Readings
Reading I: Baruch 5:1-9 |
Preaching TipConsider Answering the Real Questions Our Parishioners Have
When we have a question, we pay more attention to the answer. If I need to know which gate my flight is departing from, I pay attention when I hear my flight number called over the intercom. It is human nature. But in that same airport, once I have my questions answered, the rest of the noise and bustle and announcements over the intercom become mere background noise that is tuned out.
This human experience is helpful to keep in mind each Monday morning in which we sit down to begin drafting our homily.
Here is a tip. Start with writing down a list of questions that real people in the pews will be asking. It is wise to consult a wide and diverse group of people about these questions. By trying to answer some of these real questions, we can help keep people from “tuning out” during the homily.
It is a monumental problem for preachers who consistently answer questions almost nobody is asking or cares about, such as:
Rather, for example, a young person is going to have questions and thoughts such as the following:
If as a preacher we never address any questions like the ones the young person has, that young person can rightly conclude that the Church is not helpful, not important, and people at the church don’t care about me.
If, however, I address a real question that people have in their hearts, the congregation will naturally perk up and be more receptive of the Good News we can bring them this Advent. |
C Adv. 2
LA PALABRA EN EL DESIERTO
La Iglesia continúa preparando los caminos del Señor para su venida. El camino de conversión que vamos recorriendo está sembrado de señales de alegría y esperanza. La consigna es la misma: Conversión y perdón de los pecados. El desierto, es el espacio de soledad y de silencio en que el cristiano se purifica y peregrina. Es necesario predicar y vivir la ascética del Evangelio para que los hombres de nuestro tiempo lleguen a ver la salvación.
Hermanas y hermanos:
1. El desierto es lugar de soledad, de dureza de vida, de tentación. El desierto educa en una vida esencial que exige renuncias, desprendimientos, cortes radicales en el alma. El desierto educa en la prueba, siempre y cuando se haga un espacio al amor de Dios. La salvación viene siempre de una Palabra. La Palabra viene sobre nosotros cuando somos responsables, cuando estamos dispuestos a escuchar, cuando no abandonamos el lugar que nos corresponde.
Al reflexionar en su valor exclamaba Paul Claudel: “No basta recorrer esta Palabra con los ojos o con los labios: hay que encariñarse con ella, hay que pararse a pensarla, hay que empaparse de ella. Hay que vivir a su cobijo, hay que almacenarla en nuestra alma, hay que descansar en ella, soñar con ella y despertarse con ella; hay que persuadirse de que ella, y ella sola es pan, y que, en último análisis, sólo de ella tenemos hambre”.
2. Juan ha recibido una misión para realizar: Con su palabra siembra en las almas un mensaje que pocos comprenden; riega la arena estéril con las aguas del Bautismo, con el sudor de la penitencia y con la sangre de su martirio. Así, cada hombre, en las cosas pequeñas o grandes, es el autor de un fragmento de la historia cuyo significado repercute en toda la humanidad. Cada minuto de nuestra vida tiene un peso decisivo. El que responde a Dios colabora en su proyecto de salvación. El que se opone, construye un mundo de perdición.
3. El Adviento es tiempo oportuno para ahondar en las riquezas del misterio de la Encarnación, máxima prueba del amor de Dios al hombre. Dios en persona entra en un punto preciso de la historia y hace que la duración del tiempo esté preñado de eternidad. San Francisco de Sales lo interpreta así: “Cada instante del tiempo viene hacia ti con una tarea para cumplir y con una gracia para cumplirla bien; y retorna a la eternidad para quedarse eternamente tal como tu la has dejado”. A alguno le llega el Adviento en una crisis de cansancio o desilusión. A otro, en momentos de euforia y serenidad.
La Encarnación es misterio de amor y sólo puede entrar dentro de él aquel que vive en continua contemplación como María. Ella nos enseña a descubrir detrás de cada persona, de cada circunstancia, de cada dificultad la Voluntad Santísima de Dios. Pongamos sobre el altar nuestra vida entera, todo nuestro amor y libertad.
Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)
THE WORD IN THE DESERT
The Church continues to prepare the way of Our Lord for His Coming. The road of conversion that we travel through is sown with signs of joy and hope. The order is the same: one of conversion and pardon for our sins. The desert is a place of solitude and silence, where a Christian is purified while traveling as a pilgrim. It is necessary to preach and live the principles and practices of the Gospel message, so that the men of our time will come to see Salvation.
Sisters and brothers:
1. The desert is a place of solitude, hardships of life, and of temptation. The desert educates one that an essential part of life will require renunciations, detachments, and a radical change of the soul. The desert educates us through a test, where one must make room for the love of God. Salvation always comes from the Word. The Word enlightens us when we are responsible, when we are willing to listen, and when we do not abandon the place that is meant for us.
Upon reflecting on its value, Paul Claudel exclaimed: "It is not enough to approach the Word with our eyes or with our lips: one must become fond of the Word, one must stop to think of the Word, and one must soak in the Word. One must live under its cover, we must store it in our soul, we must rest in the Word, dream of the Word, and be awoken with the Word; one must be persuaded that the Word alone is bread, and that, in the last analysis, we are only hungry for the Word."
2. St. John has received a mission to carry out: With his word he sows a message in our souls, one that few understand; this message waters the sterile sands through the waters of Baptism, through his sweat of penitence, and through the blood of his martyrdom. Thus, each man, in small or large things, is the author of a fragment of history, whose meaning results in all humanity. Each minute of our life has a decisive weight. Those that respond to God, collaborate in His project of Salvation. Yet those that are opposed, build a world of perdition.
3. Advent is an opportune time to immerse ourselves in the wealth of the Mystery of the Incarnation, the maximum test of God's love for man. God in person enters at a precise point of history and makes the duration of time impregnated with eternity. St. Francis de Sales interprets it this way: "Every single moment of time comes toward you with a task to complete, and also with the grace to complete it well; it then returns to eternity to remain eternally, just as you have left it." To some, Advent arrives as a crisis of exhaustion or disillusionment. To another, as a moment of elation and serenity.
The Incarnation is a mystery of love and one can only enter into this mystery, if one lives in continuous contemplation as Mary has. She teaches us to discover behind each person, each circumstance, and each difficulty - the most Holy Will of God. We must put our entire life on the altar, all our love and our liberty.