Father Tim's Homily: From a woman's perspective

Father Tim Sherwood's homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, delivered on Sunday, December 23, 2018, at St. Raphael Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Video by T. Allan Smith. Theme music: Deliberate Thoughts by Kevin MacLeod.

Fr. Kevin's Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: God's greatest gift at Christmas

Homily for the fourth Sunday of Advent, given by Fr. Kevin Mackin, OFM, on Sunday, December 24, 2017 at St. Raphael Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Fr. Mackin serves as parochial vicar at St. Raphael Catholic Church. Still photos for video by T. Allan Smith. Audio by Jeff Keller.

Father Tim's homily - Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

"The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ "

– Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23

By Julie Musselman

In Sunday's first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we have the original prophecy of the sign that God will give to show His faithfulness to His promises to Abraham and David.

Ahaz the King of Judah, in the line of David, has not been faithful to the covenant. Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, but he won't. Yet God is ever faithful and to show His faithfulness, God Himself will provide the sign.

St. Matthew's gospel then quotes this passage from Isaiah and shows how in the most difficult circumstances of an unplanned pregnancy, God has now fulfilled the prophecy from hundreds of years before.

Many people today look for signs. Our faith is weak. We want to know for certain. We want a message, a confirmation, a plan, a sign. But Jesus is really the only sign we need. God became Man, Creator entered into creation. He came and fulfilled perfectly all the Old Testament prophecies. He is the sign that God so loved the world that He sent His only son.

And yet, God knows our weakness and so He does give us other signs. Sometimes the sign comes in the form of a phone call, a friendship, a happy event that comes to pass. And sometimes a sign comes in the form of a difficulty, a broken relationship, an illness, a death. When we look at the events in our lives with the eyes of faith, we can see these signs. May we keep our eyes on Jesus, The Sign, and look around for the other smaller signs too.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent we hear of the virgin birth of Jesus and we reflect on the period of waiting for both Mary and Joseph, her bethrothed. It was a time of uncertainty and great difficulty for them, and we see in Mary a great faith in God and acceptance of her role to be the mother of Jesus. In Joseph, we see a steadfast and faithful man who learns of God’s plan in a dream and obeys. It is all in fulfillment of a prophesy by Isaiah. Joseph takes Mary as his wife and thus begins the greatest story ever told. We await in eager anticipation the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Gospel this Sunday

December 19, 2010
The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
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.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

• Read the first and second readings and the Responsorial Psalm

– United States Conference of Catholic Bishops