Baptism of the Lord and us
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is an old Hindu parable about a tiger cub raised by goats. The cub learned to bleat and nibble grass and behave like a goat. One night a tiger attacked the goats, which scattered for safety. But the tiger cub cried like a goat without getting frightened. The old tiger roared, "What are you doing here, living with these brave-less goats?" He grabbed the cub by the scruff, dragged him to a pond and said; "Look how our faces reflected in water? Now you know who you are and whose you are." The tiger took the cub home, taught him how to catch animals, eat their meat, roar and act like a tiger. The tiger cub thus discovered his true self. Today’s gospel seems to suggest that Jesus received from heaven a fresh flash of realization of who, and Whose, he really was (his identity) and what he was supposed to do (his mission), on the day of his baptism in the river Jordan.
At baptism, a person is “cleansed from original sin, and incorporated in Christ and made a member of His Body the Church; he is infused with sanctifying grace and receives the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and this enables him to receive the other sacraments effectively”. This is precisely why Catholics baptize newborn babies.
However, Jesus’ baptism is not a sign of repentance; it is his anointing and investiture as the divine Messiah. Now, he is set to proclaim the good news of salvation! The baptism by John was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a moment of decision. It marked the end of Jesus' private life, which prepared him for his public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification with his people in their God-ward movement initiated by John the Baptist (quality of a good leader). Third, it was a moment of approval. Jesus might have been waiting for a signal of approval from his heavenly Father and during his baptism Jesus got this approval of himself as the Father's "beloved Son.” Fourth, it was a moment of conviction. At baptism Jesus received certainties (assurances) from heaven about his identity and the nature of his mission: a) He was the "Chosen One" and the "beloved Son of God.” b) His mission of saving mankind would be fulfilled not by conquering the Romans, but by becoming the "suffering servant" of God i.e., by the cross. Fifth, it was a moment of equipment. By descending on Jesus in the form of a dove (symbol of gentleness), the Holy Spirit equipped Jesus with the power of preaching the "Good News" (that God is a loving Father, who wants to save mankind from its sins through His Son Jesus).
The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission. First, it reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By baptism we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit. Most of us dipped the fingers of our right hands into the holy water container and blessed ourselves when we came into church today. Why? This blessing is supposed to remind us of our baptism. And so when I bless myself with holy water, I should be thinking of the fact that I am a child of God; that I have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ; that I have been made a member of God’s family and that I have been washed, forgiven, cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb.
Second, Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our mission.
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Baptism is a most precious thing, in fact the greatest moment of our life. King Louis IX of France so well understood this. He once said; "I think more of the place where I was baptized than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned. It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a Kingdom: [this kingdom] I shall lose at death, but the other [to be a child of God] will be my passport to an everlasting glory."
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, "We’re on a mission from God."
John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd made that line famous many years ago in the movie, "The Blues Brothers."
"We’re on a mission from God."
As Cardinal Newman put it concerning his own life:
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me, which He has not committed to another. . . .I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. ..
…If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirit sink, hide my future from me – still He knows what He is about.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is an old Hindu parable about a tiger cub raised by goats. The cub learned to bleat and nibble grass and behave like a goat. One night a tiger attacked the goats, which scattered for safety. But the tiger cub cried like a goat without getting frightened. The old tiger roared, "What are you doing here, living with these brave-less goats?" He grabbed the cub by the scruff, dragged him to a pond and said; "Look how our faces reflected in water? Now you know who you are and whose you are." The tiger took the cub home, taught him how to catch animals, eat their meat, roar and act like a tiger. The tiger cub thus discovered his true self. Today’s gospel seems to suggest that Jesus received from heaven a fresh flash of realization of who, and Whose, he really was (his identity) and what he was supposed to do (his mission), on the day of his baptism in the river Jordan.
At baptism, a person is “cleansed from original sin, and incorporated in Christ and made a member of His Body the Church; he is infused with sanctifying grace and receives the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and this enables him to receive the other sacraments effectively”. This is precisely why Catholics baptize newborn babies.
However, Jesus’ baptism is not a sign of repentance; it is his anointing and investiture as the divine Messiah. Now, he is set to proclaim the good news of salvation! The baptism by John was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a moment of decision. It marked the end of Jesus' private life, which prepared him for his public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification with his people in their God-ward movement initiated by John the Baptist (quality of a good leader). Third, it was a moment of approval. Jesus might have been waiting for a signal of approval from his heavenly Father and during his baptism Jesus got this approval of himself as the Father's "beloved Son.” Fourth, it was a moment of conviction. At baptism Jesus received certainties (assurances) from heaven about his identity and the nature of his mission: a) He was the "Chosen One" and the "beloved Son of God.” b) His mission of saving mankind would be fulfilled not by conquering the Romans, but by becoming the "suffering servant" of God i.e., by the cross. Fifth, it was a moment of equipment. By descending on Jesus in the form of a dove (symbol of gentleness), the Holy Spirit equipped Jesus with the power of preaching the "Good News" (that God is a loving Father, who wants to save mankind from its sins through His Son Jesus).
The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission. First, it reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By baptism we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit. Most of us dipped the fingers of our right hands into the holy water container and blessed ourselves when we came into church today. Why? This blessing is supposed to remind us of our baptism. And so when I bless myself with holy water, I should be thinking of the fact that I am a child of God; that I have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ; that I have been made a member of God’s family and that I have been washed, forgiven, cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb.
Second, Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our mission.
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Baptism is a most precious thing, in fact the greatest moment of our life. King Louis IX of France so well understood this. He once said; "I think more of the place where I was baptized than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned. It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a Kingdom: [this kingdom] I shall lose at death, but the other [to be a child of God] will be my passport to an everlasting glory."
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, "We’re on a mission from God."
John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd made that line famous many years ago in the movie, "The Blues Brothers."
"We’re on a mission from God."
As Cardinal Newman put it concerning his own life:
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me, which He has not committed to another. . . .I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. ..
…If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirit sink, hide my future from me – still He knows what He is about.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Feast of Epiphany
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The 1970 musical ‘Godspell’ by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak presented one song ‘Day By Day’. The verse goes like this:
Dear Lord three Things I Pray,
to See Thee More Clearly,
love Thee More Dearly,
follow Thee More Nearly,
day by Day.
Once Buddha told a story. A young widower, who loved his five-year-old son very much, was away on business, and bandits came, burned down his whole village, and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins, and panicked. He took the charred corpse of an infant to be his own child, and he began to pull his hair and beat his chest, crying uncontrollably. He organized a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a very beautiful velvet bag. Working, sleeping, eating, he always carried the bag of ashes with him.
One day his real son escaped from the robbers and found his way home. He arrived at his father’s new cottage at midnight, and knocked at the door. You can imagine at that time, the young father was still carrying the bag of ashes, and crying. He asked, “Who is there?” And the child answered, “It’s me Papa. Open the door, it’s your son.” In his agitated state of mind, the father thought that some mischievous boy was making fun of him, and he shouted at the child to go away, and he continued to cry. The boy knocked again and again, but the father refused to let him in. Some time passed, and finally the child left. From that time on, father and son never saw one another... After telling this story, the Buddha said, “Sometimes, somewhere you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, when the real truth comes in person and knocks at your door, you will not open it.”
Today we celebrate the feast of Epiphany. The sixth century Italian tradition that there were three Magi - Casper, Balthazar, and Melchior – is based on the fact that three gifts are mentioned in Matthew’s gospel: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold was a gift for kings; frankincense (an ancient air purifier and perfume) was offered to God in Temple worship (Ex. 30:37); and myrrh (an oriental remedy for intestinal worms in infants) was used by the High Priest, both as an anointing oil (Ex. 30:23), and to prepare bodies for burial. These gifts were not only expensive but portable.
Today’s gospel also tells us the story of the Magi's encounter with the evil King Herod the Great. This encounter demonstrates three reactions to Jesus’ birth: hatred, indifference, and adoration. The first reaction is shown by the group of people, headed by Herod, who plan to destroy Jesus. The second reaction is found in another group, composed of priests and scribes, who ignore Jesus. The third reaction is that of the shepherds and the Magi, who adore Jesus and offer themselves to Him.
A) First group is the destructive group: King Herod considered Jesus a potential threat to his kingship. He was a cruel and selfish king who murdered his mother-in-law, wife and three children on suspicion that they had plotted against him. Later, the Scribes and Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, because he criticized them and tried to reform some of their practices.
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Herod, on his deathbed, gave orders that all the most important citizens of Jerusalem be slain after he himself died, so that there would be lots of weeping in the city. Herod put so many of his own children to death that the people had a saying: it was safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son.
You and I must choose between these two kings, Herod the Great and Jesus Christ. we can choose Herod, and we do so each time we react with suspicion, distrust, selfishness, hardened refusal to forgive, knee-jerk judgments born of prejudices against individuals or groups, or anything or anyone new or strange or different. So many ways to choose Herod, but only way to follow Jesus.
B) Secondly,The group that ignored Christ: The Scribes, Pharisees and the Jewish priests knew that there were nearly 500 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the promised Messiah. They were able to tell Herod the exact time and place of Jesus’ birth. They were in the habit of concluding their reading from the prophets on the Sabbath day by saying, “We shall now pray for the speedy arrival of the Messiah.” Unfortunately, they were more interested in their own selfish gains than in discovering the truth. Hence, they refused to go to see the Child Jesus--even though Bethlehem was quite close to Jerusalem. Today many Christians remind us of this group. They practice their religion from selfish motives such as to gain political power, prestige or recognition by society. They ignore Jesus' teachings in their private lives.
C) Finally, The group that adored Jesus and offered Him gifts: This group was composed of the shepherds and the Magi. The shepherds offered Him the only gifts they had: love, tears of joy, and probably woolen clothes and milk from their sheep. The Magi offered gold, in recognition of Jesus as the king of the Jews; frankincense, in acknowledgment that He was God, and myrrh as a symbol of His human nature.
You may remember Christina Rosetti’s Christmas Carol in 1872which begins, “In the bleak midwinter.” Let us conclude with its last stanza, the nature of "giving to the Christ child.”
“What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I could give a Lamb.
If I were a wise man, I could do my part.
What I can I give Him? Give Him my heart!”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The 1970 musical ‘Godspell’ by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak presented one song ‘Day By Day’. The verse goes like this:
Dear Lord three Things I Pray,
to See Thee More Clearly,
love Thee More Dearly,
follow Thee More Nearly,
day by Day.
Once Buddha told a story. A young widower, who loved his five-year-old son very much, was away on business, and bandits came, burned down his whole village, and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins, and panicked. He took the charred corpse of an infant to be his own child, and he began to pull his hair and beat his chest, crying uncontrollably. He organized a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a very beautiful velvet bag. Working, sleeping, eating, he always carried the bag of ashes with him.
One day his real son escaped from the robbers and found his way home. He arrived at his father’s new cottage at midnight, and knocked at the door. You can imagine at that time, the young father was still carrying the bag of ashes, and crying. He asked, “Who is there?” And the child answered, “It’s me Papa. Open the door, it’s your son.” In his agitated state of mind, the father thought that some mischievous boy was making fun of him, and he shouted at the child to go away, and he continued to cry. The boy knocked again and again, but the father refused to let him in. Some time passed, and finally the child left. From that time on, father and son never saw one another... After telling this story, the Buddha said, “Sometimes, somewhere you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, when the real truth comes in person and knocks at your door, you will not open it.”
Today we celebrate the feast of Epiphany. The sixth century Italian tradition that there were three Magi - Casper, Balthazar, and Melchior – is based on the fact that three gifts are mentioned in Matthew’s gospel: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold was a gift for kings; frankincense (an ancient air purifier and perfume) was offered to God in Temple worship (Ex. 30:37); and myrrh (an oriental remedy for intestinal worms in infants) was used by the High Priest, both as an anointing oil (Ex. 30:23), and to prepare bodies for burial. These gifts were not only expensive but portable.
Today’s gospel also tells us the story of the Magi's encounter with the evil King Herod the Great. This encounter demonstrates three reactions to Jesus’ birth: hatred, indifference, and adoration. The first reaction is shown by the group of people, headed by Herod, who plan to destroy Jesus. The second reaction is found in another group, composed of priests and scribes, who ignore Jesus. The third reaction is that of the shepherds and the Magi, who adore Jesus and offer themselves to Him.
A) First group is the destructive group: King Herod considered Jesus a potential threat to his kingship. He was a cruel and selfish king who murdered his mother-in-law, wife and three children on suspicion that they had plotted against him. Later, the Scribes and Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, because he criticized them and tried to reform some of their practices.
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Herod, on his deathbed, gave orders that all the most important citizens of Jerusalem be slain after he himself died, so that there would be lots of weeping in the city. Herod put so many of his own children to death that the people had a saying: it was safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son.
You and I must choose between these two kings, Herod the Great and Jesus Christ. we can choose Herod, and we do so each time we react with suspicion, distrust, selfishness, hardened refusal to forgive, knee-jerk judgments born of prejudices against individuals or groups, or anything or anyone new or strange or different. So many ways to choose Herod, but only way to follow Jesus.
B) Secondly,The group that ignored Christ: The Scribes, Pharisees and the Jewish priests knew that there were nearly 500 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the promised Messiah. They were able to tell Herod the exact time and place of Jesus’ birth. They were in the habit of concluding their reading from the prophets on the Sabbath day by saying, “We shall now pray for the speedy arrival of the Messiah.” Unfortunately, they were more interested in their own selfish gains than in discovering the truth. Hence, they refused to go to see the Child Jesus--even though Bethlehem was quite close to Jerusalem. Today many Christians remind us of this group. They practice their religion from selfish motives such as to gain political power, prestige or recognition by society. They ignore Jesus' teachings in their private lives.
C) Finally, The group that adored Jesus and offered Him gifts: This group was composed of the shepherds and the Magi. The shepherds offered Him the only gifts they had: love, tears of joy, and probably woolen clothes and milk from their sheep. The Magi offered gold, in recognition of Jesus as the king of the Jews; frankincense, in acknowledgment that He was God, and myrrh as a symbol of His human nature.
You may remember Christina Rosetti’s Christmas Carol in 1872which begins, “In the bleak midwinter.” Let us conclude with its last stanza, the nature of "giving to the Christ child.”
“What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I could give a Lamb.
If I were a wise man, I could do my part.
What I can I give Him? Give Him my heart!”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
A New Year with Mother Mary
Happy new year my dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Let me ask you a puzzle. A boy asked his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hangs over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad replied, "Two." "No," the son replied. “Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?" The dad said, "Oh, I get the point! If one decided to jump, the others would also do the same. So there are none left."The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump." Does that sound like our last year’s resolutions? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but often times we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of do-nothing.
The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the New Year ahead of us.
Someone once said…”I made 6 resolutions last year and I kept them all year long: they are in an envelope on the top of my file cabinet.”
The gospel today presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the New Year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God. "She treasured all these things in her heart". Though unable to understand fully what was being asked of her, she said "yes"; and from then onwards she laid herself open to God's plans with all its demands for new beginnings.
At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining, “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was making such a big deal about it that the principal returned to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions, he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let the little things upset her in the New Year.
Let us take three ways to make the New Year meaningful: a) Something to dream, b) Something to do, and c) Someone to love. “I have a dream’” said Martin Luther King. We should all have a noble plan of action (dream a noble dream) for every day in the New Year. We need to remember the proverb:” Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your today." It has been truly said that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. We must not be barren fig trees in God’s vineyard. We must be always engaged, doing good to others and loving our fellow men and women, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This becomes easy when we make God the center of our life and realize His presence in all the people around us. Let us light a candle instead of blaming the darkness around us. Just as the moon borrows the sun’s light to illuminate the earth, we must radiate the light of God shining within us.
As we begin a New Year, start counting your Blessings.
Is there anyone here who does not feel blessed?
A certain king had two servants. To the first he said, “I want you to travel for six months through my kingdom and bring back a sample of every weed you can find.” To the second servant, the king said, “I want you to travel through my kingdom and bring back a sample of every flower you can find.” Six months later both servants stood before the king. To the first the king asked, “Have you carried out my command?” The first servant answered, “I have and I was amazed to find there were so many weeds in the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing but weeds in this kingdom.” To the king’s question the second servant also answered, “I have and I am amazed at how many beautiful flowers there are in the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing but beautiful flowers in this kingdom.” These two servants each found what they were looking for. So do we.
Are there no blessings in your life? Do you have no one who loves you, no beauty outside your window, no strength left in your body, no mind or heart to guide you to new dreams, hopes, and opportunities, no faith to bear you up when circumstance weighs you down? Are you really without any resources for making 2010 a wonderful year?
Abraham Lincoln pointed out, “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.” As we look into this New Year, why shouldn’t we see great and wonderful things? We have truly been blessed; we have been chosen; we are the beloved sons and daughters of the most high God.
The future is a clean page, an empty calendar, waiting to be written on. Everything is pure. Everything is possible. That is Mary. She is Possibility. She is Creation begun anew – the New Eve. "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
As Today’s first reading from the Book of Numbers reminds us: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”
Have a blessed 2010.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Happy new year my dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Let me ask you a puzzle. A boy asked his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hangs over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad replied, "Two." "No," the son replied. “Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?" The dad said, "Oh, I get the point! If one decided to jump, the others would also do the same. So there are none left."The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump." Does that sound like our last year’s resolutions? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but often times we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of do-nothing.
The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the New Year ahead of us.
Someone once said…”I made 6 resolutions last year and I kept them all year long: they are in an envelope on the top of my file cabinet.”
The gospel today presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the New Year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God. "She treasured all these things in her heart". Though unable to understand fully what was being asked of her, she said "yes"; and from then onwards she laid herself open to God's plans with all its demands for new beginnings.
At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining, “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was making such a big deal about it that the principal returned to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions, he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let the little things upset her in the New Year.
Let us take three ways to make the New Year meaningful: a) Something to dream, b) Something to do, and c) Someone to love. “I have a dream’” said Martin Luther King. We should all have a noble plan of action (dream a noble dream) for every day in the New Year. We need to remember the proverb:” Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your today." It has been truly said that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. We must not be barren fig trees in God’s vineyard. We must be always engaged, doing good to others and loving our fellow men and women, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This becomes easy when we make God the center of our life and realize His presence in all the people around us. Let us light a candle instead of blaming the darkness around us. Just as the moon borrows the sun’s light to illuminate the earth, we must radiate the light of God shining within us.
As we begin a New Year, start counting your Blessings.
Is there anyone here who does not feel blessed?
A certain king had two servants. To the first he said, “I want you to travel for six months through my kingdom and bring back a sample of every weed you can find.” To the second servant, the king said, “I want you to travel through my kingdom and bring back a sample of every flower you can find.” Six months later both servants stood before the king. To the first the king asked, “Have you carried out my command?” The first servant answered, “I have and I was amazed to find there were so many weeds in the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing but weeds in this kingdom.” To the king’s question the second servant also answered, “I have and I am amazed at how many beautiful flowers there are in the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing but beautiful flowers in this kingdom.” These two servants each found what they were looking for. So do we.
Are there no blessings in your life? Do you have no one who loves you, no beauty outside your window, no strength left in your body, no mind or heart to guide you to new dreams, hopes, and opportunities, no faith to bear you up when circumstance weighs you down? Are you really without any resources for making 2010 a wonderful year?
Abraham Lincoln pointed out, “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.” As we look into this New Year, why shouldn’t we see great and wonderful things? We have truly been blessed; we have been chosen; we are the beloved sons and daughters of the most high God.
The future is a clean page, an empty calendar, waiting to be written on. Everything is pure. Everything is possible. That is Mary. She is Possibility. She is Creation begun anew – the New Eve. "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
As Today’s first reading from the Book of Numbers reminds us: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”
Have a blessed 2010.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Our family is a blessing
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Little Anita has a very busy father. He is a dot-com technocrat who makes a lot of money but has little time to be with his family. Every night, however, Anita insists that her father read her a story before she would go to sleep. This continued for some time until the man found a "solution." He bought Anita a colorful kid's tape player and made a tape of her favorite stories in the storybook. Whenever, therefore, the child asks him to read her a story he would simply push the button and play back the tape-recorded stories. Anita took that for a few days and then revolted and refused to accept the stories on tape. "Why," asked the father, "the tape reads the stories as good as I do!" "Yea," “I agree she said "But I can't sit on his laps."
Pope John Paul II has said: “Responsible parents keep a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties towards God, themselves, their families and human society.” (The Theology of the Body)
Rose Sands writes about an unhappy man who thought the only way he could prove his love for his family was to work hard. “To prove his love for her, he swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him. He was never home.” The celebration today of the holy family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus reminds and challenges us to value and invest in our private life with our families before our professional life at the work place, even when our job is as important as saving the world. Your children need you more thank your money.
Dear parents, your children are gifts from God and everything you do should be directed to giving them back and dedicating them to God. This should be every Mother and Fathers #1 New Year’s resolution. You should sit down as a couple and plan for your family’s spiritual well being for next year.
The family is the basic building block of society. It is where people are first taught about God. It is the first seminary. The parents are the first heralds of the Gospel to their children. They are the first and best educators of their children. I studied 10 years to become a priest. But my unaltered faith is what I got from my family.
In today’s Gospel St Luke gives us a vivid picture of the Holy Family. The first lesson the Holy Family puts before us is to obey the commandments of the church. Attend Sunday Masses and Masses on the days of obligation. Introduce children to the activities of the church and the parish. We are too busy for God. The only convenient thing to avoid is the church activities.
Let us recall the words of Simonies Gruenberg “Home is the place where boys and girls first learn how to limit their wishes, abide by rules, and consider the rights and needs of others.”
The next characteristic is initiation given to the children at the right time.
St Luke writes; “When he was twelve years old they went up for the feast as usual”.
A Jewish boy is declared an adult with all rights and obligations at the age of thirteen. Parents would take their children once a year before he was bound to attend. So Jesus was taken to the temple at the age of twelve.
The distance between Nazareth and Jerusalem was about 112 k m (70 miles). At that time most of the travelling was done on foot. The journey was often dangerous too. In spite of all the hardships, they never failed to observe the prescriptions of the religion.
Joseph and Mary carried out their obligations well on time that is why we read, “Jesus stayed back in the temple.”
Our children too often stay back, in the theatre, in the park, in the game centre, and learn the wisdom of the world. Why? Because we often miss the Holy Mass and carry them there.
Instill the values in them and you will hear the good news that your children stay back in the church, listening to the word of God.
The most puzzling part of the story, however, is the way it ends: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (v.51). If Jesus, already at the age of twelve, was ready to begin his public mission, and was evidently well prepared for it, why would he go down with his parents and spend the next eighteen years in the obscurity of a carpenter’s shed only to begin his public ministry at the age of thirty? We are reminded that it was at this time that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (v.52). And when we reflect on the fact that for every one year of his public life Jesus spent ten years in family life, then we shall begin to understand the importance and priority he gave to family life.
The words of Thomas Jefferson are note worthy; “The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family”
A senior Judge of the Supreme Court congratulated the bride and groom in a marriage with a relevant piece of advice: “See that you never convert your family into a court room; instead let it be a confessional. If the husband and wife start arguing like attorneys, in an attempt to justify their behavior, their family becomes a court of law and nobody wins. On the other hand, if the husband and the wife -- as in a confessional -- are ready to admit their faults and try to correct them, the family becomes a heavenly one.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Little Anita has a very busy father. He is a dot-com technocrat who makes a lot of money but has little time to be with his family. Every night, however, Anita insists that her father read her a story before she would go to sleep. This continued for some time until the man found a "solution." He bought Anita a colorful kid's tape player and made a tape of her favorite stories in the storybook. Whenever, therefore, the child asks him to read her a story he would simply push the button and play back the tape-recorded stories. Anita took that for a few days and then revolted and refused to accept the stories on tape. "Why," asked the father, "the tape reads the stories as good as I do!" "Yea," “I agree she said "But I can't sit on his laps."
