December 26, 2021: Feast of the Most Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

On Christmas Day, we celebrate the great reality that God has come to us in the Flesh, because He loved us so much.

For today's feast, we ponder the Mystery of the Incarnation more, marveling that in becoming human, He also entered into a family.

One of my favorite movies came out 15 years ago, The Nativity Story.  It does a great job of filling in the gaps of what's not in the Scriptures about Christ's Birth and gives us a real sense of the day-by-day context of what led to His birth.

In fact, this year of 2021 is special because it marks 100 years since October 26, 1921, when Pope Benedict XV established this feast.

The unseen God manifested Himself in Christ, born as a baby to Mary, Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph.  And we continue to see God manifested in the love we share in our families.

In the Holy Family, we have an example of how to live out faith and grow in love and virtues in the context of human relationships, especially with those closest to us, in our families, where we first experience love.

This past year has given us opportunities to ponder the example of St. Joseph and how he gave of himself in love when called upon God to enter into family life, caring for Mary and Jesus, meeting the needs of his family, especially when they were in danger.

We see that family relationships, especially children, are a gift from God, and we are called to offer up those relationships as a gift dedicated to Him, just as Hannah, who longed greatly for her son Samuel, dedicated him to the Lord.  And it's that same spirit that Jesus remains at the Temple for three days, demonstrating what it means to be in a relationship with God, just as we live out that relationship in how we love our families.

As we abide in this love, we become more like God, and so His presence continues to be known in this world.  Indeed, we marvel at how God works through us to continue pouring out His love through us anew day by day, building on the foundation first laid in our families.

December 25, 2021: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ

The mystery of God became visible to us when Christ was born of Mary in Bethlehem.

God, who spoke in many ways through the prophets, now has revealed His fullness in Christ.

We indeed rejoice in the birth of Christ because God has come so close to us.

It is such great news that is meant to impact the whole world.  The angels proclaimed this Good News to the shepherds.  Upon hearing this announcement, they went to see the baby Jesus, and then they proclaimed the Good News.

We, too, as people of faith are called to proclaim this Good News to a weary world so in need of it.

Indeed, we realize that God has come so close to us on Earth that He may restore us to a right relationship with Himself, and bring new Life and Great Light into the world, and we can bring that reality joyfully into the world.

December 19, 2021: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Throughout this Advent Season, we have sought to become more aware of God's presence around us to prepare for the wondrous celebration of the great mystery of the Incarnation, and how God works through common people to manifest it.

The writings of the prophet Micah state clearly that Bethlehem, a humble town, would play a significant role in God's plan of salvation.

God chose the humble Virgin Mary to be the means by which the Son would enter the world.  He was the One Who offered Himself for the fulfillment of the will of God.  Mary did so, too, and St. Elizabeth acclaimed her for such a great act of faith.  Even in the midst of the challenges they faced, the Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth rejoiced that God was at work, choosing humble people like them.  They stepped out in faith because it was enough to acknowledge that God had made a promise, and they knew He is faithful in fulfilling them.

We, too, even as humble people, can play a great role in His plan when we offer ourselves in an act of faith. Truly then, the great mystery of God becomes real to us, and we make it known in the world.

December 12, 2021: Feast of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

While this feast was superseded by the Third Sunday of Advent, I offer a few thoughts because of how it stirs me.

The story of La Virgen's appearance to San Juan Diego is marvelous.  Just as God reached out to humanity by being born of Mary, so He has continued to reach out to the world, through Mary, to bring people to a relationship with Him.

So we rejoice that Mary was chosen in a special way, just as we're all chosen and called to be part of His people, and part of His great plan of salvation.

December 12, 2021: 3rd Sunday of Advent/Gaudete Sunday

The season of Advent points us toward the reality of God's presence with us, and that is truly reason for great rejoicing.

We highlight that sense of joy with the rose candle since we've now surpassed the midpoint of Advent, as of yesterday.

God rejoices over us, like the prophet Zephaniah declares, and by bringing us into relationship with Himself, He renews us.

Joyfully aware of our God's presence, we draw near and call upon Him, bringing Him our petitions and receiving His peace as we abound in thanksgiving that we can turn to such a God.  We also respond to His gifts by repenting and transforming our lives to live less focused on ourselves and more on Him and others around us.  St. John the Baptist was one who called people to change their lives so they could be satisfied with what they have and so be more aware of God's presence among them.

As we make ourselves more aware of His presence, we encounter truly deep and lasting joy that only He can give because He gives us the gift of His presence.

One of my favorite Gaudete Sunday memories is the special Advent Mass and Dinner at St. Teresa's, which was right before our semester test week.  Not only did we have a great meal, we got a wonderful reminder of the community that cared so much about us students and was focused on living their faith by supporting us.  To this day, it brings me joy to think of such loving care from the St. Teresa's community.

Furthermore, I rejoice in another year of this blog, reflecting on the words of Scripture so as to become more aware of the God Who makes Himself known in them.

December 8, 2021: Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

Mary was full of grace from the moment of her conception.

God chose her to have a special part in His plan of salvation for the world.

By listening to the Word of God from the angel Gabriel and consenting, she helped turn the tide against the curse of sin.

God has chosen each of us, too, and has filled us with His grace so we can turn from sin and live out the call to holiness, bearing Him in the world.

December 5, 2021: Second Sunday of Advent

To a weary people in the midst of exile, the prophet Baruch proclaims restoration to the homeland of Israel.  Even the Psalmist rejoices in that day when the people are restored, and all the world sees the great works God does, like when the dry streambeds fill with water and the sowing in tears is followed by joyful and abundant harvests.

To a weary people under the control of the ancient Roman Empire, John the Baptist proclaimed a message of repentance, so that the people of Israel would be transformed in their hearts, and ready to welcome their Savior, Who would heal them on the inside from the malady of sin, restoring them to right relationship with God.

In this day with all its difficulties, God continues to redeem and transform us, so that we live pleasing to Him, producing the fruit of righteousness.  Indeed, we rejoice that God restores the world, and does it through us, as we go forth, transformed, to proclaim Good News to a world greatly in need of it.

Let us rejoice that God has started something wondrous in us, and is working to complete it, as He works in us so that we discern what is truly of value.  And we are filled with great peace because we have assurance in Him Who makes these promises.

Even though many in this world seemingly hold great power, the greatest power of all is what God works in us, as we open our hearts to welcome Him.  That is a message of power that truly lasts.

November 28, 2021: First Sunday of Advent

Happy Liturgical New Year!

Marvelously carrying over from the apocalyptic themes of the past few weeks, we now enter Advent, as we continue to ponder with greater awareness the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time, and all that it entails.

While it is a time that is depicted as chaotic, we the faithful recognize it also as a time when God will make everything new, and, like the prophet Jeremiah describes, restore justice to the world as He intended it.

So we use this time of Advent to make ourselves anew, walking in the righteous paths God has laid for us and grow in the Love He first showed us so that we may live pleasing to God. In these ways, we will be completely ready to embrace the fullness of salvation that comes to us at the End of Time, while also making ready to welcome God into our hearts now.

Indeed, let us slow down to a different pace and make a place in our hearts for God, even as we behold His presence among us now.

November 21, 2021: Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

We conclude the liturgical year on a triumphant note as we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  Even in a democracy where we elect leaders, this Feast has much to say to us about Kingship, even as Joe Biden celebrated his first birthday as US president on Saturday, November 20.

We rejoice on this Feast that Christ truly is our King, as depicted in the glorious visions of the first two readings and the responsorial Psalm.

Christ indeed has great power, but not necessarily in the way we humans might understand it.

The Gospel reading has a very profound account of a conversation between Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ.  While Governor Pilate has the power to execute Jesus, looking more deeply at this conversation, it is really Jesus Who is in charge and Governor Pilate who is on trial for His refusal to acknowledge the Truth before him.

Jesus makes it clear His Kingdom transcends this world, and as a King, He stands for the Truth.  Furthermore, He is willing to lay down His life for His people so that, freed from sin, we can be transformed by that Truth to live in the ways of the Kingdom.  

He Who once was slain now lives forever and ever, rightly attaining the great power and glory that is His, as described in the glorious visions of the first two readings as the psalm.

As people of Christ's Kingdom, we follow in His way to greatness by laying down our lives, living in the Truth that He is.

