Readings: Fourth Sunday of Advent | USCCB 

Today is the fourth Sunday of the shortest possible Advent and, in the evening, Holy Eve. In Austria where I grew up, the Child Jesus (Christkindl) comes on the 24th of December in the evening. I am filled with childhood memories as I write. The tension of entering the room where Christkindl brought the decorated tree and the presents was unbearable! We children had to wait until an angel rang a small silver bell, and we stormed into the room that was tingling with the fragrance of the fresh spruce tree, aglow in the light of candles and sparklers. All afternoon, my father was at work getting everything ready, while my mother and grandmother took us to the afternoon mass. Back at home, Grandma told us fairy tales to keep us busy.  

Today, I realize that the most beautiful of fairytales is a true history: God became man to save us out of love. The Baby in Mary’s womb and in the Manger is the Savior of the world. I once heard the story of a man who could not believe in the Incarnation of God. One winter’s day, he saw a lost gaggle of geese land in his garden. He wanted to save them from the intense cold of winter. Again and again, he tried to get them into the warm garage where he would feed them. They were too scared and flew away, only to come back some minutes later. Finally, he decided to imitate a mother bird. He spread his arms under the coat pretending to be a bird with open wings. A wish shot through his head: If only I could be a bird and tell them that I only want their best. I am trying to save them! In that moment, this man understood the Incarnation. He had had his Christmas! 

Monsignor Martin Schlag, Professor in Catholic Studies and Business 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Saturday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

Advent Prayer Reflection: 

Heavenly Father, 

Open wide our hearts. 

Help us to actively seek and chase after You. 

Help us to prepare for Your coming. 

Refine us. Purify us. 

Open our eyes and ears to Your truths and Your ways. 

We surrender our hearts to You and believe that You will make our paths straight and overflowing with Your goodness. We receive Your blessings and favor in our lives. 

Help us to live generously with Your love and light. 

May we welcome Your light in our lives and ignite Your light in others. 

Use us as vessels to bring our fellow brothers and sisters closer to You. 

“Here I am, Lord 

 Is it I, Lord?  

I have heard You calling in the night 

 I will go, Lord  

If You lead me 

 I will hold Your people in my heart” 

May Your presence be felt through us. We yearn for a deeper understanding of 

You and Your love. 

In all that we do, may we glorify and honor You! 

In Jesus’ mighty, holy name, Amen. 

Laila Franklin, Current Student 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Friday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

Today’s Gospel reading is Mary’s prayer (the “Magnificat”) proclaimed in response to Elizabeth’s prophetic exclamation, “How is it that the mother of my Lord has come to me?” In her prayer, Mary rejoices in God and in what he is about in the child she carries in her womb. 

When she rejoices that “[God] has looked upon his lowly servant,” she speaks for herself, she speaks for the children of Abraham, small and lowly among the nations, and she speaks for all of us, so lowly in our finitude, our vulnerability, and our waywardness. In her son, God has done great things for Mary, for the children of Abraham, for all of us.   

As we approach the celebration of Christmas, we make Mary’s prayer our own. We marvel at God’s mercy shown us in Christ’s incarnation—and in his death and resurrection. Indeed, God has visited and redeemed his people and opened for us the way to a new and eternal life. 

Our hope is not in being securely, comfortably, or admirably situated in this age. For we remember that the form of this age is passing. Our hope is in new life and in a new heaven and a new earth, in which God’s righteousness dwells.  

Please, God, free me from worldly priorities and preoccupations, so often shallow, self-centered, or even self-indulgent and heedless. Let me, rather, imitate the son of Mary and humble myself for love of the unlovely.  

God, count me not among the proud who are scattered, nor among the mighty who are cast down, nor among the rich who are sent away empty. Rather count me among those who fear you and experience your mercy; find me associating with the lowly you lift up and among the hungry you fill with good things. 

Dr. Peter Distelzweig, Professor in Philosophy 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

The Visitation begins with motion. Compelled by charity, Mary travels in “haste” to the hill country. She does not hesitate to undertake the arduous journey to come to Elizabeth’s aid. Like Christ, Mary runs to the weakest and lowest, seeking to console her in her difficulty. Mary’s greatest consolation is, of course, in her very presence; a living Tabernacle, she comes bearing the Logos Himself. Recognizing the first motion of the Visitation as Christ’s coming to Elizabeth, I’d like to consider how Elizabeth receives Him and responds to His presence. 

