Thoughts on Joseph

 

Third Week of Advent

Matthew 1:18–25

Friends, today’s Gospel centers on one of the most beloved figures in Christian history: Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. He’s featured in countless works of art and is prominent in the devotional lives of many. Yet we know almost nothing about him. The scant verses here in Matthew offer the most extensive description, yet even they reveal some powerful spiritual themes. First, we discover Mary was betrothed to Joseph and this union had been blessed by God. But then Joseph finds his betrothed is pregnant. Can you imagine the distress? This must have been an emotional maelstrom for him. And at a deeper level, it was a spiritual crisis. What did God want him to do? But then an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” He realizes at that moment that these puzzling events are part of God’s much greater plan. What appears to be a disaster from his perspective is meaningful from God’s perspective. Joseph was willing to cooperate with the divine plan, though he in no way knew its contours or deepest purpose. Like his wife, Mary, at the annunciation, he trusted and let himself be led. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on the genealogy of Jesus

 

Third Week of Advent

Matthew 1:1–17

Friends, today’s Gospel records the genealogy of Jesus. It was desperately important for Matthew to show that Jesus didn’t just appear out of the blue. Rather, he came out of a rich, densely textured history. St. Irenaeus tells us that the incarnation had been taking place over a long period of time, with God gradually accustoming himself to the human race. Look at this long line of characters: saints, sinners, cheats, prostitutes, murderers, poets, kings, insiders, and outsiders—all leading to the Christ. Of course, King David is mentioned. He was, without doubt, a great figure, the king who united the nation. But he was also an adulterer and a murderer. From this long line of the great and not-so-great, the prominent and obscure, saints and sinners, and kings and paupers came “Jesus who is called the Christ.” God became one of us, in all of our grace and embarrassment, in all of our beauty and ordinariness. God had a series of human ancestors, and, like most families, they were kind of a mixed bag. And what good news this is for us! It means that God can bring the Christ to birth even in people like us. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on authority

 

Third Week of Advent

Matthew 21:23–27

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the chief priests and elders question Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” The Greek word used for “authority” is most enlightening: exousia. It means, literally, “from the being of.” Jesus speaks with the very exousia of God, and therefore, his words effect what they say. He says, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43), and the dead man comes out of the tomb. He rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Be still!” (Mark 4:39), and there is calm. And the night before he dies, he takes bread and says, “This is my body” (Matt 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). And what he says is. Friends, this is the authority of the Church. If we are simply the guardians of one interesting philosophical perspective among many, then we are powerless. If we rely on our own cleverness in argumentation, then we will fail. Our power comes—and this remains a great mystery—only when we speak with the authority of Jesus Christ. Bishop Robert Barron

More thoughts on Gaudete Sunday

Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, is a time of joy and anticipation in the liturgical calendar. The name "Gaudete" comes from the Latin word for "rejoice," and this Sunday invites us to rejoice in the near arrival of our Savior. 

The liturgical color of rose used on this day symbolizes joy and hope amidst the penitential season of Advent.

As we celebrate this moment of joyful expectation, it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on the profound message of Our Lady of Fatima and her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady's call to prayer, penance, and conversion resonates deeply with the spirit of Advent.

Her message invites us to prepare our hearts for Christ's coming with sincerity and devotion!

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of grace and love, offers a model for our own preparation. 

Just as Gaudete Sunday encourages us to find joy in our journey towards Christ, Our Lady of Fatima’s Immaculate Heart reminds us of the transformative power of opening our hearts to God's grace and love. 

Her example of purity, humility, and unwavering faith can inspire us to approach this Advent season with renewed fervor and devotion.

Let us, therefore, use this Gaudete Sunday as an opportunity to rejoice in the hope of Christ’s coming, while also embracing the call of Our Lady of Fatima. 

Wishing you a blessed Gaudete Sunday and a joyful Advent season!

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Christopher P. Wendt
International Director
Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Third Sunday of Advent

 

Third Sunday of Advent

Matthew 11:2–11

Friends, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist asks if Jesus is “the one . . . or should we look for another?” When this inquiry is conveyed to Jesus, the Lord does not respond theoretically but rather by pointing to things that are happening. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Was Jesus doing all of this in the literal sense? Yes! That he was a miracle worker and a healer was one of the most fundamental perceptions regarding Jesus. When God came among us in Christ, he effected the work of repairing his broken and hurting creation. He is not interested simply in souls but in bodies as well. And so we hear indeed of the man born blind, of Bartimaeus, of the paralyzed man lowered down through the roof to Jesus, of the woman with the flow of blood, of the man who is deaf and dumb to whom Jesus says “Ephphatha!” (Be opened!). We hear of Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Nain. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Luke 1:39–47

Friends, today we celebrate the great feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. What followed the apparition of Mary at Tepeyac is one of the most astounding chapters in the history of Christian evangelism. In 1531, on the hill of Tepeyac, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego—a humble Indigenous man—and left behind one of the greatest miracles in the history of the Church: her image, imprinted on his tilma. Though Franciscan missionaries had been laboring in Mexico for twenty years, they had made little progress. But within ten years of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, practically the entire Mexican people, nine million strong, had converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe had proved a more effective evangelist than Peter, Paul, Patrick, and Francis Xavier combined! And with that great national conversion, the Aztec practice of human sacrifice came to an end. She had done battle with fallen spirits and had won a culture-changing victory for the God of love. Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to inspire hearts and call people to her Son throughout the world today. Her message of compassion, unity, and conversion still resounds powerfully across cultures and generations. The challenge for us who honor her today is to join the same fight. We must announce to our culture today the truth of the God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, the God of nonviolence and forgiving love. And we ought, like Our Lady of Guadalupe, to be bearers of Jesus to a world that needs him more than ever. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Gaudete Sunday

                                                                 

Who do you believe is the greatest human being to have lived? In today’s Gospel Jesus says it is John the Baptist: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist . . . .” (Mt. 11:11) Certainly, John the Baptist was impressive: He was the culmination of all the Old Testament prophets; he had the courage to be unpopular; he was strong and unwavering, clearly announcing the arrival of the Messiah. But rather surprisingly, Jesus continues: “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

           

We are those “least in the kingdom of heaven.” John the Baptist lacked that which the simplest Christian has, what we have: John never knew of the Cross; he never saw the Cross of Christ. So, he never knew the full revelation of God’s love.

 

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday). That’s why the vestments are rose colored and flowers adorn the altar. Why should we rejoice? Because Christmas draws near. But the more complete reason lies in three things: the crib, the Cross, and the Church.

• If we look to the crib, we see the hope of new life, and the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
• If we look to the Cross, we see the assurance of God’s love, and the redemptive value of suffering.
• If we look to the Church, we see the abiding presence of God in the world; His grace,

His sacraments, and His forgiveness even now.

This Wednesday marks the 182^nd anniversary of the publication of the world’s best loved Christmas story, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, published December 17, 1843.

• It’s called by literary scholars the “most outstanding Christmas myth of modern literature.”
• Dickens said that he laughed and cried over this short novel as he did over no other.
• A Christmas Carol has changed hearts and spread love at Christmas for 182 years.
• Because it’s all about the changed heart of Ebenezer Scrooge and his spreading love.

How much more should the truth of God’s love for us (crib, Cross, Church) change our hearts and inspire us to spread Christian love this Advent and Christmastide?

 

We have been blessed even beyond John the Baptist. We, the “least in the kingdom of heaven,” are greater than he! John knew the crib, but we know the love of God in the Cross and in the Church.

On Gaudete Sunday we should be confident to rejoice, knowing God’s love for us, trusting that He can change our hearts to be ever more like His. 

-Fr. Don Saunders, SJ