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In today's Gospel we hear the genealogy of Jesus going back 42 generations to Abraham, emphasizing that God has been on this bruising journey with us for a long time. In Advent, we are called not to remain aloof and pure, but to be more in touch with the world so that we can bring God's presence to it.

In our readings today, the Jewish Priests refuse to speak about God while the pagan prophet Balaam speaks eloquently of God's wonders. It is our job today to give witness to our hope arising because of Jesus Christ, and in Advent, we prepare ourselves to embody that presence.

Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was among us. So, while this is not heaven, the fulness of the Kingdom, we do not have to look to the future to see the Kingdom. We can find the Kingdom of God here and now in how we live out the salvation of God.

Jesus healed lepers and allowed them to rejoin the wider society. Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants to the United States towards the same end. May we follow their example and work to integrate into our society those who today cry out for mercy.

Jesus noticed that Martha was anxious about many things, but only one thing is required—simply to sit at the feet of Jesus, where our anxiety can melt away when we drink in the presence of our master and God. Are you anxious about something? Try just sitting at the feet of Jesus.

On this Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and marking one year since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, we join with Pope Francis to make this a day of fasting and penance, asking Mary to join in praying for peace in our world. She, who invoked a powerful miracle from Jesus with her comment "they have no more wine," will surely get a response when she tells him "they have no more peace."

Jesus was criticized for healing on the sabbath, but the law of love is the highest law and must come first and foremost. This dedication is shown in the life of St. Peter Claver, SJ who cared for enslaved people in the New World.

In healing a deaf man who was not Jewish, Jesus broke down barriers to God's mercy. May we also not look to the law but at how best to share God's love to those who need it most, whomever and wherever they are.

Marriage is a vocation that is not for all, because it demands radical union of soul and body with another, but this also makes it a powerful sign of the union that God wants for all of humanity in the end.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate Mary's Assumption into Heaven, which we believe to be a foreshadowing of our destiny if we live as she did—totally identifying with her son to help bring salvation to the world.

Jesus sent the apostles forth to carry his message to more people, taking little for the journey and moving on if people would not receive them. This allowed them to reach more people. We are also called to move forward and reach out to others, not to look back or bring people in.

Jesus tells us not to worry about one who can kill the body but not the soul, for he loves us, body and soul, and has a plan for us in the kingdom of God. So let us be ready to amplify his words.