In these last days of the holy season of Advent, we commemorate the feast day of Pope Urban V. He served as pope for 8 years starting in the year 1362. A Benedictine monk, he continued to follow the rule of St Benedict even when he was pope, living a very modest simple life. Before his election as pope, he had served as abbot of the influential Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy. He was exiled to Avignon in France for most of his papacy. He tried to unite the Churches of the West and the East, but failed to achieve that goal. In this era of great division in the Church, he worked for Church reform and the restoration of monasteries and churches. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1870.
In our Gospel today from Luke, we hear how Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, heard the announcement of the upcoming birth of his son from the Angel Gabriel. This announcement summoned fear and disbelief in Zechariah, which caused him to be made mute by God. This is very different from the way Mary accepted God’s will for her and trusted God’s word at the announcement from the Angel. We pray that the Lord continue to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior during these last days of Advent.
No comments:
Post a Comment