Homilies, Podcast

3rd Sunday of Advent – 11:15 am (Msgr. LoPinto homily)

| St. Charles Borromeo

Transcript:

Each year, the children present us with this very beautiful reenactment of the Christmas story, and they do that with great enthusiasm and excitement. Witness the dedication to detail – the preciseness of their costumes, as well as the way they make the whole scene flow. So they remind us that this is a very special time of the year.

But I think, unfortunately, in the midst of the world in which we live, much gets lost of the symbolism, the meaning and significance of this special time. So when the children present the beautiful scene, I ask you to take a moment to reflect, to reflect on the scene, for Luke and Matthew – that’s where the gospel today came from: a combination of Luke and Matthew who the record for us the infancy story – they did that with great deliberation and they wanted in a sense in the scene that they were portraying capture the universality of this event, for it was an event that brought together of the mystery of God’s creation.

Mary and Joseph, come to Bethlehem, because Caesar Augustus has decided he wants to count all the people. He wants you in a sense to build his power, build his power, by saying, look all the people I rule over. How can anyone doubt me, how can anyone challenge me? Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Advent – 11:15 am (Msgr. LoPinto homily)” →

Homilies

3rd Sunday of Advent – Fr. Smith Homily

| St. Charles Borromeo

Whenever Jesus blesses us, we know that he is telling us to do something we don’t want to do. Look at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: we are told that, among other things, those who mourn, are peacemakers and are persecuted—especially the persecuted—are blessed. I, for one, do not wish to do or be any of these things. So, when we are told today that we are blessed when we do not take offence at Jesus’s comments on the Kingdom, we should expect that we will most likely take offence at him.

Let us look at why and begin with John the Baptist.

John has been arrested. He will soon be executed and as Dr. Johnson well said: nothing so wonderfully concentrates the mind as impending death. Has his life been worth the sacrifice, will the kingdom of God come? Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Advent – Fr. Smith Homily” →

Homilies

Third Sunday of Advent – Loving in Our Communities

| St. Charles Borromeo

Saint John the Baptist preaching in the Wilderness, Pier Francesco Mola, c1640, National Gallery (UK)

FIRST READING
Isaiah: 35:1–6a, 10
Dec 15, 2019

We read a section of this passage last year, and we can review the key parts quickly. Although chapters 1–39, were generally written by first Isaiah in the 8th century BC, chapters 34 and 35 were composed by second Isaiah around 520 BC. Chapter 34 describes the destruction of the Edomites. This was a tribe which had land issues with the returning Jews. The imagery is very brutal:

their slain shall be cast out,
their corpses shall send up a stench;
The mountains shall run with their blood,
and all the hills shall rot;
The heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll,
and all their host shall wither away,
As the leaf wilts on the vine,
or as the fig withers on the tree.
(Isaiah 34:3–4)

It is so strongly written to emphasize the fairness and justice of the LORD. He has punished the Jews with exile and the destruction of the temple for their disobedience and he will do the same to their enemies for unjust aggression. He is LORD of all.

The imagery that we find in today’s reading from chapter 35 is intentionally similar and in some cases almost identical with sections of Isaiah 40–55. As we have seen repeatedly, the Jewish leaders in exile in Babylon were given the opportunity to return to the devastated Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. In exchange, they were to administer the area for the Assyrians. Enough went to make it worthwhile. Let us first look at how close the language is in these passages, then why it is placed where it is and finally what this can teach us: Continue reading “Third Sunday of Advent – Loving in Our Communities” →

Events, Messages from the Pastor

St. Saviour’s Academy

| St. Charles Borromeo

St. Charles is linked to St. Saviour’s School in Park Slope. I will be attending an open house this Tuesday, December 17 at 9 AM. St. Saviour’s was my first assignment as a Priest 40 years ago. I revisit older assignments rarely and I think this is my first time back in over 20 years. I hope that some of you may be able to join me. If you cannot, I will ask any questions you may have. So far, I have been asked to discover:

  1. How much is Prospect Park used, especially for athletic events?
  2. To what museums and other cultural activities are the students brought? Are they involved with any of the programs in the Brooklyn Museum?
  3. What kind of transportation can be arranged?
  4. How is it Catholic?
  5. What is the process for entering in middle school?
  6. What competitive high schools have the graduates attended?