On this, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear Elizabeth declare to her cousin, Mary, “blessed is the fruit of your womb.” As Mary generously travels to be with Elizabeth who is expecting a child in her old age, Elizabeth recognizes that an even more generous gift is about to be born: the Savior of the World! As you have been busily finding gifts for your loved ones, you have also followed Mary’s example of generosity in so many ways, and I want to thank you in the name of those who have benefitted from your generosity. Let me thank those of you who participated in our annual Adopt-a-Family and Christmas Food Basket programs and filled the school cafeteria with gift boxes and food baskets for 90 needy families – both in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, and our own parish – two 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, pastor at our sister parish, so he could purchase meat and other perishables to accompany the food baskets that you had provided. Thanks to everyone who took the tags from the two Giving Trees to purchase items for men, women and children at Mercy Hospice and Mission Youth Philly who would ordinarily have no gifts for Christmas. In their name, I thank you! A few weeks ago, I received a letter from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith acknowledging our parish’s generous response to the annual Mission Sunday Collection; this year, our parish contributed $8,263.00. I also received a letter from Mother’s Home, Darby, expressing gratitude for the $1,660.00 it received through the baby bottle collection this year. And, Sr. Veronica recently wrote to acknowledge your generosity in support of the Holy Family Nursing Home that the Little Sisters of the Poor operate in Philadelphia. Her visit resulted in a $3,395.00 contribution to the nursing home. 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. 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 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 is why it is so important to join regularly in the Eucharistic 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 sacraments:
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, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross”, but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in all the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20).
Our generous outreach to those in need around us comes from our worship of God and leads us back to worship God as well, as the Council Fathers remind us so well:
Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father.
Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy, the sanctification of man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.
From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.
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 three days. Remember, the very word “Christmas” means “Celebration of the Messiah” – that’s what we do every time we celebrate the Eucharist. MERRY CHRISTMAS!