Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.
All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
“When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth”
Cardinal Jorge MEJÍA Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman Church (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the mystery at the center of our faith, from where everything originates and to where everything returns: The mystery of the unity of God, and at the same time, his subsistence in three equal and yet, different Persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, unity in communion and communion in unity. In this great day, we must realize that this great mystery is ever present in our lives: from the very Sacrament of our Baptism —which we have received in the name of the Holy Trinity— to our participation in the mystery of the Eucharist, which is made for the glory of the Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, thanks to the Holy Spirit. And it is also the sign by which we Christians recognize one another: the sign of the Cross, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, consists in the revelation of his Father, of whom He is the perfect image, and in the gift of the Spirit, which has also been revealed by the Son. Today, the proclaimed evangelic reading shows us: the Son receives everything from the Father in perfect unity: “Everything that the Father has is mine”; and the Spirit receives all that the Spirit is from the Father and the Son: “for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:15). And in another part of this same chapter: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me” (Jn 15:26).
From all that, let us learn the great and comforting truth: the Holy Trinity, far from being distant and aloof, comes to us, dwells within us, and transforms us in its interlocutors. And by this, through the Spirit, we are guided into the whole truth (cf. Jn 16:13). The incomparable “Christian dignity”, about which St. Leo the Great at times speaks, is this: to keep God's mystery within us and, thus, to celebrate here on Earth our own Heavenly “citizenship” (cf. Phil 3:20) –our abiding in the Holy Trinity's bosom.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“Oh! Abyss, oh! Eternal Godhead, oh! Sea Profound! what more could You give me than Yourself.” (Saint Catherine of Siena)
- “The liturgy invites us to praise God not merely for the wonders that he has worked, but for who he is; for the beauty and goodness of his being.” (Benedict XVI)
“(...) The Holy Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father (cf. Jn 14:26). The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 244)
December 9th
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel and commentary video
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December 8th
Second Sunday of Advent (C)
Gospel and commentary video
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