THE WORD WAS GOD…ALL THINGS CAME TO BEING THROUGH HIM… (John 1: 1-18)
God come to earth, swaddled in lowly birth…
unknown, ignored…No room for divinity.
Too well disguised, this tiny Babe; defenseless…dependent,
as all others.
Those hands fashioned the cosmos
and we as well.
Yet, no trumpet blast of welcome,
No honors paid to this, God’s Son;
To this, God enfleshed.
Undaunted,
He came and stays and will come again.
LOVE HIS NAME!
REDEMPTION HIS GIFT!
Posted in Christmas
THE WORD BECAME HUMAN AND DWELLS AMONG US 
REJOICE! JESUS OUR SAVIOR IS BORN! PEACE TO ALL THOSE WHO RECEIVE HIM IN THEIR HEART!
ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA!
Posted in Christmas
In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1: 78-79
How should we live this Word
This text is preceded by the motivations that prompt this event to be announced as a great light. It deals with the rising sun. We know that the source of life and joy is Jesus. How could such an event of solar clarity have come about, this joy and salvation? Humanity did not merit it with its history marked by errors and even dark evil.
All has come about ‘though the tender compassion of our God’. Our meditation takes this trajectory. It is in this joyful immersion of the certainty of a God who loves us infinitely because of His goodness and His unlimited mercy, that our gaze contemplates the rising sun. Jesus does not leave us in our sadness, pessimism, depression. He came to open the way of peace that is His Gospel, which is He Himself. He came to guide us step by step on this road.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect on this reality.
Lord, You open to us a vision that is the opposite of the anxious seeking for things to prepare for Christmas so that it is full of gifts. You make me contemplate Jesus as the great Sun that rises on the horizon of my life with the promise of that which really counts, peace. My heart obtains this peace when, with Him, I accomplish what the Father wants.
The voice of Cyril of Alexandria, Church Doctor
The world found itself in error, serving creation instead of the Creator. It was clouded in ignorance. The night, so to say, had fallen on the minds of everyone and did not allow them to see the One who is truly and by nature, God. But the Lord of all, rose up for the Israelites like a light and like the sun.
Posted in Advent, Cyril of Alexandria, Magnificat
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
Luke 1: 57-58
How should we live this Word
The elderly Elizabeth gives birth to a child and the newness of the Gospel is born, because this child is the precursor, the one who prepares the way for Jesus in the hearts of the people. What is new marks a break with regard to what is old. In this case it is the tradition to give the father’s name to the son.
Inspired from on High, Elizabeth and Zechariah say that the child shall be called John. This name means, ‘God gives grace’. With this name, Malachy’s prophecy is fulfilled when, from the distant centuries, he had seen the One who would prepare and announce the coming of the promised Messiah, after having remained in the desert. Today’s entire Gospel is pervaded by the mystery of this newness that already brings the joy of the Good News.
All this comes about through God’s mercy in ending Elizabeth’s sterility. The neighbors and relatives rejoice. It is precisely this joy that speaks to us today.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect on the fact that where there are evangelical actions such as goodness, forgiveness, service, joy cannot be lacking. It is truly authentic only when it is shared.
Lord, grant that I may await Your birth with the joy of those who know how to see the good in daily life lived in happiness that is spread and shared.
The voice of Vatican Council II
‘The unsurpassable vertex of the perspective indicated is the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the New Man, in solidarity with humanity to His death on the cross.’ It is always possible to recognize in Him the living Sign of that limitless, transcendent love of God- with- us. He takes upon Himself the weight of His people’s infirmities. He walks with them, saves them, and builds them in unity.
From the Word of the DayMary said, ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
Luke 1: 46-48
How should we live this Word
Among the jewels of Christian literature there is the Magnificat that Luke places on the Virgin Mother Mary’s lips immediately after their greeting when Elizabeth had recognized her as Lord’s Mother. It is worth resting our heart by praying it with Mary. However, here we will pause on the first phrase that highlights Mary’s two attitudes as a real model of prayer.