Pope John Paul II has said: “Responsible parents keep a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties towards God, themselves, their families and human society.” (The Theology of the Body)
Rose Sands writes about an unhappy man who thought the only way he could prove his love for his family was to work hard. “To prove his love for her, he swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him. He was never home.” The celebration today of the holy family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus reminds and challenges us to value and invest in our private life with our families before our professional life at the work place, even when our job is as important as saving the world. Your children need you more thank your money.
Dear parents, your children are gifts from God and everything you do should be directed to giving them back and dedicating them to God. This should be every Mother and Fathers #1 New Year’s resolution. You should sit down as a couple and plan for your family’s spiritual well being for next year.
The family is the basic building block of society. It is where people are first taught about God. It is the first seminary. The parents are the first heralds of the Gospel to their children. They are the first and best educators of their children. I studied 10 years to become a priest. But my unaltered faith is what I got from my family.
In today’s Gospel St Luke gives us a vivid picture of the Holy Family. The first lesson the Holy Family puts before us is to obey the commandments of the church. Attend Sunday Masses and Masses on the days of obligation. Introduce children to the activities of the church and the parish. We are too busy for God. The only convenient thing to avoid is the church activities.
Let us recall the words of Simonies Gruenberg “Home is the place where boys and girls first learn how to limit their wishes, abide by rules, and consider the rights and needs of others.”
The next characteristic is initiation given to the children at the right time.
St Luke writes; “When he was twelve years old they went up for the feast as usual”.
A Jewish boy is declared an adult with all rights and obligations at the age of thirteen. Parents would take their children once a year before he was bound to attend. So Jesus was taken to the temple at the age of twelve.
The distance between Nazareth and Jerusalem was about 112 k m (70 miles). At that time most of the travelling was done on foot. The journey was often dangerous too. In spite of all the hardships, they never failed to observe the prescriptions of the religion.
Joseph and Mary carried out their obligations well on time that is why we read, “Jesus stayed back in the temple.”
Our children too often stay back, in the theatre, in the park, in the game centre, and learn the wisdom of the world. Why? Because we often miss the Holy Mass and carry them there.
Instill the values in them and you will hear the good news that your children stay back in the church, listening to the word of God.
The most puzzling part of the story, however, is the way it ends: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (v.51). If Jesus, already at the age of twelve, was ready to begin his public mission, and was evidently well prepared for it, why would he go down with his parents and spend the next eighteen years in the obscurity of a carpenter’s shed only to begin his public ministry at the age of thirty? We are reminded that it was at this time that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (v.52). And when we reflect on the fact that for every one year of his public life Jesus spent ten years in family life, then we shall begin to understand the importance and priority he gave to family life.
The words of Thomas Jefferson are note worthy; “The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family”
A senior Judge of the Supreme Court congratulated the bride and groom in a marriage with a relevant piece of advice: “See that you never convert your family into a court room; instead let it be a confessional. If the husband and wife start arguing like attorneys, in an attempt to justify their behavior, their family becomes a court of law and nobody wins. On the other hand, if the husband and the wife -- as in a confessional -- are ready to admit their faults and try to correct them, the family becomes a heavenly one.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
God is with us
Merry Christmas my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today a savior has been born for us, Christ the Lord. What we celebrate is the fact that God has become very much a part of His creation. God has entered the process of creation with us. God is with us. He is not simply alongside of us, He is part of us as we struggle to bring order out of chaos, as we suffer in world straining to be born anew, living in a frenzied drive to bring perfection to a world that is far from perfect. God and man are now conjoined. God is not dead nor doth He sleep. His is not aloof. He is not “out there in the cosmos”. What we celebrate is that God is living out, with us, through us, and within us, the full measure of human suffering. He is saving us within all that we face. Unto us a savoir is born. He is Christ, the Lord! God is with us.
When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today? In 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi used a nearby cave and set up a manger filled with straw, and his friend Vellita brought in an ox and a donkey just like at Bethlehem, nobody thought how that novel idea was going to evolve through centuries. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today?
In the newborn babe lying in the manger, God's grace, his love, his mercy, his generosity, his humility, everything about him, has been revealed. God is with us. I want to share with you today three things.
First of all, Christmas is the feast of God’s sharing a Savior with us. Jesus was the incarnation of God as man to save us from the bondage of sin. The Hindu Scriptures describe ten incarnations of God “to restore righteousness in the world whenever there is a large scale erosion(gradual breaking down) of moral values.” (“Dharma samstaphanarthe sambhavami yuge yuge”- Bhagavathgeetha) But the Christian Scriptures teach only one incarnation and its purpose is given in John 3: 16: “God so loved the world that he sent His only Son so that every one who believes in Him may not die, but may have eternal life.” We celebrate that Incarnation today as good news because we have a Divine Savior. God is with us.
Secondly, it is the feast of God’s sharing His love with us. Jesus as our Savior brought the “good news” that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful and rewarding God who wants to save us through His Son Jesus and not a judging, cruel and punishing God. The birth of Jesus Christ is the joining of humanity with divinity. God becoming human flesh. We don’t say that our humanity is perfect. It certainly is not. We do say, however, that we are loved so much by God that He has become one of us. We are loved and being redeemed sinners. Jesus demonstrated by his life and teaching how God our heavenly Father loves us, forgives us, and provides for us. All his miracles were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’ final demonstration of God’s love for us was his death on the cross and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Christmas reminds us that sharing love with others is our Christian duty and that every time we do so, Jesus is reborn in our lives. Let us face this challenging question asked by Alexander Pope, “What does it profit me if Jesus is born in thousands of cribs all over the world and He is not born in my heart?” St Paul says in Roman 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone, except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.
Thirdly, Christmas is the feast of Emmanuel, i.e., God living with us and within us. Emmanuel is not a second name by which friends and neighbors will know Jesus. "Jesus" is our Lord's true name and Emmanuel describes his role. As Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist), in the Holy Bible, in the praying community and in each believer.”
This story is very old. It was Christmas Eve, during the days of the Depression of the 1930's. A very poor newly married couple Della and James had no money to buy presents for each other. They had two possessions that they valued deeply: James had a gold watch which had belonged to his father, and Della had long and beautiful golden-brown hair. Della knew that James’ watch had no matching chain--only a worn-out leather strap. A matching chain would be an ideal gift for her husband, but she lacked the money to buy it.
She hastened to the “hair-dealers,” sold her hair for twenty dollars, and bought a matching chain for her husband’s watch. She was very happy and proud of the gift. She knew he would love it, the fruit of her sacrifice.
James came in, beaming with love, proud of the gift he had bought for Della. He knew she would be very happy with the gift. But when he saw her, his face fell. She tried to console him by saying that her hair would grow fast, and soon it would be as beautiful as before. That is when he gave her his gift. It was an expensive set of combs, with gem-studded rims. She had always wanted them for her hair!
Then, with tears in her eyes, she presented him with the gift she had bought. As he looked at the beautiful chain, he said with a sigh: “I guess our gifts will have to wait for some time. The combs were very expensive; I had to sell my watch to buy the combs!” These were the perfect gifts: gifts of sacrificial love. Christmas is God’s sacrificial love for humanity. God became one of us to be with us.
My dear friends, on this holy day allow me to wish you all, on behalf of the Carmelite community and all of my beloved parishioners a very happy and holy Christmas. Like the shepherds in the Gospel, may you return home today filled with joy and may that joy be a real blessing for your families and friends. God is with us. Be with our God.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Merry Christmas my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today a savior has been born for us, Christ the Lord. What we celebrate is the fact that God has become very much a part of His creation. God has entered the process of creation with us. God is with us. He is not simply alongside of us, He is part of us as we struggle to bring order out of chaos, as we suffer in world straining to be born anew, living in a frenzied drive to bring perfection to a world that is far from perfect. God and man are now conjoined. God is not dead nor doth He sleep. His is not aloof. He is not “out there in the cosmos”. What we celebrate is that God is living out, with us, through us, and within us, the full measure of human suffering. He is saving us within all that we face. Unto us a savoir is born. He is Christ, the Lord! God is with us.
When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today? In 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi used a nearby cave and set up a manger filled with straw, and his friend Vellita brought in an ox and a donkey just like at Bethlehem, nobody thought how that novel idea was going to evolve through centuries. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today?
In the newborn babe lying in the manger, God's grace, his love, his mercy, his generosity, his humility, everything about him, has been revealed. God is with us. I want to share with you today three things.
First of all, Christmas is the feast of God’s sharing a Savior with us. Jesus was the incarnation of God as man to save us from the bondage of sin. The Hindu Scriptures describe ten incarnations of God “to restore righteousness in the world whenever there is a large scale erosion(gradual breaking down) of moral values.” (“Dharma samstaphanarthe sambhavami yuge yuge”- Bhagavathgeetha) But the Christian Scriptures teach only one incarnation and its purpose is given in John 3: 16: “God so loved the world that he sent His only Son so that every one who believes in Him may not die, but may have eternal life.” We celebrate that Incarnation today as good news because we have a Divine Savior. God is with us.
Secondly, it is the feast of God’s sharing His love with us. Jesus as our Savior brought the “good news” that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful and rewarding God who wants to save us through His Son Jesus and not a judging, cruel and punishing God. The birth of Jesus Christ is the joining of humanity with divinity. God becoming human flesh. We don’t say that our humanity is perfect. It certainly is not. We do say, however, that we are loved so much by God that He has become one of us. We are loved and being redeemed sinners. Jesus demonstrated by his life and teaching how God our heavenly Father loves us, forgives us, and provides for us. All his miracles were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’ final demonstration of God’s love for us was his death on the cross and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Christmas reminds us that sharing love with others is our Christian duty and that every time we do so, Jesus is reborn in our lives. Let us face this challenging question asked by Alexander Pope, “What does it profit me if Jesus is born in thousands of cribs all over the world and He is not born in my heart?” St Paul says in Roman 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone, except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.
Thirdly, Christmas is the feast of Emmanuel, i.e., God living with us and within us. Emmanuel is not a second name by which friends and neighbors will know Jesus. "Jesus" is our Lord's true name and Emmanuel describes his role. As Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist), in the Holy Bible, in the praying community and in each believer.”
This story is very old. It was Christmas Eve, during the days of the Depression of the 1930's. A very poor newly married couple Della and James had no money to buy presents for each other. They had two possessions that they valued deeply: James had a gold watch which had belonged to his father, and Della had long and beautiful golden-brown hair. Della knew that James’ watch had no matching chain--only a worn-out leather strap. A matching chain would be an ideal gift for her husband, but she lacked the money to buy it.
She hastened to the “hair-dealers,” sold her hair for twenty dollars, and bought a matching chain for her husband’s watch. She was very happy and proud of the gift. She knew he would love it, the fruit of her sacrifice.
James came in, beaming with love, proud of the gift he had bought for Della. He knew she would be very happy with the gift. But when he saw her, his face fell. She tried to console him by saying that her hair would grow fast, and soon it would be as beautiful as before. That is when he gave her his gift. It was an expensive set of combs, with gem-studded rims. She had always wanted them for her hair!
Then, with tears in her eyes, she presented him with the gift she had bought. As he looked at the beautiful chain, he said with a sigh: “I guess our gifts will have to wait for some time. The combs were very expensive; I had to sell my watch to buy the combs!” These were the perfect gifts: gifts of sacrificial love. Christmas is God’s sacrificial love for humanity. God became one of us to be with us.
My dear friends, on this holy day allow me to wish you all, on behalf of the Carmelite community and all of my beloved parishioners a very happy and holy Christmas. Like the shepherds in the Gospel, may you return home today filled with joy and may that joy be a real blessing for your families and friends. God is with us. Be with our God.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Mary: New Ark of the Covenant
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Composer and performer Bradley James met a homeless beggar on the streets of San Francisco. Bradley placed some money in his metal cup, then reached out and shook the man’s hand. The poor man gave him a big smile, then pulled him closer and said; “Sir, Thanks for the money, but what I really needed was a handshake’”. Indeed, what was remarkable in this incident was not the coin, but the gift of human dignity and the love of Christ that Bradley James brought to the beggar through the handshake and his fraternal presence. Is not that the same thing Mother Mary did to St Elizabeth in Today’s reading my dear brothers and sisters?
In the Gospel, Luke tells us how two seemingly insignificant women met to celebrate the kindness and fidelity of God. It shows us how sensitive Mary was to the needs of Elizabeth, her older cousin, who had miraculously become pregnant in her old age. For Luke, discipleship consists in listening to God's word and then carrying it out, and Mary does both, to become the most perfect disciple.
There is a saying, “He (she) who is on fire cannot sit on a chair." Mary, filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, hurried to the mountain country where Elizabeth lived, in order to convey the Holy Spirit to her cousin and her child. Like all good Jews, whatever Mary did was prompted by her commitment to God’s word in her life. The trip from Nazareth in Galilee where Mary lived to a village in Judea where Elizabeth lived would take four days. The two cousins greeted one another, one running to assist the other, both pregnant with life and faith. Mary gave Elizabeth the gift of her very presence.
Elizabeth’s unborn child leaped with joy in recognition that salvation was near. It is interesting that modern medical science has shown that by twenty-five weeks the baby in the womb has the ability to hear like that of an adult and can discern the moods and attitudes of its mother.
Mary's journey to visit Elizabeth had enormous significance for Luke's Jewish and Gentile readers. It showed them that Mary's womb was truly the locale(location of event or story) of God’s presence. This story suggests a mysterious parallel between Mary's journey into the hill country and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant to the same locale on its way to Jerusalem (II Samuel, Chapter 6). Both the Ark and Mary are greeted with "shouts of joy;” both are sources of joy for the households into which they enter; both the Ark and Mary remain in the hill country for three months. As a temporary vessel housing the immanent presence of God, Mary appears to fulfill the same purpose as the Ark of the Covenant. Like the Ark of the Covenant, God is journeying throughout His land, visiting His chosen people, and blessing them with His presence.
In his commentary on this episode of visitation, William Barclay remarks that blessedness confers on a person both the greatest joy and the greatest task in the world. Nowhere can we see the paradox better than in Mary’s life. Mary was granted the blessedness and privilege of being the mother of the Son of God. Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart: one day she would see her Son hanging on a cross. So, to be chosen by God is often both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God does not choose us for a life of ease and comfort, but in order to use us for His purposes. When Joan of Arc knew that her time was short, she prayed" "I shall only last a year; use me as You can." When we realize God's purposes in our lives, the sorrows and hardships of life disappear.
The Ark of the Covenant was so magnificent because it stood for God’s very presence among the Hebrews. The Book of Lamentations called is “the beauty of Israel.” It also held inside three items that were crucial to their faith and identity: the tablets of the 10 commandments of God’s Law; a golden vase containing the manna that fed them in the desert; and Aaron’s rod that bloomed in affirmation of his priesthood. But the beauty of the ark was not only due to what it symbolized or what it contained but what it prefigured, what it pointed to in the future: The beauty of the purity of the Ark of the New Covenant: The Blessed Virgin Mary.
The gold lining and covering of the old Ark point to the Immaculate purity of the Virgin Mary, the New Ark. And do you remember the three things the old Ark contained – The tablets of the Law, the golden vase of manna, and the rod of Aaron? These are also in the New Ark for Jesus Christ is the author of the Law, He is the Bread of Life, the Bread from Heaven, and he is the eternal High Priest. Mary now assumes a role in Salvation History that was once played by the old Ark of the Covenant. Like this golden chest, she is a sacred vessel where the Lord’s presence dwells intimately with his people.
When Gabriel explains how Mary is to bear the Light of the World, he says very carefully, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This is the same expression used in the Greek version of the Book of Exodus to describe how God “overshadowed” the Tabernacle and the Ark, making it his dwelling place in Israel.
Do you know one thing everybody needs today? Everybody needs encouragement. Everybody needs the interior peace and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. This is what Mary's visit did for Elizabeth. Mary's visit was an inspiration to Elizabeth.
Sharing Jesus with others is the best Christmas gift we can give. God wants each of us, like Mary, to carry to those around us the Lord of Life. It is easy to send flowers, Christmas cards or gifts. To give the gift of oneself, however, is the greatest gift of all.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Composer and performer Bradley James met a homeless beggar on the streets of San Francisco. Bradley placed some money in his metal cup, then reached out and shook the man’s hand. The poor man gave him a big smile, then pulled him closer and said; “Sir, Thanks for the money, but what I really needed was a handshake’”. Indeed, what was remarkable in this incident was not the coin, but the gift of human dignity and the love of Christ that Bradley James brought to the beggar through the handshake and his fraternal presence. Is not that the same thing Mother Mary did to St Elizabeth in Today’s reading my dear brothers and sisters?
In the Gospel, Luke tells us how two seemingly insignificant women met to celebrate the kindness and fidelity of God. It shows us how sensitive Mary was to the needs of Elizabeth, her older cousin, who had miraculously become pregnant in her old age. For Luke, discipleship consists in listening to God's word and then carrying it out, and Mary does both, to become the most perfect disciple.
There is a saying, “He (she) who is on fire cannot sit on a chair." Mary, filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, hurried to the mountain country where Elizabeth lived, in order to convey the Holy Spirit to her cousin and her child. Like all good Jews, whatever Mary did was prompted by her commitment to God’s word in her life. The trip from Nazareth in Galilee where Mary lived to a village in Judea where Elizabeth lived would take four days. The two cousins greeted one another, one running to assist the other, both pregnant with life and faith. Mary gave Elizabeth the gift of her very presence.
Elizabeth’s unborn child leaped with joy in recognition that salvation was near. It is interesting that modern medical science has shown that by twenty-five weeks the baby in the womb has the ability to hear like that of an adult and can discern the moods and attitudes of its mother.
Mary's journey to visit Elizabeth had enormous significance for Luke's Jewish and Gentile readers. It showed them that Mary's womb was truly the locale(location of event or story) of God’s presence. This story suggests a mysterious parallel between Mary's journey into the hill country and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant to the same locale on its way to Jerusalem (II Samuel, Chapter 6). Both the Ark and Mary are greeted with "shouts of joy;” both are sources of joy for the households into which they enter; both the Ark and Mary remain in the hill country for three months. As a temporary vessel housing the immanent presence of God, Mary appears to fulfill the same purpose as the Ark of the Covenant. Like the Ark of the Covenant, God is journeying throughout His land, visiting His chosen people, and blessing them with His presence.
In his commentary on this episode of visitation, William Barclay remarks that blessedness confers on a person both the greatest joy and the greatest task in the world. Nowhere can we see the paradox better than in Mary’s life. Mary was granted the blessedness and privilege of being the mother of the Son of God. Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart: one day she would see her Son hanging on a cross. So, to be chosen by God is often both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God does not choose us for a life of ease and comfort, but in order to use us for His purposes. When Joan of Arc knew that her time was short, she prayed" "I shall only last a year; use me as You can." When we realize God's purposes in our lives, the sorrows and hardships of life disappear.
The Ark of the Covenant was so magnificent because it stood for God’s very presence among the Hebrews. The Book of Lamentations called is “the beauty of Israel.” It also held inside three items that were crucial to their faith and identity: the tablets of the 10 commandments of God’s Law; a golden vase containing the manna that fed them in the desert; and Aaron’s rod that bloomed in affirmation of his priesthood. But the beauty of the ark was not only due to what it symbolized or what it contained but what it prefigured, what it pointed to in the future: The beauty of the purity of the Ark of the New Covenant: The Blessed Virgin Mary.
The gold lining and covering of the old Ark point to the Immaculate purity of the Virgin Mary, the New Ark. And do you remember the three things the old Ark contained – The tablets of the Law, the golden vase of manna, and the rod of Aaron? These are also in the New Ark for Jesus Christ is the author of the Law, He is the Bread of Life, the Bread from Heaven, and he is the eternal High Priest. Mary now assumes a role in Salvation History that was once played by the old Ark of the Covenant. Like this golden chest, she is a sacred vessel where the Lord’s presence dwells intimately with his people.
When Gabriel explains how Mary is to bear the Light of the World, he says very carefully, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This is the same expression used in the Greek version of the Book of Exodus to describe how God “overshadowed” the Tabernacle and the Ark, making it his dwelling place in Israel.
Do you know one thing everybody needs today? Everybody needs encouragement. Everybody needs the interior peace and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. This is what Mary's visit did for Elizabeth. Mary's visit was an inspiration to Elizabeth.
Sharing Jesus with others is the best Christmas gift we can give. God wants each of us, like Mary, to carry to those around us the Lord of Life. It is easy to send flowers, Christmas cards or gifts. To give the gift of oneself, however, is the greatest gift of all.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Saint John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz) (24 June 1542 — 14 December 1591)Juan de Yepes Alvarez was born on 24 June 1542.
Saint John of the Cross was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. He is also known for his writings. Both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature. He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church.
. Quite aware of how adversity can erode one's willingness to be kind to others, he still was able to write the following piece of advice to a religious, a scant five months before he died four centuries ago: "Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and there you will draw out love." Here one has a reliable recipe for happiness: Instead of waiting for love to happen, put it to work and you will then harvest its fruits.
On the night of 2 December 1577, following his refusal to relocate after his superior's orders and allegedly because of his attempts to reform life within the Carmelite order, he was taken prisoner by his superiors, and jailed in Toledo, where he was kept under a brutal regimen that included public lashing before the community at least weekly, and severe isolation in a tiny stifling cell barely large enough for his body. He managed to escape nine months later, on 15 August 1578, through a small window in a room adjoining his cell. (He had managed to pry the cell door off its hinges earlier that day). In the meantime, he had composed a great part of his most famous poem Spiritual Canticle during this imprisonment; his harsh sufferings and spiritual endeavours are then reflected in all of his subsequent writings. The paper was passed to him by one of the friars guarding his cell.[3]
After returning to a normal life, he went on with the reformation and the founding of monasteries for the new Discalced Carmelite order, which he had helped found along with his fellow St. Teresa de Ávila.He died on 14 December 1591.
Saint John of the Cross was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. He is also known for his writings. Both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature. He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church.
. Quite aware of how adversity can erode one's willingness to be kind to others, he still was able to write the following piece of advice to a religious, a scant five months before he died four centuries ago: "Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and there you will draw out love." Here one has a reliable recipe for happiness: Instead of waiting for love to happen, put it to work and you will then harvest its fruits.
On the night of 2 December 1577, following his refusal to relocate after his superior's orders and allegedly because of his attempts to reform life within the Carmelite order, he was taken prisoner by his superiors, and jailed in Toledo, where he was kept under a brutal regimen that included public lashing before the community at least weekly, and severe isolation in a tiny stifling cell barely large enough for his body. He managed to escape nine months later, on 15 August 1578, through a small window in a room adjoining his cell. (He had managed to pry the cell door off its hinges earlier that day). In the meantime, he had composed a great part of his most famous poem Spiritual Canticle during this imprisonment; his harsh sufferings and spiritual endeavours are then reflected in all of his subsequent writings. The paper was passed to him by one of the friars guarding his cell.[3]
After returning to a normal life, he went on with the reformation and the founding of monasteries for the new Discalced Carmelite order, which he had helped found along with his fellow St. Teresa de Ávila.He died on 14 December 1591.
Rejoice
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today is “Gaudete” Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon, “Gaudete in Domino semper” (“Rejoice in the Lord always”). Among the most neglected of all our Christian obligations is the obligation to rejoice. Just as the word of God commands us to believe and to love, so does it command us to rejoice. It is not a conditional command that we keep only when things are going well with us.
The Movie{film}, Pay It Forward, (based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde) has the same premise that underlies the source of the joy and happiness celebrated in today’s liturgy. The movie tells the story of a seventh grade teacher (Eugene Simonet) and his eleven-year-old student (Trevor). On the first day of class, the teacher puts this challenge on the blackboard: “Think of something new that will change the world, and then act on what you have thought.” The movie teaches us that when someone does a good deed for us, we should "pay it forward” by making “an act of faith in the goodness of people.” The net result is lasting peace and joy, the central theme of third Sunday of Advent, rejoicing in hope.
Advent is a time for joy, not because we are anticipating the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, but because God is already in our midst. Christian joy does not come from the absence of sorrow, pain or trouble, but from an awareness of the presence of Christ within our souls.
In today’s first reading, the prophet Zephaniah says, "Shout for joy, O Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel.” Zephaniah made this prophetic proclamation at the height of the Jewish exile when things appeared hopeless and unbearable. The instruction is repeated in the response to the Psalm, "cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and holy one of Israel." St. Paul echoes the same message of joy in the second reading from Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again, rejoice... ” Paul was in prison when he made this appeal for rejoicing.
In the gospel today, John the Baptist explains the secret of Christian joy as wholehearted commitment to God’s way by doing His will. A sad Christian is a contradiction in terms. According to John the Baptist, happiness comes from doing our duties faithfully, doing good to others and sharing our blessings with others. John’s call to repentance is a call to joy and restoration. Repentance means a change in the purpose and direction of our lives. Filled with joyful expectation that the Messiah was near, the people asked John, “What should we do?” He told them to act with justice, charity and honesty, letting their lives reflect their transformation. As Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta says: “Do small things but with great love".
Advent is our annual preparation to bring about happy days again; the year of God’s favor (Luke 4:17). To achieve these happy days with joy the Jews asked John the Baptist after listening to him: “What then shall we do?” (Luke 3:10,12,14). If you notice the three types of questioners in today’s Gospel (Luke 3:10-18), you will see a specific pattern. First the crowds ask what they need to do, and the Baptist tells them to share their possessions. The hated tax collectors also wanted to be baptized and asked the same question; John tells them to stop abusing their taxing authority. Finally, even the hated Roman soldiers sought John’s advice. They, too, are advised not to abuse their position of power and authority.Possessions, money, and power - - the same three things that are usually stumbling blocks on the road to salvation for most people today.
In sum, John the Baptist is asking us today to share with people in need of clothing and food and shelter; secondly to care about the people we serve, those we live with, work with, pray and play with; and thirdly to dare to do what is right and just.
The command to rejoice, like every other command, is demanding. As we sing in the Lord of the Dance, “It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.” Author Leo Buscaglia tells a story about his mother which shows that it takes a lot of faith to rejoice. His father came back from work one day and announced that he had lost all his money because his business partner had duped him and ran away with their firm's funds. That same evening, his mother went out, sold some of her expensive jewelry, and bought food for a sumptuous feast. People criticized her for reckless spending at a time when poverty was staring her in the face. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family and gave them the hope they needed to face the future with confidence and trust that God was in control.
Many things can disturb our emotions. But nothing will ever be able to shake the joy that comes from a deep faithfulness to the love of God and others that Jesus encourages us to practice.
I think that it is always useful to remember that quote from a third century man who was close to die and wrote to a friend: “It is a bad world, and incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians –and I am one of them”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Immaculate Conception
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.
We are all born with original sin. Today we honor Our Lady because she was conceived free from original sin. Time means nothing to God and God who had planned that his Son would become flesh and dwell among us, also planned that an Immaculate Mother would give birth to Jesus.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. "the Virgin Mary at the moment of conception was preserved from all defilement of original sin by a unique privilege of grace in view of the merits of Jesus Christ." It affirms the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin right from the very beginning of her life. That means that by the grace of God, she was shielded from original sin which all humankind inherit at the very moment they begin to live, i.e. at the moment they are conceived in their mother's womb. She came into the world with a perfect human nature like that of Eve and Adam before they sinned and fell from grace. God gave her this perfect human nature not as a reward for anything she did, not on account of any merit on her part, but in view of the singular role she was to play in life, namely, that of being the mother of God's Son.
When Our Lady appeared in Lourdes four years later in 1858 she said to St. Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception” confirming the Pope’s decision to declare the dogma of the Immaculate Conception four years earlier. Our Lady herself confirmed the Pope’s declaration that she was immaculate.
Mary always leads us to Christ. She is the one who shows us how to live lives of holiness. In the teaching of Vatican II the council fathers refer to Mary as the one who helps us to know how to live holiness. We are called to have true devotion to Mary. If we as Catholics are not devoted to Mary, we will not be devoted to Christ, for the two go hand in hand. They are related to one another.
Christ Himself gave Mary to us at the foot of the cross. “Behold your mother.” Those words were not just spoken to John at that moment in history. Those words are spoken to the Church. Those words are spoken to each and every baptized Christian, “Behold your mother.” We are told in the Gospel that from that moment John took her into his home.
You and I are called to take Mary into the home of our hearts because true devotion to Mary always leads to Jesus Christ. Just as she was open, receptive and obedient, so too are we called to live the same. We are called to receptivity, to openness, and to humility to receive the Word of God, that the Word may be made flesh within our lives.
Every day we have to overcome temptation and sin. We ask Mary immaculate to help us overcome all temptation and sin in our lives. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.
We are all born with original sin. Today we honor Our Lady because she was conceived free from original sin. Time means nothing to God and God who had planned that his Son would become flesh and dwell among us, also planned that an Immaculate Mother would give birth to Jesus.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. "the Virgin Mary at the moment of conception was preserved from all defilement of original sin by a unique privilege of grace in view of the merits of Jesus Christ." It affirms the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin right from the very beginning of her life. That means that by the grace of God, she was shielded from original sin which all humankind inherit at the very moment they begin to live, i.e. at the moment they are conceived in their mother's womb. She came into the world with a perfect human nature like that of Eve and Adam before they sinned and fell from grace. God gave her this perfect human nature not as a reward for anything she did, not on account of any merit on her part, but in view of the singular role she was to play in life, namely, that of being the mother of God's Son.
When Our Lady appeared in Lourdes four years later in 1858 she said to St. Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception” confirming the Pope’s decision to declare the dogma of the Immaculate Conception four years earlier. Our Lady herself confirmed the Pope’s declaration that she was immaculate.
Mary always leads us to Christ. She is the one who shows us how to live lives of holiness. In the teaching of Vatican II the council fathers refer to Mary as the one who helps us to know how to live holiness. We are called to have true devotion to Mary. If we as Catholics are not devoted to Mary, we will not be devoted to Christ, for the two go hand in hand. They are related to one another.
Christ Himself gave Mary to us at the foot of the cross. “Behold your mother.” Those words were not just spoken to John at that moment in history. Those words are spoken to the Church. Those words are spoken to each and every baptized Christian, “Behold your mother.” We are told in the Gospel that from that moment John took her into his home.
You and I are called to take Mary into the home of our hearts because true devotion to Mary always leads to Jesus Christ. Just as she was open, receptive and obedient, so too are we called to live the same. We are called to receptivity, to openness, and to humility to receive the Word of God, that the Word may be made flesh within our lives.
Every day we have to overcome temptation and sin. We ask Mary immaculate to help us overcome all temptation and sin in our lives. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Prepare the Way of the Lord
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
At an intersection, the green light changes to yellow. At the theater the house lights flash. At the airport terminal, the boarding call comes over the intercom. At a railroad crossing, the lights begin to flash. On the football field the two-minute warning sounds. In the Desert of Judea, a voice of one calling in the wilderness is heard declaring, "Prepare the way of the Lord." What do all these have in common? They are signs or warnings that we need to prepare ourselves for what is about to happen.
Nine young soldiers had received overnight passes from their base camp. When morning came, not one of the nine was present. An hour after their absence was noted the first soldier straggled back into camp. He was immediately taken before his company commander. "I’m sorry to be late, sir," the soldier said, "I had a date, lost track of time, and missed the last bus. I wanted to make it back on time so I took a taxi. About half way back to camp, the cab broke down, so I went to the nearest farm and bought a horse. As I was riding on the horse, the animal suddenly fell to the ground and died. So I did the last miles on foot and here I am." Although he was skeptical about the chain of weird excuses, the company commander let the young man off with a mild lecture on the virtues of punctuality. Thereafter seven more stragglers reported in, one by one, each with the same story! They had a date, lost track of the time, missed the last bus, took a cab, cab broke down, bought a horse, horse fell dead. Finally, the ninth and last soldier arrived. Now totally exasperated, the commanding officer growled, "What happened to you?" The ninth man replied, "Sir, I had a date, lost track of the time, missed the last bus, hired a taxi…" "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" cried the officer. "Are you going to tell me that the cab broke down?" "No, Sir," the soldier replied. "The taxi was fine. The problem was that there were so many dead horses on the road, we couldn’t get through." Excuses are "as old as the human race." In today’s gospel, John the Baptizer reminds us not to make lame excuses but to repent and renew our lives so that we will be able to receive the Messiah in our hearts and lives.
Quoting the prophet Isaiah 40:3-5, John the Baptist declared, “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth” (Lk 3:5). If a king were planning to travel, work crews would be dispatched to repair the roads. Ideally, the roads for the king's journey would be straight, level, and smooth. John considered himself as the courier of the king. But the preparation on which he insisted was a preparation of heart and of life. "The king is coming," he said in effect. “Mend, not your roads, but your lives.” The quotation, “making straight the paths of the Lord” means clearing the path of sin, which is the major obstacle preventing the Lord from coming into our lives.
It is in our own hearts that we need to prepare a way for the Lord. We have to fill in the “valleys” of our souls which have resulted from our shallow prayer life and a minimalist way of living our faith. It is the valleys of sin in our own hearts that are to be filled with God’s mercy and healing. We have to straighten out whatever crooked paths we have been walking, like involvement in some secret or habitual sins or in a sinful relationship. If we have been involved in some dishonest practices at work or at home, we are called to straighten them out and make restitution. If we have been harboring grudges or hatred, or failing to be reconciled with others, now is the time to clear away all the mess. As individuals, we might have to overcome deep-seated resentment, persistent fault-finding, unwillingness to forgive, dishonesty in our dealings with others, a bullying attitude. And we all have to level the “mountains” of our pride and egocentrism.
There were only two people on this earth who had no sin, Jesus and Our Mother Mary. If you say you have no sin, are we expected to think that you are Jesus or Our Lady? If we say we have no sin do we not mean that we have allowed our consciences to go dead so that now we sin but are not even aware of it?
(Luke 3:2-3). In today’s gospel, we find the three steps necessary to transform anybody from lukewarmness to enthusiasm in the faith. The three steps are (a) John went into the desert, (b) the word of God came to him, and (c) John left the desert and went about proclaiming the faith. We also must pass through these three stages to arrive at the stage where we begin to live the life of faith with joy.
Stage 1- We go into the desert. The desert is a place of being alone with God. We go into the desert when we take time off our normal job and household occupation to be with God in church, in prayer, in reading the word of God. The desert is the place where we encounter God. We ourselves must take the first step to go into the desert, to reach out to God, to look for God.
Stage 2 - The word of God comes to us. Once we open our hearts to God in the desert, God Himself comes and fills us up. A saint once said that when we take one-step to God, God takes two steps to us. At this stage, God takes the initiative to come to us, to fill us, to renew us, to transform us, to remold us into God's image that we are created to be.
Stage 3 - We go about proclaiming the faith. Having experienced the goodness of the Lord in our own lives, our next desire is to share this experience with others. It is like we are wearing a T-shirt with the inscription, "Wow, God is great!"”God Provides” People look at us and see the joy and peace and serenity that radiates from us and they would like to be like us. They would like to be our friends. Then we can in turn help them by showing them the pathway to the desert, the place where they, in their turn, will encounter God personally. The experience of God is like the experience of love. You can tell people about it but they will not understand what you are talking about until they themselves experience it.
As we take time this week to discern out those mountains of pride that we need to level out and those valleys of distrust in God that we need to fill-in with greater faith, hope and love, let us not forget to also take time to discover how we can make the path easier for others. "What are you doing to make the path of Christ easier? Are you an instrument of easier access to Jesus or are you an obstacle?"
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
At an intersection, the green light changes to yellow. At the theater the house lights flash. At the airport terminal, the boarding call comes over the intercom. At a railroad crossing, the lights begin to flash. On the football field the two-minute warning sounds. In the Desert of Judea, a voice of one calling in the wilderness is heard declaring, "Prepare the way of the Lord." What do all these have in common? They are signs or warnings that we need to prepare ourselves for what is about to happen.
Nine young soldiers had received overnight passes from their base camp. When morning came, not one of the nine was present. An hour after their absence was noted the first soldier straggled back into camp. He was immediately taken before his company commander. "I’m sorry to be late, sir," the soldier said, "I had a date, lost track of time, and missed the last bus. I wanted to make it back on time so I took a taxi. About half way back to camp, the cab broke down, so I went to the nearest farm and bought a horse. As I was riding on the horse, the animal suddenly fell to the ground and died. So I did the last miles on foot and here I am." Although he was skeptical about the chain of weird excuses, the company commander let the young man off with a mild lecture on the virtues of punctuality. Thereafter seven more stragglers reported in, one by one, each with the same story! They had a date, lost track of the time, missed the last bus, took a cab, cab broke down, bought a horse, horse fell dead. Finally, the ninth and last soldier arrived. Now totally exasperated, the commanding officer growled, "What happened to you?" The ninth man replied, "Sir, I had a date, lost track of the time, missed the last bus, hired a taxi…" "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" cried the officer. "Are you going to tell me that the cab broke down?" "No, Sir," the soldier replied. "The taxi was fine. The problem was that there were so many dead horses on the road, we couldn’t get through." Excuses are "as old as the human race." In today’s gospel, John the Baptizer reminds us not to make lame excuses but to repent and renew our lives so that we will be able to receive the Messiah in our hearts and lives.
Quoting the prophet Isaiah 40:3-5, John the Baptist declared, “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth” (Lk 3:5). If a king were planning to travel, work crews would be dispatched to repair the roads. Ideally, the roads for the king's journey would be straight, level, and smooth. John considered himself as the courier of the king. But the preparation on which he insisted was a preparation of heart and of life. "The king is coming," he said in effect. “Mend, not your roads, but your lives.” The quotation, “making straight the paths of the Lord” means clearing the path of sin, which is the major obstacle preventing the Lord from coming into our lives.
It is in our own hearts that we need to prepare a way for the Lord. We have to fill in the “valleys” of our souls which have resulted from our shallow prayer life and a minimalist way of living our faith. It is the valleys of sin in our own hearts that are to be filled with God’s mercy and healing. We have to straighten out whatever crooked paths we have been walking, like involvement in some secret or habitual sins or in a sinful relationship. If we have been involved in some dishonest practices at work or at home, we are called to straighten them out and make restitution. If we have been harboring grudges or hatred, or failing to be reconciled with others, now is the time to clear away all the mess. As individuals, we might have to overcome deep-seated resentment, persistent fault-finding, unwillingness to forgive, dishonesty in our dealings with others, a bullying attitude. And we all have to level the “mountains” of our pride and egocentrism.
There were only two people on this earth who had no sin, Jesus and Our Mother Mary. If you say you have no sin, are we expected to think that you are Jesus or Our Lady? If we say we have no sin do we not mean that we have allowed our consciences to go dead so that now we sin but are not even aware of it?
(Luke 3:2-3). In today’s gospel, we find the three steps necessary to transform anybody from lukewarmness to enthusiasm in the faith. The three steps are (a) John went into the desert, (b) the word of God came to him, and (c) John left the desert and went about proclaiming the faith. We also must pass through these three stages to arrive at the stage where we begin to live the life of faith with joy.
Stage 1- We go into the desert. The desert is a place of being alone with God. We go into the desert when we take time off our normal job and household occupation to be with God in church, in prayer, in reading the word of God. The desert is the place where we encounter God. We ourselves must take the first step to go into the desert, to reach out to God, to look for God.
Stage 2 - The word of God comes to us. Once we open our hearts to God in the desert, God Himself comes and fills us up. A saint once said that when we take one-step to God, God takes two steps to us. At this stage, God takes the initiative to come to us, to fill us, to renew us, to transform us, to remold us into God's image that we are created to be.
Stage 3 - We go about proclaiming the faith. Having experienced the goodness of the Lord in our own lives, our next desire is to share this experience with others. It is like we are wearing a T-shirt with the inscription, "Wow, God is great!"”God Provides” People look at us and see the joy and peace and serenity that radiates from us and they would like to be like us. They would like to be our friends. Then we can in turn help them by showing them the pathway to the desert, the place where they, in their turn, will encounter God personally. The experience of God is like the experience of love. You can tell people about it but they will not understand what you are talking about until they themselves experience it.
As we take time this week to discern out those mountains of pride that we need to level out and those valleys of distrust in God that we need to fill-in with greater faith, hope and love, let us not forget to also take time to discover how we can make the path easier for others. "What are you doing to make the path of Christ easier? Are you an instrument of easier access to Jesus or are you an obstacle?"
Life, when it is brief, is a reminder that all of us can be recalled at any time. Life is transitory. "Each man's life is but a breath" (Ps. 39:5). Since we have no guarantee of how long God chooses to grant life, we must maximize the opportunities God gives us. Count every day a blessing. Bless every day by counting.
Time will bring some healing, but it will not heal all the wound. Billy Graham wrote, "Time does not heal. It's what you do with the time that heals... a long life or a short life are of equal importance to God." If we bury our grief, it is like a toxic waste. It will surface again, and the contamination makes for more trouble. Time alone doesn't overcome sorrow, because sorrow is neutral, a vacuum. Therefore, we turn to the only one who can enable us to deal with our grief: God. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Ps. 34:18). Faith in Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, gives us unexpected strength. We grieve, but not as those who have no hope.
Until we come to that day when all mysteries, purposes, and plans of God are sorted out for us in the day when we shall see God face-to-face, let us be thankful that this life has enriched us and made us the better because of it.
Well, these are always such times of mixed emotion when we lose someone so precious as Don (Last name omitted).
Chapter 5: "We know that If the earthly tent which is our house," this body, "...is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands," that is, not in the normal human way, "...eternal in the heavens." "In this house," this body, "... we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven." And, folks, I can look across and see a lot of gray hair here. And the longer we live, the more we groan. Is this not true? This is true. We groan more frequently now than we have ever groaned. In fact, we hardly make a move in any direction without groaning. And we are all experiencing the increased groanings of life in this body. And they're not just physical -- we chuckle at that -- and there is a physical groaning. But there is that weight of sin, that weight of living in a fallen world for a long time.
We're not at home here. We're really absent from home here. We make a home here. We have a family; we have marriage; we have children and grandchildren, and friends and associates, and we enjoy a certain measure, particularly Christian people, a certain measure of what heavenly fellowship will be like. But we are absent from the Lord. We are absent from His presence, and from our eternal home which, as you heard John read a little bit ago, is being prepared for us even now. John 14. So this is not where our home is. We are just passing through, as the old psalm said. Our home is there; our Father is there; our Savior is there. Our name is there; our inheritance is there. Everything that is ours eternally in the purposes of God is there.
That which was in the heart of Don and any true believer is a desire to please the Lord. And now, forever and ever, he will do nothing but please the Lord. That means there's no more guilt; there's no more disappointment; there's no more anxiety; there's no more fear; there's no more sense of failure. Because he will do what it is in his heart to do forever, and that is to fully and completely please the Lord.
Everybody with a little life experience knows that in many cases parting is sweet sorrow. The experience is so common that we have proverbs to express it. Actually, it comes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet— Good night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.He restores my soul;He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;Thou hast anointed my head with oil;My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
For all of us gathered here today, the kindness and goodness of Mrs. Smith is the source of both our present grief, for we shall now be deprived of the benefit of her life. The goodness and kindness of Mrs. Smith is the source of the warm memories which we have sought to recall and refresh in her eulogy a few moments ago. All of us can both rejoice and grieve, due to the goodness of this wife, mother, and friend.
The Christian can do even more than this. Those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ can also give thanks for the failures and the faults of those who have touched their lives, and have passed on. While we do no focus on one's failures at the time of their death, we must all admit that there are failures. The Christian can be thankful for the failures of those whose lives have touched their own because of the assurance that "God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Because of this, Joseph could not only forgive his brothers for selling him into slavery, he could recognize the good hand of God in this cruel act, providing him with the opportunity to return good for evil, and to spare the lives of his own family, even though they had not spared his (see Genesis 37-45; 50:20).
David did not fear. He did not fear what his enemies would do to him. He did not fear death. His fear was replaced by faith. The basis of David's faith is expressed in Psalm 23.
First, David's faith rested in God.
Second, David's faith rested in the fact that God was His shepherd.
Third, David's faith replaced his fear of his enemies, and even of death.
Fourth, David's fear of death was gone because he was assured of God's presence.
Fifth, David's faith rested in the fact that God was present with him, in life, in death, and throughout all eternity.
The text which I have just read from the Book of Hebrews expands on David's words in Psalm 23, explaining how David's faith in God can free him from the fear of death. The writer to the Hebrews gives us two vitally important truths, which explain the faith of David in Psalm 23.
There is a world of difference between the way a Christian views death and the way others view it. For the unbeliever, death is a dreaded foe, something to be avoided at all costs, something so feared that we try to dismiss it from our minds. For the Christian, death is a defeated enemy. But more than this, death is actually a blessing.
Time will bring some healing, but it will not heal all the wound. Billy Graham wrote, "Time does not heal. It's what you do with the time that heals... a long life or a short life are of equal importance to God." If we bury our grief, it is like a toxic waste. It will surface again, and the contamination makes for more trouble. Time alone doesn't overcome sorrow, because sorrow is neutral, a vacuum. Therefore, we turn to the only one who can enable us to deal with our grief: God. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Ps. 34:18). Faith in Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, gives us unexpected strength. We grieve, but not as those who have no hope.
Until we come to that day when all mysteries, purposes, and plans of God are sorted out for us in the day when we shall see God face-to-face, let us be thankful that this life has enriched us and made us the better because of it.
Well, these are always such times of mixed emotion when we lose someone so precious as Don (Last name omitted).
Chapter 5: "We know that If the earthly tent which is our house," this body, "...is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands," that is, not in the normal human way, "...eternal in the heavens." "In this house," this body, "... we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven." And, folks, I can look across and see a lot of gray hair here. And the longer we live, the more we groan. Is this not true? This is true. We groan more frequently now than we have ever groaned. In fact, we hardly make a move in any direction without groaning. And we are all experiencing the increased groanings of life in this body. And they're not just physical -- we chuckle at that -- and there is a physical groaning. But there is that weight of sin, that weight of living in a fallen world for a long time.
We're not at home here. We're really absent from home here. We make a home here. We have a family; we have marriage; we have children and grandchildren, and friends and associates, and we enjoy a certain measure, particularly Christian people, a certain measure of what heavenly fellowship will be like. But we are absent from the Lord. We are absent from His presence, and from our eternal home which, as you heard John read a little bit ago, is being prepared for us even now. John 14. So this is not where our home is. We are just passing through, as the old psalm said. Our home is there; our Father is there; our Savior is there. Our name is there; our inheritance is there. Everything that is ours eternally in the purposes of God is there.
That which was in the heart of Don and any true believer is a desire to please the Lord. And now, forever and ever, he will do nothing but please the Lord. That means there's no more guilt; there's no more disappointment; there's no more anxiety; there's no more fear; there's no more sense of failure. Because he will do what it is in his heart to do forever, and that is to fully and completely please the Lord.
Everybody with a little life experience knows that in many cases parting is sweet sorrow. The experience is so common that we have proverbs to express it. Actually, it comes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet— Good night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.He restores my soul;He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;Thou hast anointed my head with oil;My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
For all of us gathered here today, the kindness and goodness of Mrs. Smith is the source of both our present grief, for we shall now be deprived of the benefit of her life. The goodness and kindness of Mrs. Smith is the source of the warm memories which we have sought to recall and refresh in her eulogy a few moments ago. All of us can both rejoice and grieve, due to the goodness of this wife, mother, and friend.
The Christian can do even more than this. Those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ can also give thanks for the failures and the faults of those who have touched their lives, and have passed on. While we do no focus on one's failures at the time of their death, we must all admit that there are failures. The Christian can be thankful for the failures of those whose lives have touched their own because of the assurance that "God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Because of this, Joseph could not only forgive his brothers for selling him into slavery, he could recognize the good hand of God in this cruel act, providing him with the opportunity to return good for evil, and to spare the lives of his own family, even though they had not spared his (see Genesis 37-45; 50:20).
David did not fear. He did not fear what his enemies would do to him. He did not fear death. His fear was replaced by faith. The basis of David's faith is expressed in Psalm 23.
First, David's faith rested in God.
Second, David's faith rested in the fact that God was His shepherd.
Third, David's faith replaced his fear of his enemies, and even of death.
Fourth, David's fear of death was gone because he was assured of God's presence.
Fifth, David's faith rested in the fact that God was present with him, in life, in death, and throughout all eternity.
The text which I have just read from the Book of Hebrews expands on David's words in Psalm 23, explaining how David's faith in God can free him from the fear of death. The writer to the Hebrews gives us two vitally important truths, which explain the faith of David in Psalm 23.
There is a world of difference between the way a Christian views death and the way others view it. For the unbeliever, death is a dreaded foe, something to be avoided at all costs, something so feared that we try to dismiss it from our minds. For the Christian, death is a defeated enemy. But more than this, death is actually a blessing.
First Sunday of Advent
My Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is a beautiful anecdote given by Msgr. Arthur Tonne clarifying the message of today’s gospel. Several years ago, a bus driver in Oklahoma reached an unusual record. In 23 years, he had driven a bus over 900,000 miles without a single accident. When asked how he had done it, he gave this simple answer: “Watch the road.” In today’s gospel, Jesus gives the same advice in several ways: “Be vigilant at all times,” “Stand erect,” “Raise your heads,” “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy.” This is not only a good spiritual advice for the Advent season but also a safe rule for daily life. A good football player or basketball player or baseball player should always concentrate his attention on the ball and the players. A good student must be alert, awake and attentive, watching the teacher and listening to his or her words. A good Catholic in the Church must be physically and mentally alert, watching the altar and actively participating in the prayers and songs. Like the Roman god Janus with two faces, one looking at the past year and the other looking into future, Christians during the Advent season are to look at the past event of the first coming of Jesus into the world and expectantly look forward to his second coming in glory.
The problem with this coming is in its suddenness. Jesus, the best psychologist, knew that we can be distracted by the good life and warns us not to get lost in the riches of this world but to “stay awake, praying at all times…to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)
During Advent let us look beyond the fact that Santa Claus is coming to town and prepare our hearts and town for Jesus coming to town. We are God’s people and we will only have peace and happiness if Christ is at the center of our lives. Therefore Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the second reading, “May the Lord so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints…We urge you and appeal to you to make more and more progress in the kind of life you are meant to live.” (1 Thes 3:13-4:1)
Remember Jesus has already come, but he is coming again, and so we use Advent to help us keep our minds on the whole idea of the ‘coming’. We must keep awake to that idea. So we establish predominate themes of advent here – anticipation, coming, being awake and looking forward.
Today we begin a new Church Year .Year C. Have you ever wonder why we begin the church year with Advent? When approaching the sacred, the first step has to be preparation. The beginning of the calendar year is January 1; the beginning of the school year is the first day of school. But the beginning of the church year is several weeks before Christmas, because we need time to ready ourselves. One doesn’t just roll out of bed and stumble into the Holy of Holies before that first cup of coffee. One doesn’t just wake up one morning and say, “Oh, yeah, I’m in the presence of God. I almost forgot.” To enter the realm of the sacred, to welcome the Christ-child into the world, we need time to get as ready as we can be to stand in the presence of God. While Lent is a season of penitence, Advent is one of preparation, as we make ourselves ready for the coming of God Almighty in human form.
Every wise man knows that nothing in this life that is really great and worthwhile, can be received and achieved without patient waiting and watchful preparation.
In order to obtain higher things in life, we have to keep in mind the fact that nothing worthwhile is sudden and all at once. That goes for life as a whole and involves a long process of patient preparation and waiting. And, so in this season of Advent each and every one should ask, am I patiently and persistently waiting for Christ in my life?
Our Gospel provides us with three instructions on how to prepare spiritually for Christmas during this Advent season.
1. First, our Lord tells us that in spite of the fear that the world will have over the signs of the end times, we, as believers need not be afraid.
2. Second, our Lord tells us to beware that our hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.
3. Lastly, our Lord tells us to be vigilant at all times and pray that we have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent.
In the words of Jeremiah 33, “The days are surely coming!”
While Advent is set aside to commemorate Jesus’ coming in the flesh as well as His final coming in glory, it is also a time for us to open ourselves to the Lord’s coming into our lives and our world today.
We need to prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming by allowing him to be reborn daily in our lives. Let us remember the words of Alexander Pope: ‘What does it profit me if Jesus is reborn in thousands of cribs or Crèche all over the world and not reborn in my heart?” Jesus must be reborn in our hearts and lives, during this season of Advent, and every day of our lives, in our love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness.
Let us remember the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason. In the midst of the rushing and hustle and bustle of life, and during the pre-Christmas rush to get everything prepared for Christmas let us remember that Jesus is the reason for Christmas. Let us not forget the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is a beautiful anecdote given by Msgr. Arthur Tonne clarifying the message of today’s gospel. Several years ago, a bus driver in Oklahoma reached an unusual record. In 23 years, he had driven a bus over 900,000 miles without a single accident. When asked how he had done it, he gave this simple answer: “Watch the road.” In today’s gospel, Jesus gives the same advice in several ways: “Be vigilant at all times,” “Stand erect,” “Raise your heads,” “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy.” This is not only a good spiritual advice for the Advent season but also a safe rule for daily life. A good football player or basketball player or baseball player should always concentrate his attention on the ball and the players. A good student must be alert, awake and attentive, watching the teacher and listening to his or her words. A good Catholic in the Church must be physically and mentally alert, watching the altar and actively participating in the prayers and songs. Like the Roman god Janus with two faces, one looking at the past year and the other looking into future, Christians during the Advent season are to look at the past event of the first coming of Jesus into the world and expectantly look forward to his second coming in glory.
The problem with this coming is in its suddenness. Jesus, the best psychologist, knew that we can be distracted by the good life and warns us not to get lost in the riches of this world but to “stay awake, praying at all times…to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)
During Advent let us look beyond the fact that Santa Claus is coming to town and prepare our hearts and town for Jesus coming to town. We are God’s people and we will only have peace and happiness if Christ is at the center of our lives. Therefore Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the second reading, “May the Lord so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints…We urge you and appeal to you to make more and more progress in the kind of life you are meant to live.” (1 Thes 3:13-4:1)
Remember Jesus has already come, but he is coming again, and so we use Advent to help us keep our minds on the whole idea of the ‘coming’. We must keep awake to that idea. So we establish predominate themes of advent here – anticipation, coming, being awake and looking forward.
Today we begin a new Church Year .Year C. Have you ever wonder why we begin the church year with Advent? When approaching the sacred, the first step has to be preparation. The beginning of the calendar year is January 1; the beginning of the school year is the first day of school. But the beginning of the church year is several weeks before Christmas, because we need time to ready ourselves. One doesn’t just roll out of bed and stumble into the Holy of Holies before that first cup of coffee. One doesn’t just wake up one morning and say, “Oh, yeah, I’m in the presence of God. I almost forgot.” To enter the realm of the sacred, to welcome the Christ-child into the world, we need time to get as ready as we can be to stand in the presence of God. While Lent is a season of penitence, Advent is one of preparation, as we make ourselves ready for the coming of God Almighty in human form.
Every wise man knows that nothing in this life that is really great and worthwhile, can be received and achieved without patient waiting and watchful preparation.
In order to obtain higher things in life, we have to keep in mind the fact that nothing worthwhile is sudden and all at once. That goes for life as a whole and involves a long process of patient preparation and waiting. And, so in this season of Advent each and every one should ask, am I patiently and persistently waiting for Christ in my life?
Our Gospel provides us with three instructions on how to prepare spiritually for Christmas during this Advent season.
1. First, our Lord tells us that in spite of the fear that the world will have over the signs of the end times, we, as believers need not be afraid.
2. Second, our Lord tells us to beware that our hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.
3. Lastly, our Lord tells us to be vigilant at all times and pray that we have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent.
In the words of Jeremiah 33, “The days are surely coming!”
While Advent is set aside to commemorate Jesus’ coming in the flesh as well as His final coming in glory, it is also a time for us to open ourselves to the Lord’s coming into our lives and our world today.
We need to prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming by allowing him to be reborn daily in our lives. Let us remember the words of Alexander Pope: ‘What does it profit me if Jesus is reborn in thousands of cribs or Crèche all over the world and not reborn in my heart?” Jesus must be reborn in our hearts and lives, during this season of Advent, and every day of our lives, in our love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness.
Let us remember the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason. In the midst of the rushing and hustle and bustle of life, and during the pre-Christmas rush to get everything prepared for Christmas let us remember that Jesus is the reason for Christmas. Let us not forget the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Find happiness in Jesus
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Marsha Sinetar in a book entitled ‘To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love’ tells this story: Once upon a time, a fabulously wealthy king had a son whom he loved so much. The boy was bright and handsome, perfect in every way – except one: He had a severely hunched back. This saddened the king to no end. So he proclaimed that a huge reward would go to the person who figured out how to heal the boy’s back. Months and months passed without a solution. Then one day, a famous religious hermit visited the king. "I don’t want your reward," said the old woman hermit. "But I do have your answer." This was her advice: In the center of your courtyard, you must construct a statue – an exact replica of your dear son, with one exception: Its back must be straight and lovely in appearance. That’s all. Trust in God for the healing." As soon as the hermit left the king’s artisans set to work. In no time, a beautiful marble sculpture sat in the center of the courtyard. Every day as the little boy played, he studied the figure admiringly. He started to feel, "Why that’s me! That looks exactly like me." Every day, the prince gazed lovingly at the sculpture until he identified with it. Bit by bit, the boy’s back straightened. One day, a year or so later, as the king watched his son playing in the gardens he suddenly noticed the prince’s back was totally healed. The young boy’s identification with the marble sculpture had been so complete that he believed it represented him – straight back and all. Body obeyed belief. In today’s readings, Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus give us the same secret formula for lasting happiness: keep looking at the crucifix of Jesus reflecting God’s love, goodness, mercy and forgiveness, and keep imitating him. Everyone wants to be happy. God also wants us to be happy and created us to be happy. Happiness is not in question; the question is how to achieve happiness.
The word beatitude literally means happiness or blessedness. There are thirty-seven beatitudes in the New Testament, seventeen of which are sayings of Jesus. Beatitudes appear in the Old Testament as well. The first reading tells us that true beatitude consists in placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The responsorial psalm finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. St. Paul warns us, in the second reading, that true beatitude is obtainable only in heaven, and that Christ’s resurrection is the reason for the assurance of our reaching heaven for an everlasting life of happiness.
Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced because in poverty, we recognize God’s reign; in hunger, his providence; in sorrow, true happiness; and in persecution, true joy.
There is no happiness outside of the will of God. St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself O Lord and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
God has made our human hearts and so we will be happy only when filled by God.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
You will be happy only in God. If you have a beautiful goldfish and take it out of the water to sing a song to it will it be happy? No. If you put the fish on the couch and turn on the TV for it will it be happy? No. But if you put the fish back in the water it will be happy. It is the same with us. We will be happy only in God. You might say God is cruel making you in such a way that you will be happy only in God. But God is not cruel. God is love, total love. God loves you even if you have not yet discovered the love of God for you.
In the Beatitudes Jesus teaches us the attitudes of a Christian. The more we live the beatitudes the closer we are to Jesus. Following Jesus begins firstly in our mind, in our attitudes, and then flows over into our actions.
Luke reverses the Beatitudes and comes down hard on the greedy rich, the satisfied, the people without problems and those with power. Jesus seems to feel that these things cause us to forget God, and to forget our need of him. That is the exact reason that he sees poverty as better than wealth, poverty of spirit to attachment to goods. The eyes of the poor and those unattached to wealth and what it can do remain open to God. The eyes of those who are rich and attached to material things have eyes closed to God.
One day a puppy said to his old uncle dog, “From my short experience in life I have learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness and that happiness is in my tail. That is why I am chasing my tail, and when I catch it, I shall have perfect happiness.” The old dog replied, “From my research and long experience, I too, have judged that happiness is a fine thing for a dog and that happiness is in his tail. But I've noticed that whenever I chase it, it keeps running away from me, but when I go about my business, it comes after me.”
You may remember what Helen Keller said “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Marsha Sinetar in a book entitled ‘To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love’ tells this story: Once upon a time, a fabulously wealthy king had a son whom he loved so much. The boy was bright and handsome, perfect in every way – except one: He had a severely hunched back. This saddened the king to no end. So he proclaimed that a huge reward would go to the person who figured out how to heal the boy’s back. Months and months passed without a solution. Then one day, a famous religious hermit visited the king. "I don’t want your reward," said the old woman hermit. "But I do have your answer." This was her advice: In the center of your courtyard, you must construct a statue – an exact replica of your dear son, with one exception: Its back must be straight and lovely in appearance. That’s all. Trust in God for the healing." As soon as the hermit left the king’s artisans set to work. In no time, a beautiful marble sculpture sat in the center of the courtyard. Every day as the little boy played, he studied the figure admiringly. He started to feel, "Why that’s me! That looks exactly like me." Every day, the prince gazed lovingly at the sculpture until he identified with it. Bit by bit, the boy’s back straightened. One day, a year or so later, as the king watched his son playing in the gardens he suddenly noticed the prince’s back was totally healed. The young boy’s identification with the marble sculpture had been so complete that he believed it represented him – straight back and all. Body obeyed belief. In today’s readings, Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus give us the same secret formula for lasting happiness: keep looking at the crucifix of Jesus reflecting God’s love, goodness, mercy and forgiveness, and keep imitating him. Everyone wants to be happy. God also wants us to be happy and created us to be happy. Happiness is not in question; the question is how to achieve happiness.
The word beatitude literally means happiness or blessedness. There are thirty-seven beatitudes in the New Testament, seventeen of which are sayings of Jesus. Beatitudes appear in the Old Testament as well. The first reading tells us that true beatitude consists in placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The responsorial psalm finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. St. Paul warns us, in the second reading, that true beatitude is obtainable only in heaven, and that Christ’s resurrection is the reason for the assurance of our reaching heaven for an everlasting life of happiness.
Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced because in poverty, we recognize God’s reign; in hunger, his providence; in sorrow, true happiness; and in persecution, true joy.
There is no happiness outside of the will of God. St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself O Lord and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
God has made our human hearts and so we will be happy only when filled by God.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
You will be happy only in God. If you have a beautiful goldfish and take it out of the water to sing a song to it will it be happy? No. If you put the fish on the couch and turn on the TV for it will it be happy? No. But if you put the fish back in the water it will be happy. It is the same with us. We will be happy only in God. You might say God is cruel making you in such a way that you will be happy only in God. But God is not cruel. God is love, total love. God loves you even if you have not yet discovered the love of God for you.
In the Beatitudes Jesus teaches us the attitudes of a Christian. The more we live the beatitudes the closer we are to Jesus. Following Jesus begins firstly in our mind, in our attitudes, and then flows over into our actions.
Luke reverses the Beatitudes and comes down hard on the greedy rich, the satisfied, the people without problems and those with power. Jesus seems to feel that these things cause us to forget God, and to forget our need of him. That is the exact reason that he sees poverty as better than wealth, poverty of spirit to attachment to goods. The eyes of the poor and those unattached to wealth and what it can do remain open to God. The eyes of those who are rich and attached to material things have eyes closed to God.
One day a puppy said to his old uncle dog, “From my short experience in life I have learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness and that happiness is in my tail. That is why I am chasing my tail, and when I catch it, I shall have perfect happiness.” The old dog replied, “From my research and long experience, I too, have judged that happiness is a fine thing for a dog and that happiness is in his tail. But I've noticed that whenever I chase it, it keeps running away from me, but when I go about my business, it comes after me.”
You may remember what Helen Keller said “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
God, if you tell me I will
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Early in his ministry, Reverend Billy Graham arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him. The boy replied: “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to heaven?” Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry.
The good news of today’s gospel is that our sinfulness -- our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God who gives sinners a new start. It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness. The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us to be willing and able to receive transformation by God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest ones among us stand in need of conversion. They were called not because they were perfect, not because they were shining examples of high standards, but rather because their sense of the need for God's grace kept them on the edges of life.
In a certain church there was a man in the choir who couldn’t sing very well. The director suggested that he should leave the choir, but others felt he should be given more time to improve. But the choir director went to the parish priest and complained: “You’ve got to get that man out of the choir or else I am going to resign.” So the priest went to the man and said to him, “Perhaps you should leave the choir.” Why should I leave the choir?” the man asked. “Well,” said the priest, “four or five people have told me you can’t sing.” “That’s nothing father” the man replied, “Forty or fifty people have told me you can’t preach.”
Every priest says a prayer for himself before proclaiming the gospel: “Lord, cleanse my heart and lips that I may worthily proclaim your gospel”. Every priest knows that we are unworthy ministers. Yet God has chosen us to do his work.
Peter is a fisherman(an angler) and knows how to fish. So when Jesus tells him what to do, he is not immediately ready to follow the advice of the Lord. In matters of fishing, Peter was an expert. He knew that fish came to the surface in the Sea of Galilee only at night and if you did not get them then you would never get them. "Master," Peter points out, "we worked hard all night long and caught nothing." Remember that Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his greatest symphony when he was stone deaf. Winners never quit and quitters never win. If we try to limit God by our own limitations, we will only succeed in limiting ourselves. We need to see failure as a challenge and then at a deeper level see that every challenge is but an opportunity.
Finally, Peter says to the Lord: if you tell me to do it, I will do it. That last part is the most important part. Peter is always clear that when he knows that the Lord is asking something of Him and when the Lord is right in front of him asking, he will do what is asked. Initial feeling of personal unworthiness could be a sign that a soul has seen God. That is why humility is said to be the first and primary virtue in authentic spirituality. The feeling of personal worthiness and competence, not to talk of the feeling of self-righteousness and spiritual superiority, could be a sign that the soul has neither seen nor known God.
Peter got the point very quickly. He immediately saw his own pride and self-centeredness in the presence of Jesus. He begged Jesus to go away and put distance between his sinfulness and Jesus' holiness. But here again Peter got it wrong. It was only when he felt sinful and empty that Jesus could call him and fills him and makes him a fisher of people. Up to this point he had been too full of himself to allow God in.
Beyond the feeling of personal unworthiness, there is another quality that the three people who are called to do God's work in today's readings have in common, and that is the availability to do God's will and the readiness to follow His directives. As soon as Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” his immediate response was: “Here am I; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). In the case of Peter and his partners, we are told that “they left everything and followed him” (Luke 15:11) without looking back. And Paul threw himself with so much zeal into God's work that he worked harder than all those who were called before him, though as he is quick to points out, “it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Merely feeling unworthy and incompetent does not make us into people that God can work with. We must add to that the availability and willingness to go out there and do as the Lord directs.
When we follow the guidance of the Lord in our lives, we achieve results that will blow our minds. This is what we see in Peter's miraculous catch of fish. He and his men toiled all night long and caught nothing. They were relying on their own competence as seasoned fishermen and following their own minds as to where and how to throw the net. The result, in one word, was failure.
Pope Benedict VI wrote in his book ‘Jesus of Nazareth:” If man’s heart is not good, then nothing else can turn out good, either.”(p.34)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Early in his ministry, Reverend Billy Graham arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him. The boy replied: “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to heaven?” Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry.
The good news of today’s gospel is that our sinfulness -- our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God who gives sinners a new start. It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness. The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us to be willing and able to receive transformation by God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest ones among us stand in need of conversion. They were called not because they were perfect, not because they were shining examples of high standards, but rather because their sense of the need for God's grace kept them on the edges of life.
In a certain church there was a man in the choir who couldn’t sing very well. The director suggested that he should leave the choir, but others felt he should be given more time to improve. But the choir director went to the parish priest and complained: “You’ve got to get that man out of the choir or else I am going to resign.” So the priest went to the man and said to him, “Perhaps you should leave the choir.” Why should I leave the choir?” the man asked. “Well,” said the priest, “four or five people have told me you can’t sing.” “That’s nothing father” the man replied, “Forty or fifty people have told me you can’t preach.”
Every priest says a prayer for himself before proclaiming the gospel: “Lord, cleanse my heart and lips that I may worthily proclaim your gospel”. Every priest knows that we are unworthy ministers. Yet God has chosen us to do his work.
Peter is a fisherman(an angler) and knows how to fish. So when Jesus tells him what to do, he is not immediately ready to follow the advice of the Lord. In matters of fishing, Peter was an expert. He knew that fish came to the surface in the Sea of Galilee only at night and if you did not get them then you would never get them. "Master," Peter points out, "we worked hard all night long and caught nothing." Remember that Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his greatest symphony when he was stone deaf. Winners never quit and quitters never win. If we try to limit God by our own limitations, we will only succeed in limiting ourselves. We need to see failure as a challenge and then at a deeper level see that every challenge is but an opportunity.
Finally, Peter says to the Lord: if you tell me to do it, I will do it. That last part is the most important part. Peter is always clear that when he knows that the Lord is asking something of Him and when the Lord is right in front of him asking, he will do what is asked. Initial feeling of personal unworthiness could be a sign that a soul has seen God. That is why humility is said to be the first and primary virtue in authentic spirituality. The feeling of personal worthiness and competence, not to talk of the feeling of self-righteousness and spiritual superiority, could be a sign that the soul has neither seen nor known God.
Peter got the point very quickly. He immediately saw his own pride and self-centeredness in the presence of Jesus. He begged Jesus to go away and put distance between his sinfulness and Jesus' holiness. But here again Peter got it wrong. It was only when he felt sinful and empty that Jesus could call him and fills him and makes him a fisher of people. Up to this point he had been too full of himself to allow God in.
Beyond the feeling of personal unworthiness, there is another quality that the three people who are called to do God's work in today's readings have in common, and that is the availability to do God's will and the readiness to follow His directives. As soon as Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” his immediate response was: “Here am I; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). In the case of Peter and his partners, we are told that “they left everything and followed him” (Luke 15:11) without looking back. And Paul threw himself with so much zeal into God's work that he worked harder than all those who were called before him, though as he is quick to points out, “it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Merely feeling unworthy and incompetent does not make us into people that God can work with. We must add to that the availability and willingness to go out there and do as the Lord directs.
When we follow the guidance of the Lord in our lives, we achieve results that will blow our minds. This is what we see in Peter's miraculous catch of fish. He and his men toiled all night long and caught nothing. They were relying on their own competence as seasoned fishermen and following their own minds as to where and how to throw the net. The result, in one word, was failure.
Pope Benedict VI wrote in his book ‘Jesus of Nazareth:” If man’s heart is not good, then nothing else can turn out good, either.”(p.34)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
All are welcome in His Place
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
If you ask any ‘successful’ businessperson, they will tell you never to start your campaign in your home area. Avoid your own family, neighborhood and friends. They know you and your weaknesses and the weaknesses of your family. If you have any success, they will be the first to get jealous and pull you down. Your home place is like crabs in a pot. There is no need to put a lid on it. The crabs pull down anyone who wants to escape. Some parents say that it is easier to teach a child they do not know than their own children.
Poor Jesus, He addressed his own people and told them the truth about themselves. He challenged them to change their ways and to become responsible for themselves. So what did the people do? They eventually took him out and crucified him.
The Jews by the time of Jesus had almost become what we could say was “a closed group” who looked down on others. Others were inferior, they were superior. Jesus challenged that thinking. For seventeen centuries, Jews had been God's Chosen People, and they were proud of their superiority over the sinful Gentiles who did not know the true God. That very pride of theirs was their undoing. Jesus invites them to stop hiding behind their false identity and come to the truth of themselves. One of our favorite national pastimes (agreeable activity) is “passing the buck.” We have all played this game of letting someone else do what we should be doing, of handing on a job, a responsibility, or an assignment. We particularly like to pass the buck when it comes to listening to sermons. We think that some of the best homilies, retreats, conferences and lectures we hear are “meant for someone else”. We listen and say, “That’s good advice for my kids,” “My neighbors should have heard this homily,” or “That’s aimed at my office staff,” and so on. And that is precisely what Jesus’ hometown people did. They did not acknowledge that they were poor, blind or prisoners who needed a savior and liberator. Hence, they not only rejected Jesus and His “liberation theology,” but also tried to eliminate Him from the world as their ancestors had killed the prophets sent to them by God.
On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged, well-off white South African Lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seating. “What seems to be the problem Madam?” asked the attendant.
