2 December 2021 - homily for Thursday of the first week of Advent - Isaiah 26:1-6

      I have been mentioning at the daily Masses this week that our first readings come from the prophet Isaiah.  I always associate Isaiah with the coming of Jesus as we prepare for his birth during this holy season Advent, this season of preparation and waiting.   The message of Isaiah foreshadows and foretells the coming of the Lord into the world and the Gospel message that Jesus brings through his words and ministry.  In today’s reading from Isaiah, we hear about a lofty arrogant city that is brought down by the Lord, a city that ignores justice and shuts out the cries of the poor.  The city is turned into dust.  The dust, in turn, is trampled down by the footsteps of the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden. 

     I often turn to the US Bishops’ website (www.ussccb.org) when I prepare for my homilies.  In fact, it is probably the website that I visit most throughout the day for different things.  I guess that is a good thing for a priest!  On the Bishops’ website page on the season of Advent, it states this: “The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas.”  It also prominently displays a quote from Pope Francis: "Advent invites us to a commitment to vigilance, looking beyond ourselves, expanding our mind and heart in order to open ourselves up to the needs of people, of brothers and sisters, and to the desire for a new world.”  I see that quote as an echo of the message of the prophet Isaiah today.  As I go to downtown Jackson every weekday to work in the chancery office, as I drive to south Jackson a good number of times to celebrate Mass with the Carmelite nuns at their monastery, I see and hear the cry of the poor echoed in the desperate conditions that I see in these parts of the city of Jackson.  I cry for our city, for the crime, violence, desperation, & decay that I see there each day.  These are reflected in the way I am zigzagging down the streets trying to avoid the numerous potholes, & the way I have to check to see if there is a boil water notice preventing me from getting water from the tap at the chancery office.  We certainly need to work together to make our community and this world a better place.