Above all, we need to say that it is the expression of a deep and widespread joy. It is a joy that comes from the first attitude of wanting to praise the Lord with all the ardor of her heart. The second attitude is Mary’s recognition that God has ‘looked upon His lowly servant’. The word ‘lowly’ is not the same as humility. Mary says that God has gazed upon her ‘nothingness’, as she deems herself. She accepts her creature state as a limitation and not as a boast. Her joy exults, bursts forth, and spreads from this. Mary’s gaze is on God. And when she looks at herself in the Lord, her nothingness does not dismay her. She feels herself loved precisely in her nothingness. Her great joy flows from this tending toward God who is contemplated and praised, and from the awareness of her extreme poverty transfigured by His infinite love.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will await Christmas in consonance with Mary. I will let her joy spread in me.
Lord, You are great and powerful! I am nothing but I am loved and saved by You. Come, Lord Jesus, come!
The voice of Bede, Church Father
Mary attributes nothing to her merits but all to the greatness of the gift of the One who is powerful and great by nature and makes His faithful ones, who are small and weak, great and strong.
Posted in Advent, Bede, Magnificat
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth ‘was’ filled with the Holy Spirit…
Luke 1: 41
How should we live this Word
The evangelist Luke has just recounted history’s central event. With the collaboration of Mary’s ‘yes’, the Word of God became flesh in a woman’s womb. This woman immediately allows herself to be grasped by the urgency of charity and hurries to her elderly cousin. Elizabeth is in a difficult stage of her pregnancy, soon to give birth to John the Baptist. The scene is full of joy, tenderness, and awe bathed in divine light.
The young woman, Mary of Nazareth, enters into the house and embraces her cousin with reverence, lovingly offering her assistance. Mary’s greeting is already suffused with the presence that mysteriously dwells in her womb. It is the presence of the omnipotent God in the tiny seed of a human being. He could destroy everyone and everything. On the contrary, He protects and caresses, and vivifies the baby in Elizabeth’s womb. The result is a leap of joy in the Holy Spirit of the baby yet unborn.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will make space for this joy! Chesterton defined it as ‘the Great Christian secret’. It flows from the presence of that Jesus who lives through faith in the heart of believers who coherently live the Gospel.
Lord Jesus, in the immensity of Your Birth, make me capable of interior attention to these mysteries that are renewed in me as well if I live the moments of this day with a heart open to the gift of Your love and I let myself be made capable of loving in turn by giving myself to others.
The voice of Massimo of Turin, Church Father
John exults before being born. Before knowing the aspect of the world with his eyes, he already knew the Lord of the world in the Spirit.
Posted in Advent, John Leaps for Joy, Massimo of Turin
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you
by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Luke 1: 45
How should we live this Word
Today Mary is the radiant woman of faith! In faith, She was able to grasp and receive G
od’s will, pronouncing her unconditional ‘yes’ to God’s plan for her and for humanity. The Fathers of the Church liked to connect Mary with the ancient Ark of the Covenant where God dwelled in glory in the midst of the people. In fact, now Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, the beloved of God, chosen to become the dwelling place of Emmanuel, God among us.
Full of the joy of the prodigy worked in her, and desiring to share it, “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah” to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant in her old age and involved in the same mysterious plan. Entering the house, she greets her cousin and Elizabeth’s baby leaps in her womb. ‘Shalom’, Peace, Mary says to Elizabeth, a Hebrew term that means ‘I wish you the fullness of life’. Truly, Mary brought Life in her womb!
In contact with God’s deep mystery and full of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed are you among women…and blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Elizabeth’s blessing will accompany Mary to the final accomplishment of God’s plan and will also be a confirmation of the mysterious announcement of the angel.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will place myself before this Young Woman who lived her life and mission toward all of us in humility and love, sustained by a faith that was strong, pure, creative, active, and unconditional.
Hail Mary, woman of faith, help me to grow in a daily faith. Help me to grasp the love of Jesus, Your Son, and to share the joy of His holy friendship with others.
The voice of Peter of Celle, holy monk
You come on a donkey and not on the cherubim. You come toward us and not against us. You come to save and not to judge, to visit us in peace and not to condemn us in anger. If you come this way, Lord Jesus, instead of fleeing from You, we run toward You.
