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“Be Not Afraid”
Bishop John M. LeVoir’s Monthly Column
for The Prairie Catholic
December 2012
Help My Unbelief
We are now in the Advent season. During this season, the Church calls us to prepare ourselves to
celebrate the two comings of Jesus Christ. One of those comings happened 2,000 years ago in the womb
of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).
The other coming is yet to happen. With regard to this coming, we know “neither the day nor the hour”
(Mt 25:13). It is the coming of Our Lord at the end of time, “Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and
the dead” (2 Tm 4:1).
In the Nicene Creed, which we profess at Mass, we pray: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ … true God
from true God. … For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” The new translation uses the word “incarnate”
instead of the former translation “was born.”
By using “incarnate,” the Church is calling attention to the moment that God the Son took on our human
nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This moment occurred when Mary said to the archangel
Gabriel: “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Lk
1:38). During Advent, we are called to meditate on the mystery of this moment when God came down
from heaven for our salvation. It was after some nine months in the womb of Mary that he was born of
her in the stable in Bethlehem.
At the conclusion of the Nicene Creed, we profess that we “look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.” The resurrection from the dead will occur when Our Lord comes at the
end of time or the end of the world. At that time, Jesus will raise our bodies from their graves, just as he
raised his own body from the tomb. We recognize this when the celebrant prays for the dead in
Eucharistic Prayer III by saying: “Grant that he (she) who was united with your Son in a death like his,
may also be one with him in his Resurrection, when from the earth he will raise up in the flesh those who
have died, and transform our lowly body after the pattern of his own glorious body.”
It is when Jesus comes again that the parable about the judgment of the nations will be fulfilled (Mt
25:31-36). “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his
glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from
another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (verses 31-32). Those who have treated others
as they would treat Jesus himself by feeding them, giving them drink, welcoming them, clothing them,
and visiting them will go off to eternal life. But those who refused to do these things will go off to eternal
punishment.
How do we prepare for celebrating these comings of Jesus? How can we prepare ourselves to celebrate
the Incarnation of God and to be ready when Our Lord comes again to judge the living and the dead? I
think that the answer lies in one word: faith. The answer lies in one prayer: Lord, “help my unbelief!”
(Mk 9:24). The necessity for an increase in faith is the reason for the Year of Faith, called for by Pope
Benedict XVI. The Holy Father would not have declared a Year of Faith if there was a fullness of faith in
people’s lives. Faith prepares us for Christmas and for the second coming of Our Lord.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines faith as the following: “Both a gift of God and a human act
by which the believer gives personal adherence to God who invites his response, and freely assents to the
whole truth that God has revealed. It is this revelation of God which the Church proposes for our belief,
and which we profess in the Creed, celebrate in the sacraments, live by right conduct that fulfills the
twofold commandment of charity (as specified in the Ten Commandments), and respond to in our prayer
of faith” (Glossary).
“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18: 8). When Jesus comes at
Christmas and at the end of the world, will he find faith? This is a significant question. Most of us realize
that there is much that is wrong with the world and that many things in the Church are in need of renewal.
So we ask, “What is wrong with the world and what is wrong with the Church?”
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan in his presidential address at the recent meeting of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore answered these questions by saying: “The premier answer to
the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ ‘What’s wrong with the Church?’ is not politics, the
economy, secularism, sectarianism, globalization, or global warming … none of these, as significant as
they are. As Chesterton wrote, ‘The answer to the question “What’s wrong with the world?” is just two
words: “I am.”’”
It is faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior that brings us to see that we are sinners and that we need
conversion. Once we are converted and begin living a converted life, then we can be agents of Jesus
Christ, cooperating with him to change for the better what is wrong with the world and what needs to be
renewed in the Church. This cooperation with Jesus Christ is at the heart of the New Evangelization
called for by both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict.
Cardinal Dolan told us at the USCCB assembly that conversion brought about through faith happens in a
significant way in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance. He said: “The Sacrament of
Reconciliation evangelizes the evangelizers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus, who
calls us to conversion of heart, and allows us to answer his invitation to repentance – a repentance from
within that can then transform the world without.”
“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). Let us prepare ourselves for the
two comings of Christ: at Christmas and at the end of time. Let us ask Jesus to increase our faith by
praying each day of Advent in the words of the man in the Gospel: Lord, “help my unbelief !” (Mk 9:24).
Then, let the fruit of faith be the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which brings us “into
contact with Jesus, who calls us to conversion of heart, and allows us to answer his invitation to
repentance – a repentance from within that can then transform the world without.”
“No Tengas Miedo”
por Obispo John M. LeVoir
diciembre 2012
¡Ayuda mi Incredulidad!
