December 28, 2014: Feast of the Holy Family

Like last Sunday, the readings for this Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph speak of God's covenantal promises, manifested in the family relationships of Abraham.  Even as he and Sarah advanced greatly in age, God promised that Abraham would bear a son, who would inherit the blessings of His promises, which included innumerable descendants.

It was this covenant that bore the Mosaic Law, which Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna were faithful to by their presence in the Temple in the Gospel reading.  Yet while fulfilling their duties, a new Light shone that Simeon and Anna clearly recognized:  God was establishing a New Covenant through this Holy Child, the Savior of all peoples.  And it would be a covenantal promise that would be manifest in the relationships of the Holy Family, as they expressed their love for one another, showing us an example of how we live love for each other in our relationships, love made possible by God's act of salvation.

God is truly taking care of us by fulfilling His promises.  It doesn't seem like there's more could we do than keep faithful to God day by day, living for Him, especially in our relationships.  He desires to be a part of family relationships when He was born on Earth, in a human family.  By such a holy birth, He brings us together to be part of God's family, made of people who share a common faith in Him.

December 25, 2014: The Feast of the Nativity of the Lord

From time to time in life, people save the best for last.

The 2nd reading from Hebrews in the lectionary for Christmas Mass During the Day tells about how God spoke through prophets throughout the centuries, but now, in these last days, has spoken to us by the Son.

God saved the best expression and revelation of Himself for these last days, namely, Jesus Christ.  He came from outside our world and outside of time to make God present to us in a very real way.  It is one of the great Mysteries of our Faith that God became Flesh in Jesus Christ, born human to reveal God to us.

God must have really wanted to make sure that people knew He was now on Earth.  And so He sent angels to announce this Good News to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem--the Good News that God came for us to bring us salvation, which speaks to what we celebrate in the Paschal Triduum, for you certainly can't have one without the other.  Once the shepherds saw the Christ Child, they went everywhere telling the News--their feet became the feet that carried the glad tidings, as mentioned in the reading from Isaiah.

Indeed, what great joy touches our hearts as we behold God born in the manger so long ago, and born today in our hearts.

December 21, 2014: Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Old Testament contains a series of promises God makes in the form of convenants.  Today's first reading features the Covenant with King David.  God promises to establish David's house forever, by placing from his line One to sit on his throne for all time.

We see the fulfillment of that promise, a mystery from ages past now manifested by the command of God--in the spirit of St. Paul's words in the 2nd reading--when the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she will bear the Son of God.  Surely frightened and overwhelmed, Mary gradually realizes through the course of the conversation with Gabriel that God's power will fully come upon her to make this baby possible.  God truly takes care of everything, and all that remains is her obedient "Yes".

Imagine the marvelous things God continues to accomplish in His unfolding plan of salvation as we entrust ourselves to Him with our obedient "Yes".

December 14, 2014: Third Sunday of Advent/Gaudete Sunday

In this weekend's readings, at the midpoint of Advent, God speaks to us reasons for rejoicing.

God is doing a marvelous work in the world, which is happening in our hearts.  He brings forth justice to the world through the lowly and humble like us.  We praise Him for looking upon us, and turn to live in righteousness before Him, praying always as we engage in relationship with Him, which is how He brings life to the Earth.  We become the ones who announce the One among us, whom others may not recognize, but whom we do.  Yes, God's great gift of salvation is coming alive in us.  That is great reason for rejoicing.

I also rejoice as I come upon the one-year anniversary of the launch of this blog.  A year ago, Gaudete Sunday's readings, with reasons for rejoicing, inspired me to share a message of joy.  And I have continued in that spirit of joy sharing what God speaks through His Holy Word.

P.S. I apologize for the delay.  In the midst of everything going on in the past week--read: being at Church Monday-Thursday nights--I neglected to realize I hadn't published this.

December 8, 2014: Feast of the Immaculate Conception

God began a new era in world history when He intervened to reverse the effects of original sin, brought upon humanity by the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

He sent His angel to Mary, who through her obedience to God's word, brought forth Christ, who became our salvation.  Within us, He imparts His righteousness so we die to sin and live Holy before God.  What a wondrous work that began with the first disciple, Mary.

As an aside:  This is the Patronal Feast Day of the United States.  It seems fitting, as the founding of the US is regarded as a new era of liberty, for people came to this land in a "new world" to live in greater freedom.  On this feast, we celebrate how a new measure of freedom came to humanity.

December 7, 2014: Second Sunday of Advent

In a world of troubles and difficulties, God speaks words of comfort to us.  He sends a Savior to make all things right, even in our own hearts.  He calls us to take leave of sin and embrace ways of righteousness, especially as the Day of the Lord nears when the Earth and Heavens are destroyed and replaced by new Heavens and Earth.

We take comfort in God's patience with us.  He wants us to live in righteousness, and calls us during this time before the End to repent, just as did John the Baptist.  We turn toward God, and make ready the way for Him to enter our hearts, even through the Holy Spirit, the baptism by fire.

November 30, 2014: First Sunday of Advent

We are God's people.  What a blessing and a challenge to us.  We recognize that God has worked so marvelously in our lives, always remaining faithful.  Yet we have not always responded in righteous living, to the point that God turns His face away from us.

So we plead with God to turn toward us again, that we may behold Him.  He is coming again, so we make ourselves ready to welcome Him in, always keeping watch, living a sense of readiness in our lives by using those spiritual gifts He gives to keep us irreproachable.

It's interesting to note how the servants in the Gospel reading don't know when the Master is going to return. In our day and age, we have schedules that can allow us to be specific in regards to arrivals and departures, but travel was much less fixed and predictable back then.  So they, and we, must keep watch for the Master's return.  We keep careful vigilance in righteous living to receive Him in, even in those unexpected kind of moments in our lives when He arrives.

November 23, 2014: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

So I'm helping dog-sit my grandma's dog.  He's claimed two different chairs in the living room as his own, and has for several nights gotten into the habit of hopping up on my bed to sleep there, as if he's my bedmate.  This has prompted my Mom to refer to him as "king of the castle".

This feast celebrates Christ as King.  He is the One who reigns over the world, working to bring us back to God our Father, which is the ultimate victory that comes at the End of Time, as St. Paul speaks of in the 2nd reading.

