Sunday Preparation

December 5, 2021

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6 (John the Baptist)

Girardian Lectionary
'Sunday Connection' Scripture Commentary
RCL/Benziger Gospel Reflections

Question of the Week (Adults) In what areas of your life do you need God's forgiveness right now? What Advent practice would assist you in expressing your repentance?

Question of the Week (Children): What do you want to ask God to forgive you for? What can you do during Advent to show you are sorry?

Catechism Connection

535 - The preaching and action of John the Baptist

Find this reference in the Online E-Book of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Saints This Week

December 5 Saint Sabas
December 6 Saint Nicholas patron of Bakers, Brewers, Brides, Children, Greece, Grooms, Merchants, Pawnbrokers, Russia
December 7 Saint Ambrose patron of Beekeepers, learning
December 8 The Immaculate Conception on Mary
December   9 Saint Juan Diego
December 11 Pope Damasus I

The Gospel tells us of the appearance of John, son of Zechariah, or John the Baptist, as we usually call him. St. Luke sees him as fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, to prepare a way for the Lord. All the obstacles will be overcome so that all people shall see God's salvation. Luke tells us exactly when this all happened, by referring to events and people at the time. Many of the names and places mean little to us, but they were important rulers at the time. Luke wanted to let people know that the events surrounding John the Baptist and later Jesus are real. Jesus is not a mythological figure, but a historical figure. He was born on a certain date, and died on a certain date. He was a real person; his life had a real history, and a real impact on history.

When we listen to the prophet Baruch, in a passage which parallels the quotation from Isaiah in the Gospel, we hear a joyful song of restoration. Jerusalem is seen as a woman in mourning, suffering a long period of grief and sorrow. But now her sorrow is over, she can take off her mourning clothes and again live a peaceful and glorious life. The reason for this restoration of joy is the return of the exiles. The people of Israel had suffered as exiles, in Babylon. They left as slaves, but now return as princes. In many joyful images the scriptures speak of new life; of slaves becoming free, mourning becoming joy, deserts becoming fertile. There is always a promise from God of new life emerging from tragedy, grief and loss. This is a preamble to what Jesus says of himself - to bring life in abundance, to proclaim the kingdom of God. The message of Christianity is basically one of joy, not to deny the reality of grief and suffering, but to transform it. This is God's will for us, and God's gift to us.

Lesson Theme Suggestion - John the Baptist came to announce the good news of Jesus. God brings grief out of sadness, restoring broken relationships.

December 8

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 (announcement of the birth of Jesus)

'Sunday Connection' Scripture Commentary
RCL/Benziger Gospel Reflections

Question of the Week (Adults) How has faith in Jesus transformed your life?

Question of the Week (Children): Who in your family has helped you have faith in Jesus?

Catechism Connection

64 - Mary as a prophet of hope
148 - Mary embodies the obedience of faith
269 - Nothing is impossible for God
273 - Only faith can embrace God's almighty power
332 - The mission of the angels
430 - The name Jesus means "God saves"
484 - The Annunciation to mary indicates the fulfillment of God's promises
486 - The anointing of Jesus as "Christ"
488, 494 - Mary's free assent to being the mother of the savior
490 - Mary is wholly within God's grace
491 - The Immaculate Conception of Mary
497 - The virginal conception of Jesus
510 - Mary remained always a virgin
697, 723 - The Holy Spirit 'overshadows' the Virgin Mary
2617, 2677 - Mary's prayer

Find this reference in the Online E-Book of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Comments on the Meaning and Origin of the Feast

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854, in large measure as a response to popular devotion. His act was one of the few instances in history of the exercise of Papal Infallibility in the strict sense, the Pope making a doctrinal definition without reference to a General Council of the Church.

Where and when did the concept of the Immaculate Conception of Mary originate? It is not something which is stated in an unambiguous way in the scriptures. Rather it is an idea which illustrates the ‘development of doctrine’ in the history of the Church; it developed through centuries of devotion to Mary and reflection upon her role in salvation.

At the heart of the Immaculate Conception is an idea about grace, and grace unmerited, insofar as God acted before Mary acted, and before she could be regarded as being worthy of any reward. Therefore it is not about Mary's inherent virtues, nor her achievements. Rather it is a celebration of God’s actions and gifts to her, which gave Mary a unique position in the history of salvation. This idea is summed up in the theological concept of “prevenient grace”: God gives his grace to human beings before any response on our part.

In the earliest days of Christianity there was little devotion to Mary as we would recognise it today. Other than Jesus, particular honor was given to the apostles, and especially to martyrs, because they like Jesus gave their lives for their faith. It was only in about the fifth century when any recognisable devotion to Mary began, when two things happened:

Concerning Original Sin, in the early centuries of Christianity, Baptism was almost exclusively celebrated with adults, after several years of preparation in the Catechumenate. However, the custom began to grow of Christian parents having their new-born babies baptized. When pondering the meaning of Infant Baptism, St. Augustine reasoned that since Baptism washes away sin, and since infants have not committed any actual sins, then the effect of Baptism upon them is to wash away some other kind of sin - Original Sin - the sin of Adam and Eve, which they inherited through their parents.