“Can’t you see?” she said. “You’ve sat me next to a black man. I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting human. Find me another seat!” “Please calm down Madam.” the flight attendant replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do- I’ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class.” The white woman was very irritated and upset to sit with her fellow black citizen.
A few minutes later the flight attendant returns with the good news, which she delivers to the woman, who cannot help but look at the people around her with a smug and self-satisfied grin: “Madam, unfortunately, as I suspected, economy is full. I have spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class”.
Before the woman has a chance to answer, the flight attendant continues, “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous that someone be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious person.” With which, she turned to the black man sitting next to her, and said: “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you in first class up at the front...” At that point, apparently the surrounding passengers stood and gave a standing ovation while the black person walks up to first class in the front of the plane. We are victims of such situations. We see similar prejudice in today’s Gospel.
We are all equal members of God’s family. That is good to remember because there are so many divisions in society, so many boundaries, it is good to know that with God there are no divisions or boundaries between us, we are all members of his one big family of God.
The society you left as you entered the door of this church was not perfect. But sitting here in the church you are just as precious as the person next to you, behind you or before you. There are no ‘blow-ins’ in the Church, we are all adopted sons and daughters of God. We all receive the same Eucharist; we all receive the same Lord. When you go to Indian churches, temples and Mosques, you have to enter bare foot. When you enter into the holy place leaving the sandals and shoes at the door, you leave outside all your prejudices and egos and you enter as a child of God. Sometimes we forget that Jesus died to save each one of us here, that Jesus died to save the person next to you, behind you and before you.
As you and I think, this was there when the world was begun and it will be there as long as human beings are here. However, I can make a change in my life. You can in yours. You may know this joke.
A cab driver reaches the Pearly Gates and announces his presence to St. Peter, who looks him up in his Big Book. Upon reading the entry for the cabby, St. Peter invites him to grab a silk robe and a golden staff and to proceed into Heaven. A catholic priest (I will not say the name) is next in line behind the cabby and has been watching these proceedings with interest. He announces himself to St. Peter. Upon scanning the priest's entry in the Big Book, St. Peter furrows his brow and says, "Okay, we'll let you in, but you will have only a cotton robe and wooden staff." The priest is astonished and replies, "But I am a man of the cloth. You gave that cab driver a gold staff and a silk robe. Surely, I rate higher than a cabby." St. Peter responded matter-of-factly: "Here we are interested in results. When you preached, people slept. When the cabby drove his taxi, people prayed."
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
If you ask any ‘successful’ businessperson, they will tell you never to start your campaign in your home area. Avoid your own family, neighborhood and friends. They know you and your weaknesses and the weaknesses of your family. If you have any success, they will be the first to get jealous and pull you down. Your home place is like crabs in a pot. There is no need to put a lid on it. The crabs pull down anyone who wants to escape. Some parents say that it is easier to teach a child they do not know than their own children.
Poor Jesus, He addressed his own people and told them the truth about themselves. He challenged them to change their ways and to become responsible for themselves. So what did the people do? They eventually took him out and crucified him.
The Jews by the time of Jesus had almost become what we could say was “a closed group” who looked down on others. Others were inferior, they were superior. Jesus challenged that thinking. For seventeen centuries, Jews had been God's Chosen People, and they were proud of their superiority over the sinful Gentiles who did not know the true God. That very pride of theirs was their undoing. Jesus invites them to stop hiding behind their false identity and come to the truth of themselves. One of our favorite national pastimes (agreeable activity) is “passing the buck.” We have all played this game of letting someone else do what we should be doing, of handing on a job, a responsibility, or an assignment. We particularly like to pass the buck when it comes to listening to sermons. We think that some of the best homilies, retreats, conferences and lectures we hear are “meant for someone else”. We listen and say, “That’s good advice for my kids,” “My neighbors should have heard this homily,” or “That’s aimed at my office staff,” and so on. And that is precisely what Jesus’ hometown people did. They did not acknowledge that they were poor, blind or prisoners who needed a savior and liberator. Hence, they not only rejected Jesus and His “liberation theology,” but also tried to eliminate Him from the world as their ancestors had killed the prophets sent to them by God.
On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged, well-off white South African Lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seating. “What seems to be the problem Madam?” asked the attendant.
“Can’t you see?” she said. “You’ve sat me next to a black man. I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting human. Find me another seat!” “Please calm down Madam.” the flight attendant replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do- I’ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class.” The white woman was very irritated and upset to sit with her fellow black citizen.
A few minutes later the flight attendant returns with the good news, which she delivers to the woman, who cannot help but look at the people around her with a smug and self-satisfied grin: “Madam, unfortunately, as I suspected, economy is full. I have spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class”.
Before the woman has a chance to answer, the flight attendant continues, “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous that someone be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious person.” With which, she turned to the black man sitting next to her, and said: “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you in first class up at the front...” At that point, apparently the surrounding passengers stood and gave a standing ovation while the black person walks up to first class in the front of the plane. We are victims of such situations. We see similar prejudice in today’s Gospel.
We are all equal members of God’s family. That is good to remember because there are so many divisions in society, so many boundaries, it is good to know that with God there are no divisions or boundaries between us, we are all members of his one big family of God.
The society you left as you entered the door of this church was not perfect. But sitting here in the church you are just as precious as the person next to you, behind you or before you. There are no ‘blow-ins’ in the Church, we are all adopted sons and daughters of God. We all receive the same Eucharist; we all receive the same Lord. When you go to Indian churches, temples and Mosques, you have to enter bare foot. When you enter into the holy place leaving the sandals and shoes at the door, you leave outside all your prejudices and egos and you enter as a child of God. Sometimes we forget that Jesus died to save each one of us here, that Jesus died to save the person next to you, behind you and before you.
As you and I think, this was there when the world was begun and it will be there as long as human beings are here. However, I can make a change in my life. You can in yours. You may know this joke.
A cab driver reaches the Pearly Gates and announces his presence to St. Peter, who looks him up in his Big Book. Upon reading the entry for the cabby, St. Peter invites him to grab a silk robe and a golden staff and to proceed into Heaven. A catholic priest (I will not say the name) is next in line behind the cabby and has been watching these proceedings with interest. He announces himself to St. Peter. Upon scanning the priest's entry in the Big Book, St. Peter furrows his brow and says, "Okay, we'll let you in, but you will have only a cotton robe and wooden staff." The priest is astonished and replies, "But I am a man of the cloth. You gave that cab driver a gold staff and a silk robe. Surely, I rate higher than a cabby." St. Peter responded matter-of-factly: "Here we are interested in results. When you preached, people slept. When the cabby drove his taxi, people prayed."
Holy Bible & Jesus’ Mission
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
One day in an introductory Bible class one of the participants asked: "Why are there four Gospels rather than one?" Certainly, things would look a lot easier if there was only one Gospel. Everything we read in that one Gospel would then be the gospel truth, pure and simple. When you come to think of it, if we had only one Gospel we would think that there is only one way of understanding Jesus and how he relates to us. Now that we have four different Gospels, each of them telling a significantly different story of Jesus and his mission, it becomes easier for us to see that no story of Jesus can exhaust the whole truth of what Jesus is. As limited human beings, we can only tell part of the story of God.
You may remember the story of the six blind men who set out to discover what the elephant is. The first blind man feels the elephant's side and says the elephant is like a wall. The second blind man feels the elephant's tusk and says it is like a spear. The third feels the trunk and says it is like a snake. The fourth feels the elephant's leg and says the elephant is like a tree. The fifth feels the ear and says it is like a fan. And the sixth blind man feels the elephant's tail and concludes that the elephant is like a rope. You could imagine the bitter disagreement that would ensue among them if they got together to discuss the nature of the elephant. Every one of them would insist that he is right and the others wrong. But the truth of the matter is: yes, he is right, but then so also are all the others. Each of them has a valid experience of the elephant but no one of them possesses the full knowledge of the total reality of the elephant. Even when you put all the six images of the elephant together, it still does not capture the full mosaic of the elephant.
After Vatican II, the church's reading of the Gospels on Sunday was revised into a three-year cycle: year A for the gospel of Matthew, year B for Mark, and year C for Luke. The gospel of John is read on certain Sundays interspersed (put here and there) within the three years, such as the Sundays of the Easter season. We are now in year C, the year of Luke.
A certain scholar has outlined in one word the aspect of Christ that each of the Gospels highlights. Matthew highlights the Christ of majesty (who heals by word of mouth alone, never touches people, never hungry, never angry, etc.), Mark highlights the Christ of might (who proves he is the Messiah by his acts of power and authority over natural and demonic forces), Luke highlights the Christ of mercy (who reaches out to the poor, the outcasts, foreigners and women) and John highlights the Christ of mystery (who was with the Father from all eternity and who has come into the world to reveal this hidden mystery, the truth that leads to life).
Let us go to the second part of the gospel. It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading, and to sit down while preaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1). The synagogue liturgy was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi, who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age. It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah. In this incident found only in Luke's Gospel, Jesus makes a solemn declaration of his mission in the world. We can call it the Jesus Manifesto. People who initiate a revolution usually start off with a declaration of their manifesto. Karl Mark started by publishing the Communist Manifesto. Martin Luther started off with the publication of the 95 theses in Wittenberg. Jesus has come to start a revolution of mercy and love in the world. And here in today's Gospel reading he publishes the Christian manifesto:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (4:18-19)
The Word of God is called sacramental – in the sense that when it is spoken, read or heard, God becomes present in our midst. For that to happen, we must listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, and then put it into practice as we live out our lives.
Sometimes we forget how precious the Word of God is .In 1964 the Romanian government released religious and political prisoners. One of them, Richard Wurmbrand, had spent nearly three of his fourteen years in prison in solitary confinement. In his book entitled In God’s Underground (pages 106-107) Wurmbrand describes how one day a new prisoner named Avram arrived in the prison. The upper part of his body was in a plaster cast. When the guards left him he drew out a small tattered book from behind the plaster cast. None of the other prisoners had seen a book for years. They asked him what the book was. It was the Gospel of John. Wurmbrand wrote that he took the book in his hand and no life-saving drug could have been more precious to him. From that day the tattered little book went from hand to hand, many learned it by heart and each day they would discuss it among themselves. That reminds us that sometimes we forget the importance of the Word of God in our lives.
St. Gregory wrote, “The Bible is a love letter sent by God to his people in which we can perceive the heart of God.” Read and listen to God’s love letter to you and me every day. St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” The Word of God in the Bible brings us healing and helps us cope with life’s problems. We may not find an answer to every problem but it will certainly broaden our vision. It is no wonder that Ps 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my stepsand a light for my path.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
One day in an introductory Bible class one of the participants asked: "Why are there four Gospels rather than one?" Certainly, things would look a lot easier if there was only one Gospel. Everything we read in that one Gospel would then be the gospel truth, pure and simple. When you come to think of it, if we had only one Gospel we would think that there is only one way of understanding Jesus and how he relates to us. Now that we have four different Gospels, each of them telling a significantly different story of Jesus and his mission, it becomes easier for us to see that no story of Jesus can exhaust the whole truth of what Jesus is. As limited human beings, we can only tell part of the story of God.
You may remember the story of the six blind men who set out to discover what the elephant is. The first blind man feels the elephant's side and says the elephant is like a wall. The second blind man feels the elephant's tusk and says it is like a spear. The third feels the trunk and says it is like a snake. The fourth feels the elephant's leg and says the elephant is like a tree. The fifth feels the ear and says it is like a fan. And the sixth blind man feels the elephant's tail and concludes that the elephant is like a rope. You could imagine the bitter disagreement that would ensue among them if they got together to discuss the nature of the elephant. Every one of them would insist that he is right and the others wrong. But the truth of the matter is: yes, he is right, but then so also are all the others. Each of them has a valid experience of the elephant but no one of them possesses the full knowledge of the total reality of the elephant. Even when you put all the six images of the elephant together, it still does not capture the full mosaic of the elephant.
After Vatican II, the church's reading of the Gospels on Sunday was revised into a three-year cycle: year A for the gospel of Matthew, year B for Mark, and year C for Luke. The gospel of John is read on certain Sundays interspersed (put here and there) within the three years, such as the Sundays of the Easter season. We are now in year C, the year of Luke.
A certain scholar has outlined in one word the aspect of Christ that each of the Gospels highlights. Matthew highlights the Christ of majesty (who heals by word of mouth alone, never touches people, never hungry, never angry, etc.), Mark highlights the Christ of might (who proves he is the Messiah by his acts of power and authority over natural and demonic forces), Luke highlights the Christ of mercy (who reaches out to the poor, the outcasts, foreigners and women) and John highlights the Christ of mystery (who was with the Father from all eternity and who has come into the world to reveal this hidden mystery, the truth that leads to life).
Let us go to the second part of the gospel. It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading, and to sit down while preaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1). The synagogue liturgy was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi, who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age. It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah. In this incident found only in Luke's Gospel, Jesus makes a solemn declaration of his mission in the world. We can call it the Jesus Manifesto. People who initiate a revolution usually start off with a declaration of their manifesto. Karl Mark started by publishing the Communist Manifesto. Martin Luther started off with the publication of the 95 theses in Wittenberg. Jesus has come to start a revolution of mercy and love in the world. And here in today's Gospel reading he publishes the Christian manifesto:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (4:18-19)
The Word of God is called sacramental – in the sense that when it is spoken, read or heard, God becomes present in our midst. For that to happen, we must listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, and then put it into practice as we live out our lives.
Sometimes we forget how precious the Word of God is .In 1964 the Romanian government released religious and political prisoners. One of them, Richard Wurmbrand, had spent nearly three of his fourteen years in prison in solitary confinement. In his book entitled In God’s Underground (pages 106-107) Wurmbrand describes how one day a new prisoner named Avram arrived in the prison. The upper part of his body was in a plaster cast. When the guards left him he drew out a small tattered book from behind the plaster cast. None of the other prisoners had seen a book for years. They asked him what the book was. It was the Gospel of John. Wurmbrand wrote that he took the book in his hand and no life-saving drug could have been more precious to him. From that day the tattered little book went from hand to hand, many learned it by heart and each day they would discuss it among themselves. That reminds us that sometimes we forget the importance of the Word of God in our lives.
St. Gregory wrote, “The Bible is a love letter sent by God to his people in which we can perceive the heart of God.” Read and listen to God’s love letter to you and me every day. St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” The Word of God in the Bible brings us healing and helps us cope with life’s problems. We may not find an answer to every problem but it will certainly broaden our vision. It is no wonder that Ps 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my stepsand a light for my path.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Martin Luther King Day: Doing what God wants
In the story of Saul and Samuel, Saul was clearly instructed by Samuel, who carried prophet-like status, to destroy the enemy of the people – the Amalekites. This was to be done because of the sinful nature of that nation. But Saul interpreted Samuel’s instructions differently and greed caused him to rationalize that God didn’t really want all the Amalekites owned destroyed. He would want the soldiers to reap the benefit of their effort (not to mention Saul’s personal fortune). So when he was confronted he first said that the spoils were taken to be ritually sacrificed to God. Thinking that would deflect the Lord’s anger. For his duplicity and disobedience to God, Saul looses God’s favor.
In our own day, we also fall in to the trap of greed that destroyed the favored status of Saul. We rationalize that God would want us to be happy so we should do what makes us feel good, even though we know what he has commanded.
It is a difficult thing to do, understanding what God truly wants from us. But this we know. The test for figuring it out is straightforward. If what we do is for God’s greater glory, not our own, we are headed in the right direction. If what we choose demonstrates a love of God and our neighbor (and self), we have obeyed Christ’s great commandment. On the other hand, if what we do (or consciously fail to do) places us above God or is injurious to our neighbor (or our self), we join Saul in the Lord’s disfavor and need to seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
There is a book by the mystery writer Greg Iles titled, The Quiet Game. It is set in Natchez, Mississippi, and it revolves around the unsolved murder of a young black man killed in 1968. Everyone knows who murdered him. They also presume that they all know why he was murdered. Yet it remains unsolved 40 years after the fact because the people in that community refuse to talk about it, hence the title, The Quiet Game.
I wonder whether the following lines tell us something.
This is a small town. In small towns there are sometimes truths that everyone knows but no one mentions. Open secrets, if you will. No one really wants to probe the details, because it forces us to face too many uncomfortable realities. We’d rather turn away than acknowledge the primitive forces working beneath the surface of society.
One of Dr. King’s favorite songs was, “If I Can Help Somebody.” written in 1945 by Alma Bazel Androzzo, made famous by Mahalia Jackson, a hit in 1951 for Irish tenor Joseph Locke.
Let me share a verse with you today: “If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, if I can show somebody that they’re traveling wrong, then my living shall not be in vain.”
May these words ring true as we strive to serve the people of God now and always. Amen.
In the story of Saul and Samuel, Saul was clearly instructed by Samuel, who carried prophet-like status, to destroy the enemy of the people – the Amalekites. This was to be done because of the sinful nature of that nation. But Saul interpreted Samuel’s instructions differently and greed caused him to rationalize that God didn’t really want all the Amalekites owned destroyed. He would want the soldiers to reap the benefit of their effort (not to mention Saul’s personal fortune). So when he was confronted he first said that the spoils were taken to be ritually sacrificed to God. Thinking that would deflect the Lord’s anger. For his duplicity and disobedience to God, Saul looses God’s favor.
In our own day, we also fall in to the trap of greed that destroyed the favored status of Saul. We rationalize that God would want us to be happy so we should do what makes us feel good, even though we know what he has commanded.
It is a difficult thing to do, understanding what God truly wants from us. But this we know. The test for figuring it out is straightforward. If what we do is for God’s greater glory, not our own, we are headed in the right direction. If what we choose demonstrates a love of God and our neighbor (and self), we have obeyed Christ’s great commandment. On the other hand, if what we do (or consciously fail to do) places us above God or is injurious to our neighbor (or our self), we join Saul in the Lord’s disfavor and need to seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
There is a book by the mystery writer Greg Iles titled, The Quiet Game. It is set in Natchez, Mississippi, and it revolves around the unsolved murder of a young black man killed in 1968. Everyone knows who murdered him. They also presume that they all know why he was murdered. Yet it remains unsolved 40 years after the fact because the people in that community refuse to talk about it, hence the title, The Quiet Game.
I wonder whether the following lines tell us something.
This is a small town. In small towns there are sometimes truths that everyone knows but no one mentions. Open secrets, if you will. No one really wants to probe the details, because it forces us to face too many uncomfortable realities. We’d rather turn away than acknowledge the primitive forces working beneath the surface of society.
One of Dr. King’s favorite songs was, “If I Can Help Somebody.” written in 1945 by Alma Bazel Androzzo, made famous by Mahalia Jackson, a hit in 1951 for Irish tenor Joseph Locke.
Let me share a verse with you today: “If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, if I can show somebody that they’re traveling wrong, then my living shall not be in vain.”
May these words ring true as we strive to serve the people of God now and always. Amen.
Invite Mary and Jesus into our life
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Johnny Carson (who hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years (1962–92)) was interviewing an eight-year-old boy one night. The young man was asked to appear on the Late Show because he had rescued two friends from a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned him, it became apparent that the boy was a Christian. Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did, Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week,” the boy replied, “our lesson was about how Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." Then Johnny asked, "And what did you learn from that story?" After a long pause the boy said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus and Mary!" And that is precisely the message of today’s gospel: make sure you invite Jesus and Mary wherever you live and wherever you go – they are the only ones you'll ever need. In other words, today's gospel lesson is about the sufficiency of Christ in our lives and the power of His mother’s intercession.
It was not the vehicle used – the wine – that was important; instead, it was two things: (a) Jesus responded to his mother’s intercession; and (b) Jesus joined in the compassion of Mary for the poor family in Cana who had an immediate need. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, YOU are the wine that Jesus wants to use to help others in need!
Christ’s first miracle, which John refers to as a “sign,” takes place in the village of Cana in Galilee. The hometown of the disciple Nathaniel but an otherwise insignificant town, Cana was located some eight miles northeast of Nazareth. This miracle is the first in John’s series of seven signs by which Jesus manifested his power and glory during his public ministry.
Having no wine for a wedding is a difficult situation for the young couple, and may indicate that they came from poor families. Among the Jews of that time, wine was not only considered a staple food item, but was also frequently used in times of celebration. To run short of wine at a wedding feast was certainly a serious problem, particularly damaging to the reputation of the host and an ill omen for the newly married couple.
Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His chosen people. God is the Groom and humanity is His beloved bride. We see this beautifully reflected in today's First Reading, where Isaiah uses the metaphor of spousal love to describe God’s love for Israel. God’s fidelity to his people is compared to a husband’s fidelity to his wife. The prophet reminds his people that their God rejoices in them as a Bridegroom rejoices in His Bride, and that He will rebuild Israel, if they will be reconciled to Him and repair their strained relationship with Him. By our Baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to her Groom (II Cor. 11:2). Symbolically, of course, we know that the wine will become his blood, and for the early Christians then, this became a sign of the Eucharist – which allows each of us to marry, become one with our God. Jesus’ first miracle then, is a celebration of the marriage of God and man, the marriage of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity with humanity.
Even if you forget all what I said just remember these two:
1) “Invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes.” St. John Mary Vianney suggests this as the solution for many of our family problems. He used to encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible reading, mutual love and respect and sacrificial service at home so that the presence of Jesus and Mary might be perpetually enhanced and experienced in the family. If you have Jesus and Mary in your life, believe me my dear brothers and sisters, you have everything what you need in your life.
Secondly, "Do whatever He tells you." This is the only piece of advice given by Mary recorded in the New Testament, and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families. This is all what our Mother tells us each time we go to her for help.
My dear brothers and sisters, we need to learn to appreciate the miracles of God's providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, let us fill the empty hearts around us with love. By the miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, concern and care. We may say that we are not worthy and not well equipped for it. Here comes Dr Martin Luther King Jr. to inspire us. He said;
Recognize that He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That’s a new definition of greatness.
This morning the thing that I like about this is, by giving that definition of greatness,
that means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" to serve.
You don't have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant."
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Johnny Carson (who hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years (1962–92)) was interviewing an eight-year-old boy one night. The young man was asked to appear on the Late Show because he had rescued two friends from a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned him, it became apparent that the boy was a Christian. Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did, Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week,” the boy replied, “our lesson was about how Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." Then Johnny asked, "And what did you learn from that story?" After a long pause the boy said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus and Mary!" And that is precisely the message of today’s gospel: make sure you invite Jesus and Mary wherever you live and wherever you go – they are the only ones you'll ever need. In other words, today's gospel lesson is about the sufficiency of Christ in our lives and the power of His mother’s intercession.
It was not the vehicle used – the wine – that was important; instead, it was two things: (a) Jesus responded to his mother’s intercession; and (b) Jesus joined in the compassion of Mary for the poor family in Cana who had an immediate need. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, YOU are the wine that Jesus wants to use to help others in need!
Christ’s first miracle, which John refers to as a “sign,” takes place in the village of Cana in Galilee. The hometown of the disciple Nathaniel but an otherwise insignificant town, Cana was located some eight miles northeast of Nazareth. This miracle is the first in John’s series of seven signs by which Jesus manifested his power and glory during his public ministry.
Having no wine for a wedding is a difficult situation for the young couple, and may indicate that they came from poor families. Among the Jews of that time, wine was not only considered a staple food item, but was also frequently used in times of celebration. To run short of wine at a wedding feast was certainly a serious problem, particularly damaging to the reputation of the host and an ill omen for the newly married couple.
Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His chosen people. God is the Groom and humanity is His beloved bride. We see this beautifully reflected in today's First Reading, where Isaiah uses the metaphor of spousal love to describe God’s love for Israel. God’s fidelity to his people is compared to a husband’s fidelity to his wife. The prophet reminds his people that their God rejoices in them as a Bridegroom rejoices in His Bride, and that He will rebuild Israel, if they will be reconciled to Him and repair their strained relationship with Him. By our Baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to her Groom (II Cor. 11:2). Symbolically, of course, we know that the wine will become his blood, and for the early Christians then, this became a sign of the Eucharist – which allows each of us to marry, become one with our God. Jesus’ first miracle then, is a celebration of the marriage of God and man, the marriage of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity with humanity.