The Lord’s coming elicits a tripartite response. First, Elizabeth and the infant John the Baptist, filled with the Holy Spirit, are overcome with an unmitigated joy. Their whole persons, their very being, cannot help but cry out in the presence of the Christ. The special grace of the recognition of Christ’s presence is followed by an intelligible response, Elizabeth’s exclamation “Most blessed are you among women, / and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That which has been made known by grace is now affirmed in faith. John will later echo Elizabeth, announcing “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Elizabeth’s affirmation of faith is followed by her expression of gratitude and praise, a gratitude not only in response to the joyful truth of Christ’s coming to the world, but a deeply personal gratitude for His coming to her: “And how does this happen to me, / that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” In an Incarnational motion, Elizabeth receives salvific truth, a gift of gratuitous grace, affirms it in her own profession of faith, and lifts it up to Him in joyful praise. Like Mary, in her joyful reception of Christ, Elizabeth too becomes one of the blessed who believes “what the Lord has spoken to her.” 

As we await the coming of our Lord this Advent, contemplate Elizabeth’s response to Christ’s presence. How do we prepare to receive our Lord? And when He comes to us, what is our response? Are we waiting for Him with the patience that Hope in His coming enables? Or will we be distracted when the knock on the door comes? 

Megan Scott, CSMA Student 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

The angel Gabriel spoke and Mary became “greatly troubled.” At that instant, human history paused and the angels wondered: would this woman bow before God and choose to accept His Will or would this woman who was created without sin, as was Eve, be like Eve and reject God’s way? 

If you had been there, what would you have wagered? Mary clearly had a different life already planned. She was already committed to being God’s handmaid, a virgin for God’s sake; and, virgins do not give birth. Moreover, in the Old Testament, it was the man, Abraham, with whom God had struck His covenant. How could the fate of the human race rest upon a woman’s willingness to be a mother? 

Yet, for God, all things are possible and for hundreds of years, a tiny verse in Isaiah 7:10-14 had been sleeping, waiting for its fulfillment: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel” which means God is with us. 

Why did the angelic greeting trouble Mary to the point of fear? Did being called “full of grace” cause her to wonder about the authenticity of Gabriel? Why did she question Gabriel’s message that she was to conceive, bear, and mother the “Son of the Most High”? How could it be? How could she consent? Had she not vowed virginity? Gabriel assures her that the conception will be miraculous through the power of the Holy Spirit. With unreserved trust in God, Mary instantly consents, “I am the handmaid of the Lord; May it be done to me according to your word.” 

Thank you, Mary, for making the Incarnation and our salvation possible. Truly, you are the Virgin Mother of Emmanuel and all the living. 

Dr. Mary Lemmons, Professor in Philosophy 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

Today’s readings describe two families, each preparing for the arrival of their first and only child; children whose miraculous conceptions are announced by angelic messengers. Both children will have a role in the salvation of Israel and ultimately the salvation of all the world. Sampson “will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines,” while John the Baptist “will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is familiar, and its relationship to the coming of the Christmas season is readily apparent. The relationship of Sampson’s story seems more obscure.  

We know from scripture that Sampson was given extraordinary physical prowess—allowing him to kill many Philistines, the oppressors of Israel during that time. Sadly, his great physical strength was not matched with great moral strength. Throughout his life, Sampson is violent and licentious. His moral weakness leads him into an illicit relationship with Delilah who repeatedly betrays him. Eventually, through Delilah’s treachery, the Philistines enslave, torture, and ultimately exhibit Sampson at a great feast. It is here that Sampson implores God to restore his great strength so he might avenge himself and die with his tormentors. God grants his prayer and on that day the leaders of the Philistines and Sampson die through his destruction of their temple.   

What are we to make of this odd story, especially as an advent reading? One way to read the story is to recognize that God is active in the creation of each person, and that we are created for a purpose. Like Sampson, our refusal to live in accord with that purpose often leads to misery. But even when we are the authors of our own misfortunes, also like Sampson, God loves us and hears our prayers.  

Teresa Collet, Professor at the Law School 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Monday of the Third Week of Advent | USCCB 

I ask myself, and others, the following question with regularity: In which instances does God call me to stand for justice, and in which instances does God call me to demonstrate mercy? Today’s readings provide clarity rooted in the Most Holy Name of Jesus.  

From the First Reading and Gospel, we learn Jesus’ name is both “The Lord our justice” and “God with us.” Applying the little I remember of math class in junior high, if Jesus is our justice and Jesus is God with us, then justice is God with us. This definition of justice is not one I had considered before spending time in prayer with today’s readings.  

