Happy Advent! I’m going to give this a shot again this year. High hopes for working through Advent and Christmas with daily blogs quickly petered out in 2022. Pray that I stay the course this time around — I need it.

TODAY’S READINGS

For these upcoming posts, I plan to use Catholic commentaries and other resources generously to bring light to each day’s readings.

The first reading is from Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7.

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever. (v. 16b)

“God is rarely addressed this way in the OT, although the appellation occurs three times in this prayer alone…The language of divine paternity in the OT is based on the covenant of kinship that the Lord forged with Israel, his first son.” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Isaiah, 105)

Why do you make us wander, LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we do not fear you? (v. 17a)

“Divine hardening is not an action of God that causes people to sin but a form of judgment in which the Lord allows brazen sinners to defy his will without the restraint of his mercy. This response to sin was first revealed at the time of the Exodus, when god hardened the heart of pharaoh (Ex 9:12; 10:1; 11:10; 14:8). Divine hardening is likewise mentioned in the NT as a spiritual condition of unbelieving Israel that will endure until God’s plan of salvation for the Gentiles is accomplished (Rom 11:25-26). Divine hardening remains a mystery because Scripture also insists on human free choice (Sir 15:11-17) as well as God’s universal desire that all people repent of their sins and be save (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9). Within the broader framework of biblical teaching , then, divine hardening does not override human free will or destroy human responsibility for sin; rather, it is a disciplinary measure \that seeks the conversion of the sinner.” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Isaiah, 105-106)

No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him. (v. 4)

“St. Paul quotes from this verse when writing about the wisdom of God, and his love for those who love him, and the gifts he has in store for man…(1 Cor 2:9). because these gifts will not be fully bestowed until the next life, the verse is often quoted in Christian spirituality to describe the happiness enjoyed in heaven.” (Navarre Bible: Major Prophets, 273)

Finally, a certain line jumped out at me as one frequently used by Protestants against the Catholic understanding of the role and necessity of good works in our lives:

…all our good deeds are like polluted rags… (v. 5a)

Catholic Answers is helpful here: “It does not say that all acts of righteousness are as filthy rags to God, but that those being rendered to him in Isaiah‘s day were…This pertains to a particular historical situation, not to a general condition.” (The whole response is worth reading. Also, check out one of my previous posts.)

The Responsorial Psalm is from Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.

The St. Louis Jesuits get a lot of flack in some circles, but I like a lot of their stuff (setting aside whether it is appropriate for Mass or simply for worship). Here is a one of my favorites based on this psalm.

The second reading is from 1 Cor 1:3-9.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus… (v. 4)

Corinth was a pagan town known for all manner of sin and debauchery. About five years earlier Paul established a church there and made significant evangelistic inroads. Hearing rumblings of problems in the Church there, he penned this letter until he could return. Considering all that, these words are a wonderful way to start his letter. Would it be that we would begin all our correspondence this way, even with those persons or situations that challenge us, giving thanks to God in all things, even those that are testing us in order to make us saints.

The Gospel reading is from Mk 13:33-37.

Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. (vv. 35-36)

“Jesus is speaking of his sudden and unexpected coming at the end of time, when he will judge his disciples for how they have exercised their authority in the Church. But Mark also links this warning to Jesus’ passion by structuring the passion narrative precisely in terms of these four night watches: evening (Mark 14l17), midnight (implied in 14:32-65_, cockcrow (14:72), and morning (15;1). Jesus warns that he may come suddenly and find them sleeping — which is just what will happen during his agony in Gethsemane (14:37-41). To be asleep signifies spiritual torpor and self-indulgence (Rom 11:9; 1 Thess 5:6-8); to be awake is to be alive in faith (Rm 13:11; Eph 5:14). The trial in Gethsemane is the beginning of the trial that will last throughout the whole age of the Church, in which Jesus’ followers are called to be constantly alert and attentive to the presence of the Lord.” (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Mark, 273)

For my part, the following words of Jesus have always been sufficient for me:

But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^* but the Father alone. (Mt 24:36)

As I heard a wise preacher say once: We don’t know when the last day is coming but we know for sure our last day is coming.

BP BARRON’S SUNDAY SERMON

Always worth a listen: You Can’t Save Yourself

THE WORD OF THE LORD

Worth every penny and more: https://stpaulcenter.com/the-word-of-the-lord/

A great way to take a deep dive into the Sunday readings every week — I try to never miss it. And the companion books are a treasure that will stay on my shelf (I’ve already worked through Year A and Solemnities and Feasts and began Year B today — outstanding!).

ADVENT RESOURCES

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS READING

• Christmas with the Holy Fathers compiled by Peter Celano
• Jesus is the Gift by Regis Flaherty
• Joy to the World by Scott Hahn
• Advent and Christmas with Fulton Sheen

God bless!