THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fourth Sunday of Advent 23 December 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Once again, this Advent season, our thoughts are directed to St. John the Baptist. Today the approach of Christ is imminent and St. John warns and instructs us in the preparation we must make.

If Jesus is to enter into our hearts and souls we must prepare a way for Him. With the grace of God we must tear down the hills and mountains of pride and vanity; we must fill up the valleys of doubt and unbelief ; we must straighten out the crookedness of evil in our lives; and we must smooth out the rough ways of anger and tempestuousness in our lives. 

When all this is done we will have an appropriate “welcome mat” set out for Christ our King this Christmas Season. The accomplishment of all these things is an impossible task without the grace of God. We must, therefore, do penance, mortifying ourselves; we must pray, begging God’s mercy and assistance; and we must give alms in reparation for our deficiencies. Tobias instructed his son to give alms. “If you have much, give abundantly; if you have little, take care even to bestow willingly a little.” (Tob. 4:9) 

St. Francis of Assisi teaches us that in giving we receive. As much as we open up and offer of ourselves and what we have been given, so much do we make ourselves the beneficiaries of God’s graces and blessings. Pope St. Gregory says: “He who therefore gives temporal aid to those who have spiritual gifts to bestow, is a co-operator in this spiritual giving. For since they are few who possess spiritual gifts, and many abound in temporal things, through this means they who have possessions, partake in the virtue of those who are needy, by relieving, from their own abundance the wants of these sanctified poor.” In St. Matthew we read “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet.” (Mat. 10:41) 

In aiding a prophet we make ourselves participators in his works; and as such we merit the same reward as the prophet. In aiding the poor we make ourselves participators in their prayers, sacrifices, and offerings which they make to God. So the more barren we find ourselves of spiritual goods and the more blessed we find ourselves in material goods, so much the more must we redeem ourselves by almsgiving especially to those who are rich in the spiritual gifts. In this manner we fill up the voids in one another – we complement each other and when we are thus all united as one, we form a whole-single and complete body in Christ. No one is found lacking in anything. Those rich in material things have nothing left over and those poor in these things are not left wanting. The same is true in spiritual works: those who have more share with those who have less. 

We must not forget to also do our part in prayer and penance; we cannot purchase our way into heaven. In prayer we receive the many graces we need to fulfill our other obligations: we express our gratitude for what we have received; we see further what is required of us; and our hearts are opened up with the love of God. In penance we atone for our sins and offences; we are united to Jesus in His Sacrifice on the Cross; we fill up in ourselves that which is lacking on our part for the washing of sins from our souls. With our prayers and penances we come to the aid of one another especially to the aid of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. We build up by all our good works a treasure in Heaven for ourselves and aid and abet others in a similar manner in building up their own treasures. To the extent that others merit a spiritual reward through our efforts, likewise do we gain from their merit – their merit is our merit and our merit becomes their merit. 

When we give to good people we share in their goodness; likewise, if we support or aid evil people in evil we share in their evil deeds. Just as aiding a prophet merits for us a prophet’s reward; so aiding heretics and evil men merits for us the punishment of heretics and evil men. 

Christmas is fast approaching and the time of preparation is running short, let us redeem these last days with an extra effort of prayer, penance, and alms. May we aid and abet one another in every good thing, sharing in one another’s merits and building up the Mystical Body of Christ within ourselves and in each other. In this manner we will open an inviting path for Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives.