St. LucySt. Lucy (Santa Lucia) was a young Sicilian girl who took a secret vow to consecrate her virginity to Christ. Thus, her mother was quite dismayed when Lucy, as a teen, refused marriage to a young pagan. When Lucy's mother developed a hemorrhage, Lucy persuaded her to visit the tomb of St. Agatha to pray for healing. When her mother was healed, Lucy revealed her vow of virginity and asked permission to bestow her fortune on the poor. Joyful at her cure, Lucy's mother agreed, but Lucy's pagan suitor was incensed. With the persecution of the emperor Diocletian at its height, the jilted young man accused Lucy, before a judge, of being a Christian. When Lucy refused to relinquish her faith, the judge ordered her to a brothel. However, guards who attempted to drag her to the house of sin were unable to budge her. Similarly an attempt to burn Lucy to death failed so she was dispatched by thrusting a sword into her throat. The date of Lucy's martyrdom was December 13, 304.Lucy's suitor, however, had other plans, and revealed Lucy as a Christian. Authorities went to collect her, planning on forcing her into prostitution -- but they were unable to budge her, even after tying her to a team of oxen. She was then tortured by having her eyes torn out. They'd planned on torturing her by fire, too, but the fires kept going out. She was then killed by being stabbed in the throat with a dagger.
Because of the above, St. Lucy is the patron of those with eye problems, and is often depicted carrying her eyes (often on a plate), being tied to a team of oxen, with St. Agatha, or before her judges. Her relics lay in Syracuse for hundreds of years, were translated to Constantinople, and then to Venice where they may be venerated at the Church of San Geremia. Her head was sent to Louis XII of France, and reposes in the cathedral of Bourges.
Her name, "Lucia," means "Light," and light plays a role in the customs of her Feast Day. According to the Julian calendar, December 13 was the shortest day of the year. wearing a crown of candles, and carrying a torch to light her way, moves from house to house in each village or neighborhood and brings baked goods to each home before the sun rises.The change to the Gregorian calendar altered the date to December 21st, but did not change Lucy's feast day celebration, and she is forever associated with lengthening days and more sunlight. Whatever the fact to the legends surrounding Lucy, the truth is that her courage to stand up and be counted a Christian in spite of torture and death is the light that should lead us on our own journeys through life.
Our Lady Of Guadalupe
We are here this morning to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Most of us know the gist of the story. Some 477 years ago, in 1531 an elderly Indian man named "Juan Diego" had a vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Tepeyac, a squalid Indian village outside of Mexico City. Mary directed Juan Diego to tell the bishop to build the church in Tepeyac. The Spanish Bishop, however, dismissed the Indian’s tale as mere superstition — he was, after all, an Indian — but then, to humor Juan Diego, he insisted that he bring some sort of proof, if he wanted to be taken seriously. So, three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared again and told Juan Diego to pick the exquisitely beautiful roses that had miraculously bloomed amidst December snows, and take them as a sign to the Bishop. When the Indian opened his poncho to present the roses to the Bishop, the flowers poured out from his poncho to reveal an image of the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of the poncho. That image hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and is venerated by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.
The vision also tells us something about ourselves: that we generally listen to people who look and act important. That the people to sweep the hallways or fry the burgers or paint the numbers on our curbs do not really have anything to say to us. The vision challenges us to listen to the people who do not look or act like us.
Juan Diego’s vision of where God wants to be or whom we should listen to should come as no surprise to us. Throughout history, God has consistently chosen to be with poor people. We know that our God "hears the cries of the poor." While it is true that God loves each and every one of us, there is a special place in God’s heart for the poor and the powerless. In that respect, Juan Diego’s message is a restatement of Jesus’ vision of God.
The Mother of God, through her messenger Blessed Juan Diego and her permanent apparition on his mantle, invites the people of America to place all their trust in God and in His commandments. In other words, she invites us to submit ourselves completely to the reign of Christ the King, the Holy One of Israel who helps us and guides along the way of life to eternal life.
The very vivid vision described in our first reading (Rev 12) has particular meaning for everyone in the Americas since the appearance of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego took the same form as what is described in that reading from Rev 12.
…a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child…(Rev 12:1-2)
This is the image Our Lady left on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. She is clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, and has a crown of twelve stars. She is pregnant and so Our Lady of Guadalupe is revered as Patroness of the Unborn and also revered as Patroness of the Americas since she appeared in the center of North and South America.
We are here this morning to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Most of us know the gist of the story. Some 477 years ago, in 1531 an elderly Indian man named "Juan Diego" had a vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Tepeyac, a squalid Indian village outside of Mexico City. Mary directed Juan Diego to tell the bishop to build the church in Tepeyac. The Spanish Bishop, however, dismissed the Indian’s tale as mere superstition — he was, after all, an Indian — but then, to humor Juan Diego, he insisted that he bring some sort of proof, if he wanted to be taken seriously. So, three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared again and told Juan Diego to pick the exquisitely beautiful roses that had miraculously bloomed amidst December snows, and take them as a sign to the Bishop. When the Indian opened his poncho to present the roses to the Bishop, the flowers poured out from his poncho to reveal an image of the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of the poncho. That image hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and is venerated by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.
The vision also tells us something about ourselves: that we generally listen to people who look and act important. That the people to sweep the hallways or fry the burgers or paint the numbers on our curbs do not really have anything to say to us. The vision challenges us to listen to the people who do not look or act like us.
Juan Diego’s vision of where God wants to be or whom we should listen to should come as no surprise to us. Throughout history, God has consistently chosen to be with poor people. We know that our God "hears the cries of the poor." While it is true that God loves each and every one of us, there is a special place in God’s heart for the poor and the powerless. In that respect, Juan Diego’s message is a restatement of Jesus’ vision of God.
The Mother of God, through her messenger Blessed Juan Diego and her permanent apparition on his mantle, invites the people of America to place all their trust in God and in His commandments. In other words, she invites us to submit ourselves completely to the reign of Christ the King, the Holy One of Israel who helps us and guides along the way of life to eternal life.
The very vivid vision described in our first reading (Rev 12) has particular meaning for everyone in the Americas since the appearance of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego took the same form as what is described in that reading from Rev 12.
…a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child…(Rev 12:1-2)
This is the image Our Lady left on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. She is clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, and has a crown of twelve stars. She is pregnant and so Our Lady of Guadalupe is revered as Patroness of the Unborn and also revered as Patroness of the Americas since she appeared in the center of North and South America.
St Mary’s Residence
95th Anniversary
Today’s Mass is a great act of thanksgiving. We thank God for all that has been achieved here in St Mary’s Residence over the last ninety-five years. We thank God for the staff, and for the leadership that they have exercised. We thank God for the members who have lived in this Residence and for the good that they have done. On this anniversary, first and foremost, we acknowledge the great contribution made by the Sisters, Daughters of the Divine Charity. We thank Sister Mary Clair, the current Superior, and Sr Almaisa Brito, the Administrator of the Residence and all the sisters past and present who have given their lifeblood for the work of this Residence.
An Anniversary celebration such as this is a time not only for thanksgiving but also for reflection, for re-examination of orientations, for clarification of the road map and for resolutions for the future… I would like to bring in a great figure of Catholic tradition: St Augustine of Hippo who was engaged in a great quest for truth and for freedom.
Augustine tells us the story of his quest in his great book, The Confessions. There he speaks to us of the human being – you and I – being a great enigma. We know that people are capable of great goodness and of creating great beauty. Yet we also know, with equal certainty, that human beings are capable of destructiveness and great obscenity. So we can well ask: What lies at the heart of this great enigma that we are? Augustine pointed out that we have to come to understand ourselves either as an absurdity, being of no sense with a huge contradiction at its core, or as participants in a great mystery. That’s our choice, absurdity or mystery.
