Third Sunday of Advent (Luke 3:10-18)
Luke’s gospel gives prominence to John the Baptist as a social reformer. We are called upon to share with the hungry and with the needy, to act with justice and to avoid violence.
John talks of the baptism that Jesus will give people. The baptism Jesus gives will demand a choice between working for goodness, truth and justice, or working for lesser and contrary aims. There is a demanding choice to be made for justice and love, a choice against violence, hatred and selfishness. But the overwhelming atmosphere is of joyous anticipation of the one who will bring the good news, and who is the good news, the one who will bring healing, forgiveness and new life.
What demands of justice and non-violence does the gospel bring for me today?
Do I welcome the coming of Christ as good news in the deepest sense?
Pray for those who strive for a just distribution of the world’s riches.
Pray for the grace to ‘live simply so that others can simply live’.
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Luke 1:39-44)
Luke stresses how deeply related the mission of John the Baptist is to the mission of Christ. Today’s gospel passage is unique because it presents a meeting between the mothers of the two men, each carrying in their wombs the children to be born. The story also has a deeper significance, for it is the first meeting between the Messiah and the one who will prepare the way for him. The child in the womb of Elizabeth recognised the coming of the Lord, the Messiah. What John will do during his adult life, preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah, is anticipated here in the tender meeting of two pregnant mothers.
What can we learn from the behaviour and attitude of Mary and Elizabeth?
How will the coming of Christ change me?
Pray for all mothers that they may welcome the children of their womb.
Pray for a deep spirit of thanksgiving for God’s goodness.
Feast of the Holy Family (Luke 2:41-52)
Today’s gospel gives us a rare glimpse of the ‘hidden life’ of Jesus, the years he spent under the care of Mary and Joseph. The anxiety of Mary when he goes missing foreshadows the three days of anguish when Jesus dies. Mary will ‘store these things in her heart’. She is the contemplative who receives the word and puts it into practice. Luke reminds us that Jesus grew in wisdom as the years passed.
What does this story of Jesus’ adolescence really teach us?
How is Luke preparing us for later events in the gospel story?
Let us pray for patience with ourselves and with others as we seek to grow in wisdom.
Let us pray for all our young people that they will be open to doing God’s will.
Fr Adrian Graffy