GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
Dec. 7, 2025
Second Sunday of Advent
Matthew 3:1-12
This week we hear that John the Baptist is out in the wilderness eating “locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). It’s not just a strange historical detail. It’s a symbolic expression of a healthy spiritual diet. The path to Christ includes both the hard and the beautiful, the gritty and the sweet. We have to learn to gulp the locusts and savor the honey.
I remember working with a young couple preparing for marriage. They were sincere, but raw — barely beginning to discover faith. Part of me wanted to rush them ahead, to fill in all the gaps, to bombard them with scripture and church documents. I swallowed that instinct. It was like eating locusts.
But I also recall them light up as they spoke about each other, about their first child, then their second. And they wanted to be close to God. Something innocent and beautiful was unfolding. That was the honey. I knew God was asking me to savor it.
This Advent, maybe we’re each being invited to accept both locusts and honey. Maybe it’s time to stop avoiding the difficult parts of faith — prayer that feels dry, the call to repentance, the patience with the troublesome. It’s time to eat some locusts.
But we also need to notice the small gifts God gives us: a peaceful moment, a good conversation, the joy of serving someone else, new life, good intentions of our friends. That’s the honey. Savor it!
John didn’t avoid either. He took it all in. And so can we. What are your locusts? Your honey? If we let God feed us with both, we’ll be ready — really ready — for the coming of Christ.
— Father John Muir
PRAYER – FOR EVERYDAY AND EVERYBODY
Prayer for Advent – Peace
Come, Lord Jesus!
Bring your peace to our world. Inspire reconciliation, heal divisions, bind wounds, rewrite scripts. You are the Prince of Peace, bring that light into every space. Amen.
EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
How Much Is Enough?
I’ve got some great news for some of you: Jesus Christ doesn’t care what name you bear. He doesn’t care where you were born, and he doesn’t care what your family tree looks like. He doesn’t care where you grew up or where you went to school.
I’ve also got some bad news for some of you: See above.
It’s so easy to take our salvation for granted. The mercy of God makes it so. Look at John the Baptist — he was pouring water on everybody who wanted it. Everybody but one group: those who expected it. Those who thought it was a given because of who they were, because of what they were. Those who had no intention of doing the work of repentance.
Sometimes, because God is so faithful, we make the mistake of forgetting that He is also just.
I am baptized, we think. I made my First Communion, and I was Confirmed. That’s enough.
I went to Catholic school. I know all the Ten Commandments and I can tell you anything you want to know about the Popes. That’s enough.
I’m on parish council. I put money in the basket, and I volunteer. That’s enough.
None of it is enough. It would never be enough. And before we look upon the Pharisees and Sadducees with too much judgment, we need to remember: the work of repentance is ongoing. It is a process that we must commit to within ourselves, continuously.
God is the missing element to this equation. He is the one who raises children to Abraham from the stones. If we rely only on our own abilities, our own merits, our own offerings, it will never be enough.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS
Mass Times
St. Albert
Saturday Vigil:
4:30 PM
St. Pius
Sunday:
NO MASS
St. Brendan
Sunday:
10:00 AM
Monday, December 8th
The Immaculate Conception of Mary
Mass 12PM
St Brendan Church
Mass 6PM
St Albert Church
WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS PARISH
Our Mission Statement:
We, the North American Martyrs Parish, a strong community of faith, Nourished by the Holy Eucharist, Guided by the Holy Spirit and Trusting in the grace of God, Dedicate ourselves to live God’s Word and Let the light of Christ shine through our Community. We strive to provide sound religious formation for people of all ages; To care for the spiritual, social well-being of one another With particular attention to the stranger and the poor in our midst.
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ John 20:21
Upcoming Events
Holiday MASS TIMES
Christmas Eve
St Brendan
4PM
Christmas Day
St Albert
10AM
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