Even if you forget all what I said just remember these two:
1) “Invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes.” St. John Mary Vianney suggests this as the solution for many of our family problems. He used to encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible reading, mutual love and respect and sacrificial service at home so that the presence of Jesus and Mary might be perpetually enhanced and experienced in the family. If you have Jesus and Mary in your life, believe me my dear brothers and sisters, you have everything what you need in your life.
Secondly, "Do whatever He tells you." This is the only piece of advice given by Mary recorded in the New Testament, and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families. This is all what our Mother tells us each time we go to her for help.
My dear brothers and sisters, we need to learn to appreciate the miracles of God's providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, let us fill the empty hearts around us with love. By the miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, concern and care. We may say that we are not worthy and not well equipped for it. Here comes Dr Martin Luther King Jr. to inspire us. He said;
Recognize that He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That’s a new definition of greatness.
This morning the thing that I like about this is, by giving that definition of greatness,
that means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" to serve.
You don't have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant."
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight… a highway for our God!
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
It is said that some people cause a lot of joy when they appear while others cause a lot of joy when they disappear! John the Baptist is among those who bring a lot of joy when they appear. And today’s readings explain why this strange looking man brought so much joy wherever he went.
John’s mission is to prepare the people of Israel for the day of salvation which is to dawn in the coming of Christ. John knows that he has an important mission, to prepare a way for his master.
John the Baptist is one who, by his whole life, points to the Lord. John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion -- to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of his kingdom.
St. John the Baptist is the last prophet of the OT. You know the difference between a Prophet, a Poet and a Pragmatist.
The prophet is someone who is not afraid to speak out. He is not afraid of calling a spade, a spade. He will speak the truth even if it will cost him his head. He speaks out in order to call people to change and by changing their ways change the prevailing situation. The job of the prophet is a thankless job. Who wants to create enemies? The poet is someone who sets possibilities before us. He sees the ugliness of the present but tells people that things don’t have to remain that way. He points to a beautiful future that all of us can create together. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a poet. He witnessed, nay he experienced firsthand the oppression of black Americans at the hands of white Americans. It was ugly. But he knew in his heart that things don’t have to be that way. He created a dream in his heart and then shared that dream with America. He said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “ The pragmatist is someone who gets things done. He delivers. Things don’t remain in the drawing board. He turns plans into reality. Lee Kwan Yu is a pragmatist. He turned Singapore into a prosperous city-state. They say that the former Clark Airbase is even bigger than Singapore.
Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight… a highway for our God!
Every year, as we draw closer to Christmas, we hear this same invitation. God, who in every age has shown his burning desire to be with his children, now comes to ‘live among us’. (John 1: 14) Today too he stands at the door and knocks because he wants to come in and ‘eat’ with us. (Rev 3: 20)We ourselves often long to meet him, to have him as our companion on life’s journey, and to be filled with his light. For him to enter our lives, we first need to remove the obstacles in his path. It is no longer a matter of clearing the roads, but of opening our hearts to him.Jesus himself identified some of the barriers that close our hearts: ‘theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride…’ (Mark 7: 21-22) At times these barriers may be put up by grudges against our relatives or friends, prejudice against people of other races, indifference to the needs of our neighbors, or a lack of attentiveness and love in our families.
There were only two people on this earth who had no sin, Jesus and Our Lady. If you say you have no sin are we expected to think that you are Jesus or Our Lady? If we say we have no sin do we not mean that we have allowed our consciences to go dead so that now we sin but are not even aware of it?
To prepare the way of the Lord has great meaning when we apply it to our own hearts. It is in our own hearts that we need to prepare a way for the Lord. It is in our hearts that we need to make a straight highway for God. It is the valleys of sin in our own hearts that are to be filled with God’s mercy and healing, and the mountains and hills of pride in our own hearts that are to become low. God is searching for us and wants to hold us against his breast.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to repent, to change our lives, to change our attitudes, to change our behavior, to turn our back on the way we used to be and to begin making the Kingdom of God a reality in our own personal life through acts of kindness.
How can we do something practical to prepare the way of the Lord? By asking his forgiveness each time, we realize we have put up a barrier that obstructs our communion with him. We may want to undertake some changes in our lives. However, there is a real danger that our good intentions remain only good intentions. Good intentions are important. They are the first step. Unless you take the first step, you will always remain where you are. Are there things there, things we are doing, saying that might not please Jesus when he comes or that might make it a little harder for Jesus to come into our hearts? Then we are to pick them up, get them out of the way, and toss them aside. We do that by asking Jesus to forgive us and by changing the things, we do and say.
Saint Nicholas
The Greek histories of his life agree that he suffered imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Dioletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicaea and there condemned Arianism. The silence of other authors makes many justly suspect these circumstances. He died at Myra, and was buried in his cathedral.
How different it is what we celebrate as a Church and what our popular culture has made of this holy man. The man we celebrate is rooted in history. He lived in the 4th century. He was Bishop of Myra in Lysia. People made pilgrimage to his burial site to pray and ask God’s blessings, so that he would continue to pray and work wonders in God’s name for them as he did in his lifetime. His relics were taken to Bari, Italy and a Basilica was built there for worship of God and to pray. His Body continues to give a scented oil that has been used to anoint people who are sick to received blessing.
Our popular culture has turned St. Nicholas into a jolly and mindless senile old man. He has become the product of shear imagination and fantasy. He is no longer even Santa Claus, a shortened version of Santa Nicholaus. He is Mr. Claus. He has a Mrs. Claus. Or he is just Chris. We have now a jolly ho, ho, ho -- instead of a holy man of God! How empty and meaningless we have become. St. Patrick, the Missionary Saint and Apostle of Ireland, who brought Christian Faith and true worship of God to a whole nation has become reduced as a feast for everyone and reduced to wearing green, corned beef and cabbage and green beer.
What have we done to Christmas? We have made it the greatest shopping feast and continuous party time. Christ is no longer the center of the feast and like Joseph and Mary there is no room for him in the inn.
Christian Faith and History.
The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church.
Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.
One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.
One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West.
Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.
The Greek histories of his life agree that he suffered imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Dioletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicaea and there condemned Arianism. The silence of other authors makes many justly suspect these circumstances. He died at Myra, and was buried in his cathedral.
How different it is what we celebrate as a Church and what our popular culture has made of this holy man. The man we celebrate is rooted in history. He lived in the 4th century. He was Bishop of Myra in Lysia. People made pilgrimage to his burial site to pray and ask God’s blessings, so that he would continue to pray and work wonders in God’s name for them as he did in his lifetime. His relics were taken to Bari, Italy and a Basilica was built there for worship of God and to pray. His Body continues to give a scented oil that has been used to anoint people who are sick to received blessing.
Our popular culture has turned St. Nicholas into a jolly and mindless senile old man. He has become the product of shear imagination and fantasy. He is no longer even Santa Claus, a shortened version of Santa Nicholaus. He is Mr. Claus. He has a Mrs. Claus. Or he is just Chris. We have now a jolly ho, ho, ho -- instead of a holy man of God! How empty and meaningless we have become. St. Patrick, the Missionary Saint and Apostle of Ireland, who brought Christian Faith and true worship of God to a whole nation has become reduced as a feast for everyone and reduced to wearing green, corned beef and cabbage and green beer.
What have we done to Christmas? We have made it the greatest shopping feast and continuous party time. Christ is no longer the center of the feast and like Joseph and Mary there is no room for him in the inn.
Christian Faith and History.
The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church.
Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.
One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.
One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West.
Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.
First Friday : advent First week
Today, once again, he calls us to participate with Him in bringing His light to the world. We have plenty of examples of darkness in our world: violence, war, the culture of death, injustice, etc. That is why we are called to be messengers of light in our world.
If we can express in one word the reason for the decision to follow Jesus, we have to say that it is Faith. Faith is the first principle upon which every supernatural work is based upon. St. Augustine says: “Ground all of your works in faith, for the just man lives by faith and faith acts through love. May your works be based on faith; believing in God will make you faithful”
I Believe is the First article of the Creed and the New Catechism of the Catholic Church has a complete analysis of the virtue of faith. Faith is called: Man’s Response to God. The Catechism tells us “by faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. It is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed…” faith is full of practical consequences. It is reflected in our conduct. It informs our whole life down to the last detail. We see things in the light of faith and act accordingly.
It is very appropriate today when we read of Jesus giving sight back to two blind men who expressed their confidence in him. “The Lord is my light,” goes the responsorial psalm, “and my salvation” (Ps 27:1). The more we get to know ourselves (and that is a lifetime study), the more we recognize how blind we can be. We are blind often to our own irritating traits. We are blind to the generous and inspiring qualities of those closest to us. We are blind to the signs of God’s love and care for us in the world around us. We are blind to sources of beauty and joy around us.
As we share the Body and Blood of Christ today, a good prayer would be that this light shine in every corner of our soul and our life: “You are my light, my salvation, Lord” (Ps 27:1).
Today, once again, he calls us to participate with Him in bringing His light to the world. We have plenty of examples of darkness in our world: violence, war, the culture of death, injustice, etc. That is why we are called to be messengers of light in our world.
If we can express in one word the reason for the decision to follow Jesus, we have to say that it is Faith. Faith is the first principle upon which every supernatural work is based upon. St. Augustine says: “Ground all of your works in faith, for the just man lives by faith and faith acts through love. May your works be based on faith; believing in God will make you faithful”
I Believe is the First article of the Creed and the New Catechism of the Catholic Church has a complete analysis of the virtue of faith. Faith is called: Man’s Response to God. The Catechism tells us “by faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. It is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed…” faith is full of practical consequences. It is reflected in our conduct. It informs our whole life down to the last detail. We see things in the light of faith and act accordingly.
It is very appropriate today when we read of Jesus giving sight back to two blind men who expressed their confidence in him. “The Lord is my light,” goes the responsorial psalm, “and my salvation” (Ps 27:1). The more we get to know ourselves (and that is a lifetime study), the more we recognize how blind we can be. We are blind often to our own irritating traits. We are blind to the generous and inspiring qualities of those closest to us. We are blind to the signs of God’s love and care for us in the world around us. We are blind to sources of beauty and joy around us.
As we share the Body and Blood of Christ today, a good prayer would be that this light shine in every corner of our soul and our life: “You are my light, my salvation, Lord” (Ps 27:1).
St Francis of Xavier
The Catholic Church commemorates the feast day of St. Francis Xavier today, the Spanish priest regarded as the "Patron of Foreign Missions."
Born in Pamplona, Spain in 1506, he was one of the first seven followers of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
In 1541, four years after his ordination, he was sent as a missionary to India where he preached in the Portuguese colony of Goa. Crossing the sea of Arabia and India, they landed at Goa on the 6th of May, in 1542,
To do what he did and to go where he did in the circumstances in which he did it, are really quite remarkable. But all he did was take the Lord seriously and become a missionary as a disciple of the Lord.
On the Arrival in Goa on May6th 1541 he immediately began to preach and was successful in making converts. To call down the blessing of heaven on his labors, St. Francis consecrated most of the night to prayer. Having spent the morning in assisting and comforting the distressed in the hospitals and prisons, he walked through all the streets of Goa, with a bell in his hand, summoning all masters, for the love of God, to send their children and slaves to catechism. The little children gathered in crowds about him, and he led them to the church and taught them the creed and practices of devotion, and impressed on their tender minds strong sentiments of piety and religion. By the modesty and devotion of the youth, the whole town began to change its face and the most abandoned sinners began to blush at vice.
The Feast of St. Francis Xavier commemorates the death of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa. Fondly called the Goincho Saib or the Lord of Goa, St. Xavier was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who preached Christianity in many parts of Asia. After achieving great success in Goa, St Xavier set sail for China but breathed his last at the Sancian Island, about 10-km from the mainland of China, on December 3, 1552 while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China..He was first buried on a beach of Shangchuan Island. His incorrupt body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church in Malacca on 22 March, 1553. Pereira came back from Goa, removed the corpse shortly after April 15, 1553, and moved it to his house. The body was received in Goa on March 16th 1554 from Malacca which would be his final resting place. The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on December 2, 1637.
The Catholic Church commemorates the feast day of St. Francis Xavier today, the Spanish priest regarded as the "Patron of Foreign Missions."
Born in Pamplona, Spain in 1506, he was one of the first seven followers of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
In 1541, four years after his ordination, he was sent as a missionary to India where he preached in the Portuguese colony of Goa. Crossing the sea of Arabia and India, they landed at Goa on the 6th of May, in 1542,
To do what he did and to go where he did in the circumstances in which he did it, are really quite remarkable. But all he did was take the Lord seriously and become a missionary as a disciple of the Lord.
On the Arrival in Goa on May6th 1541 he immediately began to preach and was successful in making converts. To call down the blessing of heaven on his labors, St. Francis consecrated most of the night to prayer. Having spent the morning in assisting and comforting the distressed in the hospitals and prisons, he walked through all the streets of Goa, with a bell in his hand, summoning all masters, for the love of God, to send their children and slaves to catechism. The little children gathered in crowds about him, and he led them to the church and taught them the creed and practices of devotion, and impressed on their tender minds strong sentiments of piety and religion. By the modesty and devotion of the youth, the whole town began to change its face and the most abandoned sinners began to blush at vice.
The Feast of St. Francis Xavier commemorates the death of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa. Fondly called the Goincho Saib or the Lord of Goa, St. Xavier was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who preached Christianity in many parts of Asia. After achieving great success in Goa, St Xavier set sail for China but breathed his last at the Sancian Island, about 10-km from the mainland of China, on December 3, 1552 while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China..He was first buried on a beach of Shangchuan Island. His incorrupt body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church in Malacca on 22 March, 1553. Pereira came back from Goa, removed the corpse shortly after April 15, 1553, and moved it to his house. The body was received in Goa on March 16th 1554 from Malacca which would be his final resting place. The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on December 2, 1637.
Advent Tuesday first week : Be child Like relations to God
What he communicates to his followers here is the surprising truth that it is their very simplicity, their trusting childlike acceptance of his person that has qualified them to be recipients of the Father's revelation. They are more blessed than prophets and kings because it has pleased the Father to choose those who, like Jesus himself, are actuated by concern for pleasing the Father. They possess a high dignity, incomparably greater than the privileged of this world, not through ambition, nor because of their learning, power or influence, but, paradoxically, because God prefers the simple-hearted, those who approach him with the confident trust and love of children.
How do children differ from the learned and clever? The little ones are, in this contrast, individuals open to instruction, to learning something new, to being helped. If we bring a child-like willingness to be taught, to be led, and to be helped to the Savior, we open ourselves to the grace and power of this season. The childlikeness commended by the Lord consists in a willingness to believe that there is more to see and more to hear than we see and hear so far.
It is an absolute necessity that one must become like a child in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Now in order to be as a child, that means, on one level, to have complete confidence in one’s parents and to not worry about where things are going to come from. Little children do not worry about whether they are going to have a meal; they just assume that they will. They do not worry about whether they are going to have a roof over their head, but nonetheless they have confidence that all of these things are going to be taken care of. They just go. They just move on from one thing to the next and they do not worry about all the little things. That is the same kind of confidence we have to have.Become like a little child in the presence of God, to have that simplicity of a child which many of us find to be repulsive because we think that becoming more complex is the more impressive thing to do. In becoming more simple, we will become more childlike. That is exactly what Our Lord tells us we must do.
That is the kind of relationship Our Lord wants. to have those childlike traits, those virtues that we see only in little children: the complete confidence, the total love, the dedication, all of the things that a child is about. Those are the things God wants to see in us, to have that trust – total and complete trust in God – not worrying about everything, not upset about all kinds of things, not trying to control everything, just letting go and giving it all over to God; and when we have a difficulty, to come to Him; when we are having a great day, to come to Him. Any of you who are parents know how children are. They do not go very far from Mom and they make sure they pay a visit quite often. They are off playing all by themselves, they come racing over, grab her by the legs, go back, and play. A few minutes later, they come racing back, just want to sit on her lap for thirty seconds, and off they go to play again. They are constantly coming back. How many times a day do we check in with Our Lord? How far do we go away from the Lord? Little children always want to be right in the sight of their mother. They do not even like to be in the next room. We need to keep God always in our presence. No matter where we are, He is in our hearts if we are in the state of grace, but we need to keep our minds focused on Him. Be like a little child in the arms of God.
What he communicates to his followers here is the surprising truth that it is their very simplicity, their trusting childlike acceptance of his person that has qualified them to be recipients of the Father's revelation. They are more blessed than prophets and kings because it has pleased the Father to choose those who, like Jesus himself, are actuated by concern for pleasing the Father. They possess a high dignity, incomparably greater than the privileged of this world, not through ambition, nor because of their learning, power or influence, but, paradoxically, because God prefers the simple-hearted, those who approach him with the confident trust and love of children.
How do children differ from the learned and clever? The little ones are, in this contrast, individuals open to instruction, to learning something new, to being helped. If we bring a child-like willingness to be taught, to be led, and to be helped to the Savior, we open ourselves to the grace and power of this season. The childlikeness commended by the Lord consists in a willingness to believe that there is more to see and more to hear than we see and hear so far.
It is an absolute necessity that one must become like a child in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Now in order to be as a child, that means, on one level, to have complete confidence in one’s parents and to not worry about where things are going to come from. Little children do not worry about whether they are going to have a meal; they just assume that they will. They do not worry about whether they are going to have a roof over their head, but nonetheless they have confidence that all of these things are going to be taken care of. They just go. They just move on from one thing to the next and they do not worry about all the little things. That is the same kind of confidence we have to have.Become like a little child in the presence of God, to have that simplicity of a child which many of us find to be repulsive because we think that becoming more complex is the more impressive thing to do. In becoming more simple, we will become more childlike. That is exactly what Our Lord tells us we must do.
That is the kind of relationship Our Lord wants. to have those childlike traits, those virtues that we see only in little children: the complete confidence, the total love, the dedication, all of the things that a child is about. Those are the things God wants to see in us, to have that trust – total and complete trust in God – not worrying about everything, not upset about all kinds of things, not trying to control everything, just letting go and giving it all over to God; and when we have a difficulty, to come to Him; when we are having a great day, to come to Him. Any of you who are parents know how children are. They do not go very far from Mom and they make sure they pay a visit quite often. They are off playing all by themselves, they come racing over, grab her by the legs, go back, and play. A few minutes later, they come racing back, just want to sit on her lap for thirty seconds, and off they go to play again. They are constantly coming back. How many times a day do we check in with Our Lord? How far do we go away from the Lord? Little children always want to be right in the sight of their mother. They do not even like to be in the next room. We need to keep God always in our presence. No matter where we are, He is in our hearts if we are in the state of grace, but we need to keep our minds focused on Him. Be like a little child in the arms of God.
Advent Monday First week
A centurion was a military leader in the Roman army. His title means "commander of a hundred"; but a centurion may not have been a commander of a literal hundred soldiers. He may have been responsible for more than a hundred! At any rate, he was clearly a Roman commander of great significance.
This centurion was a humble man, a sensitive man deeply concerned for his servant, a man devoted to the needs of others rather to his own, a man who believed in the power of prayer. Ordinarily, a hardened Roman leader wouldn't be so personally affected when a servant became sick. But this centurion clearly loved and cared deeply for this "boy" who was his "servant". He was willing to go out of his way to save his beloved servant's life.
It is a mark of Christ-like character when we, who are in positions of leadership, show loving concern and care for those who are under us. That's how our Master Jesus treats us. Do those who are under you, or who work for you, know that they are loved by you? Do you love them so much that you bring them to Jesus?
In his request of Jesus, the Centurion teaches us much about prayer. First, when we go to Jesus for help, we ought to go confidently, knowing that he hears us. Secondly, our prayer ought to be selfless, on behalf of others and not in our own self-interest. Thirdly, our prayer should be rooted in the conviction that it will be answered.
His faith stands out because it is one that was placed confidently and completely in Jesus' authority as the Son of God. Matthew, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, encourages us to have the same sort of faith as the centurion.
A centurion was a military leader in the Roman army. His title means "commander of a hundred"; but a centurion may not have been a commander of a literal hundred soldiers. He may have been responsible for more than a hundred! At any rate, he was clearly a Roman commander of great significance.
This centurion was a humble man, a sensitive man deeply concerned for his servant, a man devoted to the needs of others rather to his own, a man who believed in the power of prayer. Ordinarily, a hardened Roman leader wouldn't be so personally affected when a servant became sick. But this centurion clearly loved and cared deeply for this "boy" who was his "servant". He was willing to go out of his way to save his beloved servant's life.
It is a mark of Christ-like character when we, who are in positions of leadership, show loving concern and care for those who are under us. That's how our Master Jesus treats us. Do those who are under you, or who work for you, know that they are loved by you? Do you love them so much that you bring them to Jesus?
In his request of Jesus, the Centurion teaches us much about prayer. First, when we go to Jesus for help, we ought to go confidently, knowing that he hears us. Secondly, our prayer ought to be selfless, on behalf of others and not in our own self-interest. Thirdly, our prayer should be rooted in the conviction that it will be answered.
His faith stands out because it is one that was placed confidently and completely in Jesus' authority as the Son of God. Matthew, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, encourages us to have the same sort of faith as the centurion.
First Sunday of Advent
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today is a special day, the beginning of a special season, Advent and the new liturgical Year B.
The Gospel of Mark, which begins in this First Sunday of Advent, was the first written Gospel. It was around 60AD…Christians were being persecuted in Rome by the anti-Christ, Nero. Peter and Paul had been recently executed in Rome, and it was to the Roman Christians that Mark wrote this Gospel. He wrote to bring hope … he wrote to remind them of the teaching of the Apostles (who were dying off) … and he wrote to remind them that “You do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.” So, therefore, be ready and alert. St. Paul (20 years earlier) reminded Jesus’ followers in his letter to the Corinthians (our second reading) that Jesus, Himself, would keep them firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of the Lord.
You may remember what I said about the wreath and the candles last year; but some of you asked me again I think it is a good time to repeat the meaning of it once more; the circle of the green wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy and Love, which has no beginning and end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His Son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of advent, which themselves symbolizes the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ. The Advent color purple is the color of penitence fasting and solemn prayer as well as the color of royalty the Advent of the King, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Three Candles are purple, symbolizing penance, preparation and sacrifice; the Pink candle symbolizes the same but highlights the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when we rejoice because our preparation is now half way finished. The Light reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God’s grace to others (Isa. 42:6).The Purple Candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope or Prophecy. The second purple Candle is the Peace Candle or Bethlehem or John the Baptist or Annunciation. Third Sunday Pink Candle is Joy Candle or Angels or Magi or proclamation. Fourth Sunday Purple Candle is the Candle of Love or Shepherds or Mary or Fulfillment.The Center Candle is the White and is called the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Day. The Center location of the Christ Candle reminds us that the incarnation is the heart of the season giving light to the world.
During Advent we focus on waiting, waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus, and during the week before Christmas our waiting changes to waiting for our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Anytime we wait we do so because we expect something to happen; we wait for a bus or train because we expect it to arrive. When we are waiting for a bus or train we cannot see it coming but hope it will come. During Advent we are waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus because the Second Coming of Jesus will bring all God’s plans for the world to completion. As we wait in hope for the Second Coming of Jesus we know he is with us in so many ways especially in the sacraments.
For those who are finding these times difficult for one reason or another the message of Advent is “Wait for God in patient hope.” God has not abandoned us, God is with us though sometimes our lack of faith prevents us from seeing him. Remember Jesus in the womb of Mary for nine months; Mary could not see Jesus but she knew that the Word had been made flesh and she was waiting in hope for his birth. Wait in patient hope for God to fulfill his plans in his own way in his own time.
Advent is not only about preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. We live between the first coming of Jesus when he was born at Bethlehem and his Second Coming at the end of time when he will come as Judge of all. Advent is also a time for us to reflect on the Second Coming of Jesus. So Advent is concerned with the two comings of Jesus; our preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth and our preparation for his Second Coming.
