December 7 - Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

St. Ambrose

Today's Readings

What a privilege to share some thoughts on these beautiful readings today. St. Ambrose was one of the original four doctors of the Church. While reflecting on today's message I applied the process of Lectio Divina, a type of holy listening. Several words "spoke" to me.

Let me start with the Gospel reading from Matthew 11: 28-30 and then I will incorporate some thoughts on the other readings. Matthew offers us a great invitation. He states "Come to me, ALL you who labor & are burdened". GOD CALLS EVERYONE! Isn't this a comfort. He knows our daily struggles, trials, tribulations & burdens. All the things that weigh us down.

It is in this calling that he invites us to bring our "heavy loads" to HIM, and then HE assures us REST!

The readings in Isaiah also invite us to ponder the Salvation promised by GOD, who is all powerful & all knowing. God pardons, renews, heals & calls us each by name. He truly comes to save all. What a blessing. It is in this "calling" that we need to prepare ourselves to meet Him. The Greek word "Metanoia" means to change ones heart or mind. This season of Advent invites us to prepare & ready ourselves to welcome Him into our hearts again. Our all knowing, all powerful GOD who abides in mercy and kindness, comes to renew & save us. He invites us to "SOAR" as on Eagles Wings. How I have come to love this beautiful hymn, which is typically sung at funerals. For many years, because it touched me so personally, I couldn't sing it without crying. Now these powerful words truly lift me. Such a profound promise. GOD calls us to acknowledge His divine plans for all of us. He loves us so completely as to "carry us" on Eagles Wings!

In closing my thoughts on today's readings, let's be sure to rest & ponder the goodness of GOD, as we wait patiently & prayerfully during this season of Advent. Then we will truly be "blessed" & prepared to meet Him. I wish you ALL, a Happy Advent of Holy Waiting!

Linda Nardone

Women of the parish are invited to join us on Saturday mornings at 8:30 am in the rectory for the women's spirituality group that reflects on the Sunday gospel using the lectio divina method. Please consider dropping by!

December 6 - Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Of Ourselves

Today's Readings

When my sons were growing up I told them about the tradition of putting shoes by the chimney so that St. Nicholas would fill the shoes with candy on December 6th. At the same time I asked them to figure out a special gift for one of their friends so they could experience Christ’s generosity by giving to another. That person was not to know that the gift was from one of them but hidden so that the person would know it was from Christ. As they begin their families, I hope they will continue the tradition

Jesus is the pivotal point of our life in home, work, school and all of what we are. During Advent we sometimes get distracted by all the glamorous things that seek our attention. Jesus seeks that attention and wishes us to chose Him. We return to the pivot and focus our attention on Him through prayer.

St. Nicholas whose feast we celebrate today has that sense of goodness and mercy toward all. The best gift we have to give to others is the gift of ourselves enhanced by God’s graces and the joy of gifting ourselves to another. When we give the gift ourselves to another we replicate God’s generosity In the Scriptures for today, the psalmist refrain is: "Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will." We place ourselves in God's loving embrace.

Dr. Eileen Quinn Knight

Parish Pastoral Council

December 5 - Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Transformation

Today's Readings

In today’s Gospel, we see the life of the man on the stretcher completely transformed by Jesus in two important ways: his sins are forgiven and his physical paralysis is completely healed. This transformation happened because of friends who brought this paralyzed man on a stretcher to the presence of Jesus. I often neglect to bring others to the presence of Jesus partly because I feel too small to be an instrument of such a great transformation in others’ lives. However, today’s gospel shows that the simple actions of friends can be the catalyst for great transformations. The Lord asks us: “who is the man on the stretcher in your life today? Will you carry the stretcher and bring this person to my presence?” On Thanksgiving Day I served lunch for our homeless brothers and sisters at Catholic Charities with five other women from our parish’s Women’s Spirituality Group as well as many other volunteers. This was a small step of answering the Lord’s invitation but the Lord continuously invites us to carry others to him despite our own brokenness and imperfections. Whenever I feel small in being an instrument of love to others, I will remember: “carrying the stretcher” is all it takes on my part. The Lord will do the rest, the real transformation.

Hye-Sung Kim

RCIA Sponsor

December 4 - Second Sunday of Advent

Building God's Kingdom

Today's Readings

Our first reading presents a startling vision of what the kingdom of God will look like in it’s fulfillment:

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

the calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.

It sounds quite fantastical, even absurd. How could such interactions ever take place? Can a wolf and a lamb become friends? Is a lion really going to eat hay? It seems to go against the very essence and nature of who these creatures are and what they are created to be. 

