“No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:3

Today begins the season of expectant, joyful waiting, the season we call Advent.  As we do each year, we light the first of four candles this morning—one for each Sunday of Advent that will take us home on Christmas Day. 

We think of Advent as a time of anticipation—waiting for the Christ Child and preparing for his birth.  But Advent is a time of discovery as well.  Here’s what I mean…

God is already present in our lives and in our relationships all of the time.  Advent is an invitation to discover how and where to find the Lord.  Important clues are embedded in the rituals we follow.  We reach out to family… we give our children extra special attention… we decorate our homes to a fare-thee-well…  and we outdo ourselves in creating memories that we hope will become part of our family histories. 

Why do we do all this?  Because we’re never quite satisfied with earthly things.  Enough is not enough.  We long for more… for the eternal and the forever after.  We don’t want the joy of this moment to end.  As people of faith, we have the hope and expectation that God is working in us no matter the circumstance.  God always has the last word, and as we have said all year long, that word is life—eternal life, which is the promise of the Christ Child.

This has been a difficult year for all of us.  But as you begin Advent, be hopeful:  celebrate plenty not scarcity, celebrate the light not darkness.  And celebrate the abundance of God’s love, which comes to us in the form of a child, born in a manger.  Hope is how we discover God among us; it’s the gesture of welcome and the answer to our longing.  Hope is God coming to our rescue when we most need the healing.

Friend, during the four weeks of Advent, take a little extra time to reflect on the past year and tell God your hopes for the year ahead.  However you pray, know that God is present all of the time, working through you to make the promise of the Christ Child the greatest gift you will ever receive.  May you have a blessed Advent filled with hope.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M.

Prayer for 5^th Sunday

Advent

We wait for Your coming, Lord

not like the prophets of old

who longed to greet the Messiah

but for the fulfillment of Your kingdom

here on earth as in heaven.

Make each town and village

a new Bethlehem in which

the meek and lowly seek and find You

and wise sages follow their star

to worship at Your manger.

Come to us again in the poor and oppressed

the outcast and the forgotten.

May we never forget that in

serving others we serve You who

came to us two thousand years ago,

and come to us each day in each

Eucharist and whose coming

at the end of time we wait with joyful longing.

Amen.

Prayer by Maryknoll Missioner, Father Joseph Veneroso

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Yes, it has been a year of pain and sorrow.  More than we imagined.  But as people of faith we are schooled in gratitude.  We give thanks for the gift of life and the gift of salvation.  And we give thanks for each other. 

We mark Thanksgiving Day this week with gratitude for past gifts and for the blessings we know will follow.  In acts of courage, we saw the beginning of new life over these past many months.  In acts of generosity and selflessness, we saw examples of what it means to care for others who have so little—sometimes by people who have little themselves. 

Since March, I have received numerous messages from donors and prayer partners, reassuring me that they are OK but more concerned for our Fathers and Brothers in mission and expressing gratitude for their service.  “How are they faring?”  “Has the pandemic impacted their work?”  I am so grateful for these messages.  One in particular really touched me:  A woman said that she was able to give thanks for someone she lost this year and now misses—more thanks for a life well lived than the actual missing itself.  When we begin and end the day with gratitude, our blessings—however long or brief—become the focus of our lives.

Matthew’s gospel reminds us that a blessing shared with someone in need is the same as honoring Jesus himself.  I hope you will be able to share your blessings in some way with others this Thanksgiving.   Volunteering your time may be complicated this year.  But donations to a food pantry are always welcome.  And so are the easiest thing to give away:  a kind word or two.

Friend, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving in the presence of the Lord, surrounded by family and friends.  Share your blessings—and be blessed as well.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M.

Payer for 4^th Sunday

Thanksgiving

It is right and just to give You thanks,

Lord God of heaven and earth in all

times and seasons but especially as harvest ends

when we usually gather with family and friends.

Though separated by time and place

we are all the more mindful

of Your many blessings:

health, peace, love, joy, and prosperity.

Fill us with gratitude for You and one another.

Make us ever mindful of those who hunger

for justice no less than food for friends

no less than faith.

We call down Your blessing upon our table

and those gathered with us.

May this food and Your grace

Give us strength sufficient

to do Your will now and forever.

Amen

Prayer by Maryknoll Missioner, Father Joseph Veneroso

“But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.  For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.”

1 Thessalonians 5:5

Paul reassures us, over and again.  We are children of the light, children of the day, walking with confidence and humility in the footsteps of Our Lord.

The light Paul is talking about is the knowledge that we live each day in anticipation of eternal life with God our Father.  Each time we embrace the Gospel message of self-giving and compassion, the light becomes brighter—and the desire to share the joy of our faith becomes stronger.  That is the spirit of mission:  always doing more to witness God’s love, always making the candle of salvation burn brighter for someone else to follow.

As children of the light, we know we can still stumble at times.  Our best intentions don’t always have the intended outcomes.  When I need comfort, I often turn to the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary because they reveal who Jesus is and our path to salvation.  Jesus understands that his public ministry is a mission of light, and that’s our calling, too.

• The Baptism of Jesus calls us to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit.

• The Wedding at Cana confirms that Mary is our intercessor before her Son.

• Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God is a reminder that our journey on earth is intended to create a world illuminated by compassion and justice.

• The Transfiguration announces Christ’s victory over death, light over darkness in an ultimate way that foretells our own salvation.

• The Eucharist shows us the permanence of Christ’s love and prepares us, body and soul, to share his goodness with the world.

Friend, don’t worry so much about the darkness.  Just light one candle every day… and pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary with me.  God has called you to light up the world.  Be comforted knowing that you have the ability to share that light in ways that only you can.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M.

Prayer for 3^rd Sunday

Send Your light into our world, O Lord,

to overcome the darkness of sin and death

illuminate our path, the way we should

walk that we might not stumble and fall.

By your baptism, you washed away our sin

at the wedding at Cana you restored

love and joy to our lives.

In proclaiming Your kingdom

of justice and peace

You call us to improve our world.

On Tabor You illuminated suffering

with the Eucharist You remain with us

empower us and become us.

May Your light shine brighter through us

that all shadows might disappear and the glory

of Your presence transform our world.

Amen

Prayer by Maryknoll Missioner, Father Joseph Veneroso

“Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”  Matthew 24:42

“When you least expect it…”  Isn’t that what we’re often told?  Just relax.  When you least expect it, some great fortune will come your way. 

I look at this everyday wisdom a little differently:  Blessings are gifts from God.  But they don’t come when God is ready.  They come when we’re ready to being transformed in God’s grace.  You see, the divine is always present.  It’s just that sometimes we have a problem seeing God, especially when that unexpected thing is unsettling—and not what we want at all.

Many years ago at 23 years of age I was just starting out my missionary life in Peru.  I was thrilled to be among the people.  But I was also learning what it meant to accept a grace when disguised by tragedy. 

One day I was alone at the rectory when the doorbell rang.  A young couple had arrived, carrying their infant baby.  They pleaded with me to baptize the infant but I couldn’t.  The baby had already died.  I felt completely helpless and could only comfort them in their grief.  I didn’t have the answers they wanted, but I overcame my fear and inadequacy by remaining as present to them as I could.  As a result of that encounter, the couple and I formed a long-lasting friendship.  I accompanied them for years in prayer and counseling.  They considered me to be a member of their family.  The grace we gave each other helped us grow into more compassionate people:  me as a missioner and them as a couple.  Through our friendship and trust in God we deepened each other’s faith.

Friend, don’t be taken aback by Matthew’s scripture today.  Be comforted instead knowing that when we realize God is always present—already here among us—we can grow in grace, and enrich each other’s lives no matter the circumstance.  So are you ready?  Today is a good day to say, “Yes, here I am, Lord—and I know you are here, too.”

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M.

Prayer for 2^nd Sunday

Come, Lord Jesus, with Your grace

and transform my life and our world.

May I look for Your presence

among the people and I see Your

face and hear Your voice In those

whom I meet each day.

May I encounter You in the streets

no less than in the Sacraments

in the marketplace as in holy scripture.

above all, Lord, may I be ever open

to finding You among tears and sorrows,

failures and tragedies, no less than in

joys and victories.

You who consecrated our human nature

by living a human life help me consecrate

each day to Your kingdom and dedicate

every encounter to Your glory

asking only that You take whatever

good I do to the honor of Your most holy name.

Amen.

Prayer by Maryknoll Missioner, Father Joseph Veneroso

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(Matthew 22:37-39)

Jesus has a way of making it simple for us.  In today’s Gospel, he provides the only two instructions we will ever need to enter the kingdom of heaven:  love God completely; and love one another as much as you love yourself. 

Easy enough to say.  But not always easy to do, especially when we’re confronted with anything but love.  Is Jesus asking too much of us?  I don’t think so.

As faithful Catholics, we know our role is to witness God’s love and saving grace.  That is our calling as missioners who have received the promise of salvation in Christ.  To reach our reward, Jesus is asking us to literally practice our faith.  The more we pray… the more we read scripture… the more we celebrate the sacraments—the closer we come to knowing and loving God.  Then, when we have the strength of God’s love in our hearts, witnessing that love becomes second nature even when we are being challenged.

Today, Jesus is asking us to be our best in the world of faith—to love God with all our heart—and to do our best in the world of human relationships—by treating others the way we wish to be treated.   

Fulfilling the second part of Jesus’ instruction—often called the Golden Rule—defines us as disciples who practice what we preach.  It means bringing the world of faith into the temporal world:  being good neighbors, good colleagues, and good citizens, too.  Apropos of Election Day coming up, be conscious of the role you will play in “rendering onto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”  Vote your personal good, but remember the common good that benefits us all.   

Friend, every saint, past and present, has shown us how to live the two Great Commandments:  by worshipping God above all; and by being generous and compassionate disciples of the Lord in word and deed.  So I invite you to witness God’s love and be at peace knowing that salvation is yours.  That’s as simple as it gets.   

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M.

Prayer for 4^th Sunday

God of love, You commanded

we love You with all our hearts,

with all our minds, with all our strength,

and our neighbor as ourselves.

Help us then, to truly love ourselves

by casting off all chains of sin

and heal our wounded souls

with the sweet balm of Your presence.

Fill us with a hunger for prayer

a thirst for scripture

and a longing for communion

with You in the Blessed Sacrament.

Through these give us the strength

to serve You in and through our neighbors.

May we cross all human borders that

separate us from our brothers and sisters.

Amen.

Prayer by Maryknoll Missioner, Father Joseph Veneroso