Dcn. Barney’s Homily Dcn. Matt’s Homily

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. (Lk 2:40)

In the beginning was the Word…. (Jn 1:1)

He Named him Jesus (Mt 1:25) Out of love, the Father sends the Son as a delightful, defenseless, demanding child to save us by provoking us to love Him through his total self-gift. The Son, the Word, loving his Father and loving all of us is sent, desirous to save us, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My soul rejoices in my God. (Is 61:10) Today the Church places before our eyes the greatest examples of waiting that we have in the Bible. John the Baptist and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. If we want to learn what to do in the waiting, we can look to them. What do they do in the waiting? Both Mary and John teach us how to wait – that we are in fact called to

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care. (Isaiah 40:11) When we know we are loved it changes everything, when we know we are awaited it changes everything. The story of Josephine Bakhita demonstrates the power of hope. Our faith leads us to trust God, and through it we come to hope in his promises. Hope then changes the

 O Lord make us turn to you; let us see your face, and we shall be saved. (Psalm 80:4)  We do not get to choose whether or even how long we wait, but we do get to choose how we wait. We wait because we are human; but how we wait determines whether we flourish or fail as humans. We wait in faith. We cry out in our waiting, O Lord make us turn to

 Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Mt 25:34) Heaven – unending communion with God – that is what you are made for. We ought to long to hear those words; come blest of my Father and enter into the kingdom prepared for you. Jesus gives us a very clear measure today of what is necessary to in communion with him.

We don’t like to admit that Hell is a reality – it makes us uncomfortable to think about. Yet, Jesus speaks often speaks of it. No one goes to Hell accidently, and “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.” God loves us so much that he gives us the freedom to choose against loving

These are the conditions for each of us to win at the game of life. If we wish to enter and share the joy of the wedding feast, we must live so as to love God above all things and our neighbor for God’s sake. This is what Jesus means when he says stay awake! Stay awake to the fact you will die, and that heaven awaits you, if only you choose it. “Every action