Pastor's Letter -- December 5, 2021

Beloved parishioners,
The prophet Baruch speaks of a time of returning of the exiles of Jerusalem. He refers to the humiliation that characterized their exit as they were taken away into captivity in Babylon. They left barefoot because the enemies led them away in haste. His message is essentially one of hope for the Jews in Diaspora. He tells them to put off their cloak of mourning and misery and to put on the splendor of glory. This is because their time of exile is coming to an end, and the Lord is restoring their fortunes. Although they departed in shame and disgrace as a consequence of their iniquities, their return to Jerusalem would be glorious and regal. God has not forgotten them, and he has commanded the mountain and valleys to become level ground for their smooth passage. This message is one of restoration. It speaks of a bright future even though the present appears dark and hopeless. The scripture scholar, Raymond Brown, opines that whereas this message refers immediately to the restoration of the Jerusalem of the Exile, it is only a prefiguration of the new Jerusalem of the end time as can be clearly seen in the second prophetic discourse (Bar 4:30 - 5:9).

The Exile was a consequence of their rebellion against God. The people of Jerusalem had abandoned the Lord and replaced him with created things. The Lord accused Israel of forsaking him, the source of living waters. And as though that was not spiteful enough, they replaced the Lord with broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). The ‘broken cisterns’ is metaphor for the idols to which they turned instead of the worship of the one true God. Whenever a people abandon the Lord, they don’t continue in a vacuum; they replace him with something else. How often do we hear people who were formerly Christians say they now identify as NONES or SPIRITUAL but not RELIGIOUS? When one interrogates their reasoning one might discover that they are rebelling against structured religion or even having any religious authority other than themselves. While it might be true that some persons abandon the faith because of a negative personal experience or the experience of someone they know or identify with, it is another extreme to think that one can become the determinant of how to best worship God, without any reference to the Church founded by Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. I might be accused of being naive, but it seems presumptuous to me that someone or group of persons would think themselves more enlightened or more in tune with the Holy Spirit than the Church, the Bride of Christ, which he promised to be with till the end of time (Matthew 28:20). We must guide against pride.

Advent is an opportune moment to grow in humility. How else can we best welcome the one who is coming in glory and power at the eschaton unless we first receive him in the lowliness of the manger on bended knees? How do we best prepare for the birth of the Messiah, the one to whom the choir of angels sing, than by daily lowering ourselves so that he might increase in us? Indeed, the Lord has done a great thing for us, by coming to us in a manner that is accessible to us. Who would have imagined that our maker would come to us and become one with us in all things but sin? Perhaps, if Christ had come to us in all his glory we would have been terrified to approach him. Maybe we might not have had free access to him because his divinity would have crushed our frail humanity. But out of the loving kindness, and the wisdom of the Father, the Son of God came to us in human form and identified with our fallenness so that he might elevate us to his divine status. This, of course, is the goal of Christianity - our divinization. The goal of true religion, the worship of the One God, and the striving to live morally upright lives, is so that we might be more like God. And the more we are like God, the less we are like our old selves. This is the transformation we must strive for during this holy season of Advent.

This weekend we remember the Knights of Columbus in our prayers as they embark on a membership drive. We thank them for all the good work they are doing in our parish and community, and we pray that their zeal and strength will be increased. I wish to invite all men in our parish to consider joining this admirable group of Catholic men and contribute to their work of evangelization in charity.

Finally, I want to thank all who participated in the 12-hour adoration to Pray for Dobbs. May our collective cries to heaven restore to us our good fortunes and bring an end to all violence against the unborn.

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you! With blessings from my heart,