I also think about how November 21 is the day the Mayflower Compact was signed.  It was a remarkable event when people came together to freely consent to the formation of a new government, and the Pilgrims did so in the spirit of acknowledging the reality of the Kingdom of God present among them and at work in their new colony.

Normally on November 21, we would celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  As the first disciple, we look to her example and present ourselves before God's presence, acknowledging His reign that enters into our hearts as we follow His way.

Indeed, we can participate in the invocation in the Lord's Prayer that His Kingdom come to Earth as it is in Heaven by living the ways of the Kingdom that He imparts to us.

November 14, 2021: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus Christ has come and offered the one perfect sacrifice of Himself to redeem us from sin and restore us to right relationship with God.

Now, as the Epistle to the Hebrews states, He is awaiting the end of Time and the vanquishing of His enemies, as His "footstool".

Right before His death in crucifixion, Jesus discusses the End of Time.  He exhorts HIs disciples to notice the signs pointing to the End of Time, so that they can be ready.

His Words are firm, and will come to pass, even as Heaven and Earth pass away.

At the end of Time, there will be punishment for evil-doing, but also rewards for living in the righteous that God grants us through Christ.

Christ has set us apart by consecrating us so that we can live this righteousness.

Indeed, as people of faith, following His way, we are called to live in the righteousness God imparts to us, as an inheritance, through the Paschal Mystery, so that we are living to be ready for the End, and with purpose now.

November 9, 2021: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica

We gather in Church buildings and show that we, as a people called by faith, are Church.

We are living stones that build a Temple where God dwells and makes His presence known to the world.

We are bound as a Church, a living body, by the death and Resurrection of Christ, through which God has made us His people and made us to be Church.

November 7, 2021: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Even with large donations at the Temple treasury, Jesus commends the act of a widow who contributes a small amount, but with great cost, as she gives, out of her poverty, all she had, "her whole livelihood", as Jesus describes.

God just as well honors the acts of a widow who Elijah visits in Zarephath.  She had faith that God would provide, and so she offers something to Elijah, whose words come true, when her jug of oil and her jar of flour don't run dry for a year, until the famine ends.

God honors these sacrificial acts that cost the giver much, because it demonstrates how Christ gave of Himself completely on the Cross to redeem us from sin.  We follow His way now, trusting in Him, and give of ourselves in the name of our Savior.  And as we draw toward the end of the liturgical year, and ponder the end of Time, we long for Christ to come again and bring the fullness of salvation that He has won for us by His offering.  And we see signs of this salvation as live, mindful of His coming, by living His example, especially for the least among us.

I attended Mass at St. Martin de Porres Parish in Chicago's Austin neighborhood today.  The pastor, Father Thadeo, talked at length in his homily about St. Martin, whose feast day was on November 3.  St. Martin is a great example of what it means to give of oneself in the spirit of Christ's sacrificial offering of Himself.

November 2, 2021: All Souls' Day

By His Death and Resurrection, Christ is victorious, holding the power of death.

He redeemed it, so that through death, we, too can enter newness of Life.

It gives us hope for those who have gone on before us in faith, and for us to live with purpose now.

November 1, 2021: Feast of All Saints

We celebrate all the saints, known and unknown, canonized and uncanonized, because we recognize how they answered the universal call to holiness.

And we recognize that the same call is on us, and God has equipped us to be saints, too.  We strive to reflect God's character in holy living, acknowledging the reality of the Kingdom of God that is advancing in this world, even as we wait for the day when we join the great throng of God's redeemed people praising Him in Heaven.

Such a glorious vision gives us a great sense of purpose now, to strive as the saints in Heaven once did on earth, by faith.

October 31, 2021: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

How delightful that we celebrate the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time on October 31.

The Mosaic Law prescribed sacrifices for the people of Israel, put it points to a higher reality, when Moses, the first reading from Deuteronomy, tells the people to love the Lord with all that they are.

Jesus underscores this commandment, and ties it with the command to love one's neighbor, as the greatest commandment, transcending the sacrifices and offerings so that the people are filled with love.

Jesus showed this love as our Great High Priest, offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice to restore us to right relationship with God.

Having show us such great Love, which makes God present, we now live in that love and so offer ourselves to loving others.  Furthermore, we broaden our understanding of who our neighbors are to include all those whom we encounter, beyond just those we relate to the most.  Giving of ourselves to broadly truly manifests God's love.

A great example of someone who poured himself out in the spirit of God's love is Blessed Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, who was beatified one year ago this day.  The Knights continue his mission as they give of themselves in service to building up strong families, strong parishes, and strong communities.

October 24, 2021: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By faith, we acknowledge God Who has come among us in Jesus Christ, Who was chosen by God to serve as a priest to lead us to God, by being our Savior.

Bartimaeus acknowledged Jesus's presence, and responded by calling to Him, persisting even when others opposed him, because he truly saw Jesus for Who He was, a Savior Who could make him whole.  He came in the spirit of the prophecy from Isaiah, who spoke about God's gathering the remnant of His people, including those afflicted by ailments, or in great need, like mothers and children.  He gathers them to Himself and restores them to the fullness of being His people.  The joy they experience is a marvel for all the nations.

Let us follow Bartiameus's example and open our eyes to recognize Jesus present with us.  May we respond by calling out to Him, seeing Him for Who He is, the One Who restores and heals, meeting our needs that we are unable to respond to ourselves.

We then rejoice and devote our lives to following Him, and flourish anew in this new Life He brings to all the world.

October 18, 2021: Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

Through the Gospel of St. Luke, and the others, we have, by faith, entered into a relationship with God.  He investigated everything so that we may come to know the truths of the Gospel by which we recognize God's marvelous work.

We come to know His healing power to restore us from sin and death to newness of Life, because of the everlasting mercy of God, as Mary acclaims.

Since God chose us, we are part of His mission to proclaim the message of the Gospel, that the Kingdom is coming to Earth, and is already here.

October 17, 2021: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus states clearly His purpose in coming in the spirit of a Servant, which is counter to natural human tendencies of power.

Just after His third passion prediction, and then a bold request from Sts. James and John, He declares that He came not to be served, but to serve.  (When I was in college, the thesis of a 2-page essay I wrote on the Gospel of St. Mark noted this passage as the climax of the Gospel.)

His sufferings served the purpose of justifying many, as is written in Isaiah the prophet.

He is a merciful High Priest, to whom we can turn confidently to help us.

Not only is He our source of salvation, but He is the model to whom we turn.  We now live our lives serving as He served, giving of ourselves to bring Life to the world.

We draw from Him as our Source, so we can live abundantly in the challenges of this world, and can be fully equipped for the mission He grants us to be a life-giving gift to the world.

October 10, 2021: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the time of Jesus, wealth was considered a sign of favor from God.

But when a man approaches Jesus and asks what he should do to inherit eternal life, He points him to a higher reality, building up treasure in Heaven.

The first reading discusses the great treasure of wisdom, so great that the author desires it above all else, for surely he recognizes it leads him to God.

This God is able to see into our hearts and discern what is there, and we all must ultimately give an accounting to Him.

Jesus saw into the heart of the man who approached Him, and He extended an invitation to go deeper in love that is made real.

So let's devote our lives now to building up treasure in Heaven, which will truly last for Eternity, and transform us to live purposefully now.

Today we mark the first anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Carlo Acutis.  Although he only lived to the age of 15, he spent his years building up treasure in heaven, becoming very devout, especially in attending Mass, and spreading the joy of faith through technological means, like the website documenting Eucharistic miracles.

May our divine encounters so transform us so that we can strive after the greatest of treasures that lead us to Heaven and experience it now.

October 3, 2021: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When the Pharisees question Jesus about marriage and divorce, He acknowledges that Moses permitted divorce, but then He points to the deeper reality of the intention for marriage that God established back in the beginning, as a union that reflects how humans are created to be one with God.

God has given us the great gift of life, so that we can join with all people and all Creation to more deeply experience union with Him, our Great Creator.

In fact, when Adam and Eve disobeyed and turned from God, He sought to restore us to perfect union with Him by sending His Son to be a human like us, so we could redeem us, and that we could be like Him as He became like us.

