It’s Rose, Not Pink
My dear brothers and sisters, why do we wear rose on the third Sunday of Advent? From a little bit of a gloomy, or not as festive, period of time during Advent, why do we suddenly have this joy? It’s because now we’re getting closer to Christmas.
It’s past time we ask ourselves, what is the purpose of Advent?
From Desert to Exaltation
In these readings, you get a very good idea of what it’s about.
In the first reading: “The desert and the parched land will exalt.” From desert to exaltation. “They will bloom with abundant flowers.” From nothing to life. A transformation.
“Lord, it is the Lord who preserves fidelity forever,” says the responsorial psalm. “Who does justice to those who are oppressed.” So from oppression we go to justice. A transformation.
In the second reading today: “Be patient, brothers and sisters. Be patient.” Why? Because the Lord is coming. There’s going to be a change. And here Saint James uses the analogy of a farmer: “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.” Steady. Steady. Hold tight. Steady. Don’t give up. Don’t let go. Don’t walk away. Stay the course.
John the Baptist’s Final Hope
And then in the Gospel today, when John the Baptist was in prison, he asked his disciples to go and speak to Jesus and say, “Are you the Messiah? Are you the one?” Why? Because John the Baptist was in prison and he was scared. And so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?”
And Jesus says, “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain sight”—from blindness to sight—”the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear.” And in the Old Testament it said the prisoners shall be freed. That’s the one John the Baptist was waiting for: “The prisoners will be freed.”
Instead, Jesus changed it. He said, “The dead shall rise. The dead shall be raised.”
And you can imagine John the Baptist thinking, “So I’m not leaving. I won’t be freed. This is where it ends for me.”
John the Baptist understood perfectly well. His hope now rested entirely on the fact that Jesus was God.
What Are You Seeking This Advent?
Brothers and sisters, what is Advent for us?
Of course, it is for us to be able to have Christ come into our life again. But we can expand upon that and say that love comes back into my life again. That understanding comes back into my life again. That mercy comes back into my life. That I am healed—physically, spiritually, emotionally—that healing comes back into my life.
What is it that you are seeking during this Advent?
Of course, all of those things: love, understanding, mercy, compassion, healing. You can put them in one word: Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus, into my life.
But if there’s something in particular that you’re looking for, then Advent is the time to reflect and to ask yourself: What must I do in order to prepare the way for Christ to come into my life? What must I do? How can I prepare for God to come into my life so that I truly appreciate it?
With all the noise, with all the things that we have to do, meditation can be taken out of the picture immediately. However, there is healing that has to take place in my life. Now what do I need to do for that to happen?
Sick as a Dog at Ten Years Old
I will tell you: many years ago, when I was nine or ten years old, I had asthma as a child. And so I got the worst bronchitis, pneumonia—whatever it was—that I’ve ever had. I was sick as a dog.
And thank God—thank God—I didn’t have any electronics. Nothing. No TV in my room. No PlayStation. No Xbox. Nothing.
Thank God. You know why? I spent a lot of time thinking.
You ask a little kid today, “What do you think about this?” They’ll say, “I don’t know.” You ask a teenager what they think about something, they’ll say, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” You have to wait until you’re twenty to begin to reflect and to meditate, right?
At ten years old, I will never forget: while I was sick as a dog in my room, I could hear outside in the neighborhood my friends playing. Laughing. Giggling. Screaming. Having a ball without me. As if I were dead. As if I had never existed.
Not one single neighborhood kid called. Wrote me a card. No one.
You know who did? This one girl in school that liked me—and I did not like her. She liked me, and I didn’t like her. And she would call my house: “How’s Al doing?”
My grandmother would say, “Oh, let me put him on.”
“No, no, no!” I’d cry. Just the stupidity of a ten-year-old, right?
And I liked another girl that, of course, didn’t like me.
There’s an old saying: People are like books. They deceive you by their cover and they surprise you by their content.
Well, it turned out later on, when I grew up, that this girl that liked me liked everybody. She was just a kind girl. She was a nice person.
The Greatest Gift God Has Given Us
If you take time to reflect, you see, time is a gift from God. Remember the analogy of the farmer: you plant, give it time, and it will grow.
But time isn’t the greatest gift that God has given us.
Reflection—the ability to reflect and to meditate—is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. It can change the course and direction of your life.
You will be able to receive what you’re looking for.
You’re looking for love? Stop looking for love in all the wrong places.
You’re looking for understanding? Try to look at the other person’s perspective and not just yourself. This person was kind. Stop thinking only about yourself.
You’re looking for healing? Not merely physical healing. When you have an operation, when you have a sickness, you’re not just looking to be healed physically. You also want to be healed emotionally and spiritually. There’s so much more healing that can happen when you have to sit down and stop what you’re doing.
Isn’t silence the greatest sound?
Many times we reject it, filling our heads with noise.
Truths That Never Change
During Advent, there are certain things that you’re looking for. “Come, Lord...” What is it that you’re asking the Lord to bring into your life? What does it take for that to happen, to be a part of my life?
There are some axioms, right? Truths. Never changing.
If you want to trust God, then you have to let go. You have to stop pretending that you’re in control of everything. And when you let go, then God can direct your life in ways that will surprise you.
If you want to experience lasting results in your life, then respect the process that’s required for that to happen.
If you want to grow—physically, spiritually, emotionally—then you have to take the risk of failure.
The Inspiration of a No
Recently I realized being told no only makes me work harder.
Our kids are going to Rome to sing for the Pope. Thank you to the parish for making that possible. We were able to raise the money for all the kids to go at no expense to their parents.
I will tell you what: I worked hard for that.
I wrote a message, a letter, to the Apostolic Nuncio for the United States of America, representing the Holy See—in other words, the ambassador from the Holy See to the United States. I wrote to him. I said, “Cardinal, would you be willing to come to Mary Immaculate, talk to our kids? We’ll pay for everything. You just come. We’ll take care of everything.”
He wrote back and said no.
Then I said, “Would you be willing to do a Zoom so that our kids could see you, and they could get to know you, and you could talk to them?”
“Oh, thank you so much. No.”
Then I asked, “Would you be willing to write a letter and let the kids know you’re thinking of them?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
If you want to grow, then you have to open yourself up to failure. How many times do we stop trying only because we hear no? We need failure. It will teach you lessons so that you won’t make the same mistake twice.
Love Requires Sacrifice
If you want to experience love, then let me tell you: get ready to offer up some sacrifices.
Because when you love someone, you put in a hundred percent. You will get twenty percent back in return now.
But when you are gone, they will never forget you for what you did for them. Never.
Every mom and dad knows that experience. Everybody who has put in their heart, mind, body, soul, blood, sweat, and tears knows exactly what I’m talking about.
In this world, you may not get a lot.
Like Vincent van Gogh... I don’t know if it’s true, but I read just recently: can you imagine? The famous artist never sold a single painting while he was alive. Never.1 And now his paintings are worth millions.
If you want to experience love, then our Lord has taught us: you have to be willing to put in what it takes. The sacrifices.
Little by Little
Little by little.
You know what “little by little” means? More and more.
During this Advent season, little by little, work your way towards Jesus Christ.
Sources vary, but it is generally accepted he sold at least one, The Red Vineyard.
