Let us too, with haste, share the good news of Jesus!
Mary “traveled to the hill country in haste” (Lk 1:39) and when she and Elizabeth got together they rejoiced in the gift of new life that God had blessed them both with. We are to rejoice too, as we remember the gift of the conception and birth of Jesus. Jesus invites us to experience new life. What we are about to celebrate in a few days had never happened before in human history. The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, fully divine, entered into our humanity. He became a human being, fully human, just like one of us. That affirms that we are not junk, not someone’s trash to be kicked around. Our life has purpose and meaning, because we are loved by God more than we can ever imagine!
We are all invited to be recreated, each and every day. Have you ever wanted a fresh start, a do over? Well here you go. Don’t believe the mind noise or other people who will actually tell you in subtle or direct ways that you are worthless or nothing. Not true! Just by our very being, the reality that we exist, says something. We have been created in the image and likeness of God and we have been created by Love to receive and to share love. We are a living craving hunger and desire to be in communion with God and one another. This is true for the atheist and the believer alike. We are called to will the good of the other as other as they are, unconditionally. If we haven’t been all that loving lately, today is a new day to take Jesus’ hand and begin anew.
We are about to celebrate a baby’s birth. Not just any baby, but he who has always been, is, and will be, became the most vulnerable, as an embryo, as an unborn fetus, and as an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. Mary’s Son would continue to grow, mature, and thirty three years later, return to an even more vulnerable position on the Cross, beaten, scourged, naked, and crucified. He was born and tabernacled, made his dwelling, among us, to be one with us, so that when he died he could take our sin upon himself. Original Sin did not destroy us. We were wounded, but by his stripes, the scourging that Jesus endured for us, we have been healed. He conquered even death, that we could have life and have it to the full, now and through all eternity.
Jesus was born for us; he is still with us that we might not only be shown a better way, but to know him, who is the Way. Jesus became vulnerable for us, being authentically who God called him to be, even when that meant rejection, time and time again. May we too be willing to be vulnerable, to risk, to share with others who we are, free of masks and pretense. May we be present, and also walk and accompany one another. Being there for our family and friends is important, and if we take our Christianity seriously, we must come to acknowledge, in concrete ways, person to person, that we are all brothers and sisters. Just as the sun shines on the good and the bad alike, Jesus died for us all. After his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, the Love shared between the Father and the Son, to empower us to live as he did, in communion with his Father, so to better actualize our communion with one another.
Mary and Elizabeth celebrated the joy of new life, they rejoiced together at the announcement that each of them would conceive and bear a son. The other message they can share with us, because they realized it all too soon, is that life goes by too fast. Each of their sons would die a brutal death, yet God brought about a greater good from their willingness to sacrifice their lives for us. They gave us a new beginning for humanity.
Let us not take the gift of this life we have been given, any moment of it, for granted. Let the people we care about know that we love them. Make that call, send that card, and/or invite that person for a walk and when you are together, be present, be there with each other.
May we be respectful, kind and caring in our interactions with each person we encounter in our daily moments. If you catch the eye of another, smile. In that simple gesture we say to another that we care enough about them to acknowledge that they exist and that they have worth. Let the joy of Mary and Elizabeth catch like wildfire in us this Advent and let us share with haste the joy of Jesus we have experienced in our life!
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Painting of Elizabeth and Mary in the church of El Sitio, Suchitoto, El Salvador – Accessed from: https://walktheway.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/solidarity-mary-with-elizabeth/
Link for the Mass readings for Friday, December 21, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122118.cfm
Mary’s yes plus our yes equals joy!
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her (Lk 1:38).
Whether this is the first or thousandth time you have read this verse, the more important question is how many times have you said to God, “May it be done to me according to your word”? How would that be for a prayer to begin each day with and then reflect at the end of the day on how well we have heard and answered yes to God’s will?
Mary’s yes changed the course of human history. Her willingness to bear the Son of God who dwelt among us in our wounded human condition, was for the purpose to heal and to lead us home to communion with his Father. Jesus is the gift that keeps giving – and we receive his gift each time we say yes to Jesus. When we do so, we become less, as he becomes more, and the kingdom of God continues to spread.
Along with Mary, our yes that we make is not to be a one time yes, but we are to make a daily, moment by moment yes. As St Paul wrote to the Church of Thessalonica. We are to: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 16-17). We are able to rejoice always and pray without ceasing when we say yes to God. This does not mean that we rejoice in our pain, suffering, and struggles, but we rejoice in the hope, trust, and experiences that Jesus is present with us in and through our suffering. He does not abandon us to random fate. He is our source, our refuge, and our strength, present in all that we go through.
