The HFC Advent 2022 theme is, “Reclaim: Believing in Christ and Belonging to His Church.” The Lord commissioned His Church to make disciples (cf. Mathew 28:16-20). A parish participates in this mission. HFC has summarized this mission as helping people "to believe in Christ, belong to his Church, and bless our communities."
Believing in Christ and belonging to His Church set the foundation for blessing our communities.
Blessing our communities includes the corporal works of mercy such as the Advent Giving Tree Program, the Food Pantry, and Care Packages for the Homeless.
The greatest blessing is to receive the invitation to live in union with Christ within the communion of His Church. It is a spiritual work of mercy to extend the invitation. This is why Jesus came to share in our humanity. To proclaim His Gospel and to build His Church for the salvation of humanity. It has temporal and eternal effects.
Believing in Christ and belonging to His Church are inseparable concepts. This homily series will address both aspects of sharing in divine life.
ADVENT i
November 26 & 27
The Perils of Procrastination
"[Jesus said to His disciples,] 'Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come" (Mathew 24:42).
ADVENT II
December 3 & 4
The Purpose of Penance
"When [John the Baptst] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptsm, he said to them, '... Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance...'" (Mathew 3:7a, 8)
ADVENT III
December 10 & 11
The Perspective of Praise
"[Jesus said,] 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no ofense at me'" (Mathew 11:4-6).
ADVENT IV
December 17 & 18
The Power of Presence
"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means 'God is with us'" (Mathew 1:22-23).
Audio recordings of my homilies will be posted here. I invite you to take advantage of the other opportunities that our parish offers.
May you have a fruitful Advent in preparation for Christmas.
Father Raymond Harris
About the Advent Scripture Readings
during Holy Mass
The First and Second Sundays of Advent focus on the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ to return at the end of time. It will happen at an unknown day and hour. This is not to instill terror in us. It is a reminder to receive the gift of each day to glorify God and promote the true and lasting good for others and ourselves.
The Third and Fourth Sundays focus on the first coming of the eternal Son of God into our world by sharing in our humanity except sin. Once again, we receive the good news of great joy that is for everyone to receive. Our Lord God and Savior has come to liberate us from sin and death, and to enjoy a fruitful life on earth (cf. Luke 2:10-11).