HAPPY ADVENT.!! Whew, we made it. For any of my Jewish friends, like John C’s. wife, Hanukkah finishes tomorrow night, Yaaay! **These also would have been Mary’s final days of being pregnant. She may have actually, still been riding a donkey. Ouch!! That’s not for me. **Let’s imagine though, that as an expectant mother, Mary allowed her mind to wander with thoughts of God and could’ve been happily wondering about her baby. What color would his eyes be, or his hair? Would he be tall, or strong. Being a carpenter’s son he’ll need to be strong. I think all expectant mothers do!! **First and foremost, Jesus will be a beautiful, innocent, tiny baby. Jesus will be helpless and will be completely in need of his parents. They in turn ‘know’, that it is they who are completely in need of him!
***Our three scriptures today have a most favorite undertone of mine, signs and wonders. Our first reading is from Isaiah 7:10-14. The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” **BTW: Ahaz isn’t being loving and reverent of God here, he’s being a wise-acre. He’s ‘sarcastically’ not asking for anything. God challenged Ahaz, because of Ahaz’s doubt concerning the Lord God. **Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: The virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. **There it is, the prophetic word regarding Mother Mary!
The beginning of the 2nd reading is a greeting from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans. I may have mentioned this before, but Paul is the ‘king’ of run-on sentences. (I’ve enhanced the punctuation for better understanding). St. Paul in Romans 1:1-7 is talking about being ‘predestined’ (wonders) by God!! Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and ‘set apart’ for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures!! **The gospel about His Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. **At the finish of this scripture, Paul is proudly expressing his servanthood for the name and person of our Lord Jesus the Christ to the gentiles, especially in Rome.
We finish with our Gospel from Matthew 1:18-24 today as he recalls the struggle that St Joseph had regarding Mary being pregnant despite not being married. Unlike today, in those days it was still a problem. An angel comes to Joseph in a dream. The angel reassures St. Joseph that this is all according to God’s Will and is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. **God has communicated with Isaiah, the patriarch Joseph, and now Joseph of Bethlehem through dreams. After all of that… Behold the babe who takes away the sins of the world.!! ALLELUIA!! ***My wife and I want to wish you all a very happy finish to your Happy Advent and a Blessed & very Merry Christmas to you all… Mark
I am Mark Gates, your servant. I currently live with my wife in Peosta, Iowa and have retired. I have spent my whole life as a God-fearing Christian, Mass Lector and cradle Catholic. In 1996 after a Charismatic Conference, My Spirituality ‘Exploded’. The Holy Spirit has since, blessed me with personal revelations, dreams and events in times of needed admonishment, teaching or encouragement. Having a personal belief in, and true affection for The Real Presence of Christ in Eucharist, and also a very sweet, tender, and special relationship with our Holy Spirit, I believe that our world is in dire need of Good News. I want my spirituality to create conversations! I pray that you allow these musings to start your own conversations.