Ahora estamos en la Temporada de Adviento. Durante esta temporada, la Iglesia nos invita a prepararnos
para celebrar las dos venidas de Cristo. Uno de ellos ocurrió hace 2000 años en el vientre de la Virgen
María: “Aquel que es la palabra se hizo hombre y vivió entre nosotros” (Jn 1:14). La otra venida está por
suceder. Con respecto a esta “venida,” sabemos “no saben ni el día ni la hora” (Mt 25:13). Se trata de la
venida de Nuestro Señor al final del tiempo, “Cristo Jesus, que vendrá como rey a juzgar a los vivos y a
los muertos” (2 Ti 4:1).
En el credo niceno, que profesamos en la Misa, rezamos: “creo en un solo Señor, Jesucristo…Dios
verdadero de Dios verdadero… que por nosotros, los hombres, y por nuestra salvación bajó del cielo, y
por obra del Espíritu Santo se encarnó de María, la Virgen, y se hizo hombre.” La traducción nueva
utiliza la palabra “encarnado” en lugar de la Antigua traducción “nació.”
La Iglesia llama “encarnacion” al hecho de que el hijo de Dios haya asumido una nuestra naturaleza
humana en el vientre de la Virgen María. Este momento ocurrió cuando María dijo al arcángel Gabriel:
“Yo soy la sierva del Señor, que Dios haga conmigo como me has dicho” (Lc 1:38). Durante el adviento,
estamos llamados a meditar sobre el misterio de este momento cuando Dios descendio del cielo para
nuestra salvación.
Al concluir con el Credo Niceno, profesamos que “Espero la resurrección de los muertos y la vida del
mundo futuro.” La resurrección de los muertos ocurrirá cuando el Señor venga al final del tiempo o en el
fin del mundo. En ese momento, Jesús resucitará nuestros cuerpos de sus tumbas, así como él levantó su
propio cuerpo de la tumba. Reconocemos esto cuando el celebrante reza por los difuntos en la Oración
Eucarística III al decir: “concédele que así como ha compartido ya la muerte de Jesucristo comparta,
también con él la gloria de la resurrección, cuando Cristo haga surgir de la tierra a los muertos, y
transforme nuestro cuerpo frágil en cuerpo glorioso como el suyo.”
Cuando Jesús venga otra vez se cumplirá la parabola sobre el juicio de las naciones. (Mt 25: 31-36).
“Cuando el Hijo del hombre venga, rodeado del esplendor y de todos sus ángeles, se sentará en su trono
glorioso. La gente de todas las naciones se reunirá delante de él, y él separará unos de otros, como el
pastor separa las ovejas de las cabras” (versos 31-32). Las personas que han tratado a su prójimo como
Jesús trataría a su prójimo al alimentarlos, dándoles de beber, dándoles la bienvenida, ropa, visitandoles,
irán a la vida eterna. Pero aquellos que se negaron a hacer esas cosas iran al castigo eterno.
¿Cómo nos preparamos para celebrar la venida de Jesús? ¿Cómo nos preparamos para celebrar la
encarnación de Dios y estar preparados cuando él Señor venga otra vez para juzgar a los vivos y a los
muertos? Creo que la respuesta se encuentra en una palabra: La fe. La respuesta se encuentra en una
oración: Señor, “ayuda mi encredulidad” La necesidad de crecer en nuestra fe es la razón por la cual
estamos celebrando el año de la fe, convocado por el Papa Benedicto XVI. La fe nos prepara para la
Navidad y para la segunda venida de Nuestro Señor.
El Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica define la fe: “como un don de Dios y una obra humana, la cual el
creyente da una adhesion personal a Dios, quien invita a su respuesta, y acepta libremente a toda verdad
que Dios ha revelado. Es esta revelación de Dios que la Iglesia propone para nuestra creencia y
profesamos en el Credo, celebramos en los sacramentos, vivir una conducta correcta que cumple con el
doble mandamiento de la caridad (diez mandamientos), y responder a nuestra oración de fe” (glosario).
“¿Pero cuando el Hijo del hombre venga, él encontrará fe en la tierra? (Lc 18:8). Preparémonos para las
dos venidas de Cristo: en navidad y al final del tiempo. Pidámosle a Jesús para que tengamos más fe,
orando los días de Adviento en las palabras del hombre en el Evangelio: Señor, “¡ayuda mi incredulidad!
Mr 9:24). Entonces, deje que el fruto de la fe sea la recepción del Sacramento de la Reconciliación, que
nos lleva “en contacto con Jesús, que nos llama a la conversión de corazón, y nos permite responder a su
invitación al arrepentimiento – un arrepentimiento desde luego que puede transformar el mundo exterior.”