Jesus Christ gave us the great gift of salvation to restore us to right relationship with Him.  Even as we take responsibility for tending to our faith, let us also always have a childlike dependence on God, knowing He alone our needs with wondrous blessings.

On this Respect Life Sunday, let us give thanks for this gift of life, cherishing it, as we work to defend life at all stages, so that we can be in a deeper relationship with God, Who is our life, which overflows with love.

This day in 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation for an annual Thanksgiving Day celebration.  In it, he noted the great blessings of God, especially among the people and the bounty of the land, and called the American people to acknowledge them.

Yes, let us rejoice in God as the Source of all good so that we may live fully in this life in Him, along with all around us.

October 2, 2021: Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

To aid us in our journey to salvation in Him, God has sent us Holy Guardian Angels to aid us.

It's just like the Angel that guided the Hebrews to the Promised Land.

Let us rejoice confidently in our God Who desires for us to be saved, because of His kindness.

Let us praise God in the same way the angels do as they serve His purposes.

And as the angels guide us to salvation, let us always trust God Who has our best interests in mind, with great love, and be present to help guide others to encounter God, too.

This Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels is the patronal feast day for the Diocese of Gary, where I attended St. Teresa's during my college years.  I rejoice in how the community led me in encountering God.

September 29, 2021: Feast of the Archangels, Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

God created angels to serve His purposes in His work of salvation.

In the midst of the troubles we experience in this world, God's angels are active in doing His work, and aiding those of us who will inherit salvation.

We can have great confidence in the victory He has already won through the Paschal Mystery of Christ.  This victory inspires us to look forward to the final defeat of evil at the end of Time, a victory that God is already revealing to us in visions that point to His glory.

September 26, 2021: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First of all, I notice how the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time is on September 26 this year.

God desires to save all people, and work His saving power in all through the Holy Spirit.  He bestows His Spirit far and wide so that His Presence can spread through all the world.  In marveling at the work of His Spirit, let us cast aside the temptation to restrict it, and let it overflow through the world.

When He bestows on us His Spirit, He calls us to reflect His love and participate in His work so that we open ways for people to encounter God, too.  

Furthermore, He desires for us to be present to the lowly among us, to be mindful of the needs around us, and to do our part to meet them.  When we do so, we participate in the work by which God makes His Presence and His saving action known in the world.

These readings were proclaimed 6 years ago when Pope Francis celebrated the Concluding Mass for the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. He talked about showing love in small deeds within our families, domestic churches where we can experience God powerfully.

And when we abide in such love, we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can be free from what will prevent us from growing in relationship with God, and be free to do great works that reflect God's love.

September 21, 2021: Feast of St. Matthew

Jesus caused great transformation in the world because He called not the righteous, but sinners.

St. Matthew lived a disreputable lifestyle, but when Jesus called him, he followed a new way, and embraced fellowship with Christ, inviting Him to dine in his home.  St. Mathew would be part of the apostolic foundation of the Church and a herald of the Gospel, demonstrating that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.

May we open our hearts to God's transformative power in our lives, so we may be a living testimony of His salvation as we live out the way to which He calls us.

September 19, 2021: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Just as in the Gospel reading for last weekend, Jesus once again predicts His passion, and this time, the Apostles offer no response.

Jesus then uses this second prediction of His Passion to teach about what discipleship means:  It is not about seeking to be first, but having the humility to serve others.

It's about trusting God, when the world seems against us, like in the language from the reading in Wisdom, which is reminiscent of what happens at the crucifixion of Jesus.  In these circumstances, we trust that the Lord upholds our lives.

And living in such a relationship with God, we are called to bear fruit.  We don't seek for ourselves, but seek that which will build us up in virtues that make God known in the world, and focus on asking for what is virtuous.  We identify ourselves with those who are lowly, like children, so we can be part of accomplishing God's purposes in this world.  Through living focused in such a humble way, we live an abundant life that keeps us close to God.

On this Catechetical Sunday, I am grateful for the service I have given in teaching students for 8 years, and I give thanks for the students who I will begin teaching this week, as we open ourselves up to encountering God together.

September 14, 2021: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Moses lifted up a serpent in the desert to heal those punished by sin.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must, too, be lifted up, not only to heal sin, but to bring Eternal Life.

Indeed, Jesus is worthy of great honor because He humbled Himself all the way to dying on the Cross.

Now He lives and reigns, acclaimed by all those because of the great gift of salvation He has bestowed.

September 12, 2021: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus indeed is the Messiah Who has come to save the world.

Yet He doesn't come to conquer, but came destined to suffer as the means to win salvation, in the spirit of the servant in the first reading from Isaiah.

St. Peter declares Jesus as the Christ, but then rebukes Him for predicting His passion and suffering, after which Jesus rebukes Him for thinking as humans do and not as God.

In this new life, we live differently from the ways of the world.  We are called to demonstrate that we have died to the ways of the world and are living in the ways of Christ, doing as St. James writes and demonstrating our faith by our works that meet the needs of others.  (We give thanks today for grandparents and the ways they put faith into action by continually showing their love to all those in their families.)

Furthermore, living our Christian faith entails suffering as we follow in the way of Christ.  Yet that is where God's power of redemption manifests itself, in the great paradox, that in suffering and dying, we rise to new life.  We experience that new life even now as we follow His ways, living out our belief in Who Christ is.

September 8, 2021: The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary lived in humble circumstances, and God chose her for an immense role, to be an instrument in His plan of salvation by birthing the Son of God in the world.

As disciples, we follow the same way Mary did.  He has chosen us to be born in the circumstances we are in, and calls each of us to play a special part as instruments in His plan of salvation.  In the midst of the challenges of answering the call, we rejoice in Him who calls us and in whom we have such great purpose in our lives.  He sustains us by the Holy Spirit that brought Christ into the world through Mary, who is forever blessed for the role she had.  We are blessed, too, in fulfilling our roles.

September 5, 2021: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The people who see the healing miracle of Jesus acclaim Him, saying, "He has done all things well."

Indeed, He fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah about healing those who are other-abled and bringing new life to a land of desert.

Notably in this specific healing in the Gospel reading, Jesus physically touches the deaf man to heal his hearing and his speech impediment.  It speaks to how God came physically among us in such a close way, ultimately to heal us from the effects of sin, as signaled by His healing of physical ailments.

And Jesus continues to bring that healing touch the world as He transforms our hearts so that we bring a healing touch to those around us, as we start by noticing their plight, and then not casting off the poor and needy, but instead, working to meet them where they're at and bring a healing touch.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta certainly brought this healing touch to the world and five years ago as of this weekend, this great servant of mercy has been acclaimed as a saint by the Church.

I also think about how 12 years ago, I received a wonderful gesture of welcome from the St. Teresa's community by receiving a knapsack full of gifts at the annual Mass on the Grass.  It was a gesture of great kindness that furthered the boosting of my spirits as a new student at Valparaiso University.

Truly, God advances His Kingdom and brings salvation as He heals hearts so we can meet the needs of those around us as He works with us, and so Life abounds in all the world.

August 29, 2021: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the first reading, as Moses nears the end of his life, and as the Hebrews prepare to enter the Promised Land, he exhorts them to observe the Law of God carefully.

It is clear from the other readings that careful observance of the Law goes deeper than just rules:  Religion is ultimately about having a relationship with God that transforms us from the heart.  Truly people will notice the effect our religion has on our behavior:  Indeed, we are called to go beyond just hearing and acting on that Word as doers, like St. James writes.  When the Word penetrates us, it purifies our hearts so that we reflect God's character and so become a blessing to others, especially in meeting the needs of those around us.

August 22, 2021: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

God, now in this age, through Jesus Christ, has made Himself known in our world.

Now, we have a choice: to follow the ways of the world, or to live committed to God.

Joshua presents this choice to the people of Israel at an assembly following their conquest of the Promised Land, and states that He will not serve the gods of the nations around them, but serve the Lord God.  The people, fully aware of all that God has done for them, declare their commitment to God.

In the Gospel reading, many people are unable to accept Christ's teaching and the idea they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.  It's very likely the Spirit is not at work in them to embrace what Christ offers them beyond food to satisfy their physical hunger.  So they turn from following Christ and resume their former way of life.

Jesus Christ then asks the 12 apostles if they also want to leave.

