Vespers and Donor Reception
St. Mary’s Seminary
December 16, 2025
A Work in Progress
It’s fair to say we are a work in progress, you and I. This side of heaven we can never say that we have fully welcomed the Lord into our lives. Our complicated hearts have more nooks and crannies than an English muffin! There are recesses in our hearts that the Lord has yet to penetrate, facets of our lives that stand in need of ongoing redemption, issues that are only partially addressed or yet to be addressed. That is why the Church gives us Advent: so we can prepare ourselves to welcome Christ – at Christmas, at his coming into our lives each day, and at his second coming in glory.
How to Welcome the Lord
Yes, we want to welcome the Lord, but there are obstacles. Mary and Joseph, and their Child about to be born, received no welcome. There was, we read, no room for them in the inn. Often, there is no room for Christ in the human heart, for it is completely filled with preoccupations, big and small, but what is more important than welcoming the Lord?
If our hearts can be both complex and preoccupied, welcoming the Lord is neither. Conversion, turning to the Lord, has a way of putting the lie to all that preoccupies, distracts, corrupts. So perhaps what we need for the balance of Advent is a simple little formula for welcoming the Lord, a few simple bywords we can refer to at will . . . so here they are: Let us welcome the Lord with open hearts, open minds, and open arms.
Open Hearts
Mary welcomed Jesus with an open heart. It is said that she conceived Christ in her heart, and only then in her womb. Mary’s sinless heart was an unobstructed pathway for the Savior. Her heart was attuned to God – to his promises, to his plan, to his love. When the angel announced she was to the Mother of God, her heart willingly assented: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Religion is not merely an idea but a profound experience that encompasses the totality of our existence. The heart is the core of our being. It’s our inner sanctuary. It’s that deep place in us where the voice of God echoes. In Advent, let us listen to the Lord. Let us listen also to our hearts. Are they attuned to God’s promises, to his plans for us, to his love? With Mary’s help, our hearts too can say to the Lord, “Let it be done to me as you say!”
Open Minds
Once the heart is touched with grace and glory, the mind is opened. Here I think of the Magi, the astrologers, from the East. They were searching for truth. They were looking for wisdom. They were pursuing the meaning of life itself. Theirs was a human search for truth touched by the grace of God, that led them on a journey until they encountered the One who is truth: the Child lying in a manager, in truth the Son of God.
We know how easy it is for our minds to be filled with “trivial pursuits.” It’s all-too-easy to think and live on a superficial level. Yet, deep down we have questions about who we are, what we are meant to do, and what we are meant to be. Our search for truth and meaning is not only touched by God’s grace, but immersed in it, for we share Christ’s life in Word and Sacrament. That is why the words St. John Paul II at Camden Yards in 1995 still resonate: “Jesus Christ is the answer to which every human life is the question.” Guided by the light which the Wise Men caught sight of, let us open our minds to welcome the One who is the light.
Open Arms
Imagine that moment when Mary first held the baby Jesus in her arms. She received him with love beyond all telling. Hers was the natural love of a mother for her child, but it was also a supernatural love, for she knew his deepest identity. Imagine also the fatherly joy St. Joseph experienced when first he held the baby Jesus. A quiet man of deepest faith and integrity, he took risks and worked hard to provide for Mary and Jesus.
In Advent, let us not merely welcome Jesus but embrace him – embrace him with the arms of love, with eyes of faith, with hearts full of hope. Let us embrace him as he speaks to us in Scripture, comes to us in Holy Communion, forgives us in the Sacrament of Penance. Let us also embrace him in the poor and needy, those with whom he explicitly identifies himself.
Conclusion
It is a joy to be with you this evening because you have already welcomed and embraced the Lord with open hearts, open minds, and open arms. You express this in a thousand ways, not the least of which is your generosity of time, talent, and treasure. We have much to celebrate, much to ponder, much to do, but united in the Lord there is no challenge or obstacle we cannot surmount. I pray that, in the final days of Advent and in the celebration of Christmas, you will experience the depth of Christ’s love for you, for your loved ones, and for this world that stands in need of the Redeemer’s love and truth. And may God bless you and keep you always in his love.