Peace be with you!

In this session, Fr. Freeh and parishioners Pat Henry and Vicki Phillips pick up the discussion of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation on evangelization, addressing the third question of the methods we use to transform ourselves and our world.

Our parish just had a marvelous celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Decades of the Rosary before the Mass were said in at least five languages. I’m not sure exactly how many, because the choir was warming up to sing for Mass. But I did get to see Native Americans in full tribal dress process up the aisle during one of the decades on the way to the music room.

All of our choirs sang…the children’s choir, the youth choir, the Spanish choir, the Tongan choir and the Liturgical choir. The Tongan choir sang while the Gospel was carried into the church in solemn procession, with four men carrying a platform on their shoulders holding the girl-child with the Gospel in her hands. Four women led the way, their faces and their hands speaking the language of the Islands, telling us all of the reverence due to the word of God.

What has this to do with our topic, you ask?

For me, it was a powerful and moving demonstration of the power of Christ’s message to speak across cultures, across time. The Catholic Church truly is “catholic”…as in “universal.”

Nonbelievers often characterize the doctrines of the Church as outdated, out of place in this modern world. The truth is, the teachings of Christ were just as out of place when He first proclaimed them 2,000 years ago. And before Him, the prophets were exiled, stoned, and ignored. But these timeless truths still have the power to change lives and transform the world, because they were written in the human heart by the finger of God.

In the era of Christendom, individual Christians could play fast and loose, and have the culture supply the support that was lacking in their faithfulness. Not any more.

In this pagan age, I think we must go back to the method that converted the first Christians from paganism: Witness. We must take seriously, and strive for, the interior change that will change the way we live in public and private. Faithfulness is contagious…but we must catch it ourselves, first.

It’s easy to be discouraged by the sad state of the world. Yet Advent is a time of hope. A time to recognize that God speaks to His people, and renews them. And, as this week’s readings tell us, we can rely on the Holy Spirit in our endeavor to change ourselves, and our world.

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
– Isaiah 61:1-2a

and

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
– 1 Thes. 5:23-24

Amen!

I hope as you’re counting down the days to Christmas, you’re also counting up the growing light of Advent, preparing for Christ’s coming, not just 2,000 years ago…but in our hearts, and our world, today!

Readings for Sunday.