Catholic Fire

Gospel Mt. 1: 1 - 17 To make us better understand the desire of the people of God, the Church gives us this Gospel of the generations that are awaiting the Messiah. All the people of Israel, starting with Abraham, are waiting for the Messiah. "Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad. (John 8:56) This is the first Magnificat of Abraham's heart. This great expectation from Abraham all the way to Joseph and Mary, makes us understand divine preparation. In this genealogy, there were moments that were not directly under the breath of the Holy Spirit, there were some serious mistakes. Mary, however, is immaculate ... Mary, together with Joseph, carries the great desire of these successive generations. Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen: a symbolical number to show the fullness of this expectation, to show us how all the people of Israel are carrying and representing all the desires of mankind and presenting them to the Messiah. How great and wonderful it i...

I met with Fr. Antoine Thomas and the other oblates with the Community of St. John and we discussed the Holy Father's new encyclical Spe Salvi. Fr. spoke about it and related to it from the perspective of St. John. This article from First Things by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., the archbishop of Denver, is fascinating. What excellent timing our Holy Father has to share this with us during Advent, the season of hope.