Father Matthew Wiering Podcast

Today's gospel of salt and light is paired with our 1st reading from Isaiah, which tells God's people who they are to be salt and light: Doing works of mercy. We all have someone in our life who is in need -- either in need of material support or in need of loving friendship. Let's let the Scriptures today inspire us to stop sitting on the fence and to do something!

In today's Gospel we have one of the most famous and important passages in the New Testament, the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. As God gave his people through Moses the list of the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai, now God in the Person of Jesus gives his disciples the list of the Beatitudes. Yet this is not a list of "do's" or "don't's" but something more basic, more fundamental. Jesus gives us the attitudes that coincide with happiness. As Jesus inaugurated his public ministry with the call, "Repent (metanoiate -- go beyond the mind that you have) for heaven is near!" Now Jesus tells us what is the mind that we must have to be blessed. So, change your mind!

In today's Gospel the apostle Matthew quotes the great prophet Isaiah: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!" Jesus, the light of the world, arrives on the scene in the "darkness" of Galilee. He does so in order to bring light to the dark places of our hearts. But immediately after arriving he calls his first disciples and says that they will be "fishers of men." Having received his light ... we must pass it on to others!

What do the Church documents say about the Mass and the music to be used in it? Does the Church give direction in this area, or is it simply up to the discretion/preferences of the pastor, or is it "anything goes"? Many Catholics do not realize that the Church does give instructions on music in the Liturgy. In this presentation, Fr. Matt talks about what the Church does instruct regarding Sacred Music and the Mass and gives some of his own reflections based on his time spent serving as a priest and pastor.

One of the details the Gospel gives us is that the Magi were "from the east". This tells us that they were not from Israel, i.e. not Jews. Instead they were foreigners, pagans, "outsiders", we could say. Yet how much do these "converts" have to teach us cradle Christians!

This Sunday, January 1st, at the beginning of the New Year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on the gift of motherhood, and especially, Mary's motherhood over us. When we are baptized we become beloved sons and daughters of God the Father, and thus, brothers and sisters of Jesus. This means that we, like Jesus, are sons and daughters of Mary. May we know more and more the tenderness of her loving gaze upon each of us, her children.

St. Luke repeats two details for us: That the newborn Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (this latter detail Luke repeats thrice. The Church Fathers, attentive to this seemingly intentional repetition, saw in these two details at the beginning of Christ's life a prophesy of how his life would be culminate -- in his handing over his body through his dying and becoming food for his believers. This prophetic imagery is fulfilled today at our Christmas (literally, "Christ's Mass) Liturgy.

Today's first reading contains one of the most famous prophesies of all the Scriptures: A virgin will conceive and bear a son. What we don't always think about is the context in which this "sign" is announced: In the face of armies attacking Judah, King Ahaz is belligerent in his design to ally Judah with Egypt. He is insisting on doing his own will, instead of being obedient to God's will. He doesn't even want to hear what God has to say on the matter. We find a clear contrast with Ahaz in our Gospel. Joseph, who also finds himself in an extremely trying and confusing circumstance, opens himself to God and God's will in his life. Obedient to God instead of his own will, he says "yes" to taking on Mary as wife and Jesus as son--thus, you and I can be saved! What wonderful things God can do with our "yes" to His will!

Again in today's first reading from the prophet Isaiah we have a very striking image for Israel -- a desert -- which evokes aridity, barrenness, and death. Yet. The prophet tells us that the desert will be filled with an abundance of flowers. Of course, he does not mean that a desert will literally bloom, but that the "desert" of Israel, which at this point in its history seem lifeless and fruitless will not always be so but will again produce fruit, in Jesus. The same thing happens to the "desert" of our heart when Jesus comes -- flowers begin to bloom there. Let's pray and wait for this during Advent!

In this 2nd Week of Advent, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us again. He says, "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of David." In dead Israel, new life is going to come. How much do we need Jesus to come into those dead and lifeless places in our heart? Let our Advent prayer be, "Come, Lord Jesus!"