Stay Awake. Be prepared. If we go through life sleepwalking we might be caught unaware, like the people outside the ark at the time of the great flood. Noah was certainly not a sleepwalker. Noah was wide-awake. He was prepared. His neighbors thought him a fool, but Noah was prepared to meet the Lord. Like Noah we have faith. With Noah, we are in the ark, waiting in faith. Like Noah, we want to be prepared, and we want to stay awake, to be ready for Christ's arrival, for the coming of the light into the dark corners of our lives.
Today we light our first Advent candle. four weeks of traveling through the darkness toward the dawning light of Christmas day. Perhaps the darkness we travel through this year is the grief we still feel over the death of a loved one, or the ending of a friendship, lingering illness, or a conflict at work, a division with the family, or a scandal within our church. If Christmas is all about being "home for the holidays," then Advent is about traveling home. It's about staying awake and alert during the journey home so that we don't miss the exit off the highway.
Isaiah repeats himself at the close of the first reading, "Yet O Lord, you are our father," and add another image, "we are the clay and you the potter; we are all the work of your hands." God created us out of the clay of the earth. Now, as we begin this Advent season we ask our Heavenly father to remold us into a faithful people .
In the First Letter of Peter, St. Peter writes, “Be watchful and alert…your opponent, the Devil, is prowling like a lion, ready to devour you.”
Holy Trinity
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, all our Christian prayers begin remembering the Holy Trinity. And today we celebrate the Solemnity of Holy Trinity; our basic belief of Christian faith.
The best explanation I can find why the church brings us back to the ordinary time of the year with the feast of the Holy Trinity is in the words of the French novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” The church is presenting us with the big picture of the “endless immensity of the sea” we call God.
The doctrine of three persons in one God, equal in divinity yet distinct in personality, is not explicitly spelt out in the Bible. The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.
Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Jesus spoke about the Father who sent him (the Son) and about the Holy Spirit whom he was going to send. He said that the Father had given him (the Son) all that he has and that he in turn has given to the Holy Spirit all that he has received from the Father. In this we see the unity of purpose among the three persons of the Trinity.
This idea was very difficult for the Jews to grasp. You see, the Jews believe in one God and that one God is one person. You and I, however, as Catholics believe in one God as well but that one God is three persons. For the Jews, that sounds like polytheism, but it is not. We do believe in one God, just as we say in the Creed He is three persons. Are you confused a little? Then you got it. This is a deep, deep mystery.
The story is told of St Augustine of Hippo, a great philosopher and theologian. He was preoccupied with the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. He wanted so much to understand the doctrine of one God in three persons and to be able to explain it logically. One day he was walking along the sea shore and reflecting on this matter. Suddenly, he saw a little child all alone on the shore. The child made a whole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled her cup with sea water, ran up and emptied the cup into the hole she had made in the sand. Back and forth she went to the sea, filled her cup and came and poured it into the hole. Augustine drew up and said to her, “Little child, what are you doing?” She replied, “I am trying to empty the sea into this hole.” “That is impossible, How do you think,” Augustine asked her, “that you can empty this immense sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?” She answered back, “And you, how do you suppose that with your small head you can comprehend the immensity of God?” With that the child disappeared.
Catholic doctrine teaches that there are three persons in one God who all share the same nature. Remember that we are talking about three persons in one God; not three gods or three faces of one god. Three persons. Here are some ways of trying to understand the Trinity: St. Patrick of Ireland tried to explain it with a shamrock. The shamrock has three different sections that constitute one shamrock. Each section is distinct and yet is of the same nature of "shamrockness" as the other sections within the flower. Yet the analogy falls short because the shamrock can be divided into three parts and God cannot.
In St. John’s first letter, he tells us that God is love, and love does not happen in a vacuum, separate and isolated from others. Love can only exist in a relationship between persons, so the very essence of God’s being must exist in more than a singular person, or relationship and love. For in the Trinity, God the Father is the lover, Jesus the Son is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the love that flows freely between them all unique but connected to each other and moving as one. God is not alone. God is Trinity.
By revealing Himself as three persons, God shows us who love is. When we say that God or the Trinity is love, what we are really saying is that love is not merely an aspect of God. Rather, love IS who God IS in Himself - three persons loving each other in totality. There is no in-fighting in God or dissent. There is only unity, peace, harmony and love. The Trinity reveals to us that love is at the essence of each person's calling and our vocations to marriage, the single life or to the priesthood and religious life are the deepest way of living out that love.
“Christians believe that God is triune because they believe that God is love! If God is love, then he must love someone. There is no such thing as love of nothing, a love that is not directed at anyone. So we ask: Who is it that God loves so that he is defined as love? … God is love in himself, before time, because there is eternally in him a Son, the Word, whom he loves from an infinite love which is the Holy Spirit”
My dear brothers and sisters, This is the mystery which brings us here, the mystery in which we proclaim that God became man but is still God, that God moves among us but is not held captive by this world.
Glory be to the Father,and to the Son,and to the Holy Spirit,as it was in the beginning,is now,and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, all our Christian prayers begin remembering the Holy Trinity. And today we celebrate the Solemnity of Holy Trinity; our basic belief of Christian faith.
The best explanation I can find why the church brings us back to the ordinary time of the year with the feast of the Holy Trinity is in the words of the French novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” The church is presenting us with the big picture of the “endless immensity of the sea” we call God.
The doctrine of three persons in one God, equal in divinity yet distinct in personality, is not explicitly spelt out in the Bible. The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.
Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Jesus spoke about the Father who sent him (the Son) and about the Holy Spirit whom he was going to send. He said that the Father had given him (the Son) all that he has and that he in turn has given to the Holy Spirit all that he has received from the Father. In this we see the unity of purpose among the three persons of the Trinity.
This idea was very difficult for the Jews to grasp. You see, the Jews believe in one God and that one God is one person. You and I, however, as Catholics believe in one God as well but that one God is three persons. For the Jews, that sounds like polytheism, but it is not. We do believe in one God, just as we say in the Creed He is three persons. Are you confused a little? Then you got it. This is a deep, deep mystery.
The story is told of St Augustine of Hippo, a great philosopher and theologian. He was preoccupied with the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. He wanted so much to understand the doctrine of one God in three persons and to be able to explain it logically. One day he was walking along the sea shore and reflecting on this matter. Suddenly, he saw a little child all alone on the shore. The child made a whole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled her cup with sea water, ran up and emptied the cup into the hole she had made in the sand. Back and forth she went to the sea, filled her cup and came and poured it into the hole. Augustine drew up and said to her, “Little child, what are you doing?” She replied, “I am trying to empty the sea into this hole.” “That is impossible, How do you think,” Augustine asked her, “that you can empty this immense sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?” She answered back, “And you, how do you suppose that with your small head you can comprehend the immensity of God?” With that the child disappeared.
Catholic doctrine teaches that there are three persons in one God who all share the same nature. Remember that we are talking about three persons in one God; not three gods or three faces of one god. Three persons. Here are some ways of trying to understand the Trinity: St. Patrick of Ireland tried to explain it with a shamrock. The shamrock has three different sections that constitute one shamrock. Each section is distinct and yet is of the same nature of "shamrockness" as the other sections within the flower. Yet the analogy falls short because the shamrock can be divided into three parts and God cannot.
In St. John’s first letter, he tells us that God is love, and love does not happen in a vacuum, separate and isolated from others. Love can only exist in a relationship between persons, so the very essence of God’s being must exist in more than a singular person, or relationship and love. For in the Trinity, God the Father is the lover, Jesus the Son is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the love that flows freely between them all unique but connected to each other and moving as one. God is not alone. God is Trinity.
By revealing Himself as three persons, God shows us who love is. When we say that God or the Trinity is love, what we are really saying is that love is not merely an aspect of God. Rather, love IS who God IS in Himself - three persons loving each other in totality. There is no in-fighting in God or dissent. There is only unity, peace, harmony and love. The Trinity reveals to us that love is at the essence of each person's calling and our vocations to marriage, the single life or to the priesthood and religious life are the deepest way of living out that love.
“Christians believe that God is triune because they believe that God is love! If God is love, then he must love someone. There is no such thing as love of nothing, a love that is not directed at anyone. So we ask: Who is it that God loves so that he is defined as love? … God is love in himself, before time, because there is eternally in him a Son, the Word, whom he loves from an infinite love which is the Holy Spirit”
My dear brothers and sisters, This is the mystery which brings us here, the mystery in which we proclaim that God became man but is still God, that God moves among us but is not held captive by this world.
Glory be to the Father,and to the Son,and to the Holy Spirit,as it was in the beginning,is now,and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Feast of the Corpus Christy
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
It was in 1263 that a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at the little Italian village of Bolsena while making a pilgrimage to Rome. The truth is, he found it difficult to believe that Jesus was actually present in the Eucharist.
While offering Mass above the tomb of St. Christina a young martyr, when he said the words of Consecration: "This is my Body," blood started to seep from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the Altar and the linen corporal -- on which sit the chalice and paten.
At first, the priest tried to hide the blood, but then he interrupted Mass and asked to be taken to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where the Pope was visiting. The following year, 1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus, todays feast ,Corpus Christi. The Pope asked St Thomas Aquinas, living at that time, to write hymns for the feast and he wrote two, better known to the older members of our congregation, the Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris. That blood-stained corporal may still be seen in the Basilica of Orvieto north of Rome even today.
Although that is the Eucharistic miracle that led to the institution of this feast, a more famous Eucharistic miracle is the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, also in Italy, which took place many centuries earlier, in the year 700. A monk who feared he was losing his vocation was celebrating Mass, and during the consecration the host turned into flesh and the wine turned into blood. Despite the fact that miracle took place almost 1300 years ago you may still see the flesh in a monstrance which is exposed every day and the blood in a glass chalice. The blood has congealed and is now in five clots in the glass chalice. One final interesting point about the five blood clots in the chalice is that when you weigh one of them, it is the same weight as all five together; two of them together weigh the same as all five. In fact, no matter what way you combine the blood clots individually or in a group to weigh them, they always weigh the same. This shows that the full Jesus is present in a particle of the Eucharist no matter how small.
Jesus is really with us in the Eucharist. Jesus comes to us in every Mass under the form of bread and wine. The Eucharist is a celebration of the love of Jesus for us. Because the Eucharist is the love of Jesus for us we always approach Jesus in the Eucharist with great respect and asking pardon for our sins. That’s why it is so necessary at the start of every Mass to ask Jesus for mercy because we are so unworthy of his love and again before receiving Jesus we express our unworthiness: ‘Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.’ Think of how precious a moment in our Mass it is, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. When we receive Jesus, Jesus is in us and we are with Jesus. It is like what Genesis says about the marriage of man and woman, no longer two but one. It is the same when we receive Jesus. We are no longer two but one. ‘He who eats my flesh abides in me and I in him’ (John 6:57).
What was the intention of Jesus in instituting the Eucharist? Even a child can answer, and they say: Jesus instituted this sacrament for Communion to those who receive him.
There are two communions produced by the Eucharist. One is with Christ. The other is with our fellow men and women. More precisely: it is with those who sit at the same divine table, who eat the same living bread, which is Christ. We all know Saint Paul's revealing words in this connection. He writes: "Is not the bread we break a participation in Christ's body? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17). In this way, our individual Communion with Christ produces a social communion with Christians.
One cannot approach the altar with hatred in one's heart, or with the remorse of having offended a brother; and one cannot leave the Lord's table, forgetting the "new commandment" that he transmitted to us with deliberate gravity, in giving himself to us: "Love one another, even as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34).
The truth is, there are many challenges that surround us as Catholics these days. Many, many challenges. But Jesus in the Eucharistic miracle you and I receive at every, single Mass, the miracle of His love made Flesh for us, is now and always will be, the answer to it all. Whatever questions you may have, whatever doubts you have, I do not have an answer for you but there is an answer: the Eucharist. The real presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you have problems in life, come and spend some time with the Eucharistic.
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said it so beautifully: “When Jesus came into the world, He loved it so much that He gave his life for it. He wanted to satisfy our hunger for God. And what did He do? He made himself the Bread of Life. He became small, fragile and defenseless for us. Bits of bread can be so small that even a baby can chew it, even a dying person can eat it.”
This Feast of the Body of Christ sums up three important confessions about our Faith. First, and most important, that God became physically present in the person of Christ - True God and True Man. Secondly, that God continues to be present in His people as they form the Mystical Body of Christ in his church. And, thirdly, the presence of God, under the form of bread and wine, is made sacramentally real for us on the altar at Mass and preserved there for our nourishment and worship. When we proclaim our "Amen", at the conclusion of the prayers of consecration, remember my dear brothers and sisters, that we are saying "Yes" to the real and inseparable presence of Christ in time and in eternity.
Let us pray:- O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, All praise and all thanksgiving ,Be every moment thine.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
It was in 1263 that a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at the little Italian village of Bolsena while making a pilgrimage to Rome. The truth is, he found it difficult to believe that Jesus was actually present in the Eucharist.
While offering Mass above the tomb of St. Christina a young martyr, when he said the words of Consecration: "This is my Body," blood started to seep from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the Altar and the linen corporal -- on which sit the chalice and paten.
At first, the priest tried to hide the blood, but then he interrupted Mass and asked to be taken to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where the Pope was visiting. The following year, 1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus, todays feast ,Corpus Christi. The Pope asked St Thomas Aquinas, living at that time, to write hymns for the feast and he wrote two, better known to the older members of our congregation, the Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris. That blood-stained corporal may still be seen in the Basilica of Orvieto north of Rome even today.
Although that is the Eucharistic miracle that led to the institution of this feast, a more famous Eucharistic miracle is the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, also in Italy, which took place many centuries earlier, in the year 700. A monk who feared he was losing his vocation was celebrating Mass, and during the consecration the host turned into flesh and the wine turned into blood. Despite the fact that miracle took place almost 1300 years ago you may still see the flesh in a monstrance which is exposed every day and the blood in a glass chalice. The blood has congealed and is now in five clots in the glass chalice. One final interesting point about the five blood clots in the chalice is that when you weigh one of them, it is the same weight as all five together; two of them together weigh the same as all five. In fact, no matter what way you combine the blood clots individually or in a group to weigh them, they always weigh the same. This shows that the full Jesus is present in a particle of the Eucharist no matter how small.
Jesus is really with us in the Eucharist. Jesus comes to us in every Mass under the form of bread and wine. The Eucharist is a celebration of the love of Jesus for us. Because the Eucharist is the love of Jesus for us we always approach Jesus in the Eucharist with great respect and asking pardon for our sins. That’s why it is so necessary at the start of every Mass to ask Jesus for mercy because we are so unworthy of his love and again before receiving Jesus we express our unworthiness: ‘Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.’ Think of how precious a moment in our Mass it is, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. When we receive Jesus, Jesus is in us and we are with Jesus. It is like what Genesis says about the marriage of man and woman, no longer two but one. It is the same when we receive Jesus. We are no longer two but one. ‘He who eats my flesh abides in me and I in him’ (John 6:57).
What was the intention of Jesus in instituting the Eucharist? Even a child can answer, and they say: Jesus instituted this sacrament for Communion to those who receive him.
There are two communions produced by the Eucharist. One is with Christ. The other is with our fellow men and women. More precisely: it is with those who sit at the same divine table, who eat the same living bread, which is Christ. We all know Saint Paul's revealing words in this connection. He writes: "Is not the bread we break a participation in Christ's body? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17). In this way, our individual Communion with Christ produces a social communion with Christians.
One cannot approach the altar with hatred in one's heart, or with the remorse of having offended a brother; and one cannot leave the Lord's table, forgetting the "new commandment" that he transmitted to us with deliberate gravity, in giving himself to us: "Love one another, even as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34).
The truth is, there are many challenges that surround us as Catholics these days. Many, many challenges. But Jesus in the Eucharistic miracle you and I receive at every, single Mass, the miracle of His love made Flesh for us, is now and always will be, the answer to it all. Whatever questions you may have, whatever doubts you have, I do not have an answer for you but there is an answer: the Eucharist. The real presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you have problems in life, come and spend some time with the Eucharistic.
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said it so beautifully: “When Jesus came into the world, He loved it so much that He gave his life for it. He wanted to satisfy our hunger for God. And what did He do? He made himself the Bread of Life. He became small, fragile and defenseless for us. Bits of bread can be so small that even a baby can chew it, even a dying person can eat it.”
This Feast of the Body of Christ sums up three important confessions about our Faith. First, and most important, that God became physically present in the person of Christ - True God and True Man. Secondly, that God continues to be present in His people as they form the Mystical Body of Christ in his church. And, thirdly, the presence of God, under the form of bread and wine, is made sacramentally real for us on the altar at Mass and preserved there for our nourishment and worship. When we proclaim our "Amen", at the conclusion of the prayers of consecration, remember my dear brothers and sisters, that we are saying "Yes" to the real and inseparable presence of Christ in time and in eternity.
Let us pray:- O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, All praise and all thanksgiving ,Be every moment thine.
Jesus heals the leper
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
As we all know, many diseases are contagious, and for the people of the ancient world there were few ways for controlling the spread of disease. Epidemics often wiped out whole towns. The most effect means for controlling the spread of disease was isolation and separation. The infected person was banished from the community, and often forced to wear distinctive cloths or to make some kind of noise to warn people to stay away. Of course this was not done out of meanness, but rather to protect society. One of the most frightening, and deadly of diseases that often threatened the ancient world was leprosy. It was so very contagious, and seeing body parts literally being eaten away was just horrifying. And almost any kind of skin disease would have been considered leprosy. The only thing that could be done in most cases was to send the inflicted to live in caves with others with the disease. This meant that the sick not only had to suffer the symptoms of their illness, but they were also cut off from their loved ones.
At one time in St. Francis of Assisi’s life, he had a terrible fear of lepers. Then one day when he was travelling, he heard the warning bell that lepers were required to ring in the Middle Ages. When a leper emerged from a clump of trees, St. Francis saw that he was horribly disfigured. Half of his nose had been eaten away; his hands were stubs without fingers and his lips were oozing white pus. Instead of giving in to his fears, Francis ran forward, embraced the leper and kissed him. Francis' life was never the same after that episode. He had found a new relationship with God, a new sensitivity to others, and a new energy for his ministry.
To the Hebrews leprosy was not only a most dreaded natural disease, it was also popularly seen as divine chastisement. The story of Miriam, sister of Moses, who was struck with leprosy as a result of her misconduct in the book of Numbers chapter 12,as well as that of Job who was afflicted with a leprosy-like skin disease reinforced their view of leprosy as divine punishment for sin.
According to ancient Hebrew belief, physical contact with lepers rendered a person unclean. Against this background the gesture of Jesus who stretches out his hand and physically touches the leper becomes unthinkable.
And, of course, we know that with the cure, this former leper returned to the community from which he had been banished. Truly, then, did this healing have a tri-fold effect: the physical disease was cured; the man was restored to the human community; and he came to faith in Jesus.
Martin was a young soldier in the Roman army. Elegantly dressed, he was mounted on his horse one day when he was accosted by a leper begging for alms. The sight and the stench of rotting flesh was so repulsive to the sensitivities of young Martin that his first instincts were to ride off on his horse. But something inside him made his walk up to the beggar. Since all he had was his military coat, he cut it in two and gave half to the leper while he wrapped himself with the other half. It was a very cold winter day. That night in his dream, he saw Christ clothed in a half coat saying to the angels around his throne, “Martin has clothed me with his garment.” This event was the turning point in the life of him who was to become St Martin of Tours.
My dear brothers and sisters, the gospel invites us to go deeper, leprosy becoming symbolic of any condition that estranges us from others and, hence, from God. Leprosy has always been a clear image of sin. It is contagious, disfiguring, repulsive, cuts us off from the community, and causes death. We can see our bodies but we can’t see our souls. Leprosy we can see; sin remains invisible.
We have a lot to learn from this poor Leper. The leper was taking the risk of coming out in public. The man approached Jesus… his trust was so great his desire to be made whole so strong, that he took a great risk and went right up to Jesus.
His words were not words of lament or “woe is me”. He didn’t ask Jesus why me? Why do I have to suffer this horrible disease, Rather he simply made a profession of faith. He trusted Jesus. He trusted God so much that he even let Jesus decide if it was in his best interest to be healed. The leper was a man of faith, a man who had worked through all of the suffering and isolation he had and still believed.
Even terrible disease of leprosy could not deprive him of his faith of his ability to hope.
He didn’t let his circumstances take away his ability to hope or his ability to believe. As much as he suffered, he still was able to trust in God’s love and God’s mercy for him.
He did not allow self-pity to take away his ability to hope. If that had been the response of the Leper he never would have been healed because he never would have asked.
The challenge for us today, my dear brothers and sisters, is to restore the lepers to the human community. And that will begin with me reaching out to someone probably very near whom I would really rather avoid.
There are still so many people we isolate today… you know they are the ones we pass on the street and avoid making eye contact with, they are the ones whose calls we never take, they are the ones we just are not willing to touch or become involved with. They are the ones whom we always blame that we don’t understand.
Remember what Peyton Conway March said “ There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
As we all know, many diseases are contagious, and for the people of the ancient world there were few ways for controlling the spread of disease. Epidemics often wiped out whole towns. The most effect means for controlling the spread of disease was isolation and separation. The infected person was banished from the community, and often forced to wear distinctive cloths or to make some kind of noise to warn people to stay away. Of course this was not done out of meanness, but rather to protect society. One of the most frightening, and deadly of diseases that often threatened the ancient world was leprosy. It was so very contagious, and seeing body parts literally being eaten away was just horrifying. And almost any kind of skin disease would have been considered leprosy. The only thing that could be done in most cases was to send the inflicted to live in caves with others with the disease. This meant that the sick not only had to suffer the symptoms of their illness, but they were also cut off from their loved ones.
At one time in St. Francis of Assisi’s life, he had a terrible fear of lepers. Then one day when he was travelling, he heard the warning bell that lepers were required to ring in the Middle Ages. When a leper emerged from a clump of trees, St. Francis saw that he was horribly disfigured. Half of his nose had been eaten away; his hands were stubs without fingers and his lips were oozing white pus. Instead of giving in to his fears, Francis ran forward, embraced the leper and kissed him. Francis' life was never the same after that episode. He had found a new relationship with God, a new sensitivity to others, and a new energy for his ministry.
To the Hebrews leprosy was not only a most dreaded natural disease, it was also popularly seen as divine chastisement. The story of Miriam, sister of Moses, who was struck with leprosy as a result of her misconduct in the book of Numbers chapter 12,as well as that of Job who was afflicted with a leprosy-like skin disease reinforced their view of leprosy as divine punishment for sin.
According to ancient Hebrew belief, physical contact with lepers rendered a person unclean. Against this background the gesture of Jesus who stretches out his hand and physically touches the leper becomes unthinkable.
And, of course, we know that with the cure, this former leper returned to the community from which he had been banished. Truly, then, did this healing have a tri-fold effect: the physical disease was cured; the man was restored to the human community; and he came to faith in Jesus.
Martin was a young soldier in the Roman army. Elegantly dressed, he was mounted on his horse one day when he was accosted by a leper begging for alms. The sight and the stench of rotting flesh was so repulsive to the sensitivities of young Martin that his first instincts were to ride off on his horse. But something inside him made his walk up to the beggar. Since all he had was his military coat, he cut it in two and gave half to the leper while he wrapped himself with the other half. It was a very cold winter day. That night in his dream, he saw Christ clothed in a half coat saying to the angels around his throne, “Martin has clothed me with his garment.” This event was the turning point in the life of him who was to become St Martin of Tours.
My dear brothers and sisters, the gospel invites us to go deeper, leprosy becoming symbolic of any condition that estranges us from others and, hence, from God. Leprosy has always been a clear image of sin. It is contagious, disfiguring, repulsive, cuts us off from the community, and causes death. We can see our bodies but we can’t see our souls. Leprosy we can see; sin remains invisible.
We have a lot to learn from this poor Leper. The leper was taking the risk of coming out in public. The man approached Jesus… his trust was so great his desire to be made whole so strong, that he took a great risk and went right up to Jesus.
