All things new
Podcast
Scripture references
Reflection
On Friday morning, we celebrated a Memorial Mass for Peter VanSprundel, a long-time parishioner who was very involved in many aspects of this parish. As we were preparing for his funeral, news reached us that Msgr. Bernard Burns, who has been serving as pastor of Precious Blood Cathedral in Sault Ste. Marie until just a few weeks ago, died very suddenly on Thursday evening. A funeral Mass for Msgr. Burns will be celebrated in Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday morning.
Even at times when people we know and love have been sick and suffering for extended periods of time, death is seldom easy to face. It is a sobering reality that we all know will come at some time, but when it occurs, it wakes us up to the fact that life here on this earth is finite. None of us knows the exact number of our days, so we should strive always to live life to the full, to abound in love for others (1 Thess 3:12), and to be holy and blameless before God.
In the gospel today, Jesus warns the disciples to be on the lookout for the signs that the world will produce (Lk 21:25-26). Like them, he tells us too that there will be signs which may lead some to fear and foreboding about that which is to come, but he assures us that even when all around us may seem to crumble, he will still be with us.
It's true that in many ways, the world around us is changing. Where once the church was an influential part of our culture, there is much about faith that is now criticised by the powerful voices of our day. If we paid attention to these voices, and allowed them to dictate how we live our lives, we would quite possibly choose to hide within the walls of our churches and our homes. But this is precisely the time when we should stand up, hold our heads high and be willing to show the world the power of love, the strength of forgiveness and the joy that comes with the knowledge that Christ has come to bring us the fullness of life.
In just a few weeks' time, we will celebrate the festival of Christmas. It's interesting that at the time of the year when there is the least amount of daylight, we will celebrate the coming of Light into our world. Similarly, this Advent season makes us very aware that in the midst of a society that pays little if any attention to the values of faith, ours is the very important task of living righteous lives (Jer 33:15-16), so that the light of faith which we have received may penetrate the darkness of doubt and fear that the world around us faces.
What concrete things can we do this Advent to bring light to our world? Is there some small way that we can show love to another person, or demonstrate the power of forgiveness and mercy? In the midst of all the physical preparations for Christmas, let's find some time to prepare our hearts, spirits and souls as well. Then the true meaning of Christmas will come alive in new and wonderful ways.
