Today Isaiah says: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.”  He is speaking, of course, of the Eucharist. The prophets longed for the meal we have every day.  Let’s hope we long for it too…for it is at hand!

The first candle on the Advent wreath is the Prophecy Candle.  Our Gospel today tells us of the expectation folks had for Jesus — the prophets, and how they LONGED so much for the Messiah. They longed for Jesus, who was yet to come….they longed to see what we see, but did not see it; to hear what we hear, but did not hear it.  WE HAVE THIS!  The sacraments continue the incarnation. We have Jesus, what the prophets longed for.  But do we have that same longing for the Jesus we can access, as the prophets had for the Jesus they couldn’t?  We’ve get excited about so many things. I’ve been so excited and waiting and waiting and waiting for the new candle stands, for the houses next door to come down, for the new hymnals, all this stuff…..so excited. I’ve been longing for all this.  But then I checked myself: do I have that same desire, expectation, longing for the Lord?!  We must!

Today’s the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, patron of our archdiocese. He converted a lot of people — in Asia, in India, and all over. He was on his way to China when he died. He was one heck of a missionary.  He is an example to us. Often enough, most of us have a hard time evening mentioning Jesus to the next door neighbor or even at the dinner table.

“Don’t try.  Let. If you will reread the creation chapter in the Bible, you will notice that God creates by ‘letting.’ God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and it was. God said ‘let’ at every act of creation and it was done. Today, let go and let God! This is a wonderful recipe for overcoming fear. The rule for creation/change is always to let.”
— Emmet Fox

Today is the feast of St Andrew. Fr. Meinrad, OSB, talked at Mass about being second fiddle. That was Andrew.  The other three mentioned in today’s gospel – Peter, James and John – were all at the Transfiguration. Andrew was not.  Andrew heard about Jesus first and then told his brother. From then on, Andrew was in the shadows. His brother Peter even became the first pope. But being second fiddle isn’t that bad. It’s good, for it helps us to remember that we are not first. Not a one of us.  Here is the homily from Fr. Meinrad Brune, OSB:

ST. ANDREW, THE APOSTLE – NOVEMBER 30, 2018

In today’s gospel four men accept a job without knowing what their job would be. None of them held back. Andrew, whose feast we celebrate, had the most reason to hold back. Simon, James and John would find more job satisfaction. Those three would witness the Transfiguration, the raising of the little girl from the dead, and the agony in Gethsemane. Simon would become Peter, the rock on whom Jesus built a church, and John would be remembered by all generations as the disciple most dear to his Lord.

Andrew’s future held only obscurity. All later generations would remember of him his name and the shape of the cross he died on and most importantly what he did in his life as a follower of Christ. He was the second place person but he never expressed discontent with his secondary role. Instead, we find Andrew’s life characterized by a consistent, though quiet, devotion to Christ. He apparently was willing to be his own man, even though he lived in the shadow of his outgoing brother. Andrew’s image is much softer. It is an image of the quiet achiever who never gets credit. Instead of a limelight Christian, he lived in the background. He is the Saint of the rank and file.

We may not be flashing and famous like Peter. We may not be a mighty leader like Paul. We may fall well short of the likes of James and John. But one thing we can do: we can bring others to Christ. Like Saint Andrew, we can look beyond our limitations. We can find contentment in Christ. We can move about and see the possibilities in monastic confreres, students, family members, co-workers, donors, oblates, guests and especially those who are “different”. And we can introduce these people to Christ by our life.

Playing second place person is not all that bad. In fact, it can be wonderful, especially if we hear the words in the Letter to the Romans: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news”.

The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing.
–Leigh Hunt

“Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him.”
— St. Dominic Savio