I feel squeamish when I see those paintings of Jesus, with Mary and Joseph, which depict this trio as the ideal family! In reality, no one in the Middle East, either now or 2000 years ago, would consider a mother+father+child as a family unit.
Scripture Reflections
I’m unashamed to say that I’m a “Mama’s Boy”. Whenever I needed something and I couldn’t get it from my dad, I always turned to my mum and without a doubt my dad would give in.
The Baptism of the Lord is not only about Jesus’ baptism, it is also about our baptism and the need for baptism in general and about Jesus being truly human even though He is truly God.
At a Christmas Mass for children one year, I passed the statue of the baby Jesus among the children asking them to touch and feel it, then tell me their feeling about the newly born baby Jesus.
A Christmas quip goes: “Don’t get so preoccupied in what the world has to sell that you miss what God has to give."
Sunday, 15 December 2024 09:29
Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday - Year C - 2024
Fr Yon Wiryono SVD
Dear brothers and sisters, in the second and the third Sunday of Advent, the gospel talks about John the Baptist two times in row, calling us to prepare our heart, to make a straight way for the Lord.
In the Gospel according to St Luke, we listen to the voice of the one (John the Baptist) crying out in the wilderness and calling us to prepare the way of the Lord.
In Australia and New Zealand, we are familiar with the presence of people on TV using sign language. When an important announcement is made, the speaker is accompanied by an interpreter who uses sign language to speak to the deaf audience.
For us who are living here in Australia, royalty is not far from our national consciousness. There’s hardly a week that we don’t have news about King Charles and the royal family.
The end of the world!!! Various people have anticipated it, various people have tried to predict when it will happen and so far, we’re still around to tell the story.
In the Gospel passage for this Sunday’s Mass, Jesus gives a clear warning against the very human tendency of seeking our own glory. In other words, parading around to be noticed or praised, looking for the best places to sit and going after the finest in any and every thing, is not the way of the follower of Christ.
‘The Lord is one, and love the Lord your God with all strength, mind, heart, and then love neighbours as oneself’’. Is God that narcissistic and jealous that He prioritises himself before other gods, and people?
Ever heard of a child throwing a tantrum inside a supermarket and just won’t stop until you buy that Cadbury chocolate bar that the child wants?
In sports, the dream of an athlete is to be the best, to be at the top, to be number one. Unfortunately, sometimes in the process, a good number might resort to various ways of doing it either legally or illegally.
The Gospel passage of this Sunday in fact speaks about an unnamed person’s encounter with Jesus and his profound question to Jesus about eternal life.