Bishop Lucas, formerly of Springfield in Illinois will become the Metropolitan of the Province of Nebraska on July 22.

May the Lord shower you with blessings!

We’ve been waiting nearly two years to hear of our new Shepherd, and are delighted to warmly welcome you to Nebraska, home of the friendliest people!

Our Council believes that the work we do must be grounded in a genuine spirituality.  The Knights of Columbus aren’t just do-gooders; they are Catholic gentlemen seeking to serve Christ among us in a variety of ways.  Find out more about the Knights of Columbus here.

I’ve attended the retreat for many years, and have always been delighted by the wildlife encountered during the weekend.  The main chapel, named after Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, features floor-to-ceiling windows along the south side.  I’ve yet to attend Mass there without seeing deer moving through the forest.  I’m hoping to encounter some this weekend, too.

Retreats are important for anyone serious about the spiritual life.  It’s important for us to tithe some of our time each year to listen to the voice of the Lord, and to draw close to God in a pronounced and unhurried manner.

I remember being in Rome during the Jubilee (Holy) Year 2000 – signs were posted at all the basilicas reminding everyone (in multiple languages) that a pilgrimage is about an interior journey of the heart, not just a physical vacation of the body.

If you haven’t been on a retreat lately, take some time to schedule one right now.  It’s a New Year’s Resolution worth keeping.  If you’ve never been on a retreat, drop me a line for some suggestions, or contact your diocesan family life office.  They can share with you what is available in your area.

Please pray for me this weekend, I’ll be like a deer longing for running water . . .

MESSIANIC TITLES OF THE “O” ANTIPHONS

(at right is shown the star marking the place in Bethlehem where Christ entered the world)

Tomorrow indeed our Lord comes to us.  He comes not as a conquering hero, but rather, as a vulnerable, darling child born in a cave.  Kept warm by the livestock that share their shelter with Him.  God has touched our world — and changed it forever.

Merry Christmas to all of you – please remember to keep the “Mass” in Christmas.  We’d love to celebrate this holy event with you at Mass.  God bless you who seek the one who comes.

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.

Blessed are we to have such a God!  How marvelous is our Lord Jesus who enters our world to save us!

It is only through love that our God comes to us as one of our own.  The creator becoming a creature is a truly humbling thing, if we spend a moment and think about that.

Any among you that have artistic talent can relate to how remarkable this is:  when you paint or sculpt or throw pottery do you ever wish to that you could enter the piece?

Of course inanimate objects aren’t the same as people; but it gives us a glimpse into the love that is beyond our understanding that motivates our God to send his Son to us, to die for us, and to save us.

Blessed by the Lord, the God of Israel, He maintains all things and keep the world spinning at every moment.  Thank you for the gift of You!

O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

The children of Israel awaiting their messiah did not expect him to come for the gentiles, for the nations, but rather, exclusively for Israel.

But our God oftentimes suprises us with unexpected actions.  The gift of God-with-us is too great for any one tribe, for any one clan.  It’s an eternal gift that comes anew each year and sanctifies all time and all things.  The Lord pours out his love and care for all to experience.

If we want to be close to the King of the Universe, we need merely avail ourselves of the mysteries He left for us – the holy Sacraments.  Encounter your God by going to Confession this week – prepare your heart to receive the eternal gift of your loving Heavenly Father.

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:  come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Many of us stumble about through life with little direction.  Easily moving from one fad to another.  Why is that?  What is so difficult about maintaining a steady course?

We stumble about in darkness – most of us not all the time, but nearly every one of us some of the time.  Doubts and discouragement are part of the human condition, and no one is exempt from them.

Last year when letters to her spiritual director and journal entries were made public, Mother Teresa was in the spotlight of the media for a short time.  Reporters pounced on the fact that this holy woman had doubts – doubts about God’s care for her, doubts about her faith in Him.  

Blessed Mother Teresa is not unique – many of the greatest (holiest) saints among us endured [sometimes looooong] periods of doubt.  Of trouble with their faith, of discouragement and feelings of isolation, of being alone.  But they continued on, just as Mother Teresa did with her work, her prayer, her ministry to Christ.  And that makes all the difference.

If we doubt and worry and feel alone — but continue the course of our lives, we’ll work through it, and most likely become holier and wiser for it.  If we let it consume us, and destroy all hope within us, then the end will never seem to appear.

Whenever you find yourself in the darkness of doubt, and struggling with your faith, pray to the Radiant One for the gift of hope.  Our Lord Jesus is waiting to illuminate your path, and wrap his loving arms of comfort around you.  Let the Son shine upon you, and warm your face with his radiance.

Our God is a fantastic teacher.  He teaches His children with patience.  He makes things known to us gradually; and over time, we understand more complex concepts that build upon simpler things.

I think the readings today invite us to ponder the image of a cloud.

His physical manifestation to Moses came in the form of a cloud.  When Moses went up to receive the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s presence covered the mountain for seven days.  The people understood that something important was taking place within that cloud.

And when the Israelites moved around in the desert, the glory of the Lord accompanied them in the form of a cloud.

The cloud would hover over the Ark of the Covenant, the golden box that held the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  If the Lord wanted to move the clan by night – the cloud appeared as a pillar of fire to light their way.

