Pastor’s Third Sunday of Advent Message
~ Part of this week’s Gospel message challenges us to ask ourselves: “For what would I ‘go to the wall’?” In other words, for what truths of our Catholic Faith would we allow ourselves to be thrown into prison? St John the Baptist was thrown into prison when he bore witness to the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage. Of all the many truths from God, John “goes to the wall” over this one. However, seeing Jesus as having made a sacred union (a “marriage” of sorts) between Heaven and Earth by virtue of His Incarnation, we begin to see the deeper meaning of John “going to the wall” for the sanctity of marriage: one of an earthly understanding of marriage; the other, of a divinely spiritual understanding. Additionally, Jesus is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’: As Truth, Himself suffered and died for us, would we not consider reciprocating that kind of commitment and love by suffering and dying for the Truth, Jesus Christ . . . Who is the Bridegroom . . . and we, being members of His Bride, the Church!?!