MEN IGNATIAN: This coming Advent, the Church asks us to lift up our eyes toward the ends of the earth and to embrace the universalism that Matthew’s Gospel subtly introduces in his genealogy. Matthew’s story of Jesus’ origins is told from Joseph’s point of view, while the more familiar infancy account from Luke is told from the perspective of Mary. Do we trust that a loving, personal God guides each of us as well as the tragic events of contemporary history? Are we so caught up in our own families or our own work that we rarely raise our eyes to the larger world of the poor on other continents? Matthew’s Infancy story of Jesus reminds us to make Advent a time of peaceful trust in God’s providence and to make Christmas a celebration in which we open our eyes, minds and hearts to the universal call of the newborn Lord.

Facilitated by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB