Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

As they were coming down from the mountain,

the disciples asked Jesus,

“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;

but I tell you that Elijah has already come,

and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.

So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”

Then the disciples understood

that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, your ways are mysterious. You have ordained to bring about your plan of salvation in stages, one stage prefiguring the next. You sent Elijah to your people to call them to conversion. Centuries later, you sent John, the New Elijah, to your people to prepare them for the advent of your Son. Today, you call me to hear their witness and turn to you with all my heart.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Elijah the Prophet: During the season of Advent, the Church often invites us to contemplate the figure of John the Baptist. We are asked to look at John the Baptist as the New Elijah. When the Book of Sirach meditates on the great figures in salvation and summarizes the life of the prophet Elijah, it highlights the power of his prophetic words, how he combatted those who worshipped the pagan god Baal, how he brought down fire from heaven, and how he was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fiery horses. Sirach recalls Malachi’s prophecy that one like Elijah would appear before the day of the Lord. The task of this future Elijah-like prophet is to initiate the conversion of the people of Israel and the reestablishment of the tribes of Israel. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel indicates to Zechariah that his son, John, will be the new Elijah promised by Malachi: “[Your son] will go before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). How am I listening to John’s message and preparing for the coming of the Lord?

2. The Advent of the New Elijah: In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus points out that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy about the return or coming (advent) of Elijah. The Apostles of Jesus have just witnessed the appearance of Elijah with the transfigured Jesus, and so they ask about Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah’s advent before the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist is not the reincarnation of Elijah, but in the words of his father, Zechariah, is one who goes before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. How did John imitate the great Elijah? First, his prophetic words were fiery, like those of Elijah. Second, Elijah called down fire from heaven on the prophets of Baal, while John warned the Pharisees to repent from their sin to avoid the eternal fire. Third, Elijah shut up the heavens, stopped the rains, and brought down fire from heaven. John, when he baptized the Messiah, saw the heavens rip open and beheld the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Fire of God, upon Jesus. Just as Elijah called the people of Israel to repent before the day of judgment, we hear John call us to repent from our sins this Advent to be ready to meet our Lord and Savior.

3. Memorial of Saint Lucy: Today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Lucy, who was born in Syracuse, Sicily, around the year 283. When she was five, her father died and left her mother, Eutychia, alone to raise her. Lucy’s mother suffered from hemorrhages at the time and feared for Lucy’s future, so she arranged a promise of marriage for her daughter to a pagan nobleman. Hopeful for a cure for her mother’s hemorrhages, Lucy convinced her mother to make a pilgrimage to Saint Agatha’s tomb in Catania (about 40 miles north of Syracuse). While at the tomb, Lucy had a vision of Saint Agatha, who promised that Lucy’s mother would be cured and that Lucy would become the glory of Syracuse, just as she was the glory of Catania. Lucy sensed that she was called, like Agatha, to be a virgin Bride of Christ and to die as a martyr. She convinced her mother to postpone her marriage to the nobleman and to give their wealth to the poor. In 303, the Emperor Diocletian issued an edict outlawing Christianity in the Roman Empire. A year later, Lucy’s suitor became aware that Lucy was not going to become his bride and had given large sums of money to the poor. Enraged, he reported Lucy to the governor of Syracuse and denounced her as a Christian. The governor tried to force her to abandon her faith and offer sacrifice to the Roman gods, but she refused. When Lucy accused the governor of worshipping demons, the governor ordered her to be defiled in a brothel. But the soldiers couldn’t even move her. Attempts to burn her at the stake did nothing. Finally, the governor ordered a soldier to stab her in the neck with a sword. Only then was Lucy killed. Lucy’s martyrdom is recalled in the First Eucharistic Prayer, where we ask God to grant us some share and fellowship with the holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecelia, Anastasia, and all your Saints.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are glorified by your martyrs who share in your passion and death. Help me to face the sufferings and trials in this life with supernatural courage and fortitude. When I am tempted to complain, help me recall all the good things you have given me so that my heart is full of gratitude.

Living the Word of God: How am I listening to John’s prophetic message during this Advent? What does the contemplation of Saint Lucy’s life inspire in me? Is it her example of charity or chastity? Is it her faith amid a pagan world and time of persecution?