Monday 19 December
19 December O radix Iesse, Gospel - Luke 1:5-25 “Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear.” The sign of the presence of the angel at the altar disturbed Zechariah and he became afraid and then he doubted the words of the Angel. Here we see fear and doubt taking over Zechariah in the presence of the Angel. This also happens to us. Fear and doubts overshadow our prayers and spiritual life. Then it’s difficult to understand and accept the Word of God. We don’t accept the message of God with the due respect and love. This fear starts from not understanding the presence of God in different situations and through different persons. When we don’t understand, there starts the fear and doubts. Advent is the time to overcome the fears and doubts so that we can understand the message of God.
Sunday 18 December
4th Sunday of Advent Gospel - Matthew 1:18-24 O Adonai! “Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit”. Joseph accepted the maternity of Mary as an action of the Holy Spirit as he accepted his paternity as an action of the Holy Spirit. This is a great mystery which elevates the nature to be at the service of the plan of salvation of the humanity. This mystery works in a perfect collaboration between grace and nature, between God and man. Here comes the role of Mother Mary and Joseph. There is an intrinsic relationship between the full disposition of Mary and Joseph and the full action of the Holy Spirit in them. It’s their full and free consent that welcome the action of the Holy Spirit into their life. Their cooperation to the will of God is full. Angel of the Lord is encouraging Joseph not to have any fears for this full and free consent to the action of the Holy Spirit in his life as he like every one of us was surrounded by elements of fear and questions. Advent is the time to give full and free consent to the action of the Holy Spirit in our life.
Saturday 17 December
17 December O Sapientia! Gospel - Matthew 1:1-17 “The genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham…”. The genealogy of Jesus Christ is not some names. It shows how God prepared the way for His incarnation. Genealogy embraces different generations, different places, different situations, different moments of history, but through all these differences run the single reality of the plan of God for the incarnation of His Son in our midst. When we read this genealogy, this should also be our thought: in my life, happening different things, coming and going different persons, moving to different places, different tasks and jobs, different situations, but in all these circumstances, there is something that connects all these in my life, that is the plan of God for my life so that I can feel the love of God. Advent is the time to feel the plan of God that runs through all the situations in my life.
Friday 16 December
Friday of the 3rd week of Advent Gospel - John 5:33-36 “John was a lamp alight and shining”. And Jesus is the source of this light. Being united to the source of light is the way to keep our light aflame. He was united to the source of light by his testimony to the truth. “...he gave his testimony to the truth”. It’s our testimony to the truth that connects us to the source of light and it’s then we began to shine in the darkness. Our testimony to truth comes when we have true love in us. Our testimony to truth comes when we can enjoy the true love of God in prayer. Our testimony to truth comes when we can see the best in others. Advent is the time to be a light by giving testimony to truth.