Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John of the Cross, a 16^th century mystic, poet, priest, and Doctor of the Church. 

John was ordained a priest at the age of 25, but most of his spiritual “formation” happened shortly thereafter while imprisoned by his own religious community.

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After attempting to introduce stricter spiritual practices into the life of his monastery, John was thrown into a darkened cell all by himself for nine terrible months.

One night, he decided to escape. So, he pried open his door, made his way to the edge of his monastery, and in the pitch black while dangling twenty to thirty feet in the air, he let go.

John spent the rest of his life living in different monasteries around Spain, writing poetry and spiritual canticles.

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In his famous work, The Dark Night of the Soul, John likened a soul’s journey to God to that fateful night of his escape.

When he let go of the wall surrounding his monastery, he knew he also had to leave behind his anger, grief, and frustration at his brothers. He could not expect to be welcomed into heaven if he still harbored evil thoughts about what happened in his heart.

As he later wrote, “In the twilight of our lives, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions or worldly successes, but by how much we have loved.” In his case, that also included how much he was able to love those who imprisoned him.

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So, what might John’s life and writings say to us today?

There are parts of every human soul which we must detach ourselves from – whether it’s anger, jealousy, greed, pride, or any other sin. 

We cannot simply hope these things go away; rather, we must develop a sense of urgency, confronting those hardened parts of our hearts with prayer, fasting, and penance. 

At times, it’s quite painful. But doing so makes more and more room for God, until God becomes, “all in all.”

Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Christianity Today (2) John of the Cross, Wikipedia (3) Salt and Light Blog

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Gospel: Luke 1:39-47

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is the only Gospel where two women are found together… and they’re both pregnant. It’s what we celebrate today, “motherhood.”

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We’ve all had mothers. Some of us are mothers. We celebrate them because you cannot be a mother to yourself. You’re always a mother in relation to someone else, a child – offering life, protection, nourishment, and love.

Mary was the mother of Jesus. She was with him from the womb to the tomb.

Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, who leapt in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. 

Centuries later, Our Lady of Guadalupe becomes a mother to Juan Diego, appearing to him in his native Mexico over the course of 4 days in the year 1531.

During these appearances, Our Lady says to him, “Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection?” 

The message of Mary’s maternal love converted 8 million natives in Mexico, and has converted countless others around the world since.

It’s why Our Lady of Guadalupe was featured on the cover of National Geographic Magazine a few years ago, when they titled her, “Mary, the Most Powerful Woman in the World.”

She cares for all who call upon her name, offering each of us what she offered Saint Juan Diego – her maternal care and intercession. 

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As we continue our Advent journeys, we turn to Mary in hope, asking her to pray on our behalf…  

Hail Mary, full of grace…

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Image credits: (1) Knights of Columbus (2) Passionist Nuns (3) EWTN on X.com

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Gospel: Luke 5:17-26

One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. 
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. 
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus. 
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.” 

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks blasphemies? 
Who but God alone can forgive sins?” 
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in your hearts? 
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” 

He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God. 
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
“We have seen incredible things today.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

In today’s Gospel, a group of friends go far together. Physically, they may only have traveled a few hundred feet. But spiritually, they do whatever it takes to lay their friend before Jesus. Together, they move the mountain of this man’s paralysis, forever changing his life. 

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During this holiday season, we’re all reminded of the power of teamwork and intercession. Together, we can move mountains of poverty, loneliness, sickness, isolation, and ignorance, transforming people’s burdens into blessings.

Think of a person in need – much like this man paralyzed in today’s Gospel – and imagine ways you can bring them before Jesus, beginning with interceding on their behalf.

You’ll certainly brighten their day. And who knows, you may even move a mountain, forever changing their life.

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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

May we continue our Advent journeys together.

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Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) Lumo on X (Twitter) (3) LinkedIn