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Following Christ

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Sometimes when I read the Twelve Apostles’ names, my mind wonders what did Jesus see in each one of these men that drew him to invite them to be his followers? Did Jesus see a light in their eyes or hearts, even Judas, which gave him hope in the role each would play in the establishment of his Church here on earth? Furthermore, what did these twelve men perceive in Jesus, which caused them to leave everything and everyone behind to follow?

What does Jesus see in me? I, too, am invited to “come and see,” as the Apostles were. I, too, am called to “follow Him.” To pick up my cross daily and accept the invitation to be one of his disciples. Through the gift of hindsight, the written Gospels, and 2000 years of tradition, the choice for us would appear easier. The first disciples responded with incredible faith. Yet, maybe it is equivalent to the faith we show in assenting to follow an unseen God?  Regardless, how blessed are all who allow Jesus to breakthrough into their lives and come to Him.

Every encounter I have with Jesus Christ, be it in reading Scripture, receiving or adoring the Eucharist, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or as I sit in prayer with my Lord and Savior, I know I am never the same person again. Even brief encounters with His grace change and strengthen me.

With simple words, Jesus “summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him.”   Some Apostles come by direct invitation from Jesus, yet others begin to follow after an invitation from another whose heart burns from their encounter with Jesus. Regardless of how you come to first know of Jesus, it is only through experiencing Him directly that you truly choose to follow. That brings me to my second pondering on the calling of the Apostles. What did they see in Jesus which led them to remain and abide with Him? 

I can’t imagine what those early days were like, as they traveled alongside and listened to His every word. Never before spoken words, sometimes baffling and even frightening, yet knowing in their heart this was their long-awaited Messiah offering redemption and salvation.

What I love so much about the Scriptures—they are not just accounts of what happened two thousand years ago, but they are truth and light for each of us today. Each lesson shared by Jesus still teaches and inspires you and me. Jesus makes promises not only to those within His earshot in the Holy Land but also to us. At times, I may be a little “Doubting Thomas” looking for evidence or proof for myself; however, I do believe Jesus to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. With my whole heart, mind, and soul, I have come to know and believe there is no other way to the Father than through His Son, Jesus Christ. Today, I reaffirm my decision to “come and see” and always follow Him.

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Allison Gingras works for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization as National WINE Steward of the Virtual Vineyard. She is a Social Media Consultant for the Diocese of Fall River and CatholicMom.com. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who founded ReconciledToYou.com and developed the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (OSV).   

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Choosing Not To Choose Is Choosing

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There is a battle going on in today’s Gospel, but Jesus is the only one who speaks! The Pharisees don’t need to open their mouths – in fact, they willfully remain silent – because Jesus is battling for their hearts. But their hearts are hardened. They are not there to hear Jesus teach or even to hear the Scripture.  They are only there to watch Jesus, hoping to catch him in the act of doing something “so that they might accuse him.”

Jesus knows this. He has sparred with them before. He knows what they are about. And so he calls them out, gives them the opportunity to engage, to discuss, to reconsider. He calls up the man with the withered hand and asks the Pharisees one of those brilliant “Jesus questions”; they can make a choice for truth or continue in their untruth. They must choose what is true or say what is untrue! But they know that no matter how they answer, they won’t get their way, because they can’t have it both ways! They are unwilling to make the choice and so they remain silent. They refuse to answer.

Choosing not to choose is choosing.

What is Jesus’ response? He is angry and grieved. The Greek words used to describe his reaction are unique in the New Testament. His anger is synonymous with the wrath of God; but Jesus’ grief is described with the intensive form of the verb “to be sorry or grieve.” Jesus is displeased with their blindness, and filled with sorrow at their willful hardness of heart, because he has come to save them too. But they cannot rejoice with those who have been healed and set free from sin. They cannot see the Messiah restoring all that has been injured by sin, and calling them into his glorious kingdom. They have closed themselves to what is happening right in their midst.