This realization, the fruit of so much reflection and education in St Augustine, led him to express his two great classic affirmations: “I believe in order to understand”. In other words, I believe in God in order to understand myself and the world around me. And secondly “I understand the better to believe”. In other words, I study and struggle so that my faith becomes deeper and clearer.
Today you remind me in a very natural way of the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians in which St Paul conveys an idea that seems to apply especially to you. He describes the faithful of that Church as “Letters from Christ” “You are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not on stone tablets but on the tablets of human hearts”. (2 Cor.3:3)
You, like all Christians are letters from Christ. In that capacity, you have not only the right but also the obligation to be God's message to the whole of humanity. This is certainly not a letter written with ink, but something much deeper, more beautiful and mysterious. It is the presence of God in your hearts, a text written by the Holy Spirit, a letter made into flesh and blood at the service of each person that you encounter.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to us “Love one another” and “Remain in my love.” Then Jesus goes on to explain. “I have told you this that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” The mark of one who is truly living in His love is joy, the joy that we see in one another. Joy even in the midst of suffering is a sign of knowing Jesus – “Yes, I am loved by God. Yes, I know that I give myself as Mary and Jesus gave themselves totally.” It is not simply to love one another but to love one another as Christ has loved us. That makes the difference. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them. "And you are my friends if you do what I command you. He loved those who hated him. He loved those who beat him. He loved those who crucified him.
This evening we thank the Lord for guiding this Residence through these Ninety-five years of its history. We ask his blessing on these next years under the gracious patronage of our Mother Mary. May God continue to bless the work of St Mary’s Residence and all those who have been a part of its journey in the past, at this moment, and in all the events and challenges that lie before us in the years to come.
God bless you all.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
95th Anniversary
Today’s Mass is a great act of thanksgiving. We thank God for all that has been achieved here in St Mary’s Residence over the last ninety-five years. We thank God for the staff, and for the leadership that they have exercised. We thank God for the members who have lived in this Residence and for the good that they have done. On this anniversary, first and foremost, we acknowledge the great contribution made by the Sisters, Daughters of the Divine Charity. We thank Sister Mary Clair, the current Superior, and Sr Almaisa Brito, the Administrator of the Residence and all the sisters past and present who have given their lifeblood for the work of this Residence.
An Anniversary celebration such as this is a time not only for thanksgiving but also for reflection, for re-examination of orientations, for clarification of the road map and for resolutions for the future… I would like to bring in a great figure of Catholic tradition: St Augustine of Hippo who was engaged in a great quest for truth and for freedom.
Augustine tells us the story of his quest in his great book, The Confessions. There he speaks to us of the human being – you and I – being a great enigma. We know that people are capable of great goodness and of creating great beauty. Yet we also know, with equal certainty, that human beings are capable of destructiveness and great obscenity. So we can well ask: What lies at the heart of this great enigma that we are? Augustine pointed out that we have to come to understand ourselves either as an absurdity, being of no sense with a huge contradiction at its core, or as participants in a great mystery. That’s our choice, absurdity or mystery.
This realization, the fruit of so much reflection and education in St Augustine, led him to express his two great classic affirmations: “I believe in order to understand”. In other words, I believe in God in order to understand myself and the world around me. And secondly “I understand the better to believe”. In other words, I study and struggle so that my faith becomes deeper and clearer.
Today you remind me in a very natural way of the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians in which St Paul conveys an idea that seems to apply especially to you. He describes the faithful of that Church as “Letters from Christ” “You are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not on stone tablets but on the tablets of human hearts”. (2 Cor.3:3)
You, like all Christians are letters from Christ. In that capacity, you have not only the right but also the obligation to be God's message to the whole of humanity. This is certainly not a letter written with ink, but something much deeper, more beautiful and mysterious. It is the presence of God in your hearts, a text written by the Holy Spirit, a letter made into flesh and blood at the service of each person that you encounter.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to us “Love one another” and “Remain in my love.” Then Jesus goes on to explain. “I have told you this that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” The mark of one who is truly living in His love is joy, the joy that we see in one another. Joy even in the midst of suffering is a sign of knowing Jesus – “Yes, I am loved by God. Yes, I know that I give myself as Mary and Jesus gave themselves totally.” It is not simply to love one another but to love one another as Christ has loved us. That makes the difference. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them. "And you are my friends if you do what I command you. He loved those who hated him. He loved those who beat him. He loved those who crucified him.