What if we considered justice under this Scriptural definition as opposed to our human desire for “fairness”? Surely, something would change. When we see serious crimes or violations of human rights, it can seem like God is absent from those sinful/evil situations and so we need to “take justice into our own hands,” and keep God out of the response; yet today, we are called to do the exact opposite.  

Inviting true justice, “God with us,” into our response likely results in a justice that looks a heck of a lot more like mercy than anything else, the mercy that God showed in sending Jesus to “save his people from their sins.” Thus, the two beautifully intertwine, answering the question I have long struggled to answer. 

Will Peterson, Director and Founder of Modern Catholic Pilgrim 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Third Sunday of Advent | USCCB 

For this third Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of God’s ultimate intent of bringing his people back to wholeness, to a new creation- to heal the broken hearted, to give sight to the blind, to bring liberty to captives. In other words, the Lord wants to go right to where we need him most in our lives, where we are most weak and in need of what only God can provide. This is God’s plan. And yet this plan gradually unfolds; not suddenly and easily.  

John the Baptist is the figure that gets highlighted this week every year. He is that bridge figure, anticipating what is to come, preparing the way of Jesus who does the healing and liberating. Maybe the invitation for us is to open up in our own lives where we need his healing and redeeming grace most. Where we feel weak, we can feel confident that the Lord wants to make us strong. But we can also see ourselves as John the Baptist figures. The spirit of the Lord is upon us as well- just like Isaiah, just like John the Baptist. The spirit of the Lord is upon us, and we too are called to be agents of that healing and liberating love in our own corners of the world. Let’s be on the lookout for those opportunities to heal the broken hearted, to bind up wounds, to give sight to the blind and free the captives in a way that only you and I can do in our own spheres of influence. That is our mission in this new year. Let us say yes! 

Father Christopher Collins, Jesuit Priest and VP for Mission at St. Thomas 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Saturday of the Second Week of Advent | USCCB 

Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.  

The psalmist gives us a beautiful prayer today, asking the Lord to get our attention and then to save us with His gaze. I am always astonished by the truth that God is pursuing me. Every day, He extends invitations for me to notice Him, to turn to Him, and to see His face, which saves us. Far too often, I am caught up in my own tasks and fail to notice that He is calling to me. Thankfully, the psalmist today reminds us that we can ask God to make us turn to Him. We can ask for an increase in His calls for relationship.    

Today, I invite you to notice the ways God is making you turn your face toward Him. How is He trying to get your attention? Perhaps a classmate asks for your help, a beautiful sunset stops you in your tracks, or you are given a moment of peaceful silence. No matter how God reaches out to you today, I pray that when He seeks your face, you can turn to Him and rest in His loving gaze.   

Elizabeth Bina, CSMA Graduate Student 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry. 

Readings: Friday of the Second Week of Advent | USCCB 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reprimands us for our lack of response to his ongoing invitation:   ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’  Advent offers us an opportunity to respond to Christ’s invitation to strengthen our relationship with Him through the liturgy and prayer practices proper to the season.  

One of the practices is the lighting of the Advent Wreath, which is one of my favorite family traditions.  During this busy time of the year, it is a moment of pause and reflection; shared with those dearest to my heart.   

When my children were younger, we would gather at my mother’s house to share a meal and light the Advent Wreath which my mother had in the living room.  The children would rush to pile up on the couch, elbowing each other to make room.  My mother would bring the bible forward, each reading lovingly marked, to make it easier for the children to find the correct scripture passage.  The youngest child would hold tightly onto the candle snuffer, eagerly awaiting their turn to participate in the celebration of light.  As the children grew older, they scoffed a little when asked to read a passage or light a candle; but softened when they saw their younger siblings read.  My heart would warm to see them gathered around the wreath, reading the sacred scriptures, and sharing this solemn moment.  When lighting the candle, my husband would assist as they tried time and again to click the lighter fast and hard at the same time; finally admitting they needed dad’s help. For one quiet moment, the candles were lit, and the room softly illumined by the glow; it seemed like peace on earth.   

The advent wreath, as many other treasured traditions in Advent, is an opportunity to respond to God’s invitation to prepare our hearts and pass on the faith. May we all find ways to respond to Christ’s call through the opportunities given to us Advent.  

Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.    

Shereen Bance, Graduate Assistant with Campus Ministry 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry.