I am sitting down to write this on Tuesday morning of the past week. It is exactly three weeks until Christmas Day; are you ready? By the time you actually read this it will be just over two weeks until Christmas Day; are you ready? The secular world is working itself into its yearly frenzy of pre-Christmas hysteria while the Church in this holy season of Advent is inviting us to keep our focus on that which is most important: that the Lord Jesus will come again in glory with salvation for his people.
Are you ready?
This Sunday’s first reading from the Prophet Baruch gives us a wonderful vision of the full establishment of the Kingdom of God. Yes, the language is vivid and the imagery is mystical and, if we are not careful, we may find ourselves saying “isn’t that nice” with either a tongue-in-cheek cynicism or ultimately dismissing the vision as romanticized and something that is out of reach. Baruch was preaching to a people in exile, a people who were not where they wanted to be, a people who were not where God ultimately wanted them to be. Baruch wanted to remind the people of Israel that God was not done with them. Is it not the same for us?

Honestly, are we really where we think we should be, where God wants us to be as a people, as a society?
In the midst of our struggles, God wants us to know that greater things are still coming and that he is not done with us.
Being that this is the Second Sunday of Advent, enter John the Baptist. He always makes his appearance on this Sunday each year, whether we are hearing from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. This Sunday’s Gospel account from Luke does not give us the fire of John’s message, at least not yet this Advent season, but rather Luke presents John as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah. The message is one that we know: fill in the valleys, bring the mountains low, make the rough plane smooth, and prepare a highway for the Lord. We know it. Do we own it? The work that needs to be done within, the conversion that Isaiah and John proclaim, is not easy but God will do his part if we let him.
Are you ready and willing?
As we hear from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Paul wants to remind us that God is at work in us and that his own divine life is still being made manifest in each of us. This is how the vision of Baruch and the other prophets will be fulfilled. The Kingdom of God will only be made fully manifest once it has fully arrived in each and every heart. The valleys, hills, and planes of Isaiah are wonderful reminders of the work that needs to be done in my life and in yours.
May this Advent season shake us out of our complacency and renew our trust in the fact that, yes, the grace of God is seeking to work in each of us and that same grace can do great things, even the impossible, if we fully surrender ourselves to God’s power to save.
If we are waiting to see the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, each of us must make sure that we are first allowing God to establish it in our own lives.Father Christopher House is the Rector of the Cathedral and serves in various leadership roles within the diocesan curia, namely Chancellor and Vicar Judicial.
I remember growing up in Catholic school and having to make construction paper Advent wreaths every single year! The little yellow flames would be cut out and held until each new candle was lit. Great idea, except for the fact that the chance you could find the flames greatly diminished as each week passed. I will bet over 50% of the wreaths never received a 4th flame! Of course by then, most kids in elementary school had moved on to Christmas. Christmas was not a day. It was an entire experience of vacation from school.
Those of us who have been hanging around the Church for a few decades have noticed a disturbing trend: fewer people are in the pews. Fewer couples are getting married in the Church and fewer parents are baptizing their children. How has this happened and what are we going to do about it? There are many reasons for the decline in faith and participation in parish life, but I think much of it boils down to the fact that many people have not had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, despite devout parents who took them to Mass and sent them to Catholic schools or religious ed.
“ I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.” Pope Francis
I converted to Catholicism in 2011 and Alpha interested me because I thought it might challenge my belief system, and it sounded fun. The course did help me rethink some topics, but mostly I developed a stronger social network. Before Alpha, I went to mass and knew very few people. Now when attending, I have more people that I am acquainted with and have made a few new friends. I have experience with facilitation, and since Alpha was such a fun time, I decided that I would offer to volunteer at a table as a group helper. ~Leza Ulrich
I’ve been attending mass at Cathedral off and on for 20 years and this year became a registered parishioner. Alpha was my first opportunity to get to know people from the church at a deeper level. Over 12 weeks I grew closer to my table members by sharing knowledge, insights, laughter, tears, gifts, food, and plans for friendship in the future. I didn’t want Alpha to end, so am happy it will be offered twice a year at Cathedral. Watching the inspiring videos and discussing them helped me understand myself as a spiritual being and articulate my relationship with God. This program is for everyone regardless of where they’re at in life. It gave me a new meaning of church as an inclusive, rather than exclusive, place. I’m grateful to serve and be served in this ongoing program. ~Mary Frances
I know that this time of year is a busy time for many of us, but I encourage you to not get swept away in the commotion. Advent is a beautiful season and even though it is penitential (thus the use of the color violet), it also possesses a subdued joy and peace. I encourage you to make use of this season and set aside some time for yourself with the Lord. May every nation, home, and heart make room for Christ, the Prince of Peace.
This coming Saturday, December 8th, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Immaculate Conception, patroness of our nation, diocese, and cathedral. This is a holy day of obligation. Normally holy days that fall on a Saturday have their obligation to attend Mass lifted but this is not the case for the Immaculate Conception due to her patronage of our nation. Because it is a weekend, we will maintain our normal Mass schedule but not have a noon Mass on Saturday. The obligation to attend Mass for both the holy day and the First Sunday of Advent can be done by attending two Masses in one of the following ways: Friday evening/Saturday evening, Friday evening/any time on Sunday, Saturday morning/Saturday evening, or Saturday morning/any time Sunday; however, one cannot go to Mass on Saturday morning or Saturday evening and have it count for both. You can also attend Mass Saturday evening and any time on Sunday since the Mass of Saturday evening is still on December 8th, even though the prayers and the readings will be for the First Sunday of Advent.
Recently, the Pew Research Center came out with a study saying that the majority of Americans believe that it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values. A 2011 study on the question reflected that 49 percent believed that it was not necessary, while in 2017—only six years later—that number shifted to nearly 56 percent. I found it most interesting that these numbers were not only influenced by the increase of those who are atheist and irreligious; the numbers had also risen amongst believers—Protestant and Catholic.
There’s something very special about the first Sunday of Advent — singing the familiar Advent hymns and lighting the first Advent candle. I always feel a thrill of anticipation that Christmas is just around the corner.
Does your GPS act up like mine? Sometimes I wonder if the GPS has a mind of it’s own and is playing tricks on me. From avoiding certain intersections to unforeseen construction, my GPS is not always the most reliable. However, it always points to my destination!