St. Peter declares that they acknowledge He has the words of Eternal Life, and so they will follow Him.

Christ indeed has done so much for us, like in the spirit of what the 2nd reading says, pouring Himself out to sanctify us.

God's love for us in Christ is a great mystery, and we recognize it in the marriage commitment of husband and wife to love each other, a sign of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

As people of faith, we are all called to similarly make a commitment.

It is a decision of whether or not we'll be obedient to the One Who has the words of Eternal Life and has sacrificed Himself for us.

And we must decide to affirm our relationship with God day after day.

I remember being presented with this choice 12 years ago on Sunday, August 23, 2009, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time that year.  I heard these readings proclaimed at the first Mass I attended at the St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center the day after moving to Valparaiso University.  In a new setting, I was invited to commit myself to follow the ways of faith even in circumstances unlike anything I knew before in my life.

Yet I saw God's goodness fully revealed in the community of St. Teresa's that was ready to support me in my pursuits as a student and in my walk of faith.  So I gladly committed myself to living out faith, and to continue growing in it, which has led me on quite a journey to this very day, as we cycle back in the 3-year cycle to these readings and they speak to us anew.

August 15, 2021: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Feast of the Assumption this year superseded the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  In year B on this Sunday, we normally continue with the Bread of Life discourse.  Since it's proclaimed over the course of multiple Sundays, including last Sunday, I feel it's worth offering a few thoughts.

God grants to humble humans the great gift of wisdom, ultimately so that we can come to know Him.

Through this wisdom, we see that God has come to us in Jesus Christ, who sustains us by His Body and Blood.  Jesus declares, "My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink."  By partaking of Him, we remain in Him, and we will have Eternal Life.

And we experience that Eternal Life now, because the gift of wisdom together with Christ's Body and Blood in the Eucharist transforms us to live in a way that is pleasing to God.  We live with a different purpose each day, so that in this mortal life on Earth, we can make the most of our days, living according to God's will, as the Spirit fills us and directs us.

August 15, 2021: Assumption of Mary

The Paschal Mystery is not something that happened to Jesus that we view from the sidelines: It is something in which we participate.

Mary, as the first disciple, demonstrates how.  She believed in the Word of God and committed herself to it, and so became the Mother of God, giving birth to Christ.

By following the way of faith in her life, she reached the fullness of the Resurrection at the end of her life:  Assumed into Heaven, she followed after Christ, Who died and rose from death, and victoriously conquered the power of sin and death, which sought to oppose God's plan for the world.

So we, too, live in this hope, awaiting the experience of the fullness of Resurrection, and rejoicing that Mary has made it after striving through this life, along with all the saints.  We walk in the same path they did, finding the courage to face the struggles of this life from Mary who overcame in the midst of challenges herself, and so we live with purpose.

August 8, 2021: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday morning I was in Miami, OK, where I stayed 10 years ago this past May for a night.  While there, I had dinner at the Buttered Bunns Cafe.  Featured there are these large bread buns served with meals.

To reconnect with that memorable meal, I went to that restaurant again for lunch a little while after attending Mass in town.

And how fitting it was to dine there, as we continue the theme of spiritual food in the Bread of Life in the readings today.

God tenderly cares for Elijah as He makes his journey through the desert while running from Queen Jezebel.  An angel comes to him twice and urges him to get up and eat, so that he may have strength for the journey.

His journey leads him to an encounter with God on Horeb.

In Jesus Christ, humanity encounters God.  In the Gospel reading, the people gathered with Jesus Christ can't understand how He is God present to them, and offering Himself as Bread from Heaven so that we who believe may have Eternal Life.

He is truly the One Who meets our greatest need for salvation as we reach out to Him by Whom we live.  And He continually sustains us so that we may live to imitate Him and show the kindness of God to one another as an offering with an aroma pleasing to God.

August 6, 2021: Feast of the Transfiguration

The prophet Daniel has a great vision of glorious figures.

Then, Sts. Peter, James, and John accompany Jesus up a high mountain, and they see a vision of Jesus in His Glory.

They truly see Him as God, the One Who came to Earth so that we could share in that glory.

St. Peter declares in the 2nd reading that this truly happened. God is real, and has made HImself known to us.

Let us be transfigured like Jesus Christ, as we listen to Him, the Beloved and Chosen One, so that we become more like Him and reflect His presence in our world.

On our way to the glory of Heaven, may we recognize that Glory now, because Jesus Christ, very God and very Man, has come to be among us.  Let us be a blessing as we make Him known.

August 1, 2021: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God miraculously provided for His people as they journeyed in the desert after they complained about the lack of food, especially in comparison to Egypt, of all places.

When the crowd gathered to hear Jesus teach, He miraculously provided food for them.  Yet when they followed after Him, Jesus declares that they come only to get more food.  He invites them to perceive a deeper reality, that God is the One Who satisfies our deepest longings.  

He has done so by sending to us His Son, Jesus Christ.  By His Paschal Mystery, He offers Himself as the Bread of Life, and is our source of Salvation, meeting our greatest need.  So we lay aside our old selves, experiencing renewal as we put on the new self, baptized to be one of His.

We live as one of His, as He lives in us, constantly feeding on Him, because we know He satisfies the hunger and longing of our souls.

July 25, 2021: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God demonstrates His amazing power in taking from us what might be considered meager, and turning it into great abundance, which happens in the story of Elisha regarding the 20 barley loaves, and when Jesus feeds 5000+ people.

We don't know how it happens, nor can we take credit for it, but we behold that God provides for us abundantly, ultimately in offering Jesus to us as a sacrifice that brings us from death to life, nourishing us beyond our bodies to our very souls.  He is an offering that is beyond measure that can completely satisfy us.

May we constantly return to the source and summit of our faith in the Eucharist, where we acknowledge God's great gift of Himself to feed us, which we shall ponder more in the coming weeks in the Bread of Life discourse.

Let's see beyond the signs to see the God Who provides for us, and live in a way worthy of this God Who blesses us in great abundance, living united as one people in one calling to one faith to the many whom God has redeemed with Himself.  All along, we entrust ourselves to God, not fully understanding how He provides, yet acknowledging by faith that He does, and living in the Love that is the essence of this offering.

We rejoice in the ways God has made such deep love known, especially in the love we share with our grandparents, whom we recognize this day in accordance with a new celebration Pope Francis has established.  God's love is so great, it keeps being experienced from one generation to each succeeding generation.

July 22, 2021: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Jesus Christ did an amazing work in the life of St. Mary Magdalene, driving out multiple demons from her.

She devoted her life to Christ.  And then she assumed an important role as Apostle to the Apostles on that blessed morning of the Resurrection when Christ appeared to her and then she went to announce this Good and Great News to the Apostles.

So God, by coming into our world as Christ, has cast our our sin and demons, transforming us with a mission to encounter His living presence and announce to the world that He is alive, for He is alive in us.

July 18, 2021: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When the disciples return from their missionary work, Jesus invites them to rest.  It sounds like they need it, because the throngs of people coming leave them unable to even eat.

Yet when they reach the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the people were already there, drawn to be with Jesus.  He's moved with compassion for them, and began to teach them.

The Good Shepherd is a common and rich image of Jesus Christ.  It hearkens to how the Kings of Israel and Judah were called to shepherd the people, but didn't live up to their call.  So God decided to take charge and shepherd His people.

Ultimately, He brought them to the abundant Life He desires for His people by sending Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  He lay down His life to restore us to right relationship with God, and bring all peoples together, Jew and Gentile.

In Him, we find rest in God, because He has provided rest to our souls through salvation.  And then we join with Christ in the work of making that Good News known.

July 11, 2021: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

No matter our circumstances in life, God calls us to be people proclaiming His message.

Case in point: God called Amos, a person engaged in agricultural pursuits, to be a prophet, speaking a message to the people of Israel they didn't want to hear.

Centuries later, Jesus called fishermen and men from other trades to be His Apostles.  They followed Him many places, and, as described in the Gospel reading, He sent them forth in His power to heal and proclaim repentance.  Even in the face of opposition, they could find consolation in the reality that He had equipped them with all they needed and authority to heal.