Our prayers of petition for ourselves and intercession for others, are another yes to his will, because they are an “admission of one’s own helplessness” (Lohfink 2014, 240). Prayer is a no to pride. Our willingness to ask for help and to help others are also practical ways of saying yes to God. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto, so they went to by two, as Jesus sent his disciples. Prayer is a yes to our acknowledgement that we need Jesus to guide and help us. Service is a yes to the love we have received from him and willingness to share this love with others. May we rejoice this third week of Advent as we draw ever closer to celebrating the birth of Jesus who is Emmanuel, God with us. This reality was made possible by the handmaid of the Lord. Say yes to Jesus and rejoice!
Photo: Who says that you can’t experience joy in Religion Class?
Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.
Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 20, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122018.cfm
Trust in God’s timing
The Gospel of Luke and today’s first reading from the Book of Judges both continue the theme of divine intervention through angelic messengers and the message they convey is new life. The wife of Manoah, she is not named, and Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, both receive the message of an impending birth. The miraculous claim here is that both women are beyond bearing age.
For women of ancient Israel, this was a tremendous cause for shame; for many women, their worth was defined by their ability to bear children. This was in evidence in the words of Elizabeth. When she conceived she said, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.” (Lk 1:25). Her shame and anguish would now be gone, her long period of barrenness was coming to an end.
Many women today feel this same anguish and shame in that they desire to have a child and are not able to. There are many reasons this may be, but there may also be a plan that God has in place that is not readily apparent at the time. One may be God’s timing, for Mary it was too soon! For Manoah’s wife and Elizabeth it was about time! But in each case God had his plan and timing in mind. For some women there may be another way of serving other than being a birth mother.
Adoption or foster parenting of children who are in desperate need of safe, stable homes are direct options. Some more indirect ways could be assisting in caring for nieces and nephews, cousins, teaching catechesis or working with youth groups. Other ways to serve could be through more time consuming active ministries, vocations, or jobs. I cannot imagine wanting to give birth to my own child and not be able to do so, nor can I imagine the inner anguish that may cause. I do believe God has a plan for each of us and when we align ourselves with his will we will truly be happy and fulfilled.
I do have a certain perspective on this in that I have been blessed with the gift of being a step-father to JoAnn’s three children, Mia, Jack, and Christy. This was not the plan I foresaw before meeting JoAnn, in fact about a year before we met, I was in a consignment shop and saw a jean jacket for an infant. I bought it thinking it would look good on my future daughter or son. When JoAnn and I were married the kids were no longer infants, so, I am guessing the jacket will look good on our granddaughter or grandson, God’s timing! I do believe this has been God’s plan and I am truly thankful to be sharing my life with these four wonderful human beings, all gifted in their own unique and special ways. It has been a great journey thus far, and I look forward to what God has planned for the future!
Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation. There are periods of waiting in all of our lives and we can certainly be impatient with God and ourselves. We have certain plans and intentions that we want to accomplish, but often are not capable of seeing far enough down the road to notice if those plans are apparent or actual goods. The light at the end of a tunnel could actually be a train!
When we remain faithful like Manoah’s wife, Elizabeth and Mary, and resist the temptation to go off on our own, while seeking to understand his will, we will find fulfillment and joy. Each of us are called to be Christ bearers to a worn and weary world desperately in need of new life! We will also enjoy the time of waiting more when we are trusting that God is preparing us for what we seek or something even greater than we can ever imagine!
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Photo: from pixabays.com
Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 19, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121918.cfm
Say yes to Jesus, and say yes to family!
Joseph heard the news that Mary, his betrothed, was with child. He clearly knew the child was not biologically his. Scripture does not account for the thoughts or emotions of Joseph, but whatever inner turmoil he did have, he came to a decision that would not expose Mary to shame. He was not going to make a public spectacle of Mary, but divorce her quietly. Before he made his final decision though, Joseph made an excellent choice when discerning serious matters. He slept on the idea before acting.
During Joseph’s sleep, the angel of the Lord delivered a message. “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” (Mt 1:20-21). When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home (Mt 1:24). From their encounter with God’s messengers, both Mary and Joseph trusted in God’s will and “that has made all the difference” to quote Robert Frost’ poem, “The Road Not Taken.” Because of Mary and Joseph’s yes to God and to family, the Son of God became man and opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed.
God often works in the same way with us. What may appear to be absurd, unimaginable, or downright impossible, is indeed possible when we align our will with God. This is the week of Joy in Advent. Joy is more than pleasure or happiness. Pleasure ends when the sensate experience ends. Happiness is experienced with pleasure and can last longer, in that we can recall the pleasurable experiences for a time, but happiness too will fade. Joy, though, like hope, is a gift of the Holy Spirit that wells up from within, from our soul.
The source of joy does not come from external experiences, but from an encounter with and acceptance of God’s invitation. Joy is an experience of communion with the love of God. This has been given to us in greater measure because Jesus became one with us, and so upon his ascension into heaven, we too can experience the loving communion he experiences with his Father. We also experience the love of the Holy Spirit in our encounter with family and friends, this exchange of giving and receiving of ourselves in conversation, shared experiences, and in resolving challenges and conflicts together.
Mary and Joseph both received incredible news, that neither of them fully comprehended. They could have easily responded in a different way to the message they received. But they didn’t. They trusted in God, they chose family, and because they did so, we can rejoice this week and all days
Mary and Joseph trusted in God and were willing to allow their unborn child, Jesus, to come to full term. Because of their yes to Jesus, to family, even in the midst of our trials we can rejoice, not in the fact that we suffer, but because we are not alone in our pain, conflict, and chaos. We may feel on our own, see no way out, see no cure in sight, no help on the horizon, but Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Mary and his foster father Joseph, is with us, present and accompanying us.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please intercede on our behalf this Advent Season such that we may better be able to resist the temptation of taking each of our family members for granted, but instead choose to be thankful for one another. Help us to react less and breath deeply more. Help us to be more understanding, patient, and willing to forgive, such that even through past hurts, conflicts, disagreements, and different perspectives, we may ultimately experience time and again the joy of being there for one another, through thick and thin.
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Photo: Our first Christmas picture together as a family about twenty-two years ago
Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 18, 2018.
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121817.cfm
“Let yourself be gazed upon by Jesus!”
Today our Gospel is from Matthew’s record of the genealogy of Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, is fully divine, while at the same time he is also fully human. Here Matthew presents the lineage of Jesus’ human line from Abraham to his foster father Joseph. Jesus is part of a people and a family. If you go through this genealogy with a fine tooth comb, there are gaps, but Matthew is more concerned with the line of faith than a strict historical account. Matthew also includes women in this listing, which is not common in ancient patriarchal societies. Looking at their stories in Scripture will also show that they were not at all the most virtuous, but more importantly played a significant part in God’s plan of salvation.
This is our heritage as well. We are spiritual Semites. Genealogies have become more poplar in recent years as can be seen by the different advertisements from DNA test kits. The draw for these is that we want to belong, to be a part of. To understand who we are, we seek to understand where we have come from. To be able to go forward, we need to reach behind. Jesus was born in time, to the people of Judah, and is a part of the succession from Abraham and his clan, to the twelve tribes of Jacob, to the unified nation of Israel under David. Jesus continues to bring God’s movement of grace beyond a nation to a universal invitation for all.
Through our Baptism, we are part of the lineage of Jesus. We are not alone, no longer estranged, no longer separate, or on the peripheries. Yet many, even those who profess their belief in Christ, are missing his greatest gift of faith, relationship with him. Too many of us are Christian in name only. We are now in the final two weeks of Advent. May we spend time drawing close to Jesus who made himself close to us in becoming one of us. Pope Francis can help.
The Pope encountered a young man who told him that he didn’t believe in anything. He said, “I don’t have the gift of faith! What do you have to say to me?”
“Don’t be discouraged,” I said. “God loves you. Let yourself be gazed upon by him! Nothing else.”
May we too be willing to receive the gift of Jesus: “What is important is to find the way best suited for you to be with the Lord, and this everyone can do; it is possible for every state of life.” Pope Francis also offered these two questions to ponder: “Do I find time to remain in his presence, in silence, to be looked upon by him? Do I let his fire warm my heart” (Francis 2014, 16)?
We are never alone if we remember to turn to Jesus, allowing him to gaze upon us, and in this way become open to the gift of his presence in our lives, and when we allow him to lead us to encounter one another, and support each other in our weakness, we experience the love of the Holy Spirit.
Francis, Pope. The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2014.
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, December 17, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121718.cfm
This Advent, allow “Sneaky Jesus” to bestow his grace upon us.
Today we celebrate the third week in Advent. Each week we are presented with a particular theme to meditate upon. The first week is hope, last week was peace, this week is joy, and next week will be love.
We will find joy as we conform our life to the Jesus we remember and the Jesus who we encounter each day. We also find joy when we are transformed from a posture of turning in on our self, only looking within at our own needs, and look out to be aware of the needs of others and then move to be of help to them.
We see John leading the crowds to this place of joy today. They come to him to participate in a baptism of repentance, a changing of their heart and mind, but John also leads them deeper and outward. Not only is their heart and mind to be changed but their actions as well.