To this end, He is a King that comes down to be present and identify with the lowly of this world.  He cares for His vulnerable, weak sheep.

And He makes it clear that as His people, we are to do the same.  In the Judgment at the End of Time, He holds us accountable for how we have cared for those who He cares about, with whom He identifies.

November 16, 2014: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The focus of the readings at the end of the liturgical year in November turns us toward the end of all things, when Christ shall come again.

The readings this weekend are very practical in the directives they provide for how we should live our lives as we await Christ's return.  We recognize the great talents God has given us, and get earnestly to work, putting them to good use.  And we surround ourselves with good influences that help us live righteously before God, as the king's son in the reading from Proverbs is urged to find a wife who will urge him on in doing what is right, as she conducts herself in a praiseworthy way.

As we do this, we are already engaging in the ways of the Kingdom, and will be ready to enter in when Christ returns.

November 9, 2014: Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

We celebrate the dedication of the Pope's official church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which was on November 9, 324.  It is considered the Mother Church of Christianity.  But as the readings make clear, this church is more than a building--it is a symbol of who we are as the people of God.

God gathers us into one Body, His Body, which is the Church, by which we make His presence known.  We come because Christ was destroyed on the Cross, and rose again, to become the new and Living Temple, into which He draws us.  So no longer would people worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but rather in the Spirit of Jesus.  And He constantly nourishes us by Living Waters to be His people, His very presence in the world.

Throughout the centuries, the faithful have drawn people to God in His Church.  I had the privilege of celebrating with the St. Martin de Porres Parish Community on their Feast Day weekend.  He was a mixed-race man who sought to draw all varied peoples together in God in his sphere of influence in colonial Peru.  He, like all others before and since who have done this work, have done so in the Spirit of Christ, who is the foundation for His Church.

November 2, 2014: The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

As we draw near the end of the liturgical year, and the world around us in the midcontinent of North America is shutting down heading toward winter, it's fitting to think about the end of all things.  (Later this month comes Veterans' Day, when we remember those who have served our country.)

So we celebrate All Souls' Day at the head of this month.  We remember our beloved who have passed on from this life.  And we remember that the destiny of all the faithful departed is now with God.  Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, all of us in faith have hope, upon reaching death, of experiencing our own Resurrection, as God has now redeemed even death for His purposes.  As we strive to live faithfully now, we have hope of abiding with God forever.  What a hope to have in this life, and what comfort we take from it as we remember our beloved who have fallen asleep.

November 1, 2014: All Saints' Day

This is a religious holy day that I like very much.

It's a day to celebrate all those saints we look to, both the ones the Church formally recognizes, and all others we know who have striven for God in our lives.

We celebrate how God has made us His specially Chosen people, in His love.  We renew ourselves in seeking this God who has so marvelously worked in our lives, living lives as people who have been purified, awaiting the day we join the great throng giving praise to God.  We are inspired by the examples of those who have gone before us, the "cloud of witnesses" in Hebrews 12, and we strive in those same paths living for God.

October 26, 2014: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus tells the Pharisee in the Gospel reading that the whole of the Law comes down to the commands to love God and love one another.

The reading from Exodus, containing specifics of the Law, focuses love as a practical matter of action toward helping those who are in need.  These are the people God loves and desires to help.  And as we aid them in Love, we do as God does, and join ourselves with His love.  This is the Love that brought us alive, and turned us toward worshiping the one true God.

October 19, 2014: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God declares in the first reading from Isaiah that He is God alone, and there is no other.  Even Cyrus, mighty a king as he was in his day, in God's sight, is an instrument used to further His purposes for His people, as Cyrus initiated the efforts to bring the Jews back to their land, thereby ending the Babylonian exile.

When the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about the legality of the tax to Caesar, Jesus rebuffs it by declaring that they should give Caesar what is owed him, while also remembering they should give to God what they owe Him.

Because God is the Almighty, the Creator of all and our Redeemer, we owe Him much for the much He has given us.  He has worked gloriously in us, through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit, which brings us alive to proclaim who He is by our deeds, so that we thereby live out fully the great value that He gives us, as we bear His very image.

These readings hold special meaning for me because they were proclaimed at my Confirmation Mass 9 years ago, on Saturday, October 15, 2005.  It was the day the Holy Spirit did a powerful work in me, so that I began to proclaim God anew as God alone.

October 12, 2014: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

So one of my dad's bosses had someone in his family who had planned a destination wedding at a fancy resort in the Bahamas.  But as the wedding neared, he got cold feet and decided not to get married.  In an effort to not let the accommodations go to waste, my parents accepted an offer to spend the few days there instead.

While not an exact resemblance, I think about this story in light of the Gospel reading for this weekend, where the king prepares a wedding feast for his son, but the invited guests refused to come when summoned.  Eventually, the king tells his servants to go out and bring anyone they find to the feast.  But they have to be sure to be properly dressed, just as my parents had to be sure to obtain passports.

God prepares for us a great feast, and earnestly sets out to invite us to partake.  It is a feast where we are not only filled and satisfied in a physical sense, but where God removes the ill effects of sin and makes us whole again, the greatest spiritual longing of our soul.

It is not only a feast we experience at the End of Time, but even now in our lives when we realize, in good times and bad, God always meets our needs in His abundance through Jesus Christ.

Such a powerful invitation invites us to give our hearts to Him as we embrace fully this invitation, even now by living in the abundance of His graces in His new and everlasting covenant.

October 5, 2014: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I feel like the commentaries I have come across on this weekend's readings gravitate toward talking about how we are the laborers in God's vineyard.

The readings certainly do speak of God's vineyard as the people of Israel.  But they were unfaithful to God, not producing the fruit He desired, even though He cared for them dearly.  The people of Israel in the time of Isaiah followed other gods, and the religious leaders in Jesus's day followed their own ideas about practicing religion, but not living it.

So, as a conclusion drawn from Jesus's parable in the Gospel reading, God gives His vineyard to others who will do the work in producing good fruit.  This fruit comes in the form of righteousness and virtues in the list St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, which we do in our works of mercy and in our taking time to pray to receive God's peace.