All of this work is part of the great plan of God that St. Paul describes in the 2nd reading:  God makes known the mystery of Who He is, as He redeems us, and then seals us with the Holy Spirit.  We can be assured of the promise that He will one day bring His Kingdom in its fullness, which we experience even now, especially as we answer the call to do His work, because of the Holy Spirit Who abides with us and works to complete our salvation.

With great joy this weekend, I celebrate the first anniversary of Father Kevin's ordination, which was on July 10, 2020.  His life is a great example of answering God's call.  He's a priest now at St. Raphael in Oshkosh, and during his journey, he assisted at Ascension Parish during his seminary days.  It's marvelous to think of the journey he's had, and how we, at Ascension, could be part of it.

Indeed, in our own way, we are part of advancing the Kingdom of God on Earth as we live out the message we are called to proclaim.

July 4, 2021: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When God speaks a message, those who hear it are compelled to respond, and no longer remain neutral.

Jesus comes to visit His hometown, and the people there are astonished at the amazing things He teaches in the synagogue, to the point that they can't believe someone from among could have attained such greatness.  In their hardness of heart, they take offense at Him.

This story is like a microcosm of how Jesus comes to the people of Israel, who ultimately reject Him, because He is not in line with the Messiah they expected, and prophesies in ways they can't stand.

Yet surely Jesus went to His hometown in the same spirit as when God sent the prophet Ezekiel, who went fully aware the people were hard of heart, as God had told Him.  Even when they reject the messenger, they have to acknowledge that a prophet has been among them.

When we go forth in the power of God to answer the call to proclaim His message by our lives, even when we face opposition from the obstinate, we go forth with the consolation that His grace is sufficient, as St. Paul learned in facing his affliction.  In our weaknesses and struggles, He will truly manifest His power.

On a day when we celebrate the heritage of freedom in the United States, we, as people of faith, acknowledge God has set us free so we may live with the great purpose He grants us.

June 29, 2021: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

We celebrate two great pillars of our Church today, Saints Peter and Paul, who helped build up the Church significantly in its earliest years.

They are pillars because they proclaimed the Gospel message based on the revelations to them from the Heavenly Father, through Christ.

So they grounded themselves in such a strong foundation, which supported them in the face of great opposition and gave them boldness in proclaiming the Gospel given to them.

And so the Gospel continues to be handed on, to us, and then we hand it on to others, keeping ourselves grounded in the foundation of Christ, as we answer the call to boldly proclaim the Gospel. And so we participate in the work of advancing the Kingdom, because God has given us a part in this great work, guided by the authority handed on to the apostles and their successors to uphold Christ's teachings, those keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

It's fitting for me to conclude June with such a great feast, for earlier this month, on June 8, I marked the anniversary of my middle school graduation.  Those years were a time when I came to deeply appreciate my faith, and the call to boldly proclaim and live the Gospel by which I receive faith as a gift.

June 27, 2021: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

While we face troubles from time to time in this world, by faith, we believe in a God Who is over all those troubles, and Who has demonstrated His power of redemption over them.

He is a God Who created us, and saved us so that we might have life.

The healing stories in the Gospel passage are pretty astounding.  When Jairus's daughter was thought to be dead, He helped her up.

The woman with the hemorrhages, which would have started around the time the daughter of Jairus was born, was cut off from the life of the community because of her condition.  And even though touching Jesus would have, according to the Law, made Him unclean, she had faith to reach out and take what she knew Jesus could offer her.  Indeed, He brought her the healing only He could make possible, and instantly restored her to fullness of health and participation in the life of the community.  Just as He brought her healing without being stained, so Christ imparts to all of us healing and redemption without being stained by our sins.

Let us reach out to touch Him, confident in knowing by faith that He can restore us to wholeness by His powerful Presence and His Life.

And let us be a blessing to others, bringing life to all the world, as we give generously, as our God has.

June 24, 2021: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Christ entered our world and brought great Light.  It was so great that the rejoicing on account of it began before Christ was born when St. John leaped in the womb of his mother St. Elizabeth.

And when he was born, his mother had great joy in overcoming her barren womb, and many rejoiced with her.

It was clear from the beginning that St. John was born for a special purpose, considering the angel announced his name.

St. John the Baptist would devote his ministry to heralding the way for the birth of Christ.

So all of us who are people of faith in Christ are born with a purpose, to herald the great Light that God has brought us in Christ.  Indeed, we rejoice in that Great Light, shining and bearing it before all the world.

June 20, 2021: 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Out in a dark night on the plains of Eastern Colorado, just south of Burlington, on May 17, 2011, I watched a fierce storm with lots of lightning approach from the west.  I was with a storm chasing group.  As I saw the scene outside the window, I reached for a flashlight and for my Bible and opened to Job 38, a piece of which is today's first reading.

No matter how fierce the storms we encounter in life, we know that God is still powerfully present with us.  Our God demonstrates that He is above the storms, and they are still under His control.

We see this reality in a whole new way when Jesus comes to earth as fully man and fully God, and demonstrates God is among us like never before when He calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Indeed, a new order of the ages has manifested itself, and so we are transformed to be a new Creation we enter into the Paschal Mystery, entrusting ourselves to God and walking in the ways of Him Who is truly Lord of Heaven and Earth.

June 13, 2021: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus presents some marvelous imagery in the parables in today's Gospel reading.

The farmer plants seeds and does his part tending to them, but then the process of the seeds becoming plants in full bloom unfolds in ways beyond his control or understanding.  Then there's the incredible reality of how the tiny mustard seed becomes such a large bush.

It is truly marvelous to think at how God is similarly at work in our lives.  While we can't see God, He reveals Himself to us, so that we walk by faith, not by sight, as St. Paul writes, striving to please God in this life as we journey toward the judgment.

As we devote our lives to putting faith into action through righteous deeds, God is at work in ways that we can't fully understand or control, though we know His work is really happening because of the fruits that come to bear.  Ultimately, God mightily declares Who He is through these deeds, doing what He alone can do.

Yet we marvel at how God invites us to be transformed so that even our small deeds of righteousness, kindness, and compassion can be part of His plan to advance the Kingdom of God on Earth, which is not a place, but a way of life.  By faith, we open ourselves up to how our deeds can be part of God's plan to advance the Kingdom by making God known.  So we constantly strive to do good works, ready for God's action through them.

Today, 27 of the students I taught in RE class this past year graduate from both Brooks and Julian Middle Schools in Oak Park.

As a Religious Education teacher, part of my role is to plant seeds, and then open up to how God does His part to bring them forth to fruition.  By faith, I recognize that the seeds planted during their time in RE class will come to fruition, though I know not how it happens, and even if I'm not there to see the fruition.

Furthermore, I recognize in my experience that so many seeds were planted during my middle school years, especially in becoming a person of deep faith, which have born great fruit over the past 16 years, and I marvel to think of how God has been at work in wondrous ways that He alone can do.

June 12, 2021: Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mary is often called the first disciple.

She accepted God's will for her and became the Mother of God.

She had a close relationship with her Son, sharing love with Him so intimately.

She is a model for how we can open our lives to the love flowing forth from the heart of God, poured out to us in our Savior Jesus Christ.

And when we receive that love and share in it, we are transformed so that we pour out that love to others so they may come to know our loving God.

June 11, 2021: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

God's love is so immense for us, and we have powerful imagery in how He poured out His love for us so deeply in Jesus, when He was pierced upon the Cross.

When we sinned and strayed from Him, His heart was so full of love, He sought after us.

May we rejoice that this love has brought us salvation, and constantly seek after this God, so that we may come to more fully understand His love for us, and be transformed to imitate our Savior, to pour ourselves out in showing such love to others.

June 6, 2021: Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ/Corpus Christi

We recently observed Memorial Day and today is the anniversary of D-Day and the end of the Battle of Midway.  Perhaps those occasions are a fitting backdrop of our celebration of the great sacrifice at is at the heart of our Roman Catholic Christian life.

At a meal with the disciples, which He eagerly desired to share with them as the Gospel of St. Luke recounts, Jesus Christ instituted a new covenant.  It was built on the foundation of the covenant God established with His people when He delivered them from slavery in Egypt and gave them the Law, celebrated by that Passover meal.

Moses splashed blood on the altar and sprinkled it on the people as a sign that they were going to enter into a life-giving relationship with God, the people having consented to do as God commanded.

