THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Third Sunday in Advent 15 December 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear friend,

Our Lord came in lowliness and humility, St. John precedes Him in this same manner. We are invited with love, humility, meekness and patience to approach Jesus Christ. If the birth of Christ is to be of any benefit to us we must take heed of Christ in this humble manner.

It is related that the devils fell from Heaven because they were shown that God would assume this humble manner and they must adore and worship Him in this manner. Their pride and vanity was repulsed at the very idea and hence they were driven out of Heaven and into Hell. Mankind is in a very similar situation today. We are called upon to worship and adore God in Human Flesh. The poor, humble, infant, Jesus calls out to us to come to Him. St. John in his capacity as pre-curser, is preparing the way for God in this humble manner. St. John is calling us to Jesus. He is telling us to prepare our hearts and minds. We must open up our souls so that we may be able to believe that Jesus is God even though He looks like a man. St. John is preparing a way for us all to imitate Christ. We must put aside all manner of evil and put on humility and penance. In this manner, we will find, see, and love Jesus.

The Scribes and Pharisees at that time could not or would not put away their pride and vanity, and so they were blind and stumbled upon Christ. They stumbled and fell upon the Rock. Jesus has grown from this humble Rock into the large mountain of the Holy Catholic Church. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. It is as a mountain now because It has grown so that all the earth has seen and heard It. How foolish it is now for men not to believe. Yet, men still refuse to adopt a humble and meek attitude, so the teachings of the Church (the teachings of God) are hidden from them. They stumble and fall upon the Mountain and are lost. The men in the days of St. John were bruised by the Rock, the men of our days are crushed by the Mountain.

Jesus has approached us in this meek and humble manner, but His next coming is going to be in all power and glory. His precursor for this second coming will be Elias whom men were expecting St. John to be. St. John came in the spirit of Elias but not in his person. They are both pre-cursers, but vastly different as Jesus will come in a vastly different manner the next time He comes.

Elias will come preparing the way of the Lord, not by inviting us to approach God in humility and meekness, but rather he will come and drive the evil men aside to clear the way for Our Lord. He will be filled with power and might. Jesus will come in all power and glory. The humble Jesus that we have been invited to approach and imitate, will then return to judge and punish all who have refused Him in His humility.

St. John announces in all mildness the humble and meek Savior; Elias in all might and power will announce the all-powerful and glorious Judge of mankind. It is the same God “ Jesus Christ “ but He will manifest Himself in two different ways. For this reason, we see that there are two different pre-cursers. The pre-cursers have within them the same Spirit “ The Holy Ghost “ but they are two different men.

This Advent we are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of Christ's first coming, and at the same time we are looking forward to His second coming. Before Jesus returns we are invited with great humility and meekness to embrace the True Faith. We are invited with St. John to straighten out our lives, and to do penance. If we correspond with this invitation hearing the voice of St. John crying in the desert of our sinful lives, and put off the old man (sin) and put on the new man (virtue and penance); we will find that when Elias comes preparing the way of the Lord, we will not be driven away or cast aside but gathered together. Just as in the fall of the devils from Heaven, so will it be on the last day when Jesus returns. Elias will come first to clean up and drive all evil out. The time of penance will have ended. All the evil men will be cast into Hell with the fallen angels.

Until that day, we are invited by God through His Church in all humility and meekness. Catholics should, with true love and compassion for their fellow sinful men invite them to the Truth in the same manner. The time for judgments and condemnations is not for us at this time. Many are driven from the Truth because of overzealous Catholics judging and condemning before it is time. While there is life there is hope, and we should imitate Jesus and have mercy and compassion for sinners. We must condemn the obdurate as Christ did so many of the Scribes and Pharisees, but we must likewise be merciful to sinners. Let us not seek justice and judgment now but leave that for Christ when He returns. Now let us examine ourselves and put on humility and penance. If we must admonish the sinner, let us do it with humility and meekness; seeking to win souls to Christ in the same manner that He has come to us.