By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the last Mass of Simbang Gabi 2021, the traditional Filipino Christmas novena. The Mass was celebrated at St. Bonaventure Church in Davie, Dec. 23, 2021.
This is the last evening before the Misa de Gallo — and the celebration of the coming of the Christ Child. And tonight, the Scriptures place before us the figure of John the Baptist. He is born in fulfillment of the prophecy of tonight’s first reading — for John the Baptist is like Elijah of old. And he will be the bridge between the Old and New Testaments and prepare the Way for the Lord.
The theme of tonight’s celebration is simply: “Gifted to be messengers of good news.” We are “gifted.” You know sometimes we talk about a “gifted child” — one who has an ear for music, or one that is really good in school. But we are all gifted — for what do we have that we haven’t received from others: from our parents, our siblings, our teachers, spouses, etc. The only things we can claim to own for ourselves are our sins: Everything else is a gift. These gifts ultimately come from God, and we should put them at God’s disposal, so that our gifts can help us be messengers of good news.
For to be a Christian is not a burden but a gift, having encountered him is the best thing that has happened to us, and to share him with others by our gifts of our time, talent and treasure, even at the cost of our very selves, is a joy.
Today, too many people see the Gospel — especially in its hard sayings — as something against them; and not for them. People think that our religion is a bunch of “nos.” And certainly, we often don’t help the matter. Too often I have heard about that proverbial parish receptionist whose first word to someone who walks into the rectory office is “Are you registered?” instead of “How can I help you?” We will not communicate the power of the Gospel if we are joyless or, as Pope Francis said in “The Joy of the Gospel,” sourpusses.
Throughout her history, the Church has evangelized. And the lived experience of her saints and martyrs over 500 years in the Philippines has shown that the Gospel can find fertile soil in any culture — and in putting down its roots the Gospel can purify every culture when it is seen as it truly is, “good news.”
Simbang Gabi “is how faith and culture, in this case, the culture of the Filipino people can be joined together in a powerful way to evangelize. The difficulties and resistances” of our secularized culture are not impossible to overcome; we can and we must be those instruments of the Spirit of God so that “Jesus Christ may be known, followed, loved, adored and communicated to all” here in South Florida and at this time, when we have been given the privilege to live and witness to the good news of Jesus Christ, for we are “gifted to be messengers of good news.”
Even in the circumstance surrounding his birth, John was already preparing the Way of the Lord.
Hopefully, during this Advent Season, we have been about preparing for the Way of the Lord by putting our giftedness at the service of the Gospel — especially by availing yourselves of the sacrament of Penance. Making a good confession, a sincere confession of our sins, can help remove those things that stand in your way to the Lord and that keep you from knowing his joy.
But at the same time, if we are Christians, then we know that we also must be concerned with our brothers and sisters. How can we prepare the way to the Lord for them? How do we make straight the paths that lead to the Lord for them to know his mercy, to experience the Gospel as it truly is, good news?
One way, of course, is our good example. If we want to prepare the Way of the Lord, it is important that we not get in the way. And, often times, we are in the way, we can be real stumbling blocks for the people around us. We do this by our own insensitivity to people’s needs; we do this by our own lukewarmness in our religious devotion; we do this by our sins.
One of the principal teachings of the Second Vatican Council that ended 50 years ago this month was a renewed emphasis on the universal call to holiness. As St. John Paul II said in Novo Milenio Ineunte, "the time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living" and that since baptism is a call to holiness, "it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity."
In the first centuries of Christianity, the pagans used to say of the Christians: Look how they love each other. Today, modern day pagans look at our divisions, at our shortcomings; they look at our laxity — and they find excuses for their own lack of faith. Let’s be like John the Baptist and be a way for our brother or sister to encounter the Lord and not — because of our own sins — be in the way.
