On this second Sunday of Advent, our message comes from John the Baptist, who preaches a call of repentance from the banks of the Jordan River in preparation for Jesus’ coming. When John sees the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to hear his message, he ties repentance to the fruits we produce in our lives of faith as evidence of our repentance and renewal. This past Tuesday, in the first week of Advent, we heard a reading from the 11th chapter of Isaiah. The prophet spoke about the seven gifts of the Hole Spirit: the spirit of wisdom, understanding, strength, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and the fear of God. These gifts of the spirit are given to us in order for us to produce fruits in our faith. The Sadducees and Pharisees thought that their spiritual lineage and their rituals were the path to salvation. But John told them it was important for them to produce fruits of repentance and renewal on their journey. It is important for us to not be stagnant in our faith, to not take our past journey of faith for granted. We are to be constantly learning and growing on our journey of faith. We are constantly called to renewal and repentance. That is an important message for us to hear in this Advent time of preparation.
We hear from John the Baptist today. We are going to hear from Mary during some of the feast days we will be celebrating this upcoming week in Advent. Tomorrow we celebrate Mary’s immaculate conception. The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the “Immaculate Conception,” was declared patroness of the United States unanimously by the US Bishops back in 1846. It is interesting that this decision occurred before the Pope Pius IX formally declared the Immaculate Conception to be a binding dogma of the Catholic Church 8 years later in 1854. Many of the Spanish missionaries who had come to the US had a strong devotion to Mary as the Immaculate Conception and founded many churches until that title, which inspired the Bishops to adopt her as our patroness, to protect our young country in a time of great growth and expansion. The Vatican clarified that because the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of our country, the celebration of the Immaculate conception on December 8 is always a holy day of obligation for us in the United States, no matter what day of the week it falls. Also, on December 12, we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Marian apparition that took place in Mexico in 1531. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the humble indigenous man, Juan Diego; his feast day is celebrated on December 9. Honoring Mary in these different ways this upcoming week will help include her on our Advent journey.
Right after Halloween this year, a lot of the stores like Kroger and Walmart put out their holiday merchandise. It is so easy to get swept into the celebration of the Christmas holiday season even a month before Advent begins. So it is really important for us to be focused on Advent as a time of preparation before our celebration of Christmas begins. This year, on All Saints Day, November 1, the Church declared John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church. He was also declared to be the patron saint of Catholic education. Born in London, England in 1801, Newman was a prominent priest in the Anglican Church in England before he converted to Catholicism in 1845. He then was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1847. Even though Newman was never a Bishop, he was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879, one year before Newman’s death. Newman’s conversion to Catholicism marked the beginning of a great Catholic revival in England. His influence and vision of Catholic education still has a great influence on Catholic colleges and universities today. Many of the Catholic ministries on college campuses were called Newman centers for many years. Perhaps Newman’s great example will lead us to have a greater zeal in learning more about the faith. I want to close with us praying together an Advent poem that John Henry wrote for Advent vesper prayers, inspired by the 7th century Latin hymn “Conditor alme siderum” (Creator of the stars), traditionally sung during the Advent season.
Advent vespers poem - by Cardinal John Henry Newman
Creator of the starry pole,
Savior of all who live,
And light of every faithful soul,
Jesu, these prayers receive.
Who sooner than our foe malign
Should triumph, from above
Didst come, to be the medicine
Of a sick world, in love;
And the deep wounds to cleanse and cure
Of a whole race, didst go,
Pure Victim, from a Virgin pure,
The bitter Cross unto.
Who hast a Name, and hast a Power,
The height and depth to sway,
And Angels bow, and devils cower,
In transport or dismay;
Thou too shalt be our Judge at length;
Lord, in Thy grace bestow
Thy weapons of celestial strength,
And snatch us from the foe.
Honor and glory, power and praise,
To Father, and to Son,
And Holy Ghost, be paid always,
The Eternal Three in One.