That covenant commanded sacrifices of animals for atonement for sin.  Then, Christ came, and, at the commemorative Passover meal, offered Himself, pouring out His body and blood to free us completely from sin and make us right before God.  This great gift furthermore brought us into deep, intimate union with our God Who loves us so much.

When we gather at Mass, we have the extraordinary opportunity to encounter our Living God Who has offered Himself to us so that we may share in His life, and live transformed to be a blessing to the world.

We have indeed received a great gift, which calls us to live to be a gift to others in the model of Christ.

May 31, 2021: Feast of the Visitation

Following right after the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, we celebrate when the Blessed Mother Mary visited St. Elizabeth.  They experienced the fellowship of the Triune God together, especially since Mary's coming to the home of Elizabeth and Zecharaiah brought them into the presence of God like never before.

Even St. John the Baptist, from within the womb, rejoiced and, in a way, danced in the presence of the Lord.

God greatly delights in His people and that's why He desired to come and be present with us.  That is why we can rejoice, as we become aware of God's entrance into our lives.

Even at times when we are unable to see Him, by faith we can recognize His presence, and joyfully commit ourselves to Him.

May 30, 2021: Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

We rejoice heartily today in the same spirit of the past several weeks, in which we have celebrated and reflected on a reality mentioned in today's first reading:  Our God has worked great marvels to fashion for Himself a people as His own, and Who speaks to them directly.

Now, through the Paschal Mystery, we come closer to God than ever.  Indeed, we call Him our Father, because of the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.

God raises us from our feeble, fallen state with His very presence to invite us into a relationship with Him.

He created us in His own image, and as such, we reflect that God is relational.  We embrace how we can grow in relationship with the unseen God Who is manifest in our relationships with other people.  And with His Holy Spirit at work in us, we edify one another as we join together in the fellowship of community that reflects our God and His Love.

May 23, 2021: Pentecost Sunday

The God Who became present to the world in the Incarnation became alive and present in a whole new way when the Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem for the start of the Feast of Weeks at the celebration of Firstfruits at Shavuot/Pentecost.

The Church came alive as God breathed new life into His people with a powerful wind and sealed them with flames, the signs of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit equipped the apostles for the specific purpose of proclaiming the Good News to the multiplicity of people gathered in Jerusalem.

We, too, are empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit with gifts that point to the One God.  Each of us receives specific gifts and when we join together in using those gifts, we truly edify the Church, the Body of Christ.

The Holy Spirit comes to us individually and collectively to bind us more closely as the Body of Christ, so we are reconciled and more closely united to Him and with one another, as diverse people throughout the world sharing one faith that comes from the Savior, Christ, Who pours forth the Spirit from the Father.

May 16, 2021: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Our exuberant Easter joy of these past 6 weeks reaches new heights, pun intended, as we celebrate the Ascension of our Risen Lord.

He has triumphed in rising from the dead, and now takes His place at the right hand of God.

While He is no longer present physically with His disciples on Earth, He continues to abide with them,  as He promised, especially in the mission He has left for them to make Him known in the world.

He has equipped each of us for a special role to build up the Church, the body, so that we may attain the full stature of Christ, and reach where our Exalted Head has gone.

We now live to make Him known to others by our way of living.  And because He desires to abide with us, He continues to work through us, and so we rejoice.

May 9, 2021: Sixth Sunday of Easter

By the Paschal Mystery, God, through Jesus Christ, saved us from sin, restored us to abundant new Life, and has allowed us to know the Love of God, and to live that Love.

Truly God loved us first, and gives us the ability to love as a way of life.  His love pours forth through all the Earth, that all people may be saved, as St. Peter declares in the first reading.

So He gives us His love freely as a gift, and then we bear fruit as we live that love for others.  

Certainly, we celebrate how God has been made known through the love our mothers have shown us and that we have shared with them.  Even as I reflect on the recent end of the RE year, I think about how much I have given to support my students so they go forth to bear fruit.

Indeed, love is an action that God first took so that we would come to know Him so intimately, as friends, so that we could share that love freely in the same manner as Christ.

May 2, 2021: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Today I party like it's 1999, when I received my First Holy Communion.  In a class during the preparations, we discussed the passage from John 15 that is the Gospel proclaimed today.

By His Resurrection, Jesus Christ has become our Source of Life continuous, abundant, and ever-new.

We continue to experience His Life by remaining with Him Who always remains with those He has saved and named His people.

In the power of His Spirit, we go forth to boldly proclaim Who He is, just as Saul had a total reversal from denying Jesus to preaching about Him.

Indeed, we go forth to bear fruit as we remain in Him, and He empowers us to obey His commands, and live in the way He desires, so that we seek His desires in what we ask for, as we keep constantly in touch with the Life-giving Spirit.  By remaining in Him, He remains in us so we can love the in the way that makes Him powerfully present in this world.

April 25, 2021: Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

As we near the midpoint of the Easter Season, we rejoice indeed in our Good Shepherd:  Jesus laid down His life in obedience to the Father and in love for us.  But then He took His Life back up again.

We, as part of His flock, share in that Life, for in Him alone is the source of our salvation.  And by His Life, He makes us children of God, a defining mark that gives us a sense of truly belonging to our God Who loves us so greatly.  As His children, we seek the transformation so that we are more closely conformed to His image, following the way of our Shepherd Who knows us intimately and constantly brings us life.  And in being transformed on the way, we bring life to the world, as we lead others to the Good Shepherd.

April 18, 2021: Third Sunday of Easter

As foretold by the Scriptures in ages prior, Christ would suffer, and rise from the dead so that there would be forgiveness and repentance of sins.

Christ truly established a new order of the ages when He rose from the dead.  The first sign of this new order was the Empty Tomb, but the disciples would need more to build on that discovery.  

In fact, when the Risen Christ appeared to them, they were startled at first, not recognizing Him for Who He was.  Christ then showed His wounds, and then He interpreted the Scriptures to them so that the words spoken about Him would come alive in them.

Indeed, St. Peter would speak boldly of those words throughout the book of Acts, like in the first reading.

The Risen Christ continues to be present with His people in a powerful way, closer than ever before.  He dwells within us, transforming us so that His Word becomes alive in us and brings life to the world.  He cleanses us of sin and its effects so we conform ourselves more closely to Him.

And He continues to be present with us in the Eucharist, that we may enter more deeply into His Paschal Mystery and live with His life in us.

April 11, 2021: Second Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

Jesus has given us a great victory in His Resurrection, and the Gospel reading shows how much humanity needs it.  After the discovery of the Empty Tomb, the disciples are still filled with fear and doubt.  The victorious Risen Jesus breaks into the locked room to speak peace, which leads the disciples to rejoice.

And He does it again a week later, pressing through the doubts of even Thomas to his heart to summon Him forth to faith.

So this victory continues to persist:  His Love and Mercy, demonstrated as more powerful than death and sin, endure forever, and what a comfort this is we celebrate on this Sunday of Divine Mercy.  And the victory persists in us as we live as an Easter people, because we are truly impacted and are not the same after our encounters with the Risen Christ.  We live obeying God's commandments, which are not a burden, but a joy because Christ is alive and works in us to live as God desires, so that others may be blessed by the new Life that radiates forth from us.

April 4, 2021: Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection

The tomb is empty, and that causes the disciples to sense something has happened, and more was to come that would build upon the sight of that empty tomb.

Indeed, they would encounter the Risen Lord in a way that would transform them, so they could make known to the world God's great victory over sin and death, restoring us to New Life.

That is the hope in which we live day by day, because our Savior lives.

We live New Life in Christ, living in righteousness, fixed above for where we are headed, a destiny that brings joy to our living now, so that we bring hope to our world.

April 3, 2021: Holy Saturday Easter Vigil

God has done a marvelous work, which started with creating the world.

And when humanity went astray, He sought to restore us to Himself, and so brought forth a great Savior Christ, as is sung so magnificently in the Exultet, and is proclaimed so splendidly as all the lights in the Church go on for the Gospel proclamation of the Resurrection story.

We are part of this story, because, through baptism, we join with Christ in death, and rise into His New Life, so that we live, conforming ourselves more closely to the image of the God Who created us and saved us.

April 2, 2021: Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

In obedience to the Father's plan, Christ willingly submitted Himself to His Passion, which involved great suffering up to and upon the Cross.