It is not enough for them to ignore him or dismiss him or even talk against him. It is not enough for them to refuse to hear the beauty of his words or the freedom that he teaches. They must destroy him. Rather than allow themselves to be moved by the good, they harden themselves against this thorn in their side and determine to kill him!

This is a fitting Gospel for the saint of today: St. Sebastian was one of the many martyrs executed during the persecutions of Diocletian. As a Roman soldier, Sebastian was found to be a Christian and did not back down at the threat of death from those who had hardened their hearts against the truth. Like Christ, he stood firm even as they shot him full of arrows because he was determined to obey God and his conscience rather than men, as the Collect for today’s Mass reminds us.

St. Sebastian, intercede for us, that we might remain open to Good and stand firmly in the Truth, no matter the cost!

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Driven By Desire…For What?

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What gets you out of bed before dawn?

We push ourselves beyond our superficial comforts for things that we value. Some people seem to focus on fun or competition and stay up late gaming. Some value their health or appearance, so they push themselves to get up early and exercise. Some prioritize learning and burn the midnight oil to read or study. Some people see their duty to family or friends as a value, so they push themselves beyond their need for rest or recreation to serve their needs. In each of these scenarios, a different value drives a person to stretch themselves.

What drives you?

What drives Jesus?

 “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

We are all busy, and prayer can seem like “one more thing” that we can’t find time to do. Can we be as busy as Jesus was? He had just taught in the synagogue, left (maybe hoping for some rest) and healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and found himself faced with many people in need – some ill, some possessed, no doubt some who just wanted a word of encouragement. This began after sunset, so it seems he did not get a full night’s sleep.

And yet, he rose before the sun to seek out some silence and solitude. Why?

Jesus is always driven by the same thing: the Father. He does the will of the Father (Jn 6:38). He says what the Father tells him to say (Jn 12:49). He does the works he sees the Father doing (Jn 5:17-19, 14:10). He needs to be in communication with the Father, in solitude, to know the Father’s will and to do it perfectly (Matt 14:23, 26:36; Mk 1:35, 6:46; Lk 3:21, 5:16, 9:18, 11:1) .

Surely, his whole life was prayer, because he was always seeking to please the Father. And yet it is recorded for us in the very Gospels that Jesus went away from the work in order to pray. It’s stunning, isn’t it? The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word Incarnate, as man, must seek out actual times of solitude to PRAY, to be in union with the Father, to listen to the Voice of God.

When do you pray? Before dawn? At mealtimes? When you can? Can you never?

Does seeking the loving Face of the Father drive us to set aside times of prayer each day? Each year, I resolve to be more faithful to my daily prayer, and this year is no different! How well will I keep this resolution this year? How about you? No matter how well you are able to walk with Jesus and spend time with him each day, it seems certain that this world would benefit from an even greater commitment to prayer in 2021.

May God bless you abundantly.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Come Follow Me

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 Today we read about the day that Christ called to Simon and Andrew, saying: “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers of people.”

Christ called to these men, and they immediately dropped what they were doing to follow Him. His command was that compelling. 

Imagine looking upon the face of Jesus as He beckons you. Imagine hearing His voice tell you to come. What an immense gift those men were given.

We don’t have the benefit of a flesh-and-blood Jesus standing in front of us commanding us to follow Him. We cannot hear His voice directly tell us what He wants. Yet, His command to us is the same as the command He gave to those men 2,000 years ago. He calls us each by name to follow Him. He tells us we are His. Why? Simply put, He loves us. And His love for us is so immense that we can only fathom it. God longs for us to drop everything and to run to Him, proclaiming His goodness and vowing to give everything we have to serve Him. He longs for us to show this joy to others so that they, too, can see His glory.

However, we know that this is easier said than done, especially in today’s world. Sometimes we find that life gets in the way. Our jobs, the little things we must do to keep a household running, even our families—all these things are blessings in and of themselves, but they can also serve as distractions. These things can keep us from dropping everything and running to the arms of the Lord—even metaphorically. And they can keep us from teaching others about Christ’s goodness and mercy. 