His words were not words of lament or “woe is me”. He didn’t ask Jesus why me? Why do I have to suffer this horrible disease, Rather he simply made a profession of faith. He trusted Jesus. He trusted God so much that he even let Jesus decide if it was in his best interest to be healed. The leper was a man of faith, a man who had worked through all of the suffering and isolation he had and still believed.
Even terrible disease of leprosy could not deprive him of his faith of his ability to hope.
He didn’t let his circumstances take away his ability to hope or his ability to believe. As much as he suffered, he still was able to trust in God’s love and God’s mercy for him.
He did not allow self-pity to take away his ability to hope. If that had been the response of the Leper he never would have been healed because he never would have asked.
The challenge for us today, my dear brothers and sisters, is to restore the lepers to the human community. And that will begin with me reaching out to someone probably very near whom I would really rather avoid.
There are still so many people we isolate today… you know they are the ones we pass on the street and avoid making eye contact with, they are the ones whose calls we never take, they are the ones we just are not willing to touch or become involved with. They are the ones whom we always blame that we don’t understand.
Remember what Peyton Conway March said “ There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Jesus the Healer heals us to be whole and holy
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
In the Gospel today we heard of Jesus curing Peter’s mother-in-law in Capernaum, and curing many others who were sick. (Mark 1:29-39) Jesus, who healed so many one evening in Capernaum, is willing to heal you and me in this Mass and every holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. The greatest moment for healing is when you receive Jesus in Holy Communion, when you and Jesus are united , ask him in faith for the healing you need.
As we journey though life there are ups and downs. When we are knocked down, we need a pick-me-up. No matter what way you are knocked down, Jesus is there to pick you up.
It is not only sickness that can knock us down. We can be knocked down emotionally and psychologically. We can be knocked down by the hurts others inflict on us and by what they say or do to us. It is not always true to say that “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Names, words, attitudes also hurt. On those occasions we also need a pick-me-up and on those occasions Jesus is also there to pick us up.
Recall the motto of the Jubilee year 2000, “Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) No matter when you were hurt, remembering that yesterday, today and tomorrow are the same for Jesus, ask him to walk back in time with you to the day when you suffered a particular hurt or received the news of your illness.
Jesus cares about you more than anyone and does not want you to remain wounded and hurt. He wants you well and at peace to enjoy life. No one wish for you like that of Jesus.
The word "healing" in today's usage goes beyond recovering from medical illness; it also covers situations arising from tragedy, misfortune, bereavement, marital breakdowns and so on. Today's readings present Jesus as "Healer" in both the physical and the spiritual sense.
Increasingly, with our complex living styles, the need for spiritual healing is greater than the need for physical healing. We always cry out “no one understands me. Where is my future full of hope?”
Today, as in the time of Christ, the real healing mission is to restore people spiritually; to have them know that in spite of failure, forgiveness, or spiritual healing, is at the heart of the Christian response. To know that a spirit of resignation is also an important aspect of healing; when our prayers are not answered the way we asked and wished for, our attitudes do not turn to rebellion or denial. With Christ our prayer becomes "Not my will, but yours be done". The letting go of prejudices and taboos with regard to those around us is also part of the healing process.
By his presence, Jesus brought wholeness and holiness to those with whom he came in contact.
Job endured great physical distress and pain but listen to how he speaks of his suffering:
My kinsfolk and my close friends have failed me;
The guests in my house have forgotten me;
My servants count me as a stranger…
I have become repulsive to my wife,
Loathsome to the sons of my own mother.
Even young children despise me…
All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.(job 19.14-22)
Job suffered greatly in his body but his greatest pain was the rupture in the network of his relationships with family and friends and God.
Indeed, one might say that physical illness begs to be cured while social relationships, impaired by sickness, need to be healed – and the healing of relationships does not depend on the cure of illness.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, We may be unable to cure the ills of the world, our nation, the church, our parish or our families: cures may not be ours to dispense.
But healing is at our fingertips, always, if we are willing to reach out, to touch, and to allow others to reach out to touch us, if we are willing to let go the things that hinder and paralyze our relationships, to let go the things that tear at the fabric of our secular and social and parish life.
Late Pope John Paul II the great has noted several times, quoting Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, "the glory of God is the living man"! If Christians are serious about their Christian life, they will pray.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
In the Gospel today we heard of Jesus curing Peter’s mother-in-law in Capernaum, and curing many others who were sick. (Mark 1:29-39) Jesus, who healed so many one evening in Capernaum, is willing to heal you and me in this Mass and every holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. The greatest moment for healing is when you receive Jesus in Holy Communion, when you and Jesus are united , ask him in faith for the healing you need.
As we journey though life there are ups and downs. When we are knocked down, we need a pick-me-up. No matter what way you are knocked down, Jesus is there to pick you up.
It is not only sickness that can knock us down. We can be knocked down emotionally and psychologically. We can be knocked down by the hurts others inflict on us and by what they say or do to us. It is not always true to say that “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Names, words, attitudes also hurt. On those occasions we also need a pick-me-up and on those occasions Jesus is also there to pick us up.
Recall the motto of the Jubilee year 2000, “Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) No matter when you were hurt, remembering that yesterday, today and tomorrow are the same for Jesus, ask him to walk back in time with you to the day when you suffered a particular hurt or received the news of your illness.
Jesus cares about you more than anyone and does not want you to remain wounded and hurt. He wants you well and at peace to enjoy life. No one wish for you like that of Jesus.
The word "healing" in today's usage goes beyond recovering from medical illness; it also covers situations arising from tragedy, misfortune, bereavement, marital breakdowns and so on. Today's readings present Jesus as "Healer" in both the physical and the spiritual sense.
Increasingly, with our complex living styles, the need for spiritual healing is greater than the need for physical healing. We always cry out “no one understands me. Where is my future full of hope?”
Today, as in the time of Christ, the real healing mission is to restore people spiritually; to have them know that in spite of failure, forgiveness, or spiritual healing, is at the heart of the Christian response. To know that a spirit of resignation is also an important aspect of healing; when our prayers are not answered the way we asked and wished for, our attitudes do not turn to rebellion or denial. With Christ our prayer becomes "Not my will, but yours be done". The letting go of prejudices and taboos with regard to those around us is also part of the healing process.
By his presence, Jesus brought wholeness and holiness to those with whom he came in contact.
Job endured great physical distress and pain but listen to how he speaks of his suffering:
My kinsfolk and my close friends have failed me;
The guests in my house have forgotten me;
My servants count me as a stranger…
I have become repulsive to my wife,
Loathsome to the sons of my own mother.
Even young children despise me…
All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.(job 19.14-22)
Job suffered greatly in his body but his greatest pain was the rupture in the network of his relationships with family and friends and God.
Indeed, one might say that physical illness begs to be cured while social relationships, impaired by sickness, need to be healed – and the healing of relationships does not depend on the cure of illness.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, We may be unable to cure the ills of the world, our nation, the church, our parish or our families: cures may not be ours to dispense.
But healing is at our fingertips, always, if we are willing to reach out, to touch, and to allow others to reach out to touch us, if we are willing to let go the things that hinder and paralyze our relationships, to let go the things that tear at the fabric of our secular and social and parish life.
Late Pope John Paul II the great has noted several times, quoting Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, "the glory of God is the living man"! If Christians are serious about their Christian life, they will pray.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Repent and Believe in the Good News.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
You may know the story called Dumb Kid.
A young boy enters a barbershop and the barber whispers to his customer:-'This is the dumbest kid in town.... watch while I prove it to you.'
The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks;
'Which do you want, son?'
The boy takes the quarters and leaves.'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!'Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.
'Hey, son! May I ask you a question... why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'
The boy licked his ice cream cone and replied 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'
In the minds of some, Jesus’ mission of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and calling people to repentance might have been better entrusted to educated professionals. Their training in preaching, teaching and catechesis would seem to have prepared them for communicating the importance of conversion. But Jesus called the fishermen and they responded, and in that dynamic of call and response, they began to be what Jesus intended: fishers who would draw into the saving net of God’s grace to all who agreed to repent and believe.
The two sets of brothers responded incredibly by immediately leaving everything: nets, boats, and family. Walking away from everything that defined their lives, they followed Jesus. And that made all the difference.
According to Mark's Gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry soon after John the Baptist is arrested. He preaches a sermon which is powerful and prophetic, and has only 19 words: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the good news."
Mark explains that Jesus has a basic keynote speech with four specific messages: "The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel."
The New Testament, as you know was written in Greek, and it has two words for time, chronos, meaning "chronological time," and kairos, meaning, "the urgent, present moment, the time beyond time, the time of fulfillment, the end time, the time of God." Christ always speaks of the kairos moment. "The Kairos is here," he announces. We are no longer living in chronos time but kairos time, the time of God.
Then, he says, "The kingdom of God is at hand." Throughout the Gospels, Jesus talks about the kingdom of God. For Jesus, the kingdom of God means God is at the center of life, which means we are filled with God's love, that we walk in the light and love of God, which means we love everyone, we serve everyone, forgive everyone, live in perfect nonviolence and peace with everyone.
Then, Jesus starts saying exactly what John the Baptist commanded, "Repent." Repentance comes from the Greek word "Metanoia," which means, "turn around, stop what you are doing and go in the other direction, change the direction of your life." Jonah called the people of Ninevah to repent and they did. Jesus calls us to repent, to stop rejecting God, to stop hurting one another, to stop supporting the Gospel of empire, to stop supporting the war making culture and to welcome God's kingdom of love. Repentance does not mean entering upon a guilt trip about your past, or your present. It means changing your life--your mind, your spirit, your attitudes, your behavior, your relationships, your plans--long range and short term. It means coming to a new understanding of life's purpose and direction and acting differently from now on.
Conversion is not instantaneous. It is a process; a process in which God’s grace changes one. Conversion is the heart of the Christian experience. Conversion is best described in the New Testament in the Letters of St. Paul, and with good reason - no one experienced a more dramatic conversion than St. Paul on the road to Damascus! And today we celebrate the conversion of St Paul. { St. Paul used the word metanoia for repentance in four Epistles. In Romans 2:4 ; in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10;in 2 Corinthians 12:21;In 2 Timothy 2:25 . Metanoia is also noted three times in the Letter to the Hebrews.} Repentance for St. Paul means one has faith in God through Christ Jesus, which leads one to obedience.
Finally, Jesus says, "Believe in the Gospel." We are supposed to believe what Jesus says in the Gospels.
Then Jesus calls the fishermen, saying, "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men and women." They drop everything, leave their work, and follow him. We, too, have been called by Jesus. The greatest act of self-renunciation that he asks for is the sacrifice of one’s own intellect and will. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “nothing is dearer to man than the freedom of his own will, for this is what makes him master over others; …so by surrendering the freedom of his own will, by which he is master of himself, he renounces himself.”
The fishermen of Galilee teach us something very important about discipleship: following requires abandoning.
Have we abandoned whatever keeps us from following Jesus, my dear brothers and sisters? Every day is a new opportunity to embrace our discipleship courageously and to respond generously to Jesus’ life-defining call: “Come, follow me.” How we respond will make all the difference.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
You may know the story called Dumb Kid.
A young boy enters a barbershop and the barber whispers to his customer:-'This is the dumbest kid in town.... watch while I prove it to you.'
The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks;
'Which do you want, son?'
The boy takes the quarters and leaves.'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!'Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.
'Hey, son! May I ask you a question... why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'
The boy licked his ice cream cone and replied 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'
In the minds of some, Jesus’ mission of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and calling people to repentance might have been better entrusted to educated professionals. Their training in preaching, teaching and catechesis would seem to have prepared them for communicating the importance of conversion. But Jesus called the fishermen and they responded, and in that dynamic of call and response, they began to be what Jesus intended: fishers who would draw into the saving net of God’s grace to all who agreed to repent and believe.
The two sets of brothers responded incredibly by immediately leaving everything: nets, boats, and family. Walking away from everything that defined their lives, they followed Jesus. And that made all the difference.
According to Mark's Gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry soon after John the Baptist is arrested. He preaches a sermon which is powerful and prophetic, and has only 19 words: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the good news."
Mark explains that Jesus has a basic keynote speech with four specific messages: "The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel."
The New Testament, as you know was written in Greek, and it has two words for time, chronos, meaning "chronological time," and kairos, meaning, "the urgent, present moment, the time beyond time, the time of fulfillment, the end time, the time of God." Christ always speaks of the kairos moment. "The Kairos is here," he announces. We are no longer living in chronos time but kairos time, the time of God.
Then, he says, "The kingdom of God is at hand." Throughout the Gospels, Jesus talks about the kingdom of God. For Jesus, the kingdom of God means God is at the center of life, which means we are filled with God's love, that we walk in the light and love of God, which means we love everyone, we serve everyone, forgive everyone, live in perfect nonviolence and peace with everyone.
Then, Jesus starts saying exactly what John the Baptist commanded, "Repent." Repentance comes from the Greek word "Metanoia," which means, "turn around, stop what you are doing and go in the other direction, change the direction of your life." Jonah called the people of Ninevah to repent and they did. Jesus calls us to repent, to stop rejecting God, to stop hurting one another, to stop supporting the Gospel of empire, to stop supporting the war making culture and to welcome God's kingdom of love. Repentance does not mean entering upon a guilt trip about your past, or your present. It means changing your life--your mind, your spirit, your attitudes, your behavior, your relationships, your plans--long range and short term. It means coming to a new understanding of life's purpose and direction and acting differently from now on.
Conversion is not instantaneous. It is a process; a process in which God’s grace changes one. Conversion is the heart of the Christian experience. Conversion is best described in the New Testament in the Letters of St. Paul, and with good reason - no one experienced a more dramatic conversion than St. Paul on the road to Damascus! And today we celebrate the conversion of St Paul. { St. Paul used the word metanoia for repentance in four Epistles. In Romans 2:4 ; in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10;in 2 Corinthians 12:21;In 2 Timothy 2:25 . Metanoia is also noted three times in the Letter to the Hebrews.} Repentance for St. Paul means one has faith in God through Christ Jesus, which leads one to obedience.
Finally, Jesus says, "Believe in the Gospel." We are supposed to believe what Jesus says in the Gospels.
Then Jesus calls the fishermen, saying, "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men and women." They drop everything, leave their work, and follow him. We, too, have been called by Jesus. The greatest act of self-renunciation that he asks for is the sacrifice of one’s own intellect and will. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “nothing is dearer to man than the freedom of his own will, for this is what makes him master over others; …so by surrendering the freedom of his own will, by which he is master of himself, he renounces himself.”
The fishermen of Galilee teach us something very important about discipleship: following requires abandoning.
Have we abandoned whatever keeps us from following Jesus, my dear brothers and sisters? Every day is a new opportunity to embrace our discipleship courageously and to respond generously to Jesus’ life-defining call: “Come, follow me.” How we respond will make all the difference.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Martin Luther King, Jr
We celebrate today the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr It was early December 1955. Rosa Parks had just been arrested for not giving up her seat on the city bus. As a result of her arrest, a bus boycott had been called by the local NAACP and young Martin was asked to lead the effort.
In 1957 , he was elected president of the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the vanguard of the nonviolent struggle for justice in the South. He was spit upon, ridiculed, jailed, fire-bombed, yet he kept on moving -- across the South, then on to Washington for his famous "I Have a Dream" in August of 1963, and then to Oslo, Norway, where he was hailed by the world as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient for 1964, somewhat as Jesus was hailed as he entered Jerusalem riding a donkey on that last fateful journey. The closer he got to Washington, the more dangerous he became to those in power. Dr. King left that moment of glory in Oslo and responded to God’s call to become an even bolder prophet for justice and peace. His vision and struggle was expanded to include all victims of poverty and violence. It was his "Poor People’s Campaign" headed toward Washington and his condemnation of the war in Vietnam that probably led to the fatal bullets on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Dr. King didn’t know his commitment to justice and peace would make him a "lamb of God" like Jesus, but he embraced the call from Jesus to live his faith as fully as he could, each day, no matter where it would lead.I end with these leveling words of Dr. King as we thank God for him…
If you want to be important, wonderful.
If you want to be recognized, wonderful.
If you want to be great, wonderful.
But recognize that He who is greatest among you
shall be your servant.
That’s a new definition of greatness.
This morning the thing that I like about this is,
by giving that definition of greatness,
that means that everybody can be great,
because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" to serve.
You don't have to know the Second Theory of Thermal Dynamics in Physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace,
a soul generated by love,
and you can be that servant." MLK Jr.
Behold the Lamb of God
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?”
A Washington Post reporter wanted to see what would happen if they hired a world famous violinist to play during rush hour on a Washington subway platform. Would anybody notice? Would anybody stop and listen? Would they toss any money into his violin case?To take part in this experiment, they enlisted Joshua Bell – by many accounts, one of the greatest violinists of his generation. He’s recorded a number of best-selling albums, plays around the world and routinely collects thousands of dollars for one performance. He’s young – just 39 – and recognizable. Bell thought the idea sounded like fun, so he agreed to do it.
So one morning, he put on jeans and sweatshirt and went down into the DC subway during rush hour. He unpacked one of his most prized possessions -- a Stradivarius violin, worth an estimated three million dollars. He opened the case to collect some money, and started playing. He played Bach. He played Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” He played a series of classical pieces by Manuel Ponce and Jules Massenet. Once in a while, someone would hurry past and throw some pennies in his case. At one point, a little boy paused, enthralled, but his mother pulled him away. No one stopped to listen to the most beautiful music in the world being played by one of the most gifted musicians in the world on a three million dollar violin.
Nobody noticed. They were too busy running to work.
For his 45 minutes, Joshua Bell collected $32 dollars in change.
When the Washington Post published the article about all this, the reporter quoted the poet W.H. Davies:
“What is this life if, full of care ,We have no time to stand and stare?”
In today’s gospel, we encounter John the Baptist at a moment when he does have time to stand and stare. He sees Jesus walking toward him and says, very simply, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” He recognizes Jesus for who He is.
If we saw Christ approaching us…would we realize who He was? Or would we – like the thousands of people who passed by Joshua Bell during rush hour – just keep going, blind and deaf to what was before us? Which are more important: words or actions? We say, “Actions speak louder than words.” But sometimes, something must be said, and so silence is wrong. There is Jesus walking by. He isn’t speaking, he’s just walking. Who is he? Is he important? He doesn’t appear special, he doesn’t look significant. But then John the Baptist speaks: “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” And the two disciples with John hear this, and they begin to follow Jesus.
John’s words are so effective that his disciples leave him to follow someone else. Without those words, Jesus would have walked by and John’s disciples would not have followed.
One of those disciples was Andrew. After spending some time with Jesus, what is the first thing he does? He goes and finds his brother, Peter, and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” And because of Andrew’s words, Peter acts. Peter leaves everything behind and follows Christ. Nothing in Peter’s life is the same because of his brother’s words, “We have found the Messiah!” Nothing in human history is the same because of how Peter acts on those words.
We are called upon to do the same: to point Christ out to people, as John and Andrew did.
We who already follow Christ must proclaim to others, “We have found the Messiah!” There is a mighty challenge here for all of us. If we are honest, the only time many of us speak Christ’s name outside of a church is when we stub a toe, get cut off in traffic, or watch our favorite team make a bad play. As Christians, we bear Christ’s name, but we barely use his name.
I think Jesus comes in a similar way today, as a humble lamb, and because Jesus comes in so many ways today as a humble lamb we might miss his coming unless some John the Baptist pointed out and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’ Vatican II acted as a John the Baptist telling us that Jesus comes to us in four ways when we gather here for our Sunday Mass:
Jesus comes in the word of God in the readings, in the Eucharist, in the congregation and in the priest (Sacrosanctum Concilium 7).
When the readings are being proclaimed, God is speaking to you. If a line from the text strikes you we normally understand this as God speaking to you.
In Holy Communion Jesus comes to you in the fullness of his body, blood, soul and divinity.
Jesus is present in the congregation because where two or three are gathered in his name he is present in their midst.
And Jesus is present in the priest who offers Jesus to the Father just as Jesus offered himself to the Father on the cross.
Jesus comes to us in four ways when we gather here for our Sunday Mass: in the word of God, in the Eucharist, in the congregation and in the priest.
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, You are never too old to begin fulfilling God’s dream for you.
What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?The advice priest Eli gives the boy Samuel is the best advice anyone who has care of, or cares about, can ever give: when God speaks, answer with total readiness. "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening".
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?”
A Washington Post reporter wanted to see what would happen if they hired a world famous violinist to play during rush hour on a Washington subway platform. Would anybody notice? Would anybody stop and listen? Would they toss any money into his violin case?To take part in this experiment, they enlisted Joshua Bell – by many accounts, one of the greatest violinists of his generation. He’s recorded a number of best-selling albums, plays around the world and routinely collects thousands of dollars for one performance. He’s young – just 39 – and recognizable. Bell thought the idea sounded like fun, so he agreed to do it.
So one morning, he put on jeans and sweatshirt and went down into the DC subway during rush hour. He unpacked one of his most prized possessions -- a Stradivarius violin, worth an estimated three million dollars. He opened the case to collect some money, and started playing. He played Bach. He played Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” He played a series of classical pieces by Manuel Ponce and Jules Massenet. Once in a while, someone would hurry past and throw some pennies in his case. At one point, a little boy paused, enthralled, but his mother pulled him away. No one stopped to listen to the most beautiful music in the world being played by one of the most gifted musicians in the world on a three million dollar violin.
Nobody noticed. They were too busy running to work.
For his 45 minutes, Joshua Bell collected $32 dollars in change.
When the Washington Post published the article about all this, the reporter quoted the poet W.H. Davies:
“What is this life if, full of care ,We have no time to stand and stare?”
In today’s gospel, we encounter John the Baptist at a moment when he does have time to stand and stare. He sees Jesus walking toward him and says, very simply, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” He recognizes Jesus for who He is.
If we saw Christ approaching us…would we realize who He was? Or would we – like the thousands of people who passed by Joshua Bell during rush hour – just keep going, blind and deaf to what was before us? Which are more important: words or actions? We say, “Actions speak louder than words.” But sometimes, something must be said, and so silence is wrong. There is Jesus walking by. He isn’t speaking, he’s just walking. Who is he? Is he important? He doesn’t appear special, he doesn’t look significant. But then John the Baptist speaks: “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” And the two disciples with John hear this, and they begin to follow Jesus.
John’s words are so effective that his disciples leave him to follow someone else. Without those words, Jesus would have walked by and John’s disciples would not have followed.
One of those disciples was Andrew. After spending some time with Jesus, what is the first thing he does? He goes and finds his brother, Peter, and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” And because of Andrew’s words, Peter acts. Peter leaves everything behind and follows Christ. Nothing in Peter’s life is the same because of his brother’s words, “We have found the Messiah!” Nothing in human history is the same because of how Peter acts on those words.
We are called upon to do the same: to point Christ out to people, as John and Andrew did.
We who already follow Christ must proclaim to others, “We have found the Messiah!” There is a mighty challenge here for all of us. If we are honest, the only time many of us speak Christ’s name outside of a church is when we stub a toe, get cut off in traffic, or watch our favorite team make a bad play. As Christians, we bear Christ’s name, but we barely use his name.
I think Jesus comes in a similar way today, as a humble lamb, and because Jesus comes in so many ways today as a humble lamb we might miss his coming unless some John the Baptist pointed out and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’ Vatican II acted as a John the Baptist telling us that Jesus comes to us in four ways when we gather here for our Sunday Mass:
Jesus comes in the word of God in the readings, in the Eucharist, in the congregation and in the priest (Sacrosanctum Concilium 7).
When the readings are being proclaimed, God is speaking to you. If a line from the text strikes you we normally understand this as God speaking to you.
In Holy Communion Jesus comes to you in the fullness of his body, blood, soul and divinity.
Jesus is present in the congregation because where two or three are gathered in his name he is present in their midst.
And Jesus is present in the priest who offers Jesus to the Father just as Jesus offered himself to the Father on the cross.
Jesus comes to us in four ways when we gather here for our Sunday Mass: in the word of God, in the Eucharist, in the congregation and in the priest.
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, You are never too old to begin fulfilling God’s dream for you.
What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?The advice priest Eli gives the boy Samuel is the best advice anyone who has care of, or cares about, can ever give: when God speaks, answer with total readiness. "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening".
