Psalm 80, which we use as the responsorial psalm on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, is a communal lamentation. There is a possibility that this lament is occasioned by the death of King Josiah who reigned over the Kingdom of Judah about 650 years before the coming of Jesus. King Josiah instituted a reform inspired by the newly discovered Book of Deuteronomy. In the face of great resistance, the...
In Charles Dickens’ novel Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, one of the characters makes the observation that “Nothing travels so fast as ill news.” In our times, this statement is usually reduced to four words: “Bad news travels fast.” That is probably more true of our own times than it has been at any time in our history. With our 24/7 news cycle, the...
The conversation that takes place between the angel Gabriel and the young maiden of Nazareth is so familiar to us that we might overlook everything except what we refer to as Mary’s “Fiat.” However, I would like to talk about something that the angel says to Mary. “Hail, full of grace.”
We are told these words bring about some anxiety in Mary. The angel answers...
There are no fewer than seven stories of their and women in the Scriptures – six in the Hebrew Scriptures and one in the Christian Scriptures. Sarah, wife of Abraham, Rachel, the wife of Isaac, Rebecca, the wife of Jacob, Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, the unnamed wife of Manoa (of whom we hear in today’s first reading), and the great woman of Shunem who served as an acolyte for the...
The first reading for today’s liturgy is, I am sure, a familiar choice as it was also the first reading for the First Sunday of Advent this year. The prophet Jeremiah proclaims that the children of Israel will call God, “The Lord, our Justice.” He prophesies that God will raise a righteous shoot to David, a king who shall reign and govern wisely.
In the Gospel text for...