Yet God is always there gently reminding us that He has called us and that we are to be fishers of men, just like the Apostles. He wants each and every one of us to bravely and proudly follow Him and to lead our families, our neighbors, and those in our community to Him. 

We must always remember that being a fisher of men is an important part of our faith, for we were not meant to hide our faith away. We were not meant to pray in isolation. We were not meant to simply go to Mass once a week and do nothing else for God. We are called to model Christ’s love and to be examples to others. It is by these actions that we will lead others to Christ, and it is our inner joy that will attract others. When we heed the call to truly follow Christ and to serve Him in all we do, we will indeed fulfill His calling to be fishers of men. 

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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.

Feature Image Credit: Gonzalo Gutierrez, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/16867-sigueme

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Arise My Beloved

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For my young friends, the personal and living God is unknown, someone else’s friend they hear about from time to time from some especially religious person, but someone with whom they have had no personal encounter.

Into this unfortunate and heart-breaking sense of isolation and distance bursts the “lover”:

“Here he comes
Springing across the mountains,
Leaping across the hills.”

Christmas is our celebration of absolute wonder at the awesomely amazing mystery that the Almighty God has stooped down to our creaturely level and reality and become the weakest member of the human race: a baby.

Though for many, their Christmas amazement may end with comments on how beautiful are the manger set and the Christmas decorations, today’s first reading confronts us with the startling words:

“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!”

Jesus wants a personal relationship with us on his terms, which are utterly beyond anything we could propose on our own. The other day I sat in a coffee shop and the two women next to me sounded like they were using one of those lists of 20 questions to start conversations with someone new so you really get to know each other. It was a bit comical, and I’m sure since they were carrying on this exchange for a couple of hours or more, they most likely, in the end, did know a lot of details about each other’s lives.

But Christmas is the invitation for us to “arise,” because we are “beautiful” to God, and he wants us to come with him into the Father’s embrace, the Trinity’s life, and eternal joy.

Today’s readings show us that Christmas is a human and very personal event. In the Gospel, Mary sets out in haste to visit Elizabeth, to bring the Christmas message of joy to her elderly relative. We too, when our Christmas celebrations are over, or maybe before we enjoy the holidays, are called to personally reach out to another human being and share Jesus with them. For Jesus depends on you and me to reach others personally so that they too will hear the amazingly wondrous invitation: “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!”

Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She draws from the spiritual tradition and her own lived experience to lead seekers deep within themselves and through their personal history to deepen their intimacy with and trust in God; live with greater joy, peace, and interior freedom; and encounter the Lord in their past and present life experiences to find healing, grace, and newness of life. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

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The Unsung Hero of Advent

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My eyes lit up when I saw today’s Gospel reading: the Annunciation. I could talk about Mary forever. For the sake of your attention span (and mine as I sit here and write), I won’t. Or, at least, I’ll try not to.

For the longest time, I didn’t know that having a relationship with Mary was even possible. Yes, I knew that she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, Queen of Heaven and Earth and all that good stuff. What I was really focused on, however, was cultivating a relationship with God. I didn’t realize that the two could go hand-in-hand until I got to college.

While attending Franciscan University of Steubenville, I joined a Marian household, started praying the rosary at least once a week, did Marian consecration twice, took a Mariology class for one of my electives and so much more. Basically, Mary “stalked” me all throughout college and I couldn’t have been more grateful. She became the perfect model for me in being the ultimate beloved of the Father, in spiritual motherhood and true womanhood, in purity and in obedience to God’s will. I strove for her constant intercession and my faith life as a whole hit a new peak.

Growth didn’t just stop in college, however, as my relationship with Mary actually reached an all-time high this past October. In personal preparation for teaching a youth group lesson on the Blessed Virgin, I felt called to pray a daily rosary. Fitting since October is the month of the rosary, right? During that four-week span, I experienced such indescribable joy and consolation as I grew closer to the Lord through His mother.