He commended His life to the Father, and as the account in St. John's Gospel makes clear, He knew full well His purpose for enduring His passion.

Because of His submission, He became the Source of Salvation.

So the ignominious Cross has become an instrument of grace and triumph, because God redeemed us through it, and as the coming part of the Triduum makes clear, death is not the end of the story.

April 1, 2021: Maundy Thursday

In mystical language, the reading from the Gospel of St. John states that He was aware of His hour and how God had given Him everything.

He then enters into the humble gesture of washing His disciples' feet at the Last Supper.

This meal was part of celebrating Passover, when God delivered the Hebrews.

At this supper, Jesus started a New Passover by offering His Body and Blood for our full inward cleansing from sin, which we continue to proclaim when we partake of the loaf and the cup.  And by establishing a New Covenant, He gave us a new commandment to love one another in service as He did by offering Himself as total gift.

March 28, 2021: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

In the Gospel readings at Mass for Palm Sunday, we recount the epic week for Christ in Jerusalem.

And we recognize that in these events, Christ became exalted as the source of our salvation.  He faced the worst of humanity, in obedience to the Father's will, so that we could be saved and transformed more closely to the image of God in whom we are created.

In the Passion of Jesus, we find an example for how to live with purpose in the face of sufferings, for it is because of the Paschal Mystery that our suffering now have been redeemed for a purpose to make God more fully known in the world.

And we furthermore see the way we are called to live, giving of ourselves for others.

I recall that my cousin and his wife chose the hymn-like passage from Philippians 2 to be proclaimed at their wedding liturgy.  It is indeed a great image of self-emptying love for all of us, knowing that it was through such emptying that Christ saved us, and in such self-giving that we discover who we are meant to be as people following the way of our Savior.

We know that death is not the end for us who profess faith in Christ, for we hope for new life.

March 25, 2021: Solemnity of the Annunication

The Theology of the Body teachings of Pope St. John Paul II teach us that God gave Himself totally as gift to us, and we are called to be total gift to others in that same spirit.

That idea of gift really speaks to this glorious Feast of the Annunciation.

God offered Himself as total gift to humanity by becoming one of us, so that He could die and be our Savior, bringing us from death to new life.

God chose Mary to be His mother, and in so doing, called her to be total gift by offering herself in reverent obedient submission to God's plan of salvation.

While there was much that didn't make sense at that moment, and wouldn't in the years ahead for Mary, she moved from belief to trust in God, and became a gift that has blessed the world.

So we can be a blessing by responding affirmatively to God's calling in our lives to be a gift to others.

March 21, 2021: Fifth Sunday of Lent

As we draw closer to the Triduum, we realize, in the readings, that in death, we find new life.

In the Gospel reading, in the days leading up to His death, Jesus realizes the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  It appears He's not answering the request from some Greeks who want to see Him, an element to the story that has some manner of humor to it, yet is another example of how Jesus looks beyond the circumstances at hand to a greater truth, in this case, His purpose for coming to Eaerth.  He then expresses that He is troubled by what is soon to take place. But then He acknowledges that it is for this purpose that He has come to this hour to experience suffering and death, which will give way to New Life, so that the Father may be glorified.  Indeed, God worked in the midst of the Son's sufferings, as Hebrews writes, so that He would become the Source of Salvation and Eternal Life for all.

As people of faith joined with Christ in baptism, we share in the death of Christ so we may enter into His New Life.

So throughout our lives, especially in Lent, we are called to experience death to what is not leading us closer to God, and so rise into new Life, restored to living in accordance with the purpose that God created us.  That is the great value of the New Covenant.  The Old Covenant, written on tablets of stone, was unable to penetrate beyond the exterior into the interior of our beings and our hearts.  The New Covenant, effected in Christ, penetrates deep to transform us inwardly, so that death may lead to new life.  And it happens because, through Christ, God has forgiven our sins so we can live fully in this new life.  With new hearts oriented toward God, our lives become a matter of various instances of dying, which is not the end of the story, because we also experience moments of Resurrection.

March 19, 2021: Solemnity of St. Joseph

God unfolded a marvelous plan to save us from sin, and restore us to Himself and His glorious purpose for us. He promised King David His line and house would endure forever, and chose one of David's descendants to raise up the Son Who would establish the House of David forever and bring salvation to the world.

St. Joseph humbly obeyed when he heard the word of God in his dreams, and so took his part in God's great plan of salvation. His life is a great example of faith in action through virtuous living, as he gave of himself to provide for his family, he worked with purpose, and he listened attentively to God so that his path in life would follow His plans.

March 14, 2021: 4th Sunday of Lent/Laetare Sunday

We rejoice this Sunday because we're more than halfway through Lent, and we marvel at how God is at work in us.

God, as Just and Righteous, holds us accountable for sin, as is recorded of the nation of Israel in the first reading.  Yet, ultimately, the reading describes how God's punishment comes to an end and He bestows His mercy on His people, restoring them to their land.

Centuries later, Christ came to save and restore us, His people, from the deep-down effects of sin and restore us to new life.  He is the great gift of the Father, raised up on the Cross to be our salvation.  Christ reveals the love of the Father Who desires not our condemnation, but our salvation and restoration.

In a similar vein, St. Paul writes in the passage for the 2nd reading in the Epistle to the Ephesians that when we were dead in our sins, God saved us by His grace and brought us to new Life, so we could participate in His works of advancing the Kingdom of God.  Indeed, we are God's masterpiece, and God has made us whole again when we were broken, so that we could live fully in His great Light and shine it in the world.  Indeed, God has not only brought us out of sin, He has brought us into new Life so that we live with profound purpose.  We no longer shun the Light, 

So while we have sorrow over our sins, we also praise the mercy and grace of God.

That is great news, truly reason to rejoice!

March 7, 2021: Third Sunday of Lent

Throughout history, God has sought to save us when we went astray and bring us back into right relationship with Him.

Because He has saved us, He alone is worthy of our devotion, which He emphasizes in the first reading from Exodus stating the 10 commandments.

Jesus calls for a return to wholehearted devotion to God when He clears the Temple of commercial activity that was leading people astray from worshipping God.

When the Jews ask for a sign to assert His authority to act as He does, Jesus declares that the Paschal Mystery of His death and resurrection is the sign of a new covenant calling us into a new relationship with God more deeply from the heart.  While the Cross was an awful sign in the context of that time, by faith, we see it truly as the power of God to redeem and transform.

Lent is an important time of purification, so that we can remove what does not help us grow in God, and engage with those practices that do bring us growth in relationship with God.

We see in the Gospel reading an example of purification, in a rather forceful way, which is another way Jesus calls people to repentance.

This idea of purification reminds me of participating in a Native American sweat lodge ceremony, which is regarded as a purification ritual in their culture, and was also a time of prayer to God in a chapel.

Through purification, we can truly become who God has called us to be.

God desires us to grow in holiness from the heart.  Through the Paschal Mystery, He has freed us from sin and brought us new life, so that we may worship Him with a deep inward devotion and that is evident in our living.

February 28, 2021: Second Sunday of Lent

Jesus granted a glimpse of the glory that is to come after Jesus's Passion when He was transfigured.

We see that Jesus is truly Man and truly God.

We know that He has great power, and He offers Himself in obedience to fulfill God's plan for our salvation.

As we come down from the mountaintop, we are called to truly live in obedience to Him, in obedience that comes by faith.

When we demonstrate obedient faith, God blesses us with the opportunity to participate in His work in the world, as He did with Abraham.

Despite his flaws, Abraham demonstrated the faith that pleases God, and so God granted that he would have many descendants who would be a blessing to the world.

We go forth confidently in faith to take up our part in His plan, confident in His love, and the reality that St. Paul writes about, that nothing can separate us from God's love.  And He intercedes for us in Heaven, fully in His glory.

So let us follow the voice and listen to God's Son Who is so great a savior for us, opening up ourselves to the many ways His glorious Presence is known to us, and how we can be transformed by it.

February 21, 2021: First Sunday of Lent

After His baptism, Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, for, as the reading in the Gospel of St. Mark describes it, the Spirit "drove Jesus" there.

