The weekend following Christmas is traditionally celebrated as the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family of Nazareth. On this feast day of the Family, the Church invites us as we thank God for the blessing and example of the Holy Family in Nazareth. That we express gratitude to God for the family in general, and for our families in particular, to seek to imitate the example of the Holy Family, to pray especially for families that are experiencing difficulties and turbulence and to work to promote family life in our communities. The Readings at Mass this weekend are carefully chosen to project the virtues of family life, virtues we are invited to imitate and so give life to our faith in preparation for the joy we shall have as God’s great family for eternity in the life to come.

One of the most precious gifts gratuitously given to human beings by God is the gift of freewill. So precious is this gift that God Himself respects it. He does not compel us to worship or have a relationship with Him against our will. To each of us, God extends an invitation to a life with Him in the Spirit which is properly entered into through baptism and is then expected to be lived responsibly and faithfully thereafter.

The Entrance Antiphon from which this weekend derives its liturgical name (Gaudete Sunday) invites us repeatedly to rejoice because our salvation is near. Those who wait for the coming of the Savior are exhorted neither to despair nor resort to complacency, for the Savior will arrive soon. Waiting can be at a time when things seem to be getting worse, is sometimes not pleasant, and can cause the faltering of best intentions. This unfortunate scenario was experienced by John the Baptist who had the singular privilege of being the precursor to the coming Messiah.

As we know, the First Sunday of Advent each year always invites us to a reflection on the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. On this Second Sunday of Advent, the Readings customarily introduces to us John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ who always comes with a call to repentance because the Kingdom of God is near. Although very pivotal to the Messiah’s mission, John the Baptist remains one of the most underappreciated figures in salvation history.

Happy New liturgical year and welcome to the holy Season of Advent, the Season during which we prepare ourselves spiritually to commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and to await His promised second coming. “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming.” (CCC524). The Readings on this First Sunday of Advent highlight this two-pronged waiting.

As it is customary with the liturgical calendar of the Church, we bring to a successful close the Liturgical Year “C” with the celebration of the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This Solemnity, also simply referred to as Christ the King, was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 with his encyclical Quas Primas in order to off er the Church’s response to growing secularism and atheism. Pope Pius desired that the world and particularly all Christians remember that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever. During the twentieth century, secularistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful in countries like Mexico, Russia, and some parts of Europe. Quas Primas assured the despairing Christians that while governments around them crumbled the universal kingship of Christ is destined to endure permanent duration.

We have arrived at the penultimate Sunday to the end of the Liturgical year in the Catholic Church. Next Sunday, we shall end the Liturgical year with the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King of the Universe. It is worth noting that the First Reading at the liturgy this weekend is taken from the last oracles of the prophet Malachi who interestingly is the last of the Old Testament prophets. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Readings invite us to reflect on the end of the world. While this is a fitting reminder that life on earth will certainly come to an end so that we may face judgement in order to account for the many blessings we received, these Readings do not in any way represent an invitation to become obsessed about “end times” and so become physically and spiritually inactive.

The 9th of November is set aside by the Church to celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. This church, considered the mother of all churches in the world, is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome also known as the Pope, it is the oldest and highest ranking of the four major Basilicas in Rome and is the only church in the world that holds the title of “archbasilica.” St John Lateran, the oldest public Church in the west, was built by Emperor Constantine and dedicated to Christ the Savior in 32AD, but was later rededicated to include St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. This year, the feast of this mother of all churches falls on a Sunday and so the Readings of the feast shall take the place of the Readings of the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

The membership of the universal assembly of the people of God transcends the Church militant which is the collective of all living believers who battle against sin as we journey towards heaven, our ultimate goal. Included in the Body of Christ are our brothers and sisters who passed this road of earthly pilgrimage, genuinely seeking to know God, to love Him, to serve Him and to be happy with Him in this world and in the life to come.

God is holy and just. His holiness abhors sin and in His justice, He punishes wrongdoing whether it is committed against Him, against neighbor, nature or even self. However, God is merciful in His administration of justice. On this matter, God is immutable. Scripture teaches us too that there is a clear preference for the weak, the oppressed, the sinner who admits his failings and commits to making amends in the administration of God’s prerogative of mercy. When the poor and downtrodden cry, the Lord hears them and responds speedily.

God has given us inherent capacity to accomplish many things by ourselves. There are also many other things that may be quite difficult if not outrightly impossible for us to accomplish without Divine help. St. Paul held that, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12).

The most meaningful form of gratitude we can offer for the many blessings we have received from God is a willful and generous surrendering of self in alignment with God’s will. When we receive a gift from anyone, especially if such a gift is life changing, the natural response is usually to express how grateful we are and how much we value that gift by communicating our thankfulness. This is what we see with Naaman the Syrian (Aramean) general who despite being a foreigner sought and found the prophet Elisha and after an initial hesitation did what the prophet asked him to do and plunged himself into the Jordan seven times to receive a miraculous healing from leprosy. He promptly returned and offered the prophet many gifts as an expression of his profound gratitude but the prophet declined receiving them.

It is quite easy for us to profess our faith in God and in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, when the tide of life flows in our favor. We have all the words we need to motivate and encourage others when fortune seems to be smiling broadly upon us in every facet of life. It could be another story when we face trying moments where nothing seems to be working for us, when even God seems to have turned His back towards us and responds with silence when we cry out for help in prayer.