist’s voice,

Stronger than an Alaskan earthquake,

Mightier than a California blaze,

Bolder than a Texas border-wall,

Reverberates beyond generations.

 

His clear intonation and pure eloquence,

Transmitting from ancient prophets,

With rawness from the lonely desert,

Opens our ears to prepare for the savior from blue heaven.

 

His life remains unencumbered,

Since he hears what he speaks,

That all the earth shall be healed and forgiven,

Where hills will be made low and valleys filled in,

And those who torment and divide,

Shall hang their heads in repentance.

 

Our deaf hearts will shout along with John

That Love is mightier than our pain,

When our healed voices speak for the weak,

When our prophetic sentences strung together

Become a safety net for the forgotten.

 

We herald words as prophets,

To people evacuated from storm and fire,

To foster children lost in bureaucratic systems,

To sisters separated between arguing countries,

Then the voice of the prophet

Shall be shelter stronger than cardboard.

 

So we clear our throats waiting for the day,

When our Advent longing shall bear fruit,

And our voices ring from the earth in praise.

The Second Sunday of Advent: Bulletin cover photo. My weekly column.

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Dec. 9, 2018 Bulletin Cover

Cover photo of our Lady of Guadalupe from Sacred Heart Church by John Goddard. 

CLICK HERE FOR full bulletin

Dear Believers in the Messiah,

John the Baptist is my favorite personality in the gospel next to his cousin Jesus. I am drawn to John because he knows entirely who he is in the story of the Christ. Even when he was in the womb, he danced in recognition that he was in the presence of the Savior. How can you beat that? John grew up close to the earth and close to the realization that the world needs salvation. He spent his life pointing into the direction of Christ Jesus and calling people to ready their lives for his promise of salvation.

Today’s gospel, Luke 3:1-6, breaks through the silence of the desert so we may listen to the strong and bold words of John the Baptist. Again, the gospel is not about a cozy, domestic longing for the baby Jesus. Somehow we are afraid to look at Christmas differently from the warm fires of family life. Christmas is not about domestic bliss, rather it is about the realization that the Word of God moves mountains, changes the directions of streams and makes winding roads straight. In other words, there is nothing in our lives that cannot be redeemed, loved and forgiven. This is the journey for us, to open wide our hearts even when we are filled with fear. We seek the glory of God becoming flesh within the world.

John is in the desert in today’s gospel. The wasteland is an important image in the gospels. Here’s why. The coming of Christ reestablishes the full presence of God. This abundant love is viewed in the original image of life in the Garden of Eden. In other words, the desert, which is devoid of lush green and flowing water, will become the second garden of life in the resurrection of Christ Jesus. So John shakes us all up by saying that we must be prepared for something new to happen in the desert. Valleys will be filled in and rough roads made smooth. Lush green will become our home, an image of eternal life.

This image of desert is also about the human heart. There will be no sin or anxiety that will not be forgiven or made new in Christ Jesus. John has quite the task in Advent. He is bold, earthy, strong and sure in his declaration that every human heart must wait for God. We all experience this dry wasteland at some point in our lives. We all know how sin, division and heartache can shrink or decay the potential of life. Our hearts in Advent are laid bare for love to enter them to make them whole.

Our prayer during the Advent season must be inclusive and expansive. We are to pray for all the ways our hearts become withered and small. We are to take the voice of the weak seriously and to walk among the bewildered and the poor with unbelievable hope.

May the blessings of the season fill our weakness and break open our desperate hearts.

Advent Peace,

Fr. Ron

First Sunday of Advent: Prayers of the Faithful

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Prayers of the Faithful

First Sunday of Advent

Let us pray for vigilance in Advent, that we may bring optimism to our desperate poor and to people who remain drowsy with fear. Let us all remain awake and watchful. We pray to the Lord.

Let us see with new eyes in Advent, that our leaders within the Church may come to terms with our hurting children who have been abused by power and secrecy. We pray to the Lord.