Augustine believed that the mechanism for the inheritance of Original Sin by infants was through the sexual union of their parents. Thus Augustine and others felt the need to exempt Mary from the contagion of Original Sin, so that she might be a “worthy vessel” for giving birth to Jesus. They believed that if Mary also had Original Sin (which without some intervention she would have inherited through the sexual union of her parents, Saints Joachim and Anna) she would “infect” Jesus. Thus she had to be exempt.

The Church no longer believes that original Sin is sexually transmitted. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “the transmission of Original Sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand” (n.404) In some senses it is rightly regarded as an "infection", which we catch from being exposed to the deceits and distrorted desires of the world in which we live.

However, the Church sees in Genesis 3:9-15, the First Reading for this Feast, the “Protoevengelium” (the “first Gospel”), the hope and promise of a Messiah and Redeemer, of the enmity between the serpent and the woman, and the final victory of a descendent of hers. 

In this scene the Catechism (n.411) also sees Mary. “Many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the “new Eve”. Mary benefitted first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.”

Brief Notes on the Liturgy

Opening Prayer of the Mass

O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son,
grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her from every stain
by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw,
so, through her intercession,
we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The Opening Prayer states the idea which is celebrated in the Feast: God prepared Mary to be the mother of Jesus. She shared beforehand the salvation Christ would bring by his death, and God kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception.

First Reading – describes the situation of Adam and Eve after their disobedient act of eating the fruit. The man blames the woman, “she gave me the fruit”, the woman blames the serpent, “it gave me the fruit and I ate.” This story illustrates what philosopher Rene Girard calls, "mimetic desire", that is, human beings desire things by imitation or "mimesis". One person desires an object because desire for that object is modelled by someone else.

The picture of the woman ‘striking the head’ of the snake is found in the iconography of Mary, for example, Our Lady of Guadaloupe. The man named his wife “Eve”, because she is the mother of all who live. Likewise Mary is sometimes called the New Eve, and likewise mother of all, because Jesus is the New Adam, and in him all humanity is a new creation.

Psalm – is rather like the Magnificat, Mary’s song of triumph after the Annunciation.

Second Reading - The author sees all Christians as chosen before the world was made to be holy and spotless, as a free gift. The emphasis is upon God’s choosing and grace, for all believers. The Church applies this choosing in a special way to Mary.

Gospel - The Annunciation. Mary is called highly favoured and told that she has won God’s favour. Thus she is to be the mother of the saviour. This is 'prevenient grace' - Mary is given the grace by God first, so that she may respond generously to him. Mary says yes to the request. It is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of her conception of the child Jesus.

Preface

For you preserved the Most Blessed Virgin Mary from all stain of original sin,
so that in her, endowed with the rich fullness of your grace,
you might prepare a worthy Mother for your Son
and signify the beginning of the Church,
his beautiful Bride without spot or wrinkle.
She, the most pure Virgin, was to bring forth a Son,
the innocent Lamb who would wipe away our offenses;
you placed her above all others to be for your people an advocate of grace
and a model of holiness.

Mary is exempt from Original Sin, made worthy to be mother, a sign of favour to the Church, that is, a sign of divine election. She is also our advocate and a model of holiness.

Additional Comments on the Immaculate Conception

The concept of the Immaculate Conception appeals to missionaries going for the first time to non-Christian cultures: in a similar way to Mary “sharing beforehand the salvation Christ would bring by his death” the same can be said in some ways of those non-Christian cultures, for whom God was already present and working salvation before even they had heard the name of Jesus.

An opportunity to study in depth this Apostolic Exhortation written by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

Pope Benedict XVI says that the word of God “draws each of us into a conversation with the Lord: the God who speaks teaches us how to speak to him.” He affirms that the word of God is at the heart of our faith and at the heart of every activity in the Church, and he calls for an increased emphasis on the Bible in catechesis and pastoral work, and for prayerful reading of Scripture, so that all believers can encounter Christ in his living word.

The Document is in three parts:

1. Verbum Dei - God seeks dialogue with humankind. At the Incarnation, the Word became flesh and lived among us. The task of the Interpretation of Sacred Scripture in the Church.
2. Verbum In Ecclesia – The Church responds to the Word of God in Liturgy, preaching, the sacraments, pastoral ministry and prayer.
3. Verbum Mundo – The Church’s Mission to proclaim the Word of God to the world, proclaiming the name of Christ, the Kingdom of God, God’s justice and reconciliation in society; interreligious dialogue.

The discussion will take place on Zoom, on Wednesdays between 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM, hosted by Jim Hynes. Each session will also include study of the upcoming Sunday Scriptures, for which participants are encouraged to obtain At Home With the Word.

Participants will need to obtain Verbum Domini in book form from the USCCB Online Bookshop

Scripture Resources for Catechists

• Seasonal Resources from Be My Disciples
• Cycle A, B and C Resources - from Loyola Press (2020-2021 is Year B, The Gospel of Mark)
• Girardian Lectionary - comments and exegesis on the Sunday Scriptures
• Lesson Strategies from Be My Disciples
• Sunday Connection for this week from Loyola Press
• Finding God - the Online Catechists Helper from Loyola Press (log in required)
• Sunday Homilies - from St Andrew's
• Midweek Reflection (signup) - From Liturgical Publications
• The Text This Week - Lectionary, Scripture Study, Worship Links and Resources 
• Audio of Daily Mass Readings - from the USCCB
• Video Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings - from the USCCB