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By Msgr. Simmons

Because of the entrance antiphon which reads, rejoice in the lord always. Again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near, and the joyful excitement is reflected in today's scripture readings which we have just heard, as well as by the rose-colored vestment that I am wearing. The prophet Isaiah sings out “the desert and the parched land will exult, Stef will rejoice and Bloom, and they will Bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song”. Be strong, fear not. Here is your God, he comes to save you, comes to save you and I. Psalm reminds us that the Lord God keeps Faith forever. Secures Justice for the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry, and Lord sets cap free.

How does God do these things today? Is it through you and me? Saint James, aware of our impatience, encourages us to be like the farmer waiting for Harvest. and he writes to you too, must be patient. make your hearts firm because of the coming of the Lord.

In the gospel, John the Baptist, who is in prison at the time, sends out his disciples to ask Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come? or are we to look for another?” In response, Jesus gave evidence from his works rather than his words. Wherever he encountered people the result was what was transformation: the blind saw, the deaf heard, people were restored to the fullness of the men of their Humanity in a community of love.

With the psalmist, we do have reason to cry out and rejoice in the Lord always. again I say rejoice. The Lord is near. in light of today's anger, Confusion, And Justice and uncertainties in the World At Large. in addition to the challenges perhaps in our own individual lives. if we are not careful, if we are not careful, we can lose sight of the big picture. We can lose sight of the reason we are rejoicing. Namely God's love and mercy made present in the Lord Jesus who is near. it was near.

Today’s Eucharistic celebration asked us to judge our faith in the light of Jesus' message. What does the Salvation we hope to see look like? Are we waiting for the decimation of our enemies? or do we long for the transformation including her own? Many in today's world are seeing me ready to offer the first option. It is a general solution offered by prisons, wars, and every other kind of vengeance. The second option is a little bit more costly. it requires real love, it requires real love to hope for the transformative salvation of those who have done this harm. And it requires humble courage to look for our own conversion.

This Sunday invites us to rejoice in all that is good around us. and there is much good that is around us. It challenges us to recognize the presence of God, and everything that promotes freedom and communion. and The more we participate in Jesus' work of transformation, the more we will understand that we have encountered God With Us, and need not look anywhere else. God is with us! In a sense we are not unlike John the Baptist. We too are called to prepare the way of the Lord into the hearts of others as well as into our own hearts.

finally permit me to share a personal observation. The Advent season is a time we look forward to. We look forward to and prepare for the threefold coming of the Lord. at this incarnation where the Christ Life Begins, into our hearts each day, and at the end of time when he comes in glory. So Advent in my mind is a Time we are to be moving forward, to be moving forward. In my prayer, this Advent and throughout the time to follow, is that The Universal Church including our individual, its Individual entities, our parish and our diocese, Would follow the leadership of Pope Francis as he works toward moving the contemporary church forward in the light of the second Vatican Council that is my personal observation and that is my prayer.

喜樂主日

今天的進堂詠說“你們在主內應當常常喜樂”。 的確，喜樂的天主就在我們中間。今天的讀經，以及我穿的玫瑰色祭衣，都反映出在主內的喜樂。 依撒意亞先知說：“荒野和不毛之地必要歡樂，沙漠必要欣喜，如花盛開，盛開得有如百合，高興得歡樂歌唱，因為它們將獲得黎巴嫩的光華”。 要堅強，不要害怕。 你的上主，要來拯救我們。 答唱詠也提醒我們，天主是信實的，祂為被欺壓的人辯護；賜食物給飢餓的人；使被囚的人獲得自由。

天主是如何成就這些事呢？天主通過你與我成就這些事。雅各伯宗徒知道我們沒有耐心，所以他鼓勵我們要像農夫等待收成一樣地，以堅強的耐心來等候主的再來。

在今天的福音中， 施洗若翰在獄中派門徒問耶穌：“祢就是要來的那一位，或是我們還要等候另一位？” 耶穌以祂的行為來回答若翰的問題。與耶穌接觸的人都改變了：瞎子看見，聾子聽見，瘸子行走，他們都在耶穌的愛中恢復了圓滿。

就像聖詠所描述的，我們的確是因爲得到主的救恩而喜樂地高聲吶喊：”喜樂吧，因為主耶穌就要來了“。在這憤怒，混亂，不義，和易變的世界，我們除了面對生活中的挑戰外，還要小心翼翼地遠觀大局。千萬不要忘了我們擁有的喜樂就是主耶穌的慈愛和憐憫，祂永遠陪伴在我們身邊。

今天彌撒提醒我們，我們的信仰是根源於耶穌。 基督的救恩是等待敵人的毀滅嗎？ 還是渴望對頭和自己內心的更新？ 許多人用了第一個選項。 這個選項就是監獄，戰爭，和其他各種報復的行為。 第二個選擇就稍微困難了一點。 它要求的是真正的愛。只有愛才能給那些傷害者和被傷害者提供真正的救贖。 當我們尋求自己的更新和皈依，就要有真正的勇敢謙卑下來。

在這主日，讓我們為周圍的一切美好事物歡欣鼓舞。 這些美好的事物促進了人類的自由與合一，也證實了天主的臨在。當我們不斷的與主接觸，在耶穌內不斷的更新，我們就會明白主不在任何其它地方，祂就在我們心中。 我們與施洗約翰ㄧ樣的蒙主召喚，鋪平主的道路讓主進入人心，也進入我們的心。

將臨期是我們期待耶穌來臨的時刻。 我們盼望並預備主的三次來臨。 耶穌降生成人，每天進入我們的心中，在最後光榮中的來臨。 降臨期是一個向前邁進的時刻。 我祈禱，在這降臨期和接下來的整年中，我們個人、每個教會的個體，和普世教會，都在梵二的光照，教宗方濟各的領導下，努力推動教會的現代化。