The Justice of the One

“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.”

Isaiah 11:6

What comes to mind when you hear the term “justice?” Perhaps you think of a courtroom and a judge, a defendant and witnesses, perhaps even a jury. Maybe the idea of retribution and punishment or the concept of guilt and innocence comes to mind. Or maybe the scale of justice balance imagery. These come to mind because that is how justice is depicted in this world that we live in, one that is bound by time and space. However, the justice of the One who is Justice itself transcends this world and time and space. The justice of the One is defined by unmerited mercy, love, and grace, all of which are extended towards us and given to us, if only we choose to receive them.

Isaiah prophesied of a day where justice and faithfulness embrace, where the people will be judged not by their appearances, but by their heart. A day and a place where all will live in perfect harmony. This justice that the Lord will mete out is His love. “Not as the world gives do I give” (John 14:27). His justice is reconciliation. His justice is mercy. For all.  This may seem impossible but it is possible for God, for He can make a shoot sprout from a stump, draw light out of darkness, and bring life out of death.

The One whom Isaiah’s prophecy points to is the mightier One who John the Baptist proclaimed in the wilderness. John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” While baptizing at the Jordan River, some of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him and he admonished them calling them “a brood of vipers” who are like trees that do not bear good fruit. However, John the Baptist still encourages them and extends the invitation to repent to them. For no one is beyond God‘s mercy and Jesus came for all.

As we continue with this Advent season, let us reflect upon the encounter between John the Baptist and the Pharisees and Sadducees. Are we Christians simply in name or are we Christians because of the way we live? Are we like trees that bear good fruit or are we trees that are just for show? It is not enough to simply to say that we love God and that we follow Jesus. It is not enough to simply post online about how much God means to us. We need to live it out; we need to live in a manner that allows people to encounter Christ in us. This Advent may we be like John the Baptist, who in all humility, lived out the call to which God had called him, making Jesus Christ known to all and telling people of the unconditional love and boundless mercy of God, that which is the justice of the One.

To Go or Not To Go

As we enter into the Season of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year and we give thanks to God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us this past year. As we look forward to this new year, we ask the Lord to give us a hopeful heart, a heart that waits in joyful expectation for the coming of the Lord.  The Church gives to us these seasonal markers of the year to invite us to a deeper relationship with God, helping us focus our prayer and meditation on the mysteries of Jesus’ life. Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical year, the four week period that leads to Christmas, the birth of Our Lord and Savior.  In today’s commercialized world we often skip Advent and jump right to Christmas. We can see this in stores where Christmas trees and decorations are put up the day after Halloween! Even in our own homes and schools we have this undisciplined tendency to jump to Christmas, but we must not do the same in our hearts. There will be no Christmas without Advent so we must use this time given to us to truly prepare our hearts for Christmas, not for the dinners and presents, but for the coming of the Lord, the Word made flesh who comes to dwell among us.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” or “arrival.” So Advent is the period of preparation and expectation of the coming of the Prince of Peace. At the same time is it also a journey.  We are invited to journey with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to wait in joyful anticipation of the birth of Jesus. We wait for the coming of Jesus. His first coming was of course more than 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. We also know that His second coming will be the day He comes to judge the living and the dead. But there is also a “third” coming of Christ, and this is the here and now, when the Lord comes to meet us in the silence of our hearts, in Scripture, in the sacraments, and in our encounter with one another.

So, today, we stand in the present moment, the first Sunday of Advent in the year 2025, and we recall and remember the first coming of our Lord while anticipating His second coming with the sure knowledge and trust that He is with us here too in this very moment. Let us give thanks for the moment in time when the Word was made flesh for our sake so many centuries ago and let us prepare our hearts for the day, that as Scripture tells us we know neither the day nor the hour, He will come again in His glory to judge the living and the dead, separating the sheep from the goats, and gathering all of His Father’s children to Himself, so that where He is we all might be (cf. John 14:3).

As we begin this new liturgical year and this holy season of Advent, will we wait idly and passively or will we wait actively in joyful expectation, telling everyone about the Lord and His love and mercy, the Light for those who have been walking in the darkness and the Consolation for all those who have been silently crying out to the Lord in their grief, sorrow, doubt, and frustration? Mary and Joseph are all packed and ready to walk to Bethlehem, and they turn around, meeting your gaze, asks you, “Will you come with us?”

Are You Satisfied?

“They all ate and were satisfied.”

Luke 9:17a

On Corpus Christi Sunday we are invited to contemplate the great gift of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Our Lord, and this year we hear the Lukan account of the multiplication of the loaves. After a day of teaching, the Apostles asks Jesus to dismiss the crowd so they can go find food and lodging. But, Jesus replies with something that might sound shocking — “Give them some food yourselves.” Five loaves and two fish were all they had and this needed to feed 5000 men along with any women and children. So, Our Lord said the blessing over the loaves and fish, broke them, and gave them to the people and we are told “they all ate and were satisfied.” When the Lord broke the loaves, all were fed and were satisfied. When the bread is broken on the altar and we eat, are we satisfied?

When my students casually say “I’m hungry,” I would sometimes half-jokingly ask, “Did you go to Mass? If so, you shouldn’t be hungry. You’ve eaten of the Bread of Life!” Of course we will still be physically hungry after receiving Communion, but we ought be spiritually full, for the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life,” and is the sustenance that feeds our souls. But how often do we seek other ways to satiate ourselves? Sometimes we try satisfy our needs and wants in ways that may even be inordinate and sinful, but why? Is the Lord not enough for us? What is it that we desire in life? Is it the Lord? Is it Communion with Him? Do our actions and way of living show this?

Today on this Corpus Christi Sunday let us contemplate on the gift of the Eucharist and how we approach this most awesome sacrament. When the Lord comes to meet us at the altar and blesses the gifts and the Holy Spirit turns the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord, and we go to meet Him and receive Him, will we be satisfied? Let’s not forget, after being fed and satisfied, we are told there were 12 wicker baskets filled with leftovers. Likewise, after receiving the Lord Himself, the graces do not end there. There are 12 wicker baskets overflowing with graces that the Lord wishes to give to us. We need only go to Him, and we will eat and truly be satisfied indeed.