This evening we thank the Lord for guiding this Residence through these Ninety-five years of its history. We ask his blessing on these next years under the gracious patronage of our Mother Mary. May God continue to bless the work of St Mary’s Residence and all those who have been a part of its journey in the past, at this moment, and in all the events and challenges that lie before us in the years to come.
God bless you all.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My Yoke is Easy
Refusal to forgive others, ready criticism of others, and all the many shapes that selfishness assumes in our minds and in our dealings with others, are indications of the failure to take up the yoke of love. The person who is prompt to criticize others, who finds fault with all manner of behavior is not only a heavy burden to oneself; they also weighs heavily on those one lives with.
The remedy that Jesus brings us for such a burdensome life is love.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest," Jesus tells the crowd. (Matthew 11:28) The invitation is extended to all.
Jesus' yoke – his rules – are simple: Love God and love each other. And here's the bonus: he offers to teach his disciples how to live fully into these two rules. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me," he says. (Matthew 11:29)
This invitation to "learn from me" suggests relationship, which opens up a new way of thinking about this image of "yoke." A yoke usually joins two working animals together as a team. One of those animals is the experienced one, the leader. Jesus invites his followers to harness up with him. He assures them that he will help them plow through all the challenges of their lives. He invites them to work along side him has he prepares the field – God's glorious Kingdom – for planting and harvesting.
What do you do to rest? Listening to the radio all day long or watching TV all evening will not bring you rest. It will fill your mind with thoughts and you will not have room in your mind for God or spiritual matters. When you want rest, go to the Lord in prayer.
Jesus certainly knew all about yokes. As a carpenter he would have been asked from time to time to make a wooden yoke for farmers so that they could get two oxen to pull a plough or other farm implement together. The yoke was the wooden crossbeam that joined the two animals at the neck and that crossbeam dragged the farm implement. Since animals are different sizes it was common to have a yoke cut to measure for the animals pulling it. Otherwise it would not fit the animal correctly and cause considerable discomfort. As a carpenter Jesus must have cut many such yokes. The yoke that Jesus cuts for us does not cause discomfort but brings us comfort because the yoke of Jesus is easy and light. The invitation of Jesus to us is not a yoke that weighs us down but is easy and light,
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Matt 11:29-30)
Refusal to forgive others, ready criticism of others, and all the many shapes that selfishness assumes in our minds and in our dealings with others, are indications of the failure to take up the yoke of love. The person who is prompt to criticize others, who finds fault with all manner of behavior is not only a heavy burden to oneself; they also weighs heavily on those one lives with.
The remedy that Jesus brings us for such a burdensome life is love.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest," Jesus tells the crowd. (Matthew 11:28) The invitation is extended to all.
Jesus' yoke – his rules – are simple: Love God and love each other. And here's the bonus: he offers to teach his disciples how to live fully into these two rules. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me," he says. (Matthew 11:29)
This invitation to "learn from me" suggests relationship, which opens up a new way of thinking about this image of "yoke." A yoke usually joins two working animals together as a team. One of those animals is the experienced one, the leader. Jesus invites his followers to harness up with him. He assures them that he will help them plow through all the challenges of their lives. He invites them to work along side him has he prepares the field – God's glorious Kingdom – for planting and harvesting.
What do you do to rest? Listening to the radio all day long or watching TV all evening will not bring you rest. It will fill your mind with thoughts and you will not have room in your mind for God or spiritual matters. When you want rest, go to the Lord in prayer.
Jesus certainly knew all about yokes. As a carpenter he would have been asked from time to time to make a wooden yoke for farmers so that they could get two oxen to pull a plough or other farm implement together. The yoke was the wooden crossbeam that joined the two animals at the neck and that crossbeam dragged the farm implement. Since animals are different sizes it was common to have a yoke cut to measure for the animals pulling it. Otherwise it would not fit the animal correctly and cause considerable discomfort. As a carpenter Jesus must have cut many such yokes. The yoke that Jesus cuts for us does not cause discomfort but brings us comfort because the yoke of Jesus is easy and light. The invitation of Jesus to us is not a yoke that weighs us down but is easy and light,
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Matt 11:29-30)
Lost sheep
We believe firmly that God is good, He is love. But that his love is personal, directed to me, insignificant as I am of myself is quite another matter. Our Lord reveals here the personal, loving care that the heavenly Father has for each of his children.
"Sheep" had a long history as a common metaphor for God's people in the Old Testament before Jesus gave this parable. "The Lord is my shepherd . . ." (Ps 23:1). "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps 100:3).
Since God takes so much trouble to recover a lost one, they must carefully guard against causing one to stray (Mt 18:5-10). "The sheep that so foolishly and willfully strayed is not only recovered and restored to the flock; but rejoiced over, as if the recovery were a great gain”. This example of unconditional forgiveness must also characterize the disciples (Mt 18:21-35.
None is too lost or too insignificant to be sought. Jesus says that God, the shepherd, is concerned about each of his sheep. And if one of them strays, he will not just wait to see whether the lost sheep will return on its own. He goes after the lost one; he seeks it and seeks it until he finds it. He does not wait for the lost sheep to return on its own. He picks it up and carries it home. It is not the sheep’s choice whether to come home or stay lost. The sheep is not consulted about that.
In the parable, Jesus tells us that it is the shepherd, and not the sheep who knows what is good for the sheep. He has a purpose in searching for the lost sheep, and his purpose is to bring the sheep home. But there is never a question of leaving the sheep out there, even if that is where the sheep thinks it wants to be. Chapter Eighteen of the Gospel according to St. Matthew begins with disciples asking Jesus the question, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus instructs the disciples that if they are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must become like little children (Mt. 18:1-5). In verses ten through fourteen Jesus begins by referring to these "little ones" again. Here he refers to these little ones as sheep who have strayed from the fold and that it is his mission to bring these lost sheep back so that none of them will be lost.
We believe firmly that God is good, He is love. But that his love is personal, directed to me, insignificant as I am of myself is quite another matter. Our Lord reveals here the personal, loving care that the heavenly Father has for each of his children.
"Sheep" had a long history as a common metaphor for God's people in the Old Testament before Jesus gave this parable. "The Lord is my shepherd . . ." (Ps 23:1). "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps 100:3).
Since God takes so much trouble to recover a lost one, they must carefully guard against causing one to stray (Mt 18:5-10). "The sheep that so foolishly and willfully strayed is not only recovered and restored to the flock; but rejoiced over, as if the recovery were a great gain”. This example of unconditional forgiveness must also characterize the disciples (Mt 18:21-35.
None is too lost or too insignificant to be sought. Jesus says that God, the shepherd, is concerned about each of his sheep. And if one of them strays, he will not just wait to see whether the lost sheep will return on its own. He goes after the lost one; he seeks it and seeks it until he finds it. He does not wait for the lost sheep to return on its own. He picks it up and carries it home. It is not the sheep’s choice whether to come home or stay lost. The sheep is not consulted about that.
In the parable, Jesus tells us that it is the shepherd, and not the sheep who knows what is good for the sheep. He has a purpose in searching for the lost sheep, and his purpose is to bring the sheep home. But there is never a question of leaving the sheep out there, even if that is where the sheep thinks it wants to be. Chapter Eighteen of the Gospel according to St. Matthew begins with disciples asking Jesus the question, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus instructs the disciples that if they are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must become like little children (Mt. 18:1-5). In verses ten through fourteen Jesus begins by referring to these "little ones" again. Here he refers to these little ones as sheep who have strayed from the fold and that it is his mission to bring these lost sheep back so that none of them will be lost.
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