We, as God's people of the Church in the New Covenant, are the new ones whom God has given the task of tending the vineyard.  In light of past failings, God is counting on us to bear fruit, confident we are capable.  For God has truly blessed us with the abilities to do His work, and the fruits we bear are our offering back to God.  We don't do it because God demands it, but because God loves us and earnestly wants us to be in relationship with Him and bear fruit for His glory.

September 28, 2014: 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

God places a high value on doing what is right.

As written by Ezekiel, the one who turns from righteousness to wickedness does not have life.  The one who turns from wickedness has life, by leaving sin.  Sin does not bring us life, and that's the reality of God's way, which may seem unfair, but, like mentioned last week, are not our ways.

In the same spirit, Jesus tells the story of the two sons who were commanded by their father to work, and the religious people agree that the son who refused, but then changed his mind is the one who did his father's will.

The life of Christian faith is about doing what is right, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, selflessly serving one another, to bring alive that faith, day by day.

September 21, 2014: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The reading from Isaiah declares that God's ways are so far above our ways, and the Gospel sheds further light on how incomprehensible His ways are.  In the parable, as the landowner, He gives everyone who works in His fields the same payment of a day's wages, whether they worked one hour, or all day.

It really doesn't make any sense, but God doesn't abide by our business mentality--reflecting words from Father Bart's homily at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, WI.  His grace issues forth upon us in great abundance.  It is a gift that can't be measured because it is so priceless, with a value above all else, for it brings us life, and draws us into the work of His plan for this world.  He is earnestly seeking for us to come to Him to experience it, calling us to come to Him, because He is near--right here among us.  And His grace meets our need for abundant Life.

September 14, 2014: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September 14 is not only the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, but this year, it marks the 200th Anniversary of the composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner".  The song was written about a triumph of a symbol of the United States, the flag, after a battle.

On this Feast, we celebrate the exaltation of the Cross, the instrument of our salvation.

Prefiguring the Cross, the bronze serpent Moses constructed and lifted up provided healing to the Israelites who pleaded for forgiveness when poisonous snakes bit them in punishment for their quarreling.  It didn't take away the snakes per se, but provided healing for the Israelites.

Just so, in a world stricken by sin, Christ was raised up on the Cross, and we who look to Him by faith live.  And we continue turning to the Cross as the source of our life, dying to ourselves, so we may fully embrace the life it gives us.  And we honor and glorify Christ, whom God has exalted for His self-emptying and submission to death on the Cross that has brought us alive.

September 7, 2014: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As people of God, we have the responsibility to take a stand and correct the wrongs we encounter in our lives.  We do so aware of how God works to correct our wrongs, with love and compassion, having saved us from sin. In that spirit, we live in the spirit of Love toward one another--Love, which is the fulfillment of the Law, because it is the ultimate expression of righteousness.

We keep ourselves open to God, who directs our ways, and so that we stand for right in this world on our earthly pilgrimage.  We gather together as His Church to do this work, remembering that Christ is truly present among us.

August 31, 2014: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As Jeremiah learns from his experience as a prophet, God's call is demanding, even taxing.  But it is so compelling that he cannot easily rid himself of it.

Jesus understands the demanding nature of God's call, telling His disciples He must go the way of the Cross, which Peter has trouble comprehending in light of his acclamation of Christ as the Messiah, and Son of God.

When Peter seeks to downplay Jesus's sufferings, He rebukes him, and then gives a teaching on what discipleship is:  We must take up our Crosses, wholly committing ourselves to following God's will for us.

As St. Paul writes, we must offer up ourselves and all in our lives as a living sacrifice to God, looking past worldly concerns unto Him.

August 24, 2014: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is the authority, whose ways are vastly beyond what we humans can possibly comprehend or fathom, as St. Paul marvels at in great wonder in the 2nd reading.  So it's even more unfathomable that God would give authority to us mere humans to be part of doing His work.

When Peter declares in response to His question that Christ is the Messiah, Jesus grants Him the privilege of being the foundation for His Church, and holding its keys, a symbol of authority.  Yet this doesn't occur because Peter comes up with this brilliant statement by himself.  God granted this knowledge to Peter.  God alone makes us worthy, not because of what we have done, but purely by an act of His grace.

Aware of how amazing His grace is, we stand before God, compelled to see Him for who He is, and then live our lives on the foundation of this knowledge God reveals to us, as we build His Kingdom.

August 17, 2014: 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This weekend's Gospel reading poses a significant challenge for us.  But there's one part I really enjoy about it.  When Jesus makes a remark about giving the blessings for the people of Israel to Gentiles, using the metaphor of food to the dogs, the woman jumps on that remark and offers a great come-back.  And in that, she displays great faith, as she declares that the blessings for the people of Israel extend to all people.  So as cruel as Jesus seems in His remarks, those remarks lead the woman to making a great declaration of faith.

This is what Isaiah writes of in the first reading.  People from all over come to honor God, and, as such, God draws them to Himself, making a place for all peoples to pray and worship Him.  We can see the reality of this reading in the Church, the body of Christ--not just the place, but the people who compose it.  And this idea comes up in the 2nd reading, when St. Paul writes of how God gives mercy to all people.  The Gentiles received it because the Jews wouldn't accept Jesus as Savior, and so those like Paul turned to minister the Gospel to them.  And Paul hoped that his ministry would make his people, the Jews, desire that, too.

Ultimately, we are all sinners in need of God, and no matter who we are, God draws us to Himself to be His people.  The challenge for us to is accept all as God does.

August 15, 2014: Assumption of Mary

This feast commemorates when Mary was taken up into Heaven in body and soul.

It's an occasion for us to recall to mind our own resurrection that we experience as people of faith in God.  By dying and rising to life with Christ now in our Earthly pilgrimage, living as disciples, as did Mary, we share in the hope that one day we will enter Eternal Life in God's presence.  From God comes salvation, and through Christ, we experience it fully.  And we are full of joy, as were Mary and Elizabeth in the Gospel reading.

August 10, 2014: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This world is so full of trouble, and our own lives are, too.  Yet God remains ever present to us, in a quiet, calm way, like when Elijah senses a soft voice that is God's presence, after a violent wind, earthquake, and fire.