Posted in Mary and Elizabeth, Peter Celle
Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
Luke 1: 13
How should we live this Word
The phrase ‘Do not be afraid’ in today’s Gospel, is used often to introduce an extraordinary event concerning God’s plan. So often, His interventions in our life frighten us! At times, God’s plans seem to upset our normalcy, as it did in the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. Notwithstanding the advanced age of Elizabeth, a son will be born to Zechariah!
Zechariah hesitates in the face of this extraordinary announcement and doubts its possibility. It is his doubt that closes his access to the mystery and he becomes mute. The angel Gabriel tells him, “Now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” The angel also announces the son’s mission. “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
In His mercy, God uses every fragment of history to bring to completion His plan of salvation for humanity. He invites everyone to collaborate, even you and me today.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect on this mystery of reciprocity that God has always intended for each of His creatures. As I wait for Christmas, which is fast approaching, I will open my heart to receive the extraordinary announcement of peace and joy that the ‘angels’ of my daily life bring to me.
Lord, grant that I may recognize You and send away the doubts that sometimes surprise me as I humbly adore the mystery of Your littleness, simplicity, and joy.
The voice of Antoinette Augruso, teacher
In the silent vigil one understands the urgency of building a grammar for dialogue that blossoms into peace and justice, the visible signs on earth that open to Heaven.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.
Matthew 1: 22
How should we live this Word
Matthew continues to root Jesus in the history of the Israelite people. He points out the continuity between the prophecies about the Messiah and the generation and birth of Jesus, the fulfillment of the promises. He cites the prophet Isaiah, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’ which means, ‘God with us’. (7: 14) God’s grand plan is being realized in the Gospel and Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, is involved as well.
The fact that Mary was pregnant had upset and confused him because he was a just man and lived according to the law. He loved Mary and did not want to think evil of her, but there was the law. While Joseph was preoccupied in seeking a human solution to the problem, God intervened in a dream and reassured him. He entrusted him with a mission in the story of salvation. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Joseph humbly accepts God’s will and takes Mary into his home. He will be the one to name Jesus, as this was the prerogative of the father and meant that he fully accepted the child. Thus Jesus becomes a ‘son of David’, the Savior of His people.
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect on the ‘power’ of God’s intervention in Joseph’s life and all the plans of this young bridegroom that were overturned and reoriented into a greater Plan, that of God.
Lord, You have plans of love for me as well. Grant that I too, like Joseph, can recognize what You want of me and that I may accept it with simple faith and generous love.
The voice of Meister Eckhart, Mystic
The highest achievement of faith is to remain in silence so that God may speak and work interiorly.
Posted in Meister Eckhart, St. Joseph
Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…
Matthew 1: 17
How should we live this Word
The evangelist Matthew considers Jesus’ genealogy of great importance, not only to confirm His historical reality, but also to locate Him in a specific people. He is a descendant of David, of the tribe of Judah. He has ancestors of diverse origins that include the good and the less good. This information emphasizes another fact as well. Jesus is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. Jeremiah prophesied, ‘Behold, the days are coming, oracle of the Lord, in which I will fulfill the promises of good that I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and in that time, I will make sprout from the trunk of David, a just branch who will exercise judgment and justice on the earth.’ (33: 14) 
Jesus is the one who has given a new turn to human history of all times. A Church Father of the Fourth century, Hilary of Poitiers, affirms, ‘Only in Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, can humanity find salvation. He has united all persons in Himself. He became flesh from all of us…He assumed in Himself the nature of every flesh and became the true vine through it. He has in Himself the root of every branch.’ Through relationship with His flesh, access to Christ is open to all. We only need to divest ourselves of the ‘old person’, nailing it to His cross, abandoning the works of the past and converting ourselves in order to be buried with Him in His Baptism in view of life’. (Treatise on the psalms)
Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will reflect on the words of St. Hilary to gain a better understanding of the incarnation, ‘the place of the meaning and dignity of my life and the possibility of being inhabited by God! It is the highest expression of His great love for us.
Lord Jesus, mysterious presence hidden in every creature, the ultimate reason of our seeking and hoping, grant that we may know how to receive Your Word and make our life an incessant invocation, Come Lord Jesus, do not delay!
The voice of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Church Father
God is eternal. He was born of a woman and remains with us each day. In this trust we live. In this trust we find the path of our life.
