Dear Friend,

Sunday of the Third Week of Advent

Matthew 11:2-11

Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly

I was blessed this past summer to attend the wedding of one of my oldest friends – since kindergarten!  He has been living in the UK for many years now and it was a delightful event all around.  Myself and another classmate were able to make it for the festivities.  As we were walking together into the reception, the new groom introduced us to his guests as our respective fathers, our faces appearing more and more like our dads looked some fifty years before.  It was a humbling experience, while at the same time, I must admit, not far from the truth.

Today’s gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent stresses the extraordinary nature of the witness of John the Baptist.  Addressing the crowds, Jesus quotes a passage from scripture regarding John’s identity that can be found both in Exodus (23:20) and the Prophet Malachi (3:1):

“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way before you.”

In his beautiful commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis points out that the expression “ahead of you” literally means “before your face.”  He writes: “the expression implies that, in Jesus, God has put on a human face that can be seen, loved, and adored for its beauty.  John is the herald who hastens ahead of Jesus to awaken all he encounters to the loveliness of his King’s countenance.” (Volume One, pp 656-657) Quite the powerful invitation!  And there is no need to travel to Palestine or the UK to experience it.

The image for today is a closeup of a stained-glass window from the Seminary chapel.  Before us we see the moment that Jesus is baptized by John.  We can see the faces of both men.  The colors on the face of Jesus are soft.  His countenance is serene.  This is indeed God’s beloved Son. 

Beginning now, the third week of Advent, the invitation is that you and I can be or become more intentional in the manner that we are before the Lord’s face in the Eucharist.  In addition, there is a challenge for us as well: does my life and the living of my faith awaken in others the loveliness of the Lord’s countenance?  I know for myself, the truth can be, at times, far from that.  This is when I can reconnect with John the Baptist’s call for repentance and Jesus’ insistence on the need for ongoing conversion in the lives of his followers.  And so I come before Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Advent is a time for us to come before the Lord’s gentle and compassionate face and come to know his tender Mercy. 

Perhaps now, stepping into the third week of Advent, our gestures made in faith can be both outward and inward – gazing upon the face of our Savior in the Eucharist and welcoming Him into our hearts by means of confession, the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It is one of the best gifts that we can receive during this holy season.   Remember, his manner is mercy.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, in these weeks of Advent, may we remain focused on Your Son, Jesus, whose face we are blessed to encounter in the Eucharist and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Amen.

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Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., former Rector/Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.