In the midst of rough waters on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to be present to His disciples in the boat, summoning forth their courage against fear, and the doubt that He was walking toward them.

We learn to recognize this presence manifest in a sense of calmness, and reach out by faith, beyond our fears, to embrace it.  We see that our loving God desires to grant us salvation, through Jesus Christ, manifested first in the Jewish people, as St. Paul writes of so gloriously.

August 3, 2014: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God always stands ready to provide for us.  In the Gospel reading, even in the midst of the heartbreak of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus is moved to care for the people who stream to Him, and goes so far as to feed them.

The disciples were concerned over how they could feed so many people, yet Jesus opened the way for the people to be fed.  The story shows how God truly provides--not just for our physical needs, but the needs of our whole being, body and soul.

That's what the reading from Isaiah alludes to, when God calls the people to come and eat, then adding He would renew the covenant with them, bringing them into a relationship with Him that would prosper them fully.

We have a God who cares for us, out of love so powerful and strong, which nothing--nothing--can overcome, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, listing off various powers, even spiritual, and physical realities.

July 27, 2014: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend, I spent part of my Saturday afternoon watching a fantastic movie called National Treasure.  In seeking after a great hidden treasure amassed over centuries, and guarded by the Knights Templars and Freemasons, Ben Gates has to go through one of the United States's great national treasures, the Declaration of Independence, going so far as to steal the document from the National Archives.  In so doing, he also recognizes the document's values, for what it represents, and especially for the ideas it contains that created the United States.

As I sat at Mass on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to watch a movie about treasures with the readings speaking about treasures.  Namely, they speak about the great riches of God.  In light of who He is, all earthly riches treasures don't seem so valuable.

King Solomon senses this when God comes to Him in a dream and offers to grant him whatever he wishes.  Solomon doesn't ask for any earthly pleasures, but asks for wisdom and a heart that can effectively aid him in ruling the great and vast people of God.

The people in Jesus's parables encounter treasures, small things in the realm of something larger.  But they have such great worth, which compels them to sell everything they have to lay hold of those items of great worth.

So great is the Kingdom of God, that we give up everything else in life to lay hold of it, a constant effort throughout our lives.  As St. Paul speaks of in the Epistle reading, we know that God has called us, and as we seek His Kingdom, He is transforming us into His great treasure.  So even as we have to face evil and trouble in this world, we await the day God gathers the righteous into His fold, truly glorifying them.

July 20, 2014: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our God is an amazing God, and the eloquently-worded reading from the book of Wisdom explains why:  By being just and mighty in His very nature, God shows mercy and compassion to people.  He even makes possible for us to repent of our sins.

Perhaps this is why God does not rid the world of evil with one fell swoop.  He works instead to grow the goodness of His people as they build the Kingdom of God, which starts in small ways, and builds to something great and mighty, like the mustard seed and the large bush that it becomes.  For even in the midst of evil, God works mightily in us, as the Spirit intercedes for us, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans.  He is able to leaven the whole batch of dough with a little yeast.

That is why we hope, and strive by faith to build the Kingdom on Earth, until the day when we who have so worked shine so gloriously for our Father.

July 13, 2014: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Agricultural imagery abounds in this weekend's readings.

As Isaiah says, God's Word comes down to the Earth to accomplish its purposes, just as the rain and snow water the Earth to bring it alive in great abundance.

According to the Gospel reading, this abundance comes when the seed sown by the farmer lands in fertile soil, which allows it to produce a great yield.  But when Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples, it is clear that there are different responses to the Word of God, and it is received by many, but is not fertilized and nourished, especially considering how some aren't able to respond and comprehend the Word.  So we must give of ourselves in fertilizing the Word of God, so that it produces an abundance.

Indeed, God has sent forth to send His Word forth upon the Earth, to bring it alive.  All of Creation is awaiting the day when God restores it to its full beauty, even as we wait for the fullness of our redemption, being accomplished now as God's Word works in us to produce such abundance.

July 6, 2014: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus gives us an invitation to come to Him in this weekend's Gospel reading.  He invites us into a life in which we are caught up in the great mysteries of God, which He reveals not to the proud, but to the meek and humble.  We are forgiven of our sins, and brought to new Life by God's Spirit, the same One who raised Christ from the dead.  We are made part of the new reign of God, in which our King reigns with great peace over all the Earth, even in our own hearts.

We are invited to leave behind the old life of sin, and take up this new Life, in which Christ is ever present with us as we bear this life's burdens.  We take on his yoke, so that our burdens are no longer so great, because He's alongside us.

June 29, 2014: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

The liturgy for this Sunday is replaced by this Solemnity, commemorating the two saints who are pillars of the Church.  They were chosen by God to have important leadership roles in building up the Church in its earliest days, and ultimately, to give witness to Christ in dying as martyrs.  Yet, as we see in the story in the First Reading, God delivered St. Peter from death for a time, so that he could continue the work God had set for Him to do.

And as St. Paul writes in the selection from 2 Timothy for the second reading, He had truly striven after doing God's work faithfully, giving his life in service to God's call, and now awaited the great reward from God.

They lay an important foundation for the Church:  They established the teachings to which we still hold this day, and their example guides us in living faithfully before God and doing His work of proclaiming the Gospel.

June 22, 2014: Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

This feast day, also known as Corpus Christi Sunday, focuses our attention on a special part of our faith, and the Paschal Mystery, too:

We remember--and that's the important word--that Jesus Christ is God's provision to us, and He offers us His Body and Blood to nourish us that we may truly live, all the while as we recall that God alone truly sustains us.  Because Jesus Christ has come and established the Paschal Mystery, He is now the only source of nourishment for the Life we live in God.  In a similar spirit to His saying, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life", in John chapter 14, it's like He says, "I am nourishment".

It is a Life we live together the people of God, as One Body, because we partake of the One Source of nourishment--we become what we consume, the Body of Christ.  So this feast is a celebration of God's provision through us in Jesus Christ and the life we live as One Body, the Church.

So as God shows Himself alive and present in the Eucharist, as we partake, becoming Christ, we show Him to be alive and present as we manifest His presence in the world.