For followers of Christ today, called to be co-creators in building this kingdom, such a vision of peace is profoundly challenging. Yet, if we look closely, we can see it taking shape in our midst. I glimpsed this myself during a visit to the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Back of the Yards where their restorative justice ministry brings together mothers who have lost children to violence who then go visit young people currently incarcerated for violent crimes. Yes, God’s kingdom of peace is being built in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center!

All of us, in some real and concrete way, are called to be ministers of peace. Let us discern together:

How can we bring peace into our hearts, into our families, into our community, into our world?

What is God calling you to do? What is God calling us to do?

By Matthew Burkhart

RCIA Sponsor

December 3 - Saturday of the First Week of Advent

Still Small Voice

Today's Readings

I moved to Chicago in 2001 from Oklahoma, where I was born and raised.  There, the interstates are referred to by their numbers:  I-35, I-40, and the like.  When I moved here and needed to find my way out of the city, people would tell me to take the Eisenhower…or the Edens…or the Kennedy.  Needless to say, I often felt lost, confused, and in need of direction!  Thank God for GPS—that reassuring, knowledgeable, and (usually) accurate voice, who leads me step by step in how to get to where I need to be.          

One of my favorite passages of scripture is found in today’s Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah:  “While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears, ‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you would turn to the right or to the left.”  One of the greatest blessings of our Christian faith is that we have been given the Holy Spirit to comfort us, teach us, and guide us into truth.  If only we will be still—and listen for that voice.     

    

I know it’s hard to do, but in this busy season of preparing for Christmas, I encourage you to try to carve out a bit of quiet, where you can listen for that still, small voice.  I know it’ll help you get you where you need to be!

1. Think of a time when you weren’t sure which direction to take in life and that still, small voice provided you with the answer you needed.  Offer a prayer of thanks to God for that grace.
2. Take a moment to be still and get in touch with a true desire you have for this Christmas season.  Ask God for that grace—and watch for what happens!

By Shane L. Tytenicz

RCIA Sponsor

December 2 - Friday of the First Week of Advent

In the Silence

Today's Readings

The verse that struck me the most today is the comment by Jesus to the two blind men to “see that no one knows about this.” It seems like at this point in the story of Jesus’ life we are at the end of his ministry and most people were very aware that he was walking around performing miracles. So why did he tell them to keep the story to themselves? 

How many times have I experienced God’s blessings in my life and I immediately shared the good news with everyone I know. How many times have we shared a blessing, when perhaps God granted us that blessing so we could cherish it in silence and come into a more heartfelt relationship with him? As Catholics we are called to deepen our relationship with Jesus in the silence of our hearts. Just like the Blessed Mother when she ‘treasured all things in her heart and thought about them often”, we are also called into silent prayer. It seems from today’s Gospel that sometimes Jesus calls us to silence so that we may feel a stronger bond with him and clearly hear what he is asking us to do, so we can fully enjoy the infinite blessings being offered to us. 

Perhaps we are being asked to read these readings at the beginning of Advent to encourage us to take time out of the busy holiday season to pray, to meditate and to reflect on our relationship with Jesus Christ so that we can receive the restorative healing that only he can provide. During this season of Advent, let’s allow God to speak to us in the silence of our hearts as we prepare for Jesus’ upcoming birth. Let’s discover God in the silence where he offers true healing.

Kathy Montague

Baptism Preparation Facilitator

December 1 - Thursday of the First Week of Advent

The Three Little Pigs

Today's Readings

As I read from Matthew’s gospel during this first week of Advent, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Jesus’s exhortation to “be like a wise man who built his house on rock” and . . . the tale of the Three Little Pigs. Remember that story? The one with the wolf and the pigs who each built a different kind of house?

The first two pigs built their homes from straw and sticks. The wolf huffed, and puffed, and blew those houses down with no problem. In the gospel,

“a fool . . . built his house on sand. 

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house. 

And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

The person who doesn’t have a solid faith foundation is much more likely to crumble when that faith is tested.

The third pig took the time to build a solid home, one built of brick. The wolf couldn’t blow it down!

Matthew’s gospel tells us that:

“The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house. 

But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.”

This man had his house built on a firm foundation. When you take the time to set yourself up for success, the trials that life throws at you are not going to destroy you. Preparation is key. 

Take some time to reflect on your faith foundation. Is it made of straw, sticks, or sand? Or is it made of brick, set firmly upon rock?

By Amy Greene

Stewardship Associate 

Holy Name Cathedral