Dear Parish Family,

Our season of Advent is a sacred time of repentance. Repentance means both to turn away from falsehood, evil, and injustice and to turn toward the truth, goodness, and justice of our Lord. St. John the Baptist makes this call clear in the Gospel: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"

 

Repentance requires courage to confront wickedness in our lives, determination to persevere through trials and difficulties in turning away from sin and turning toward the Lord, discipline to keep us firm in practicing prayer and good moral habits, and above all a vision of God in Jesus Christ to carry us through the difficulties involved in conversion.

 

Now is the time of repentance. As John says in the Gospel, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire," and "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The same fire that burns away the unholiness in our lives is also the fire of the Holy Spirit enflaming our hearts to follow Christ. This is the same Spirit Isaiah wrote of concerning the Spirit over the shoot (Jesus) that will sprout from the stump of Jesse (the father of King David).

 

While repentance is hard work, we need to remember that we undergo this conversion in order to have a fuller share in the Spirit of Christ Jesus. That is where we get to the warmth and welcome of what the Scriptures offer. We cannot follow Christ on our own terms and expect to receive His Spirit, but we must follow Him on His terms so that we can share fully in His life.

 

Remember this Monday is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. It is a holy day of obligation. We have Mass at St. Mary's at 7:30 am, 9:30 am (with the School), and 7 pm. Mass at St. Patrick's will be celebrated at 8:45 am and 7 pm. Because this Solemnity falls on a Monday, there are no Sunday Vigil Masses this year. Fr. Fabian, Fr. Gary, and I look forward to celebrating this Solemnity with you!

 

We pray the St. Michael Prayer at the end of our daily Masses on Tuesdays and Thursdays at St. Pat's. I want to give a brief overview of the importance of the St. Michael Prayer for our Church and to encourage you to include this prayer in your regular times of prayer.

 

Last month (November 9), I wrote about the origins of the St. Michael Prayer. Today, I would like to look at the names of St. Michael ("Who is like God?") and compare it to the original name given to Satan, which was Lucifer ("Light-bearer"). Lucifer was an angel created by God to bring God's own light of truth through his angelic ministry. Instead of receiving and reflecting God's light, Lucifer rejected God's light and attempted to replace it with his own light. Lucifer's rebellion against God and His light made him think he could take God's place, becoming a god himself. The name of St. Michael offers a humble correction to this prideful rebellion: "Who is like God?" No one can take the place of God. The futile attempt to become a god on his own terms, the refusal to receive God's light of truth, made Lucifer become an angel of darkness, distortion, division, lies, and accusation.

 

It is at this point that Lucifer the fallen angel takes on the new titles of Satan ("Accuser") and Devil (Diabolos: "Scatterer"). Lucifer rejected his role as an angel created by God to reflect and disseminate God's light, and so became the accuser of those who humbly accepted their God-given nature and role in the order of God's creation. His lies, rejection of God's authority and order, and accusations against anyone who stands for God's truth and goodness, caused disorder and division among the angels themselves and among the order of God's creation of human beings. We see satanic and diabolic influences in our world wherever God's truth is rejected, in the divisiveness among peoples, rebellion against God's created order and moral laws, rejection of human dignity and the meaning of the body created by God as male and female, broken marriages and families, warfare and crime, victimization and blame, and all the evil of occult practices which seek to control the invisible and spiritual forces of our world.

 

The remedy to all of these evils is to speak the truth in love like St. Michael. Who is like God? No one but God Himself. Instead of seeking manipulation and control which leads to division, violence, despair, and death, we as Christians seek to practice the humble submission to God like Jesus, Mother Mary, St. Michael, and all God's angels and saints. Satan and his minions will of course mock everyone who seeks fidelity to God and His moral order, but we remain faithful to God because His truth, goodness, and light will always prevail through all lies, evil, and darkness in the grace of Jesus' resurrection. St. Michael, pray for us!

 

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

 

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow