ADVENT BEGINS

      ADVENT, which began last Sunday, announces both of Christ's comings into our lives.   That first coming as the Messiah and our Savior happened in time and fulfilled a promise made to a specific people.  It was a light in the darkness of life in this flawed world.  It was the birth of HOPE in a troubled existence.

     The second coming has yet to happen, but it too is promised as the time of fulfillment.   At that second coming, ALL peoples will stand before the King of kings and answer for the way they lived their lives.  It will be a time of judgment, rooted in justice in the midst of an unjust world ... a time of accountability rooted in understanding, compassion and mercy.  It will be the rewarding of the hope placed in the One who is Lord of all.

     ADVENT is full of beautiful icons, images of grace and favor, images of the sacred.  HOPE is one of those Advent icons.  Remember that we are a people of hope.

     Sunday's Gospel from chapter 21 of Luke reminds us that in the midst of all the world's turmoil, which has grown greater and darker over the centuries, and even as Jesus prepares for his own suffering and death, he tells us to "stand tall and lift your heads!" because our redemption is at hand.

     Our redemption ... freedom from sin, deliverance from evil, a way through suffering ... is near!  His truth has set us free and provided a firm foundation upon which to builds our lives and to journey toward a kingdom of happiness and joy.  Jesus is with us, he is near and desires us to share his power and goodness.  This is our hope!

     How easy it is to lose hope in the chaos of this world.  Even with our faith and the hope it creates in us, love often seems too great a challenge.

    But ADVENT invites us to remember that hope is not wishful thinking, it is the promise of God, his love for us, and our place as his beloved, his chosen.  This is our hope!  Celebrate that we are children of an awesome promise and of eternal life.

REMEMBERING THE DAY

      It was a Friday afternoon and I was taking a Latin test at the end of a grading period.  I was in my Junior year in High School at Saint Vincent Prep in Latrobe.  Our Latin teacher was Benedictine Father Augustine Schultz.

     During the testing period there was a knock at the classroom door, and an upperclassman said something to Father Augustine, who sent him packing.  They often played tricks on some of the faculty.  But soon another one came to the door, obviously with some news.

     Father Augustine announced to us that the news was reporting that President John F. Kennedy had been shot.  He said that after we finished the exam, we were free to leave the class.

     Most of us went to the room of Father Emeric, the Art teacher, who had a television, and spent the remainder of the afternoon glued to the tv, before boarding our bus which took us to our residence at Saint Joseph Hall, a few miles down the road.  There we were given permission to watch tv in the rec room (not usually permitted), and we were devastated to learn of the death of the President.

     The rest of that day, and the entire weekend, was a very somber and sobering time.  I remember that one of our Religious Sisters of the Ivrea Sisters, who had come to cook for us at Saint Joseph Hall, Sister Joanna, was setting the tables for supper with her eyes filled with tears.

     For me, this day was one of those moments that is seared into my memory and my heart.

     The date was November 22, 1963, and yesterday marked 58 years since that tragic afternoon.  I don't remember how I did on the Latin test, but I am again at Saint Joseph Hall, now known as the Christ Our Shepherd retreat/Conference Center for the Diocese of Greensburg, and residing in our priests' retirement residence known as Neumann House.  This is after finishing my schooling and serving in priestly ministry for forty-eight years.

     November 22nd is for me a Day to Remember.