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Scripture:

1 John 2:12-17
Luke 2:36-40

Reflection:

In one Peanuts comic strip, Lucy says Christmas is a time for kindness and a time to forgive one another. To this Charlie Brown responds: “Why do that just at Christmas? Why can’t we have the Christmas spirit the rest of the year?” Lucy looks at Charlie and says, “What are you, some kind of religious fanatic?”

 This is already the fifth day of Christmas.  The challenge we face is how to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year long.  Eventually the Christmas cookies go stale, the Christmas candles burn out, the Christmas songs get boring, and the Christmas trees dry up.  Yet the Christmas message is as fresh today as it was two thousand years ago:  God so loved the world, the human family that he sent his beloved Son, Jesus.   

God still loves the human family.  But now he sends you and me to bring Jesus to this world.  How do we do that?  With words and actions.

We bring Christ to others when we speak words of affection, like those written in our Christmas cards.  We bring Christ to others when we speak positive words, words that build up and don’t tear down.

We bring Christ to others when we speak those beautiful words, “I’m sorry”, and “I forgive”.  We also bring Christ to others when we speak the simple word, “Welcome”, at the door of our house and at the door of the church.

We bring Christ to others when we give food to the poor, and feed them the gift of a smile.     We bring Christ to our family when we feed them with the gift of our time, a listening ear and an understanding heart.

We bring Christ to others when we comfort the bereaved, work for peace, and help those whose hearts are broken.

In the words of Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th U. S. President: “Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.”

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

Scripture:

1 John 1:1-4
John 20:1, 2-6

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the feast of John, Apostle and Evangelist.  We also are experiencing the quiet time between Christmas and the Epiphany.  This “quiet time” is something I need in my life.  I need this time every day but it seems particularly important to me between the busyness of the Christmas holiday and the beginning of the New Year with all the resolutions, etc.  This quiet time is underrated in our world of 24/7 news (most of it bad) and constant e-interruptions!

This time is like going on a retreat.  It is a perfect time to remember and experience my relationship with God, everyone and every part of creation around me.  I recall the words from Psalm 85, “Peace is promised to God’s people”.  Being at peace in God’s presence and silence is better than every blood pressure pill I am ordered to swallow every morning.

I can call this time prayer but I prefer to refer to it as a time of simply being open to the movement of God within and around me.  It is a time of intimate peace.  This is especially helpful in this stage of my life when activities have become more circumscribed by health, resources and energy.  I relish these moments as an unearned grace.

These moments also act as fuel for my acts of kindness with others, my efforts for justice in our troubled world, my striving to be a better person to those around me and in relationship with me.  I guess my reflection today is to strive to carve these moments out every day and in our new year.  Maybe this would be a good year to spend time at one of our Passionist retreat centers or just in a chapel at one of our Passionist communities.

In any case, I am promising myself more of this “quiet time”.  Indeed, as John refers to it, the “Word was made flesh and dwells among us” and in these quiet times, “within us”.  Peace be upon you.

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D., is a member of our Passionist Family in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
Matthew 10:17-22

Reflection:

The expectation of a new child is a precious time in the life of any family, but the real adventure starts at the child’s birth. There is an unfolding, an unveiling that takes place over time. Learning to walk, to speak, to reason (way down the line!). A personality emerges and talents develop. It is a journey of a life time.

What captivates me about Christmas is the unfolding journey of the Three Kings or Magi, a journey that symbolically fills in the days from now to Epiphany, January 6th being the traditional feast. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Epiphany is more celebrated than Christmas. What intrigues me is their journey of faith, in faith. These three journeymen represent us who find our way to God. They represent our journeys of faith both to and from Bethlehem.

We don’t know really where Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar came from or even if these are their names. We know little about how long they journeyed or how they met along the way. But the Gospel of Matthew relates the story to us and from the early centuries of Christianity, their journey to the manger has consistently been celebrated. But after they make their way to Bethlehem and present their gifts, they leave. Their journey is not over. In a sense, it is just beginning.

It is with the encounter with Christ that our real journey begins. And it begins anew each Christmas Day. We not only journey with the Magi to see Christ, but we—like them—continue our journeys of faith, each day in faith. Let’s commit ourselves to the unfolding journey of Christ in our lives in the days, weeks and year ahead.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, as we move closer to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we hear the account of the birth of John the Baptist. Because of all the incredible things that happen around John’s birth: the announcement of his birth to Zechariah in the Temple, which ultimately left Zechariah mute; the fact that Elizabeth, thought to be barren and at her age, conceives and bears a son; the naming of him as John, an unfamiliar name in the family, and then Zechariah able to talk after affirming that his name was John; the people who witness all this say to themselves and each other, ”What, then will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

We see what John becomes. He becomes the fulfillment of all the prophecies about one who was to come and prepare the way of the Messiah. One of those prophecies is our first reading from Malachi: “Thus says the Lord God: Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me.” And later: “Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…”

I wonder what kind of a world we would have if our ambitions for our children included the notion that they might be messengers of God’s love and would help bring people together, no matter what their profession and vocation might be. And what if we had that ambition for ourselves?

May we not only prepare the way for Jesus to enter more deeply into our hearts, may we also open our hearts that His love will be seen by all with whom we encounter, and we be messengers of reconciliation and peace.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:24-28
Luke 1:46-56

Reflection:

We recently heard news of a royal wedding coming next summer in England.  Prince Harry will marry Megan Markle.  A great many journalists are delving into the wonder of this love from differing perspectives.  For example, Harry, like his brother Prince William, will be marrying a “commoner” rather than a woman of royal lineage.  Prince Harry will be marrying a very beautiful actress who has an African American lineage.  These were once considered unusual for the royal House of Windsor.  How has this shift taken place?  Although there may be multiple factors involved, perhaps the key reason behind this evolution lies in a mother’s influence.  Princess Diana was a determined mother who directed her sons’ upbringing in such a way that they would know, respect and appreciate people from all levels of society and every economic status.  They would have fine dining in the palace one week and be sharing soup and bread with the homeless at a soup kitchen the next week.  They would travel to discover the wonder and beauty of differing cultures and learn to appreciate the customs and traditions which differed from their own.  They would learn to be comfortable with everyone in every set of circumstances.  Princess Diana made a very large difference in her sons’ lives.

In today’s Sacred Scripture, we are invited to ease drop on two mothers who experienced miraculous conceptions and births.  Both had been chosen, blessed, and given a mission to bring into the world sons who would make an enormous difference in the faith journey of Israel and the world.  Hannah’s Samuel would become the wisdom figure who would lead Israel from a heritage of tribal rule and custom to a nation ruled by a King of Israel.  He would be an Israelite through and through avoiding the pagan customs like strong drink and the cutting of hair.  Samuel would anoint David king and so bring about the monarchy.  We all know what Mary’s Jesus would accomplish through His preaching, healing, sufferings, death and resurrection.  Jesus would  bring about salvation not only for the People of Israel but for the whole world.  His conception and birth would become the turning point of faith for human history.  God’s promises would all be fulfilled in Him.  We celebrate this gift off faith with hope and love on Christmas day.

Perhaps today’s Scriptures invite us to look  at the story behind the stories.  How did Samuel and Jesus become the men they were ?  There is no doubt in my mind that the two mother’s were a powerful influence in their sons’ appreciation and enjoyment  of a life with God the Father, of faithfulness to prayer, of living out of the values which were grounded in their heritage, and of courage and wisdom in leading God’s People forward toward the fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives.  Hannah and Mary raised their sons with this vision of their faith journey and remained perhaps the most powerful influence in their understanding and determination to complete the mission God had given them.  Perhaps our Advent Scriptures invite us to two reflections today.  Firstly, we are invited to remember with love our own mothers and the powerful influence they were and have been on our own lives and faith development.  To be sure, none were perfect but their care, concern and love together with their own faith journey with God helped us to become who we are and who we will be.  At Christmas time, we take the opportunity to pray for our mothers asking God’s blessings upon them for the gift of life given to us.  Secondly, we are invited today to remember that we, too, by virtue of our baptism and life with Jesus, have been given the mission  by our heavenly Father to be one with Jesus in our world today making known to others – family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, the strangers in our lives and in our land – the Good News of salvation.  Most of all, we do so by living the values Jesus taught us in His teachings and in His actions.  For most of us, we learned these first from influential mothers.

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.