If the Lord wanted to stay in one place for a time, the cloud would simply rest on the tent that contained the Ark.  The Israelites understood well.  They were content to dwell in a given place until the Lord urged them to move elsewhere.

After King David had built a palace, he pondered the appropriateness of living in his beautiful home compared to the simple tent that the Lord’s ark was kept in.  That’s what the first reading today is all about:

David had a good heart; he wanted the Lord’s ark to be more comfortable than himself.  He wanted the Lord to dwell in a building of more magnificence, more beauty.

But God tells David not to worry – if He wants a beautiful palace, He will have one built.  Rather, he teaches David that what He really wants is to fix a kingdom for His people Israel.  He wants them forever to have a line of kings to care for the people.

He reminds David that he was the most unlikely king.  David was a simple, young shepherd – content to care for the flock.  Protecting the sheep from predators, and ensuring they had sufficient grazing pastures and fresh water to drink.  God chose David because of his humility and because of his protective, loving care of those entrusted to him.  And that’s the kind of kingdom that God fixes through David’s successors for all time.  A firm kingdom of justice and peace and care.

David’s wish of a great temple for God was eventually fulfilled through Solomon, his son.  The temple was built to house the glory of the Lord.  And God was pleased with Solomon’s work.  When the temple was dedicated, the cloud of God’s presence entered it.  The cloud was so dense and thick that the priests couldn’t even see.  They left the inner sanctuary.

It’s important for us to realize that God made the Temple glorious not through cedar or gold or incense or burnt offerings.  He made it glorious because the cloud of his presence rested inside it.  He made it sacred and important because He chose to dwell within it.

You see, the cloud of the Lord’s glory, shekinah, in Hebrew, is the same whether it rests on a mountain, or over a tent in the desert, or inside the Holy of Holies in the Temple.  It was a physical reassurance to the people of the Lord’s favor with them; and his choice to be powerfully present in their midst.

But in today’s Gospel, there is a special shift in how God interacts with his chosen ones.  When Mary asks Gabriel, “how can this be?”  The Lord’s messenger tells her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”    the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

The cloud that interacted with the Israelites touched mountains, the desert floor, the canvas of a tent, and even the gold and acacia wood of the Temple.  But it never touched a person.

The shekinah cloud stayed for a time in this place or that, but it never made a permanent home anywhere.

You see, the cloud that overshadowed Mary was not temporary, it changed her forever.  The cloud wasn’t merely a representation of God’s presence; it was God Himself, the Holy Spirit, who rested upon her.

After moving about for 2,000 years, the eternal and most glorious home for God was found in a gracious, humble virgin named Mary.  The shekinah cloud would never again need to lead the people or reassure them of God’s closeness.  He would take flesh through Mary and walk among us as one of our own.

He would teach us and heal us and care for us and love us.

Above all else, he would save us by laying down his life for his friends.

During these last days of Advent, these days of preparation, I urge you to spend some time meditating on the entrance of Jesus into our world.

A great way to do that would be to read the eleventh chapter of Isaiah and ponder the mystery of God-made-man, Emmanuel.

O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of heaven:  come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.

There is a beautiful icon showing Christ’s decent into Hades to bring the righteous dead into heaven.  The icon depicts our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ pulling Adam and Eve from Hades into heaven.  This is what our Lord did after dying on the cross, and before he rose on Easter morning.

Keys are important symbols today, and were even more so in ancient Israel.  The keeper of the keys held the authority of them.  This tradition carries on in our modern-day verbiage of the Successor of Peter holding the keys entrusted to the Blessed Apostle by Jesus.  These keys are shown on the flag of Vatican City State, incidentally.

Jesse trees are fun, because it’s a good exercise for us to contemplate the genealogy of Jesus.  To be precise, the genealogy of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.

Tonight’s antiphon makes reference to the flower of Jesse’s stump:

O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you.  Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

Jesse is the father of King David, from whose line the messiah would spring forth.  Many Jews did not recognize Jesus as the messiah because they were awaiting a conquering military hero, as was David.  But we must remember David was the youngest, simplest of Jesse’s sons – certainly the most unlikely to become king.  He was happy to care for the flock, as a faithful shepherd.

But God calls whomever He wishes, and in ways we do not often understand.  Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, and many of the Prophets, were all from simple, unassuming backgrounds.  I think God likes it that way – the simple hearted, humble person does not get in God’s way – they become an instrument for the Holy Spirit to work through and with.

Obviously Joseph was this sort of man, and his Davidic lineage fulfilled the prophesy written in Isaiah 11:1 – “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”

And, of course, no one was more docile and obedient to the Holy Spirit than Mary.  The cooperation of a young, simple, holy Jewish teenager changed the world forever.  I pray that we might learn humility from all the docile souls in the Davidic line.  We too can change the world by becoming instruments of the Holy Spirit, letting our God animate our actions.

I’d rather get a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa greeting than to receive a sterilized-so-as-to-not-offend-anyone “Happy Holidays.”  In fact, I’d prefer a simple “thank you” or “have a nice day,” in lieu of that annoying “Happy Holidays.”  And don’t give me that “it’s store policy” riff — I’m not buyin’ it.

So, to accompany this short rant, give this poll a try.

Extra credit if you can guess the response Deacon Chris chose