Cardinal Blase Cupich's Homily for December 21st, 2025

Winter Blessing . . .

 

May the God of Winter be with you, walking with you as warmth and light through the iced-over parts of your life. May you see these icy times as God's invitation to "walk on water." In the dark and cold winter moments of your journey, may your trust in the hidden growth of winter be for you a source of inner strength. May the blessing of Winter Hope be with you.

--Maxine Shonk, OP

Advent Examen . .

 

Ignatian Examen for Advent

 

The Grace of Gratitude

I speak from my heart telling God why I am grateful,

being very particular and naming specific things:

gifts, people, events, blessings

How do I wait with gratitude?

 

The Grace to See

I walk with God through the experiences of my day

(or past year) giving thanks where I have grown,

and noticing where I have stumbled.

Where do I need the gift of light?

How do I wait with a discerning heart?

 

The Grace of Freedom

I ask for the grace to awaken my memory to anything from

my day (or past year) where God is inviting me to greater

freedom and peace.

I spend some time listening to my heart.

How do I wait in peace… in silence… listening?

 

The Grace of Mercy

I ask to feel hope, knowing that God will always give me

forgiveness. I ask God’s mercy in personal words that come

from my heart.

How do I wait in hope and with trust this

Advent Season?

 

The Grace of Transformation

I listen to my heart for invitations to change the way I pray,

live, work, love, play, relate, serve, or define success.

What deep desire within me is waiting to be

uncovered, discovered, or recovered this

Advent Season?

I pray the Our Father that God’s Kingdom reign in my life.

 

 

Examen adapted by William Watson, S.J.

Advent Reflections

Entering Fourth Week of Advent . .

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent (A)

https://learn.ctu.edu/category/sunday-scripture-reflection/ Dianne Bergant, CSA Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14 Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24     What’s in a name? The Advent hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel is a song of longing and profound faith. But who is Emmanuel? Today’s gospel tells us that Emmanuel means ‘with us is God’ and it implies that the child born of Mary is this Emmanuel. But what of the child in the first reading? Surely Isaiah had some other child in mind. Might there be more than one Emmanuel? Actually, Emmanuel is more a title than a personal name. Many ancient people believed that kings were either gods in human form or direct descendants of the gods. Therefore, every king was regarded as ‘god-with-us.’ In the first reading, Isaiah encouraged King Ahaz to trust in God and not in the military power of those who would be his allies. He assures him that a future emmanuel (most likely his own unborn son) will grow up in a land of peace. Ahaz is told to trust that God will grant such a future of peace. This promise became a standard for proclaiming a future king and a future time of peace. It also nourished the people’s trust in God. Though they continued to be disappointed in their royal leaders, they never gave up hope that God would someday bring that promise to fulfillment. And God would do this, not because they could rely on the abilities of some future Davidic king, but because they could rely upon God to keep promises. In the gospel, the angel tells Joseph that the time of fulfillment of the promise has come. Though in some way every king was an emmanuel, the child to be born of Mary will be the long-awaited eschatological Emmanuel. In a way that no other king dare claim, this child will really be ‘God-with-us.’ The angel also announces the child’s name. It will be Jesus. There is a play on words with this name. Jesus’ Hebrew name is Yeshua (יֵשׁוּע).  The Greek transliteration of that name is Jesus (Ἰησοῦς), which means `YHWH is salvation.’ After giving the name, the angel explains that the child will be so named because he will indeed ‘save his people.’ In addition to his personal name and royal title, Jesus is referred to in other ways in the second reading. Paul first identifies him as a descendant of David, thus acknowledging his royal origin. He also calls him Son of God, another title that was used for ancient kings. When Israel applied this last title to its own kings, it was emptied of any divine meaning. However, when the early Christians applied it to Jesus, they intended it to refer to divine origin. Paul used another royal title, calling Jesus Christ, the Greek equivalent for Messiah, the anointed one of God. Finally, perhaps the most familiar title that Paul used is Lord. While this is a common title of respect, when applied to Jesus it contains divine connotations, because kýrios (LORD) became the Greek substitute for YHWH, the personal name for God in the Hebrew tradition. All the names found in today’s readings are statements of faith. We may not realize their boldness, because we have become so familiar with them, particularly during this season of Advent. However, if we look more closely, we might discover the challenges they pose. First, do we really believe that God is with us, as real to us as is a child? One’s entire life changes with the birth of a child. Relationships are altered; priorities are reordered; schedules are rearranged. Has anything like this happened in our lives as we claim to believe that God is with us? Ahaz was told that the emmanuel who would come into his life would be a reminder to trust in God rather than in human ability or accomplishment. Has our commitment to Emmanuel made a comparable change in our lives? Do we really trust in God, or do we still expect to accomplish by ourselves what we have set out to do? And what do we make of the name Jesus? In years past, children were taught to bow their heads at the mention of that name. Today, it is frequently used to punctuate exclamations. Do we use it as an acknowledgement of salvation? Do we even acknowledge our need of salvation? People who suffer from various forms of addiction tell us that they know they will only be saved if they commit their lives to some force beyond themselves. How desperate must we get before we realize that in many ways we all need to be saved from ourselves? As Son of God, Jesus has the power to deliver us. Do we believe this? The readings for today point out the importance of trust in God. Through Isaiah, God told Ahaz to trust that the nation would be safe. At first Ahaz may have avoided the threat referred to in this reading, but eventually he did make an alliance that brought disaster to the nation. Through the angel, Joseph was told to trust that the child Mary was carrying was the savior of the world. Unlike Ahaz, Joseph placed his trust in this incomprehensible mystery, and we have all benefited from his decision. What do these names mean to us? Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA

The Student Santa . . .

 

The students were having their briefing about how to be a good ‘Santa Claus’. The Christmas season was gearing up in the department store, and Alex was here on his first day as a ‘holiday-job Santa.’

‘Whatever you do, don’t frighten the children,’ the manager told them sternly. ‘Not even if the parents want you to!’

Armed with this advice, Alex started his first day.  The very first child that arrived, parents in tow, screamed blue murder the moment he set eyes on Alex’s fine new Santa outfit and long white beard. Nothing would pacify him. Not the parents’ admonitions to ‘be a brave little boy’, and not Alex’s own attempts to console the crying child.

Eventually, in despair, Alex hit on an idea. He began to peel off his ‘uniform’, bit by bit, starting with the white beard. The child stopped crying, and watched him, fascinated.  The red hood was removed, and a young and rather embarrassed face came to light. The glasses were removed, and two twinkling, youthful, blue eyes appeared. The red robe was discarded, and underneath it was an ordinary young man in blue jeans and sweatshirt.  The child looked on in amazement, until he was soon laughing and relaxed.

Once the relationship between them had been established, Alex started to put the ‘uniform’ back on again, and as he did so, he told the little boy a story of how, a very long time ago, God had come to live on earth with us, and so that no one would be frightened, God had come in very ordinary clothes and lived the life of a very ordinary child.  The boy listened, wide-eyed.

Soon, it was time to move on. The next ‘customer’; was waiting. The boy‘s parents moved away, rather disgruntled. ‘What a shame,’ they said. ‘It spoiled all the magic.’

‘The end of the magic, perhaps,’ mused Alex, ‘but the beginning of the wonder.’

Source Unknown

A Wintering Prayer . . .

 

 I pray for the needs of all those across this small planet

who are in great need this day, and especially for ___________.
I am mindful of all those who suffer because of the winter weather,
of all who suffer because they experience the winter of war,
of all those who suffer the cold winds of oppression and violence,
May all who suffer this day experience your compassion
through their brothers and sisters.

May this morning prayer awaken me
to turn to the needs of all who ask me for help this day
into my personal needs.
May this brief time of prayer make me aware
that the needs of those whom I assist are really your needs.
Grant me the grace to see you in all whom I meet and serve.
With that sacred vision
this prayer of communion with you will have no end.
Blessed and beautiful are you my God.
May your light be my sun this winter day.

Amen

- Edward Hays . . .

A Season of Gladness . . .

 

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem
By Dr. Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortal’s, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.