Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
The woman went and told her husband, «A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will be with child and will bear a son. So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb, until the day of his death’». The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up and the Lord blessed him; the Spirit of the Lord stirred him.
For you are my hope, o Lord; my trust, o God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother's womb you are my strength.
I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord; o God, I will tell of your singular justice. O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
But the angel said to him, “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. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 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”.
Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But 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.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son”
Fr. Ignasi FUSTER i Camp (La Llagosta, Barcelona, Spain)Today, the angel Gabriel announces the “supernatural” birth of John the Baptist, the man who will prepare the mission of the Messiah to the priest Zechariah. God, in His loving providence, prepares Jesus' birth along with John's. Isabel's sterility is not a problem. God wants to perform such a miracle because of His love for us, His creatures.
But Zechariah, on this occasion, does not show much supernatural faith: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” (Lk 1:18). He has an excessively human way of looking at things. He lacks trust in God's plans, which are always bigger than ours: in this case, nothing more than the Incarnation of the Son of God for the salvation of mankind! The angel finds an “absent-minded” Zechariah, slow in Godly matters, a bit “off the air”.
With Christmas being.only a few days away, may the angel of the Lord find us ready, just as Mary was. It is necessary that we try to keep ourselves in the presence of God during the day, to intensify our love for Jesus Christ in our prayer, to receive Holy Communion with devotion: because Jesus is going to be born and come to us! We should have a supernatural outlook about all our affairs. We need such a vision in our professional work, in our studies, in our apostolate, even in our daily setbacks. Nothing escapes divine providence! With the certainty and joy of knowing that we are cooperating with the angels and the Lord in the loving, salvational plans of God.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“For he who holds, without pride and boasting, the true glory from him who created it, he shall receive from Him the greater glory, looking forward to the time when he shall become like Him who died for him.” (Saint Irenaeus)
“From barrenness the Lord is capable of reopening a new lineage, a new life: this is today’s message. When humanity is exhausted, it can no longer go onward, grace comes and the Son comes, and salvation comes.” (Francis)
“‘There was a man sent from God, whose name was John’ (Jn 1:6). John was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb’ (Lk 1:15:41) by Christ himself, whom the Virgin Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary's visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to his people.” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 717)
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December 22nd
Fourth Sunday of Advent (C)
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