What goes up must come down, though, and I fell into a period of spiritual desolation shortly after. Since I was in the midst of such a spiritual high, the desolation felt much deeper, prayer was nonexistent and the Lord seemed so far away.

I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this funk without some help so I went to go see my spiritual director. In the middle of our most recent session, he stopped to ask if I minded praying a decade of the rosary with him, right then and there. After we prayed together, we sat in silence for a few minutes until he asked what the Lord had put on my heart. I told him that those few Hail Marys ended up being the most meaningful prayer I had offered since, well, my daily rosaries and I had no explanation as to why. Looking back on that afternoon, now I know. The peace and the small stirring I felt in my heart was all because of you, Mary. It hasn’t been easy to climb out of desolation but I know I can do it with the help of my mother, your mother, our mother.

Now, you might be thinking, “All of that is great, but what does Mary have to do with the season of Advent?” Everything, really.

Think about it. We celebrate two Marian feast days during this liturgical season – Immaculate Conception (December 8, Holy Day of Obligation) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12). We hear the Annunciation passage today on December 20th and, if we are in Cycle B, we hear it again on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. If you look into the Christmas season, we also celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, on January 1. Another Holy Day of Obligation. None of these feast days, solemnities and readings, etc. are coincidences.

Mary embodies so much of what the Advent season is about – that waiting and hoping and longing. From the moment of original sin in the Garden of Eden, God prepared for the coming of the Messiah starting with Mary’s Immaculate Conception. She would be preserved from the original sin that her Son would save us all from. All throughout her life, she pondered what was in her heart, the heart united to her Son, patiently endured His sufferings and obeyed the will of God to the fullest.

If you need help preparing for the coming of Jesus during these final few days of Advent, I urge you to fly unto Mary. Entrust your heart to her this season and every season. We can learn a lot from her.

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Erin is a Parma Heights, Ohio, native and a 2016 graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She uses her communication arts degree in a couple of different ways: first, as an Athletic Communications Assistant at Baldwin Wallace University and, secondly, as a youth minister at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Although both of her jobs are on complete opposite spectrums, she truly enjoys being able to span the realm of communications. You can follow her on multiple Twitter accounts – @erinmadden2016 (personal), @bwathletics (work) and @HFVision (youth ministry).

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Miraculous Through the Ordinary

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When we receive our writing assignments, we “sign up” by putting our names by the dates for which we want to reflect and respond to the readings. I’d love to be able to say that I thoughtfully and prayerfully choose the readings I will write about, but the reality is that the spreadsheet for signing up usually arrives in the midst of a myriad of other tasks which are all demanding my attention and so I usually send up a quick prayer and try to choose two readings about 2 weeks apart, simply to make it easier to hit the deadlines.

But today, I have hit the reading lottery jackpot! This is one of my favorite, favorite stories in the Bible! I love Zechariah and Elizabeth because they remind me that God works amazing things through perfectly ordinary people. And I love the reminder that God is funny, I mean God is really funny.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are a devout Jewish couple, just going through life trying to do their best. Unfortunately for them, they are not blessed with children. For those of us who have lived through a multitude of people pressing you to have children, asking (what you thought were private and intimate) details of why you don’t have children, and explaining how their third cousin once removed finally got pregnant, we have some small insight into the deep disappointment with which Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. Childless women of Elizabeth’s time were not just interrogated, they were mocked and ridiculed. So it is at this late stage in the game, that we meet Zach and Liz, ‘righteous in God’s sight’ living outside of Jerusalem in the hill country. Not only are they childless, but they are also country folk! My people!

Zechariah is a priest and it is time for his division to head into Jerusalem to perform their regular duty in the Temple-liturgy, he is just doing his job. Zechariah draws “the lot” and is appointed to go into the inner sanctuary to offer incense while the others remain praying outside. Zechariah’s regular duty provides the setting for something extraordinary.

Gabriel shows up. There, standing to the right of the altar of incense is not just an angel, but one of the archangels. Zechariah gets scared.

