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Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, in which Peter, James, and John go up the mountain with Jesus and he is transfigured before them, and God tells them, "This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him." As their faith was strengthened by this event, our faith should be strengthened as we journey through Lent, so that at the end of it no storm will be able to shake our faith in the God to whom we cling.

Readings: Genesis 15:5-12,​17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36

Today's readings exhort us to place our complete trust in God, good advice in these turbulent times.

Seek the wisdom from above in stillness, rather than reacting to the chaos from our own time.

In today's Gospel Jesus returns to his hometown. After being initially impressed, the town turned suspicious of him, and Jesus could not do any great miracles because of their lack of faith.Two lessons: 1) jealousy is not helpful and not of God, and 2) we have to trust God in faith for God to be able to heal us.

Fr. Jimmy Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time around the theme that, through no merit of our own, God moves us from unworthiness to worthiness. We can see this in the call of Isaiah the prophet, Peter's response to the miracle catch of fish by saying, "Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man," and by Paul telling us that he went from persecuting Christians to being an Apostle solely by the grace of God. God does not define us by our flaws, but by our grace-fueled potential.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Luke 5:1–11

The psalmist says, "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will." That is what God is looking for, and what we saw in the human response to the tragic fires in Los Angeles. People came from all over to help, to donate money, to distribute food, to so something to help in response to the devastation. God surely smiled.

On this day when the Church prays for the the legal protection of unborn children, we hear of how Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. Thus we pray for legal protections for the unborn and the born, so that everyone might have what they need to live a fulfilling life.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family, which celebrates Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, but which also calls all families to holiness. In the Gospel, Joseph and Mary move towards letting Jesus go, allowing him to be part of something larger than their own family, a practice we can all try in our own families.

Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20–22, 24–28; 1 John 3:1–2, 21–24; Luke 2:41–52

When Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds "Peace on Earth!" There is nothing that we need more in this world right now than peace over all the Earth. Let us pray for that, and look for that gift from God.

When Zechariah can finally talk after the birth his son, John the Baptist, he proclaimed that his son would, "give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins." This is what the Christmas season is all about: revealing the tender compassion of our God.

Today we celebrate St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. Music can unite us, for we cannot be enemies while we sing together. Perhaps we can use music to bring us together at a time after the elections when we are so divided.

In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." His mother, Mary, lived in such a way as to always point to God rather than to herself. We should do the same.