Those who have two cloaks are to share the second with one who has none and the tax collectors are to stop collecting more than what they are prescribed. Even the soldiers have come to John and he guides them: “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages” (cf. Lk 3:10-14).
What John is presenting to the crowds is what we call today, solidarity. Pope Francis echoes John in his writings and talks. In his exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes: “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and come to their aid.”
We must be willing to hear and see those who are in need around us. We must be willing, as was Moses, to follow the lead of God who hears the cry of the poor and will move us to serve in our own unique way.
We have so many models of individuals today in 2018 doing what Moses did. One person is Jean Vanier, who for fifty years has been reaching out to those with developmental disabilities. He founded L’Arche, The Ark, in 1964 which now has thirty-seven communities world wide. Jean Vanier shares that: “Our community life is beautiful and intense, a source of life for everyone. People with a disability experience a real transformation and discover confidence in themselves; they discover their capacity to make choices, and also find a certain liberty and above all their dignity as human beings.”
Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, has been working on the US border in Texas for some thirty years helping to provide aid and support for those crossing the border. She was touched very soon after her profession as a sister when border patrol agents brought families to her convent. She recognized that Jesus called her to provide hospitality and protect those in need. She is working with city officials and border patrol to help transform minds and actions so to prevent and counter such tragic events as separation of families and children and the most recent tragic death this week of seven-year-old Jakelin Caal. “Scripture comes to life and our faith becomes flesh,” she said. “It is not until you find yourself in front of the face of the immigrant child or mother that you will understand this. It is a moment of realizing we are all one human family.”
A third shining light is Sr. Helen Prejean of the Congregation of St Joseph who has been a spiritual director to inmates of death row for decades. Her work became well known when she published her book, Dead Man Walking, in the mid nineties. Sr Helen has also been a strong advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. “I saw the suffering and I let myself feel it… I saw the injustice and was compelled to do something about it. I changed from being a nun who only prayed for the suffering world to a woman with my sleeves rolled up, living my prayer.”
In each example I shared in today’s reflection, Jean Vanier, Sr. Norma Pimentel and Sr. Helen Prejean encountered the person, and “sneaky Jesus” as Sr. Helen has shared, imparted his grace upon them and led them to encounter the dignity of those who were treated as though they had none. They were able to feel their plight and they heard their cry, then reached out to provide needed help and support.
As God’s grace expanded within them, they became champions and a voice for those without a voice. They embodied the definition of solidarity as defined by Pope Francis which “refers to more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new mind-set that thinks in terms of community and the priority of the life of all, over the appropriation of goods by a few.”
John the Baptist shows us in today’s Gospel from Luke that joy is found in transformation of mind and heart that leads to action. Are we willing to allow the grace of “sneaky Jesus” to conform us such that we become people of compassion and service, that recognize the dignity of all people, and resist rationalizing or being indifferent to the plight of those who are in need? Come Lord Jesus, set our hearts on fire that we may see who you call us to be and who you call us to serve.
Photo: Sr. Helen Prejean, March 2014. (Scott Langley, courtesy of Ministry Against the Death Penalty)
Link to audio Jesuitical interview with Sr. Helen Prejean: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/14/sister-helen-prejean-fought-death-penalty-and-won
Link for the Mass reading for Sunday, December 16, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121618.cfm
Trust in the invitation of Jesus this Advent.
The disciples who asked the question, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Mt 17:10) were Peter, James, and John, who had just witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. They were walking down from the Mount of Transfiguration, tradition identifying this mountain as Mt. Tabor, and the context of the question had to do with, Moses and Elijah, who they saw with Jesus as he revealed his divinity.
As the disciples were attempting to digest this Mystery of the Transfiguration that they just witnessed, they were drawing back to what they knew, the interpretations of the scribes. Most likely what they were referring to the accounts in the Books of Sirach and Malachi. In Sirach 48:10 we too can read that, “You [Elijah] are destined, it is written, in times to come to put an end to the wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of the fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.” In the last chapter of the Book of Malachi, which is incidentally the last lines of the Christian Old Testament ordering of the canon, are the words: “Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I enjoined upon him on Horeb, the Statutes and ordinances for all Israel. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day” (3:22-23).
