Br. Joseph Trout, OP

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, which celebrate the coming messiah. The Prophet Micah promises that one day a ruler will come who will lead justly, not just for Jerusalem, but for the whole world, so that the poor might flourish. The letter to the Hebrews explains how the sacrifice of Jesus actually frees people from sin, unlike the sacrifices in the Temple. Then, in the Gospel of Luke, Mary believes that the time has finally come for these things to come true, helping to bring them about.

Readings: Micah 5:1–4a; Hebrews 10:5–10; Luke 1:39–45

On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, we remember the miracle that God did with Mary, preserving her from original sin, and ponder what other great and impossible things God might do in our own lives.

The Apostle Paul assures us that God will bring the good work started in us to completion and so we will be fulfilled. In Advent, we remind ourselves that we cannot do this for ourselves and need God's saviour. Let us place that trust in God now so that we can find the completion of this hope in the future.

Paul tells us never to grumble, but to rejoice whatever comes our way, so that we can shine as a beacon of faith and hope for others. This is particularly important as the world get darker.

We long for a political system that will be just and perfect, but it will never happen in this life. Jesus came not to fix everything in this world, but to open for us a better one in heaven. The effects of original sin are still in this world, and it can never be perfect, but if we can be life Jesus, not grasping for power but humbling ourselves for the sake of others, we will join him in heaven.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, expanding on the center of God's law—the shema: love the Lord your God with everything, and love your neighbor as yourself. In the Old Testament and the New, this does not change, and it requires us to actually live according to our love in God and neighbor.

Readings: Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34