Scripture Reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

“the more deeply we are united in Christ’s one body, the more our prayer will be a sharing in his prayer, a sharing that can spread throughout us to touch every detail of our lives”

“Mary believed God and trusted Him completely with her life and the life of her unborn child. Why is it so difficult for us to trust God with our own life sometimes?”

“Part of what I love about the Christmas story is that it breaks this idea of God-elsewhere in pieces. God is not God-elsewhere. He is God-with-us.”

“It is curious that we don’t see the connection between our demand for products and the ramifications for nations like Cambodia...That a shirt bought for $5 at a department store does not actually “cost” $5. It costs the life of the child of a Khmer factory worker, unable to take her daughter to the doctor.”

“Be obedient to God’s will. Have faith in His plan. And trust that He will provide you the strength, grace and mercy that you need, no matter where you are in life.”

“Mary is blessed because she believes the promises made by God. Her life of simplicity and holiness, from her immaculate conception onwards, is but a start.”

“That God can bless us is one thing: that he can empower us to bless one another is the same thing, the same gift. Elizabeth and Mary sing their duet of blessings shared and blessings abounding.”

“Mary’s haste is the measure of her response to the angel’s message...To receive the divine Word is not to remain unchanged, but to carry that Word to others”

"Racy Espino writes: My vocation is married life. I’m happily married to my husband for 16 years and counting. We are blessed with two children, one in high school and..."

"On the final Sunday of Advent, the Church invites us to consider the inexhaustibly fascinating figure of Mary. The Mother of God is a figure of faithful Israel, the people..."

“As we conclude Advent and prepare to celebrate Christmas, we are invited through the story of Christ’s miraculous and humble birth to have hope amidst these overwhelming global challenges.”

“In these brief verses we witness John, roughly six months in the womb/three months from birth, BEGIN his life’s work—to announce and prepare the way of the Lord. Talk about an early vocation!”

“God works with humans, drawing on their potential, respecting their freedom, but realising his own vision through it all”

“our fate is tied to the fate of Jesus Christ, the royal Son of David. Since he has risen from the dead, those who trust in him may have confidence that they, too, will rise.”

“We approach this holiest of days, and may our hearts be swept clean, as we have reflected on and have changed our lives during this season”

“Faith is established in Elizabeth through physical events: her meeting with Mary, their conversation, John the Baptist leaping in her womb, with the Spirit working through these things.”

"Friends, most of us are stuck in the boring and narrow confines of the ego-drama. Mary is not playing an ego-dramatic game; she is playing a theo-dramatic game. We hear..."

"The New Testament authors consistently reached to the Old Testament for their categories of understanding. Hence, Jesus is the Torah in person; the new and definitive Temple; the prophet par..."

"In today’s readings we see the Theo-drama, the great story being told by God, confronting the ego-drama, which is the self-centered play we attempt to write, produce, direct, and star..."

"The greatest and most revered of Israel’s kings was David. It is from the family of David that the Messiah would come into the world and to the surprise of..."

"The image of John the Baptist leaping in joy in the womb of his mother at the sound of the greeting of the Blessed Virgin Mary hearkens back to the..."

"The readings for the final Sunday of Advent present us with three essential lessons. First, in the Biblical perspective, great things come from the small; second, never ever give up..."