On this, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we all realize that Christmas is just a few days away! And, you will notice that the two Christmas trees – one at the St. Therese Shrine and one in the baptistery – that had been filled with about 300 tags suggesting gifts for women and children who will be spending Christmas at Mercy Hospice and Women of Hope – are gone; so are all the tags! Over the past few weeks, so many of you have so generously taken the tags and returned with gifts for these needy women and children whom you will probably never meet. In their name, I thank you! Let me also thank those of you who filled the school cafeteria with gifts and food baskets for 106 needy families – in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, in Visitation BVM parish and in our own parish – just a few Saturdays ago. And, I thank you for your extra generosity with our monthly Feed the Needy second collection last weekend. As we do every year, I sent that entire collection to Fr. Addisalem Mekonnen, parochial administrator at our sister parish, so he could purchase meat and other perishables to accompany the food baskets that you had provided. In October, Sr. Nancy, who has served at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Elementary School for many years, sent me a lovely note to express gratitude from the entire St. Martin de Porres community for our ongoing support. In her letter, she wrote: “The faithfulness, and continuance, of our partnership is a great gift, especially in times such as these!” A few weeks ago, I received a report regarding the annual Catholic Charities Appeal. Your generous response to this very important archdiocesan appeal has already brought in $159,000, once again exceeding our goal of $152,000. These are just a few wonderful examples of your great generosity throughout the year and especially at Christmas time toward those here in our own neighborhood, throughout our Archdiocese and around the world, who are in need. Your generosity is in imitation of our God’s great gift to us – his Son, whose coming we eagerly await during this Advent Season.
While he was with us, Jesus offered himself generously to us under the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist and to the Father on the cross in expiation for our sins. In dying for us, he overcame the final effect of sin – death – as he rose from the dead. His Resurrection allows us to be raised to eternal life with him. And, before he returned to his rightful place at the hand of God, he promised the Holy Spirit of God to continue to lead and guide us. Yes, Jesus, the Son of God who became the son of Mary, has showered us with gifts and we are blessed every day of our lives as we benefit from them. And, in response to God’s generosity, we share from the abundance of his blessings with those in need. This was especially challenging for some of you this year as you struggled yourselves to overcome the difficulties that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to bring us all. But, you have continued to recognize God’s blessings and have, in turn, shared – sometimes from your own want – with those who are even less fortunate.
This is why it is so important to join regularly in the Eucharist Celebration, for through it, we are reminded of God’s great generosity to us and are, in turn, strengthened and encouraged to share of ourselves with those around us. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council remind us that our Lord, who came once in history to accomplish his great work of salvation, and will come again at the end of time to lead all the faithful to our heavenly Father, remains in our midst, especially through the Eucharist:
To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass…particularly under the Eucharistic species.
It has been a real delight for me to see that more and more of you are returning to Mass on a regular basis. And, many of you have remarked to me that you missed receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. Of course you have! Just as we need food to nourish our bodies and keep them healthy, we need the Eucharist to nourish our spirits and keep them healthy. And, just as you can’t eat virtually, sharing in the Celebration of the Eucharist virtually doesn’t satisfy your deepest hunger for our Lord’s living Body and Blood; you can only receive it in person. So, I encourage everyone whose health doesn’t prevent them from coming to join us, once again, in celebrating the Eucharist. After all, Christmas only tells the beginning of the story. Jesus came to offer us his life-giving Body and Blood and we are so blessed to be able to receive it regularly, especially during these stressful times!
Yes, our coming together to worship God is the most sacred action we can perform as we gratefully acknowledge all that God has done for us, especially through his Son, Jesus. And, it guides and directs our daily lives in imitation of Christ’s great work. As we come to the end of another Advent Season, let us give ourselves time to meditate on this great mystery and so prepare ourselves ever more deeply to receive our Lord as we celebrate his coming on Christmas in just a few days. Remember, the very word “Christmas” means “Celebration of the Messiah” – that’s what we do every time we celebrate the Eucharist.