Homily Fourth Thursday of Advent (Lk. 1:67-79) “Music Please”
Homily Fourth Thursday of Advent (Lk. 1:67-79) “Music Please”
A canticle is a song that is sung in Christian worship. The songs are hymns of praise. Early Christians would commit them to memory so they would be able sing them in the liturgy of the church. In the Gospel of Luke there are several canticles that the evangelist wrote.
The canticles in the infancy narrative of Luke are the Canticle of Mary called the Magnificat, the Canticle of Zachariah which is known as the victory prayer and the Canticle of Simeon known as the Nunc dimittus (now you dismiss).
These canticles are used in the Liturgy of the Hours (the daily prayers of the church). Zachariah’s Canticle is always used during the morning prayer of the church. Zachariah spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, he understood the profundity of what was happening with the birth of his Son.
His canticle speaks of a new day. The powers that held sway in the world would be cast down. A new leader was to be raised up. A prophet was to go before this savior. The prophet we believe was John the Baptist.
Zechariah spoke from the perspective of an oppressed people. The Israelites had been conquered and occupied by a host of foreign powers. Zechariah lived at a time when the Romans held sway. Zechariah realized that freedom would come about because of Jesus. Maybe it was not freedom in a worldly sense, but it was freedom in a spiritual sense.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I every had a moment of unexpected inspiration from God? What did it concern?
- In what ways am I held captive? If I followed the teaching of Jesus how might I be set free?
Dear Parishioners,
At the present, our Masses are filling up for Christmas. The 4 p.m. and 5:45 Mass are full. There is room at the 7:15 and the 10 p.m. and the 9 a.m. Masses. We will not allow walk-ins if a Mass is full. If a Mass is not filled, we will allow a certain number of walk-ins. You may send an email to: shchurch@sacredheartmoline.org and we will register room if there is room. We are trying to keep everyone safe. I ask for your understanding as we go through this difficult time.
We continue to receive end of the year donations. I appreciate everyone’s generosity to the parish. This speaks of our parishioners love of the Lord.
I hope that everyone has a grace filled Christmas. May our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over us in the days ahead.
Fr. Mark