Let us imagine a new world this Advent where we cease our violent words against one another, where we realize the consequences of hatred in our families and in our neighborhoods and within our politics and religion. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for people who are ill during this Advent. That we may seek to help our sick in mind and body, that we may respect the dignity of those who cannot heal themselves. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for people suffocating from the anxieties of daily life, that fear may be replaced with joy in our search for Jesus-made-flesh. Let us lay down our burdens of regret and restlessness in our new liturgical year. We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to lift up our souls to the Lord in Advent. That we may carry the needs of those who grieve, that our dead may find eternal rest in friendship with the Lord. We pray to the Lord.

Fragments from the Word: First Sunday of Advent 2018 (audio reflection on Luke’s gospel)

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Last Easter, my radio show came to a conclusion. Now, I want to occasionally offer an audio reflection called, “Fragments from the Word”. This is a title that I used several years ago. This three-minute reflection invites us into the message of the Sunday gospel or some phrase or passage of the liturgy. Today’s reflection is from Luke’s gospel. Hope you enjoy.

 

Fragments from the Word: Click here for an audio reflection for the First Sunday of Advent.

Gospel LK 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”

 

 

First Sunday of Advent: My cover art and column for December 2, 2018

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FULL bulletin here

Dec. 2, 2018 Bulletin Cover

 

Dear Believers in the Messiah,

Advent stirs up our desire for God. Advent does not begin with sentimental notions of chocolate covered Christianity or gingerbread prayers. Notice that our Sunday gospels would not make the cut for glittered greeting cards or catchy holiday songs. These gospels are hardly romantic. Instead, Advent compels our wakefulness to a world that is hurting and in need of love, tenderness and redemption. Advent becomes a profound and deep hope that everything in our world will be brought back to what is good, caring and wise. Advent is meant to get us on our feet and keep us moving until every aspect of our human condition is made whole.

We begin the Christian story all over again in this First Sunday of Advent. We wait for the coming of the Messiah. We long for a worldview that cultivates hopefulness for people on earth. Amazingly, the gospel in this New Year of Grace does not start off with a quaint or sentimental notion of Christmas. In fact, it is just the opposite.

Advent takes us by the shoulders and shakes us out of complacency. These four weeks, just as an alarm clock, wake us to the Messiah’s coming. Luke 21:25-28, 34-36, which is read today, takes us to the extreme of letting go of everything to which we cling, including our addictions, our apathy and our hatred. Our hearts are challenged to stay awake beyond our own ego. We have become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life. The world is longing for something new, including our lives that have centered on dividing people, the accusations of our slander and the sleepiness of our moral complacency.

Our vigilance to stay awake in Advent takes many forms. We are to become vulnerable for God. So much of what we do in our world does not work, especially when it is based on power, authority and unkindness. When we look at so much of how the world works, it is truly based on fear.

The season of Advent is meant to humble us once again. This humility is not a human put-down, but is meant for us to finally realize that God is God and we are not. We stand gazing at the stars in the darkness of Advent. We bend down to raise up the ill and those tied down with failure and hopelessness. We extend our hearts to people who shelter themselves in tears and fear during the nighttime.

Advent cultivates our desire for the richness of God’s love and mercy. Without us coming to realize that we need God and God’s people, Christmas will only be a time of tinsel and self-reliance. Advent’s four-week preparation to the celebration of Christ’s birth is dramatic and grace-filled. However, we realize that we do not wait in our day for this child to be born. We wait instead for us to be amazed at God’s breakthrough in our heartache and in our broken Church to bring us the glory and love of Christ Jesus today.

Advent Peace,

Fr. Ron

Christ the King: Prayers of the Faithful

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The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Sunday November 25, 2018

Let us pray to seek gospel love for people surviving prejudice, isolation and hatred in our world and within our Church. That we may live the message of Christ the King, that all things shall find their home in love.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for leaders and bishops within our Church, that they may continue with courage to end cover-ups and let go of false power concerning the crimes committed on our children.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for those who weep at their loss from the California fires, for those who hold their heads down in wonder about loved ones killed this week. For people still trying to claim their lives from hurricanes, storms and violence.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for the dignity of family life, for those united in hardship as well as harmony that families may thrive in faith and kindness reflective of Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray that we may bare truth in our speech and actions and that we may work for justice on this earth as it reflects the beauty and bounty of heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for people who have buried a loved one this week, that all life and death may be in union with Christ our King.

We pray to the Lord.