As an aside: this Feast gives me further reason to think back upon my First Communion 15 years ago.  But I seem to have erred in my post for Sunday, May 3, 2014, when I said that occasion was on May 9, when more than likely it was May 2, 1999.

June 15, 2014: Most Holy Trinity Sunday

The Trinity is one of the great mysteries of our faith.  It's hard to understand how God is One yet of Three Distinct Persons at the same time.

Father Larry, pastor at Ascension Church, in regards to the Trinity, recalls the teaching of one of his seminary professors, who said that we ought not explain the doctrine of the Trinity, but live out the doctrine.

And while we can't easily explain the Trinity, we are aware of its effects in our lives.  God the Father created us, and all the beauty of this world.  Jesus Christ, the Son, has redeemed us, so that we could be restored to relationship with the Father.  And the Holy Spirit guides us in living out that relationship in righteousness before Him.  This is all tied up in the Paschal Mystery, which we have just spent nearly 100 days of the year commemorating.

The readings for this weekend speak of God's characteristics, grace, mercy, and kindness, shown most especially in how he sought to save us through the Son, and not leave us to be condemned.  Having experienced this amazing Love, which binds the Trinity together, and us to the Trinity, we live in love with each other, as we give praise to our Almighty God, of Three, but in essence, One.

June 8, 2014: Pentecost Sunday

We have come to the annual observance of another great Feast of the Church, in which we celebrate another piece of the Paschal Mystery:  Jesus, glorified in God's presence, pours out the Gift of the Holy Spirit on the Church.  God, through Jesus, has breathed His Spirit upon us, and sent us forth.  We are truly and fully brought alive and now go forth to carry forth the work of Jesus in the world.

The Spirit brought us, as many people, together as one to confess Jesus as Lord--and only by this Spirit do we so confess.  The Spirit then gifts us specifically to do His work, serving one another in selfless love, and so that we truly sense being together as one people, in God.

We have much reason to celebrate on this occasion, because God is alive and active in our midst through His Spirit.  I had opportunity to celebrate that this weekend in a couple of ways.  On Saturday evening, I attended a celebration with the community of St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center as we marked 25 years since Father Kevin's ordination as a priest.  We celebrated how God's Spirit is active through his ministry, and through our participation in this community of faith.

On Sunday, there was a special blessing for all those who participated in the Living Your Strengths program at Ascension Parish.  This is a program in which we discern the gifts God has given each of us individually, and how we can use them.  So it was a fitting weekend to have a special blessing for those who have participated, as we celebrate how God has gifted each of us uniquely, and how together, we can use our gifts in service for His greater glory.

June 1, 2014: Ascension of the Lord Sunday

Note: Here in the Archdiocese of Chicago, like many US dioceses, the Feast of the Ascension is transferred to the 7th Sunday of Easter.  And for me, this Feast holds special significance as the Feast Day of my home parish, Ascension in Oak Park.

On this occasion, we celebrate another piece of the Paschal Mystery.  After rising from the dead, and appearing to the disciples on a number of occasions, Christ ascends to Heaven.  But in light of the Resurrection and His new life, which we have celebrated throughout this Easter Season, it is a departure in which we rejoice.  Christ now returns to Heaven in exalted glory, having done His part in God's plan for the salvation of the world.

Yet He does not leave us alone.  He imparts to us a mission, to go forth, continuing His work of the Kingdom, making disciples in the world.  And He promises to be present to His disciples always, which alludes to the great Feast we celebrate next week.  So we wait upon Him as we set forth in this work, knowing that when our earthly pilgrimage is done, we shall go to where Christ has gone, to the Father's presence in Heaven, to share in His Glory.

May 25, 2014: Sixth Sunday of Easter

While giving His Last Supper discourse, from which today's Gospel reading from John is taken, Jesus promises His disciples that He will send the Spirit, an Advocate to be present with them always.  Jesus recognizes their need for His continued presence once He physically leaves the Earth.

It is this Spirit that continually manifests the presence of the Risen Christ.  This Spirit aids us when a hostile world challenges our faith.  This Spirit aids us in living holy, righteous lives, and in responding to the powerful Love God has shown us in Jesus, as we do works of service to others in that Love.  In these deeds, the Spirit is truly actively working in our midst.

May 18, 2014: Fifth Sunday of Easter

By the Paschal Mystery, God, through Christ, now makes us a specially Chosen People in His sight, bringing us from darkness to Light.  We now center our lives on Christ, in whose presence we dwell, so that we do great works, in the power of faith and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  As we dwell in Christ's presence now, we are guided by Him on the way that leads to Life, now, and Eternally in the presence of God, where Christ is preparing a place for us to dwell in God's presence.

May 11, 2014: Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

In the Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus talks about how He is the Good Shepherd:  He truly cares for the sheep, always looking out for their best interests.  He protects them from those who seek to do them harm.  The sheep are drawn to Him, because they know who He is, and know His love for them.

We, like sheep, have strayed from the Shepherd who cares for us.  And in love and care for us, God sacrificed Himself in Jesus Christ so we could be brought back to following after our Good Shepherd, who guides our very souls.  He has made possible the way of forgiveness of sins, and repentance leading to new Life.

This image of Good Shepherd was demonstrated so powerfully for me this weekend:  I went to one of the two First Communion Masses held this weekend at my home parish.  Right before the Eucharistic Prayer, Father Larry walked to where the First Communicants were sitting, motioned for them to get out of their pews, and personally led them up to the altar, where they gathered as he led the prayer.  I almost cried watching this touching scene, because Father Larry was demonstrating what it means to be a shepherd of God's people, leading them to life, which we find at the Table where Christ offers us His Body and Blood.

It was a moving scene as I celebrate the anniversary of my own first communion.  (By the way, it seems that I may have erred in my previous blog when I wrote it was on May 9.  It seems it might have been on May 2, 1999, but I'm still working on checking that for sure.)

May 4, 2014: Third Sunday of Easter

I find that the Gospel reading for this Sunday coincides aptly with two things happening in my life.

On May 9, 2014, I mark 15 years since my first Holy Communion at St. Giles Family Mass Community--an event that happened at a Mass held inside a parochial school gymnasium.

During this weekend, I attended Mass at St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center, the church I attended while a student at Valparaiso University.  It was great visiting with many people I got to know well during my time as a student there, in both the communities of St. Teresa's and of the university.

The term "breaking bread" refers to sharing a meal with someone.  I had a few opportunities to break bread with dear friends as I reconnected with them.

In the Gospel reading, the two disciples connect with a stranger as the Risen Jesus when He breaks the bread, and they see His presence fully revealed.  In so doing, Jesus shows how God's plan for salvation is unfolding in our daily lives, which preserves us from death and leads to us life, and joy in God's presence.

This again speaks to how the Paschal Mystery is something we enter into in the experiences of our own lives, as we invite God to be present with us.

April 27, 2014: Second Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

The reading from 1 Peter, while containing a long sentence with many thoughts, speaks beautifully of how we are born anew in hope, which sets us on a path to attaining the salvation won for us through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He does this for us, even though we are mired, like the disciples were, in sin, fear, and doubt.  Through His mercy, Christ grants us peace, so we are free from what mires us.  We are then given a mission to bring that mercy to the world through forgiveness of sins.  This is the new life that God breathes into us through the living Jesus, which manifests itself in the church, whose early days, and purposes even today, are described so well in the first reading.

April 20, 2014: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.  He has truly shown God's power over all that is wrong in the world by conquering death.  And so we no longer fear the ill effects of death.

Joined with Christ, we go from dying to rising with Him in Life Anew, as He now lives in us.  We are thereby set on the path that leads to Eternal Life, and so we focus ourselves above to that place where we are headed.

As Christ lives in us, we truly know the power of the Resurrection in our lives, and go forth, sharing that message with others.

April 19, 2014: Holy Saturday, The Great Easter Vigil

After a day spent in quiet reflection and anticipation, we come to the great Vigil.

O what a night it is, when we recall to mind the story of God's unfolding plan of salvation for us, His people.  Throughout, He has sought to purify for Himself a special people, set apart for His purposes and His Glory.

As His people, with exceeding joy we acclaim the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, triumphant over the grave.

And what joy it is to welcome the newly baptized who, for the first time, experience dying and rising with Christ in sacramental life, and then to renew ourselves in this great mystery as we proceed to the font.

The tone of the night vigil is definitely set well by the glorious words of the Exsultet, proclaimed toward the beginning of the service, with the Paschal candle having been set in place.  It is truly a night to rejoice when Heaven and Earth come together so wondrously.

April 18, 2014: Good Friday of the Crucifixion

The Passion narrative appears in all four Gospels, with each offering a unique perspective on the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ.

The details in the Passion narrative in the Synoptic Gospels focus on how Jesus agonized over His Passion and suffered.  John's account focuses on how Jesus was fully aware of God's plan for Him in His Passion, and willingly accepted it.  Throughout John's Passion narrative, Jesus is clearly in control of His destiny, fully aware of His purpose--coming as a King, and to testify to the Truth, as He said in the profound conversation with Pilate--and hands Himself over to His Father from the Cross.

Because of His Passion, which He submitted to in reverent obedience to the Father, He now has become our Great High Priest, and has made possible our salvation.

While we commemorate sorrowful circumstances on this day, we also celebrate them, recognizing that the Cross has become for us a source of Life.

April 17, 2014: Maundy Thursday

On this night, we begin the annual celebration of the Sacred Triduum with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, commemorating the anniversary of the Eucharist.

It was on that night, in celebration of God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, that Jesus declared, "This is My Body", and "This is My Blood".  He now declared Himself the deliverance God grants in the New Covenant.  But He not only gave of Himself, He also gave a new command, to love one another as He loved us, namely through the example of washing His disciples' feet.

So we turn to God, partaking of the gift of Himself, and then live His command of love, in this New Covenant.

April 13, 2014: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

At the start of Holy Week, we recount the Passion of Jesus Christ, the agony and suffering He endured at the hands of sinful people.  The first two readings take us deeper:  They reveal that Jesus Christ, although He was God, underwent His Passion in great humility, in submission to the Father's will.  Jesus entrusted Himself to God in the midst of all the mistreatment, knowing God would deliver Him.  And God not only delivered Jesus, but furthermore exalted Him to a high place.  We now praise Him, just like the crowds did as He entered Jerusalem on a donkey, as we remember that by His act of humility, we are delivered.

April 6, 2014: 5th Sunday of Lent

We are dead on account of our sins, entombed by the evil of this world.

But God does not desire for us, His created people, to be in such a state.

So Jesus Christ comes, and calls us to rise from our graves, leaving behind the sins that entangle us.  He raises us, and then puts His very Spirit in us, which gives us Life.

Jesus declares to Martha in the Gospel reading from John that He is "the Resurrection and the Life", in response to Martha's saying that Lazarus will rise on "the last day".  Resurrection is not just something that will happen at the end of time.  It is something happening now, as God clears away our sins, and we live anew in His righteousness, as we abide by His Life-giving Spirit.

March 30, 2014: Fourth Sunday of Lent/Laetare Sunday

God opens our eyes to see things differently when we engage in relationship with Him--namely, the way He sees things, deep within a person.  He helps us see beyond the externals, as Samuel could only see the externals, but could not see within each of Jesse's sons what God saw as the person He had chosen one to be King of Israel.

Jesus heals a blind man, which immediately causes a stir, and controversy, because the Pharisees and certain others are unable to embrace God's powerful presence among them, being blinded by their own ideas of God and how He is supposed to manifest Himself.  Throughout the fallout from the miracle, which is the lion's share of the Gospel reading, the man once blind gains greater and greater spiritual sight to see that Jesus is the Messiah, and He worships Him at the end of the passage.

God's call to us is to turn away from sin (like the words pronounced when receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday), and rise up into the light of Christ, so we can see with the spiritual insight of the eyes of God.

Let us rejoice on this Sunday of rejoicing, as God's light overflows around us, His people, to see what He sees.

March 25, 2014: Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord unto Mary

I offer a few thoughts on this important occasion, just 9 months away from an important holy day.

In the midst of our Lenten observance, we come to an occasion of great joy as we recall when the Angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would bear the Son of God.

Jesus submitted the Father's will and came to Earth in the Flesh.  Mary submitted to God's will and accepted her role as the Mother of Jesus, bringing Him into the world.  Both Mary and Jesus offer us an example of what is spoken of in the Scripture readings, offering up not sacrifices, but ourselves to doing God's will.  We thereby take up our role in God's marvelous plan of salvation, which is unfolding even in our day and in our lives.

March 23, 2014: 3rd Sunday of Lent

The readings for this day give us reason to ponder our needs, both spiritual and physical.  We can't go very long without water to quench our physical thirst.  The Hebrews were painfully aware of this, and cried out to Moses and God because they were parched in the desert, going so far as to lose trust in God and put Him to the test.  And in this world of sin and evil, we are thirsting for something to take us from evil to goodness.

Jesus declares Himself to be the One whom God provided to satisfy our thirsts.  He declares this while in conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well.  He started off the conversation speaking of physical need, and took the conversation on a course to meet the woman's spiritual need.  By God's grace, living water has come to us in Jesus Christ, taking away our sin, and giving us a newness of life.  We now have peace, deep down inside, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading.  We don't have to ever worry about our needs being met, because God has met our greatest need, for salvation.  So we don't need to test God, but trust in Him.

And having received the living water, we now share it with others, being the agents who bring that newness of life to all the world.

March 16, 2014: 2nd Sunday of Lent

In the midst of a penitential season with a more subdued, somber tone, we are reminded of where all of this is headed: the full realization of God's glory.

Right before today's Gospel reading in Matthew, St. Peter has just acclaimed Jesus as the Christ, and then Jesus tells His disciples that He must suffer, die, and be raised to new life.  After rising, Jesus is to be glorified, and He gives His three disciples (and us) a glimpse of this glory in His Transfiguration.

It's a great piece of reassurance to receive this vision toward the beginning of Lent so that we know our acts of denying ourselves lead somewhere.  And it gives us the strength to endure the hardships we encounter as we seek to live out the Gospel, as St. Paul writes in the Epistle.

As God called Abraham to journey forth, so He calls us to journey forth in this season of Lent toward renewal in our relationship with Him, and the Life it brings, not done by our own initiative, but because God has shown us His Grace and Mercy.

March 9, 2014: 1st Sunday of Lent

Lent has its origins in a period of preparation in the early church as a 40-day retreat preceding the Easter Vigil for those preparing to be baptized.  It is a time to recall the stories of our relationship with God.

We see in the readings on this day the rise and fall of sin in the world.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the fruit to become like Him.  But when Jesus was tempted, He stood His ground, and refused to disobey God.  Because, as a man, He overcame temptation, we now are able to overcome.  Death came through the sin and disobedience of the first humans.  Now in Jesus Christ, we are restored to righteousness.

March 5, 2014: Ash Wednesday

First off, I apologize for this post's delay.  I guess I had enough going on between Wednesday and today, and I didn't get around to it.

This is the day that begins the Paschal Season of Lent, leading up to the Great Triddum and then Easter Season, when we celebrate the great Paschal Mystery of God.

It is such a great mystery, which tells the story of how God has loved us, and brought us to life.  Being in the presence of such a mystery, we are called on this day to make ourselves right before God.  We are called to repent with contrite hearts, not simply tearing our clothes.  In this state of contrition, we plead before God to have mercy on us, knowing that we are sinners and stand unrighteous before Him, and that He alone can make us clean and restore us.  And we show our repentance by fasting, giving of ourselves in alms, and praying, not to laud ourselves, but to engage in our relationship with God who has loved us so much.

Furthermore, we do this because, as St. Paul writes in stirring words in the 2nd reading from 2 Corinthians, "...now is a very acceptable time...now is the day of salvation."

March 2, 2014: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

God offers us a revelation of His (motherly) character in the first reading from Isaiah.  He presents the image of a mother and the strong bond she has with her child.  Yet even if that bond should fail, God's love for us never does.  What a powerful image, which offers us the challenge presented in the Gospel reading:  With God loving us so much, can we entrust all the cares of our lives to Him?  He will take care of us, as His special part of Creation, just like He does the birds and the flowers, which don't worry, but simply are what God made them to be.

Entrusting ourselves to God, and resting in Him, we have no need to worry obsessively over the cares of this world.  We turn instead to doing what St. Paul mentions, our work as servants and stewards of the great mysteries of God's love and care for us.

February 23, 2014: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings present some demanding words.  God is Holy.  We are to be perfect as God our Father is perfect.

The Law was designed to restrain people from getting carried away with punishment for crimes.  But with Jesus coming to fulfill the Law, we now view the Law differently.  In Jesus, we, God's people, are His Temple, a vessel carrying His presence into the world.  We must go beyond the Law, and beyond ourselves, to show lovingkindness toward all, those who do right and those who do wrong, just as God does, because that is what He did for us when we were once lost in sin.  God's wisdom, granted through His Spirit, and so unlike the world's wisdom, is what carries us beyond ourselves.

February 16, 2014: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus says in the Gospel reading in Matthew 5 that He has "come to fulfill the Law".

The other two readings shed some light on what this means.  St. Paul writes that God has revealed to us a measure of His almighty wisdom by His Spirit, which allows us to see the Law for what it really is.  Jesus speaks to this when He explains what various parts of the law are to mean in life. 

The Law is intended to be a channel by which we attain Eternal Life, doing those good deeds that show we are on that pathway, good deeds spoken of in the reading from Sirach.  God gives us free will, so we can obey the Law as a means to Eternal Life.

February 9, 2014: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are presented once again with the well-known Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew that speaks of the metaphors of salt and light.  They represent a reality for us as people of Christian faith.  We are light and salt, not just called to be.

One commentary I encountered said salt was used in religious offerings in the ancient Near East.  We offer ourselves up to God, and stand out as a distinct flavoring in the world, as light that shines forth.  This is our purpose in this world and this life, to do good works to help those in need, as the reading in Isaiah speaks to.  Otherwise, we don't really have any purpose.  Salt that doesn't give a saltiness to anything is useless.  Just so, a light is used to shine, not to be hidden.

So we shine as lights, yet not to bring attention to ourselves, but to God, who has put that light in us.  It is an attitude expressed by St. Paul in the 2nd reading, who says that he preaches, not so bring attention to any powerful style he might use to express his message, but to magnify God.

P.S. I couldn't help but think of the song "Carry your Candle", as it fits well the theme of these readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVqR6kTu8lE

February 2, 2014: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord/Candlemas

It's been 40 days since Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, and so we celebrate a special occasion instead of the usual lectionary cycle for this Sunday.  It's an occasion which functions as an extension of the Christmas Season.  For me, that makes it very important, and I kind of wish it was emphasized a little more in the liturgical calendar every year.

Mary and Joseph go to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of the Law, and it becomes a awesome time for them as their child's special role is acclaimed, by Simeon and Anna, two righteous people to whom God reveals Himself.  It is another Manifestation of God in Jesus, just like the Feasts of the Christmas Season.

Father Barrron created a series called Catholicism, and the first episode is entitled "Amazed and Afraid", which is based on a passage in Mark 10, where the disciples are both amazed and afraid of Jesus.  I think something similar can be applied to the meaning of this feast.  It's amazing that God is actually coming to us, in the form of a humble baby named Jesus.  Yet Jesus is more than just a baby:  He grows up to suffer greatly and die on the Cross, so that we can be purified from evil and sin to be presented pleasing and righteous before God.  In these two contrasting things, we acclaim Jesus Christ as the Light who brings us Salvation, to all the world, just like Simeon did.

January 26, 2014: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

A light has shone upon a people in darkness, writes the prophet Isaiah, in the first reading.  In the context of the Gospel reading from Matthew, which quotes that passage from Isaiah, we know this light to be Jesus Christ, who came calling for repentance on account of the Kingdom at hand.

People in the darkness of sin now experience the light in Jesus Christ.  But it isn't just that they have light.  The light shines on them so that they now experience transformation.  Jesus calls them to open themselves up to a relationship with God whose reign is now being manifested on Earth, just as the disciples responded to Jesus's call further on in the Gospel reading.  And Jesus is the only One who can truly transform them.

This is open to all people.  It matters not what our background is, or how we come to know God, but that we have been brought to Him through one Savior, Jesus Christ, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from 1 Corinthians.  How timely of a message as we come off the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, annually observed from January 18-25.

January 19, 2014: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

God's manifestation in Jesus Christ, a theme from the Christmas Season, rubs off in today's readings.  John the Baptist points to Jesus as the One who existed before everything in Creaton, and whom God has now anointed to take away the sins of the world, and transform people by baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The work that Jesus does transforms the people of God so that they are empowered to go forth to shine God's light within them in all the world, so that all may come to experience the salvation of God.  This is what it means for us to be servants of God.  It's not about us bringing God physical offerings, but offering ourselves in service to doing His will, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 8.  We share in the anointing of Jesus, bringing salvation to the world, just as He did.

January 12, 2014: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

"Merry Christmas!"

I think it's appropriate to start this post by using that traditional greeting, as we finish the liturgical season of Christmas.  Before taking down all the decorations and enter into Ordinary Time, we celebrate another Manifestation of God in Jesus, this time at His baptism.  After having first encountered John the Baptist during Advent, we encounter him again at the end of the Christmas season.

The readings allude to God upending our preconceived notions about how He is supposed to work in the world.  St. Peter makes himself unclean according to Jewish law by enters the home of Cornelius--gasp--a Gentile, belonging to the despised Roman establishment, working for their army as a centurion.  John the Baptist, who declared Christ as more worthy than Him, is taken aback when Jesus comes to him, requesting that he baptize Him.

But Peter states to all those in Cornelius's house his realization that God has come to save all people--all people.  (It's interesting to think of "dirty" Gentiles on an occasion commemorating Jesus's baptism, using water to wash someone clean.)  And God has come through Jesus Christ, who submitted Himself in obedience to be righteous before God His Father--so that God is pleased to declare Jesus as His Son.  And in this declaration, Jesus is given a mission to heal the sick and serve the poor, those things declared by God to the Servant in the reading from Isaiah.  As people of faith baptized in Christ, we are now joined to this same mission.

Similar to the Easter season, the Christmas season progresses from a great celebration of Christ to start and then ends on a note that brings it back to us.  We started this season by celebrating the birth of Christ, God Incarnate, come to Earth in the Flesh.  Throughout this Christmas season, we have celebrated the manifestations of God in Christ.  Now we truly realize that as people of faith, the presence of God is manifested in us.  And we go forth to carry His presence before all the world.

January 5, 2014: Epiphany Sunday

On Nativity Day, the first day of the Christmas season, we celebrate when God sent His Son Jesus Christ to Israel.  But Jesus was not sent for Israel alone, as today's Manifestation Feast, the Epiphany, celebrates.

As alluded to in the first reading from Isaiah, Jesus is sent as a Light to Israel in the midst of a dark world.  The other nations, in the darkness, stream toward the Light.  Indeed, Israel is blessed to receive God that it may be a blessing to all other nations--a priestly nation, bringing the peoples of the world into relationship with God.  So Jesus has truly come for both Jew and Gentile, as St. Paul writes in the second reading.

When the nations come to the Light that is Jesus, they offer Him gifts that proclaim who He is, like the gifts the Magi brought.  The gold proclaimed Him King, the frankincense a priest of God (and also His divinity), and the myrrh gave tribute to the sacrifice Jesus would make as a human.

We, too, offer gifts to Jesus Christ.  We serve others in His Name, especially according to the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.  In so doing, we proclaim that Jesus Christ is present in our world, saving and redeeming us, and transforming us to be part of His Kingdom.

January 1, 2014: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

On the 8th day following birth in Jewish culture, the baby was named. Jesus was so named because "God saves", through Him.

Indeed, God has blessed us and shown us mercy, because He has redeemed us, by sending His Son to be born of a woman, Mary, to live among us, so that He could die, and rise to new life, that we may share in it.

Mary bore the Son of God within her, and so do we who profess faith in God, as He takes up residence within us through His Spirit.  We ponder this mystery of being God bearers deeply, like Mary did, even as much as we proclaim it to the world.