Moses in this encounter represents the Torah, the Law or Teachings, and Elijah represents the line of prophets. Elijah also, as we can read in 2 Kings 2:11, was taken up by God into heaven, amid “a flaming chariot and flaming horses… and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind”, and, it was believed, as we can see in the above accounts, that he was to return again at the appointed time when the Messiah would come. Jesus clarified for his disciples that John was indeed the new Elijah. In the revealing of his divinity to Peter, James, and John, Jesus showed that he was the fulfillment of the salvific paths forged by Moses, Elijah, the line of prophets, and John the Baptist.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, and he is our fulfillment as well. We are invited to prepare the Way of the Lord in our hearts and minds, to become less so that Jesus can become more, as well as to help prepare the way for others. When I first returned to church in my late teens, I went to a Congregational Church that was about a half mile walk from our home. At the end of that first service I attended, the interim pastor made an appeal for Sunday School teachers. One of the things he said was that we do not know who Jesus’ Sunday School teacher was and he referenced that we could be teaching Jesus and not be aware.
We were not to take him literally, but his point was that we had the responsibility to continue to pass on the Greatest Story ever told. Also, his appeal was an avenue for the Holy Spirit to speak through him to me, and although I refused the invitation the first week, I returned and accepted the invitation the following week. What might Jesus be inviting you to this Advent? Trust his invitation.
My yes to teaching Sunday School, not knowing the first thing about what I was doing, thinking I was too young, would eventually, through many twists and turns lead me back home to the Catholic Church, to becoming a teacher, a deacon, and me writing you today and continuing to share the message of the Gospel: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15).
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Photo: First Congregational Church of East Windsor, one of the stepping stones that led me to where I am today. Accessed from: http://fcceastwindsor.com/
Link for today’s Mass readings, Saturday, December 15, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121518.cfm
Jesus invites us, will we be fickle or will we follow?
Jesus compared “this generation” to children who could not be satisfied. For when the flute was played for them they did not dance, when the dirge was played they did not mourn. There was no pleasing them no matter what. Jesus drew the parallel to the present bystanders who acted as fickle as the children. They criticized John as being possessed for practicing fasting and asceticism. They also criticized Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard for his table fellowship with all who were willing.
In today’s Gospel account, Jesus could have been addressing his detractors as well as his disciples. He encouraged his followers to be wary not to wallow in the mud of fickleness, but also to be clear that their preaching and teaching was to be based on being a dispenser of his truth and the will of his Father and not the reaction of the people, for “wisdom is vindicated by her works” (Mt 11:19). Just as Jesus taught that false prophets would be revealed over time by their fruits (cf. Mt 7:16), so those who were true to his teachings would be vindicated, if not fully in this life, certainly then in the next.
Pope Francis said that, “The first thing for a disciple is to be with the Master, to listen to him and learn from him” (Francis 2014, 15). May we pray for open hearts and minds eager and willing to hear the word of Jesus our Master and the courage to act upon his leading in our everyday circumstances. To do so, we must first slow down our pace and quiet our minds sufficiently enough so that we can even hear his word. We also need to discern the difference between his voice, our own, and the many others distractions and temptations we hear. God himself speaks to us in so many ways; directly in the silence of the heart, through others, spiritual direction, small groups, fellowship, through the Bible, as well as our culture, and influences, through his creation, in so many ways.
More often than not, we may not definitively know if what we hear and how we are being moved is coming from God. We seek support and confirmation from Scripture and Tradition, others who are wise and practiced in following God, reassess our intention and goal, and then go. If we are wrong, we learn from our mistakes and begin again. If we are on the mark, this helps us to build our confidence in knowing the voice of Jesus. What we do not want to do is remain indecisive out of fear or anxiety, from the perceived reaction that will come. Nor do we want to remain indifferent to action.
Let us not seek to impress, but to express. We are to resist seeking adulation and acclaim, and go forward with firm intent, seeking to invite others to participate in the life of Christ. We are to resist moralizing and condemning, and instead be willing to be present with and meet people where they are and accompany them.
Jesus invites us, will we follow? Just as in learning to walk, our beginning attempts more often than not ended with a thud and us sitting on the floor or ground looking up. Yet, we got up, and soon with practice, gained strength, balance, made corrections, then we began to gain confidence and the ability to move forward upright, step by wobbly step. So it is in the spiritual life. If we are not moving ahead we are falling behind.
Jesus help us to know you and your voice so we may follow the will of your Father. Grant us the courage to walk with you, that we may risk whatever the reaction of others may be as we offer your truth with love and mercy. Set a spark in our soul so that above all we begin, one step at a time, hand in hand with you and each other. Help us move forward and allow God to happen.
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Photo: Day of installation as Lector with my classmates Pete and Hank. As was said to us while we were being installed: “Take this book of holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people.” – from the Rites, Volume Two.
Francis, Pope. The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2014.
Link for today’s Mass readings for Friday, December 14, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121418.cfm