Just as with Mary, Gabriel tells Zechariah not to be afraid, that his prayers have been heard and a child will be born. However, Zechariah takes a different approach than Mary. Zechariah argues with the angel. How can this be? I’m old and have you met my wife? (How many times do I argue when I should probably just be quiet!?!)

Can’t you just picture Gabriel sighing and taking a deep breath before answering? (I wonder if angels when appearing to us can roll their eyes?) “Listen, Zach, I stand before God and HE sent me to give you this good news, but since you have decided to just give me wordy arguments, you will now be without words until the child is born.” (I’ve taken the liberty of paraphrasing but, see, I told you God was funny!)

One thinks immediately of Abraham and Sarah, and how when Sarah laughed at the news she would have a child in her old age, God named the baby, Isaac which means laughter. Again, pretty funny, God.

From today’s first reading, we think of Manoah and his wife, who though childless, also conceived after a visit from an angel. Their child, Samson was consecrated to God, just as Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child would be. Having a child long after child-bearing years is not a stretch for God, nor is it even something new. In this way, the story of their child, John, takes its place in a long-standing sequence of events all for God’s purposes; the fulfillment of God’s promises.

The stories of these sons; Isaac, Samson, and John all prepare us for the coming of The Son. It also reminds us, that in the midst of the big things, and one could argue that the Incarnation was the biggest of the big, God responds to the smallest of hopes and desires as well. It is in the midst of ordinary people, doing their best to live out their faith on a day to day basis, that God resides and moves. Ahhh, that means there is hope for me yet.

See why I love this story?

Sheryl O’Connor is happiest in her role as wife to Tom. Together, they are discerning Tom’s call to the Diaconate and he is in his Aspirancy year with the Diocese of Kalamazoo. She is the Director of Youth Evangelization at her parish collaborative. 

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Worth the Wait

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Sometimes being a good person means not saying anything at all. As counterintuitive as this sounds, there are certain scenarios where silence is the loudest response. When something good happens to me, the first thing I think of is “I need to tell someone about this!” When something terrible happens to me, the first thing I think of is “I need to tell someone about this!” The desire to share is built into us and this is a very good thing. I think singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran summarizes it nicely when he sings “Success is nothing unless you have someone to share it with.” There’s a lot of sharing that goes on around us. Almost too much sharing. People share their stories, their pictures, and their opinions on Social Media. The moment something occurs, we can share it and people clear across the globe can have access to it instantaneously. But sometimes, being a good
person means waiting and subsequently not saying anything at all.

Joseph learns of Mary’s pregnancy and his first reaction is to protect her from shame. He waits. He neither speaks nor acts rashly. Not thinking of himself, Joseph protects Mary even in an hour where he could rightfully feel betrayed, not yet knowing the truth of the situation. But Joseph waits and as a result of his prudence, God reveals to him the meaning of all of this. Could there be a better example of manhood and fatherhood than St. Joseph?

As if patience wasn’t hard enough, we almost exclusively find ourselves in situations where we wait for things that will never actualize. This is a direct result of waiting for the wrong thing. That’s why we feel this everlasting ache that fluctuates in intensity from time to time but nevertheless remains. During Advent, we wait. However, this time we know exactly what we’re waiting for, but it is, in fact, something that we already have. You see, Christmas isn’t precisely about people being kind to one another and communal generosity. Think of what Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol… that he wanted to be noticed as a cripple, so people would remember who
made “… lame beggars walk, and blind men see” (Dickens). Christmas is about a Person who, instead of talking about good deeds, performed them, and instructed all who witnessed to tell no one what they had seen. It is the example Christ gave two thousand years ago that in 2018 motivates people who have never even heard of Jesus to be kind and giving during the Christmas and Advent season.

I’ll be the first to admit I struggle with the virtue of patience. But every Advent we get the chance to train ourselves to wait for what comes at the end of the four weeks. As we slowly develop this great virtue, we become stronger. Despite the naturally passive connotation of the word “waiting” we are encouraged to be active in the purification and preparation of ourselves as a way of inviting Christ into our lives, someone who is truly worth the wait, at this year’s celebration of his birth and at our eternal destination.

Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Jesus, The Fulfillment of the Old

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Good morning, and praise the Lord for another day. As you sit down, pour a cup of coffee, and get ready to reflect on today’s readings, I am pleased to present to you the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. At first glance, perhaps the most boring bible verse out of all of them, one that makes you wonder why Matthew would spend so much time talking about generation after generation of impossible to pronounce names.

If you are tempted to read only the first line and then give up and read something better like a dictionary or car manual, I implore you to take another look. There is a reason that Matthew is so specific about the generations before Jesus.

We have a set of three groups, with fourteen generations in each. Perhaps the important number here is not fourteen, but instead the number seven. Seven is seen throughout scripture as the number of perfection or fulfillment. As we all know, Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament. Do the math, when you add up all the groups you have six groups of seven generations each until we finally see the last group, the generation of the Messiah. This final group completes seven groups and symbolizes that Christ came to fulfill all that came before.

We see a similar symbolism at the Wedding at Cana. Six jars of overflowing wine (a biblical symbol for God’s love) appeared as the first of Jesus’ miracles, with himself being the seventh and never-ending outpouring of love. We see it again with the woman who had six husbands and Jesus came and invited her into his love as the seventh.

Numbers are important in the bible. This seemingly boring Gospel passage shows us that Jesus became a man to restore, to fulfill, to give his perfect love, and to reunite us to the Father. Numbers don’t lie, and neither does our Lord. He fulfills his promise in our lives every day, all we have to do is accept this gift of perfect and limitless love. When was the last time you did? From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Our Humble Hidden God

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Let’s put the conversation in today’s Gospel in context to understand it: “they were coming down from the mountain” where the Transfiguration had just occurred. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus shining like the sun, with Moses and Elijah talking with him, and the voice of the Father announcing that this is his beloved Son. They had just fallen on their faces in awe and now they are probably dazed, with Jesus instructing them not to tell anyone what they had just seen (how could they even describe this?!) “until the Son of man is raised from the dead” (how could they understand these words?!). These three disciples could not have grasped the depth of what Jesus was communicating.

It seems they reach for what they DO know: Elijah. They had just seen Elijah, and the Scribes taught that Elijah was the herald of the Messiah, referencing Malachi. So they ask him why the scribes say Elijah must come first (clearly, the Messiah is already here, and this recent appearance of Elijah seems to have done nothing to forward his mission).

The Lord’s answer reframes the question. He says that Elijah will come and restore all things, but that the spirit of Elijah has already come to prepare the way, in the person of John the Baptist. We heard this when Jesus said, “if you are willing to accept it, (John) is Elijah who is to come” (Matt 11:15). Luke says that the Baptist will come “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). So the spirit of Elijah in the person of John the Baptist prepared for the Messiah’s first coming. It is not clear whether, as some of the Patristics believed, Elijah will indeed come again to prepare for the Final Coming of Christ.

Jesus does not explicate that here. He DOES, however, use this inquiry to help them see that John the Baptist was a precursor in more ways than one: he came and prepared the way for the Messiah, preaching repentance; he also suffered death for witnessing to the Truth. Jesus points out that the Son of Man will also suffer. He is preparing the disciples to see that, in some way, the great Elijah is the martyred Baptist; similarly, the glorious Messiah will be the crucified Son of Man. Our God is a hidden, humbled, self-sacrificing God.

As we prepare for Christmas, we consider Jesus’ first coming, consider whether we are living for his final coming, and open our hearts more fully to his coming to us every day. Like the disciples, we must see that our mighty God comes to us in the most improbable ways: veiled in the smallest particle of the Eucharist, hidden in the interruptions and duties of each day, and quietly entering the world as a helpless Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. The King of endless glory conquers our hearts by giving Himself to us, every moment of every day so that we can live in union with him.

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.