Even in a barren place, evocative of lifelessness and vulnerability, God was at work.  Jesus strengthened His identity as God's beloved Son in the midst of facing temptations, and in His victory.

So we enter into the desert of the 40 days of Lent once more, which serves as a reflection of this pandemic and how the limitations have made life seem barren at times to varying degrees.  Yet we know God is at work.  In a barren place, we strive for a more authentic existence, seeking to know our God more deeply and to know who we are in God's sight.

We know that God has been at work to save us, going all the way back to the flood in the days of Noah.  Once the flood waters receded, God established a covenant with Noah and all the living creatures, a new order in creation.  As St. Peter writes, the flood prefigured baptism, which saves us now, because it cleanses us on the inside so we are made right in God's sight, and are elevated to right relationship with Him, setting our sights on Heaven.

So truly, knowing our God works to make us right, we turn away from sin and toward Him, because this is the time of fulfillment, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, because Jesus accompanies us, and, even in barren circumstances, is at work.

February 17, 2021: Ash Wednesday

On a day like this, we are awakened to our frailty, and how affected we are in a world broken by sin and evil.

We realize the urgency of turning to God, pleading us for His mercy.

And we do so because we know He is the God Who loves us, and has saved us.

Indeed, as St. Paul writes, "now is a very acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation."

And so we turn to Him anew with steadfast devotion, not trying to elevate ourselves, but honor Him Who has offered Himself for us and the opportunity to be in relationship with Him, expressed in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, so the blessing may even extend to others.

February 14, 2021: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our world is broken by sin, illness, and death, as starkly demonstrated in the first reading.

Those who have some kind of blemish on the skin, a sign of leprosy or other infectious skin diseases, were declared unclean and had to live away from everyone else, something that speaks to the nature of this current pandemic.

And so that's why the Good News of Jesus Christ is so great:  He brings the healing touch of God to a leprous person who was cast out of society, and immediately restored him to wholeness, which God intends for all His beloved Whom He creates.

On a day when we celebrate love, we see God demonstrating His love so powerfully in healing.

Jesus is able to overcome barriers that exist because of sin and illness to bring that healing touch.

It's so powerful that people continue to flock to Him, even when He goes to isolated places.

And the power of His healing touch continues as we bear this Good News to others, reaching out past barriers to help restore people to Who God created them to be.

Indeed, that is how we do as St. Paul directs the Corinthians in the 2nd reading, to imitate Christ.  We can bring a healing touch, to restore others to a sense of belonging in the face of whatever might cause them to be isolated.  We can truly bond together as we pour out the love God had shown as, that God be glorified.

February 7, 2021: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Because of the downfall that came into the world with sin, including sickness, Job's description of life pretty well fits our lives at times.

So it is such Good News that God has entered our world in Jesus, bringing healing when it was not even thought possible.  No wonder after healing Simon's mother-in-law, people flock to Jesus for healing.

These healings are a sign of a greater work Jesus does by healing our souls so we can be brought back into right relationship with God.

We are furthermore called to preach the Gospel, and share the power of the healing God brings to our world.  St. Paul wrote about being compelled to give of himself in service to others by preaching the Gospel.  We do it not for gain, but because we are compelled by the power of God Who has worked in us so amazingly, so that others can know the hope in which we have been saved.

February 2, 2021: Candlemas/Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

This Feast is about an important Kairos moment in the life of the Baby Jesus.

His parents bring Him to the Temple to follow the dictates of the Law of the Lord.

And they are in for something amazing when they intersect with two godly "senior citizens", long awaiting the Messiah, by word of the God who they wait upon so earnestly.

Simeon and Anna both praise God for keeping His promise not just for them, but for the people of Israel awaiting salvation.

What a great gift our Savior is to us, the Light for us the Chosen People and extending to all the world.

This Light beckons to us, so that we may constantly enter into God's presence, and be filled with His Light.  Then we carry it forth to all the world, so that our Savior may be known.

January 31, 2021: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We see in the readings for today a progression of God's work.

As Moses nears the end of his life, and the Hebrews approach entrance to the Promised Land, he prepares them through the instruction of the Law.  In this lengthy instruction in Deuteronomy, he indicates a new prophet will arise, speaking the words of God.

Many prophets came doing just that, all culminating in Jesus Christ, Who is the very Word of God.  He appears so human to the people, but as He teaches in the synagogue, they recognize there's something more to this Person, because He teaches with authority, that of God, which is demonstrated in how He heals by casting out a demon, who recognizes Him.

Since God has spoken His Word fully to us in Jesus Christ, we are now called to order our lives to follow His way, and share in His prophetic mission, speaking the very Words of God, to offer a healing touch to our world, in His authority, so that our world can be transformed as we have been.

January 24, 2021: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has spoken His Word into our world in Jesus, the Word Incarnate.

As the readings demonstrate, the presence of the Word impacts our existence, leaving us unaffected.

Jonah is called to proclaim the prophetic message to the Ninevites, a call to repent and avoid utter destruction.  After initially refusing to give them a chance for repentance, Jonah is given another chance, and goes to Nineveh.  The people respond readily, and in a state of mourning call upon God for His mercy, and He relents.

There is a sense of urgency, as St. Paul writes, because this world is passing away.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims, with a similar sense of urgency, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."  The appropriate response is demonstrated by Andrew, Simon, James, and John, while they are in the midst of their fishing work.  When Jesus calls them They respond readily and devote themselves to the way of Jesus.

January 17, 2021: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has come to redeem us through Christ, as we celebrated in the Christmas Season.  Moving beyond it, we now ponder through the readings what it means to offer ourselves in service to Him Who has come among us and calls us.

In the spirit of what St. Paul writes, we are to offer our bodies in holy ways because God has purchased us at a price for our redemption, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, so that we are a Temple of His Presence in the world.

When God calls, it is time for us to listen as He directs us how to act.

Notably, Eli and St. John the Baptist recognize the presence of God and acclaim it, pointing it out to Samuel and the disciples, respectively, and that leads to action.

Encountering God truly transforms us to live with a specific purpose granted us by God.

January 10, 2021: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

We started the Christmas Season celebrating how God came to be among us through the Incarnation of Christ, so we could enter into a relationship with Him.

It's fitting to conclude the Christmas Season with the Feast of the Lord's Baptism.  Jesus was baptized not because He needed to repent and be cleansed of sin, but so that He could do that which was pleasing to the Father, and so be named His beloved Son.

So it is the same for us.  Through water, God works wonders in us--His Word accomplishing His work victoriously--transforming us to be conformed to His image, as He names each of us His beloved, and gives us the ability to live our transformation by following His commands.  And we do this in a community, the Body of Christ, joined so closely to our Father in Heaven, sharing in the mission of Christ to make God's presence known on Earth.

January 3, 2021: Epiphany Sunday

To a people in the dreariness of the post-exilic period, Isaiah prophesies a great Light that will enlighten Jerusalem, a light that will shine forth as all nations stream toward the city, as a place to encounter God..

To a world weary with sin, a great Light shines, so that even the Magi from other nations see it, and stream toward it.

It is like God told to Abraham, that His descendants would a blessing to the whole world.

It is a great light that shines powerfully, even in the midst of the fear King Herod feels and stokes in the people around him.

This fear gives way to great joy when the Magi encounter the Christ Child, and then worship Him and offer Him gifts.

So we are called to worship God's greatest gift to us, given to bring all people of the Earth together in God, so we may magnify Him.

God, in His Love, has shone a great Light in the Earth, so that everyone may participate in the One Body of Christ, embracing each other just as we embrace our God Who came to us in the Incarnation.

January 1, 2021: Octave of Christmas, Feast of Mary, Mother of God

God, Who is outside of time, the Alpha and Omega, entered into time and was born of a woman, Mary.

He was named on the 8th day after His birth, with the name given Him by the angel before His birth: Yeshua, declaring that God saves.  It is the Name above all names, which brings us into a relationship with God, and such an encounter makes His Name so blessed for those of us who acknowledge it.

We marvel at how God chose such a birth, entering humanity, born of Mary.  She certainly was filled with wonder at the events of the birth of her son, and as the Gospel of St. Luke records, she reflected on them in her heart.

May we, too, reflect on this One born for us, so that we may bear the fruits of salvation as we, like Mary, give birth to His presence in our world.