December 31, 2023: Feast of the Holy Family

Christmas is a celebration of God's entry into humanity, which means He entered into a family.

God has revealed Himself in important ways in our families, going all the way back to Abraham, the focus of the first and second readings.  God promised Abraham and Sarah would have a child, even when the odds were so unlikely, and so He demonstrated His power when Isaac was born.

Jesus Christ was born of Mary, and then raised by Mary and Joseph.  Indeed, just as with the Holy Family, God reveals Himself in the life and love we share with our families, as we grow together in virtues, opening ourselves to God's grace, as we strive to exhibit God's holiness.

As we reach the end of 2023, we're reminded of how our lives are touched by God's grace day by day, especially with those with whom we are closest.

December 27, 2023: Feast of St. John, Apostle/Evangelist

God has made a great revelation in Jesus Christ, for by the Incarnation, God became flesh.

And after He died on the Cross, Jesus Christ rose to new life, raising our humanity to a new state.

Now we are called to see the signs by which God has revealed Himself, to believe, and to truly live in God's love.

December 25, 2023: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord/Christmas Day

God revealed Himself in many ways through prophets and other revelations throughout the centuries.

Now, He has revealed Himself fully in His Son.

He has come so close to us, which means so much for us.

We can now share in His divinity because He has come to share in our humanity.

We are filled with light, love, joy, peace, and life.

We are no longer afraid, for we rejoice that God has come to us, and abides with us always.

800 years ago, the world was introduced to a new way to behold the scene of the Incarnation with the first Nativity scene that St. Francis created in Greccio, Italy.

Indeed, we continue to behold the mystery that God revealed in the Incarnation in a baby born to Mary, who continues to be Good News for us.

December 24, 2023: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Throughout this Advent Season, we ponder God's promises to His people as we await His coming, both the celebration of His first coming and then His second coming, as God reveals a great mystery through prophets and then fully in the Son, to bring us to faith.

It is a marvel to consider the first reading, in which God says to David that He will make him into a house, with a descendant Who will reign forever.  We see that promises fulfilled in Mary, when the angel Gabriel announced that she would bear the Son of the Most High, ruling on the throne of His father David, over a Kingdom that would last forever.

By consenting to God's plan, she became a house for God.  And so we can be dwellings for God, as He fulfills His promises through us to be present in the world.  He chose us through His grace so all may know how much God loves us.

December 17, 2023: Third Sunday of Advent/Gaudete Sunday

We rejoice because we're more than halfway through Advent. Furthermore, we rejoice that God is coming.

He is our God Who entered into the troubles of humanity to bring us joy by His presence that is deeper than anything in this world.

Jesus Christ our Savior has truly set us free, as the servant upon whom the Spirit of God descended that He would proclaim a year of God's favor.

God is truly with us in such a close way like never before, and so we always have reason to rejoice.

And we rejoice in the mission we have to point others to Him. St. John the Baptist fully acknowledged that he wasn't the One the people were anticipating.  He knew full well that His work was to point others to Him.

We find true meaning in life when we realize it's not about us, but giving glory to the One Who comes to dwell with us and brings Light and Joy to our lives.

We give thanks for the ways Pope Francis has helped share light and joy in his role as Pope as we celebrate his birthday today.

Once again, I rejoice in marking another anniversary for this blog, which I started 10 years ago on Gaudete Sunday, desiring to joyfully share my reflections on the readings at Mass.  It was after attending Vespers at Holy Name Cathedral, which I did again today, before Mass there, as part of my annual pilgrimage trip there.

December 12, 2023: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

God gave a great sign, like in the spirit of the Revelation reading, to the world on December 12, 1531, revealing His Light and His Love for all people in La Virgen de Guadalupe's apparitions to San Juan Diego.

Like St. Elizabeth, and St. John the Baptist, let us rejoice at God's coming to be with us in Jesus Christ through Mary.

And may we proclaim the message of the Good News boldly that God renews and transforms our lives.

December 10, 2023: Second Sunday of Advent

In Isaiah, God promises to come to His people and comfort them.

His coming will straighten everything, with flowery language that describes mountains and hills made low, valleys filling in, and rough places made smooth.  In all this, the world will see God's glory.

St. John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah as a voice speaking in the wilderness.  

And his message, in light of how the world would alter its state to make ready for God's arrival, so he called the people gathered before him, and us today, to make ourselves ready for the Mighty One to come.

May we join in repentance, embracing the opportunity God gives us to set ourselves right, clearing ourselves of spot and blemish, made possible because of the Good News that Jesus Christ has come to save.  So we can now be made right before our God Who is faithful in fulfilling His promises, unfolding a plan to bring new heavens and a new earth.

December 8, 2023: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

When humans disobeyed God and turned from Him, God sought to restore us to a right relationship with Himself, and bestowed abundant graces on us.

When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, his greeting indicated that she was full of grace.

Like with her, as the first disciple, all of us disciples of Christ receive an abundant share of God's grace, because He chose us to be part of His plan of salvation, to work in us something marvelous.

And when we like Mary, say "Yes" to God's plan in our lives, we truly magnify Him.

This marvelous plan continues to unfold today as we take our part by faith.

The wonderful reality we celebrate today is so marvelously enshrined at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.  For the past 10 years, I have found it a meaningful place to enter into a spirit of prayer, especially through the various chapels of Mary.  It is a place to behold how God makes Himself present to us today, including through the intercession of the Patroness Saint of the United States, the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the Immaculate Conception.

December 3, 2023: First Sunday of Advent

Happy New (Liturgical) New Year!

Coming off the end of the last liturgical year, we're called to be aware of Christ's coming to us.

He makes clear in the Gospel that we don't know when, so we must live in a constant state of readiness.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah is painfully aware that the people of Israel haven't been faithful, and have broken their relationship with God.  He pleads with God to restore the people so that can be right again with Him.

St. Paul offers a hopeful note in the 2nd reading, noting that "God is faithful", and will keep His people "firm to the end".

As we prepare ourselves to welcome Christ again at the End of Time, at the annual celebration of His Nativity, and into our hearts each day, let us behold God's faithfulness and lean on His grace to live out the call to holiness each day.

November 26, 2023: Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

While a King in an earthly sense implies an individual with great power who rules mightily in directing the course of his subjects, we celebrate Christ as King in a different sense.

He is a King Who stoops low to identify Himself with the lowly.  He shepherds them to Eternal Life, meeting their needs, including their greatest need of salvation.

And as the narrative in the Gospel passage makes clear, He expects the same of us who participate in His Kingdom.

I sometimes puzzled over how Christ could be present in the needy of the world.  Then I realized that He is present in all people because His image, the Divine image, is in all people.  If someone has unmet physical needs, doing something to help those people restores them to the dignity of God's image.

So when all the nations are gathered before the great King at the End of Time in the great judgment, we will recognize that Jesus Christ is a Great King, and He directs our lives by commanding us to care for those in need, as a way to advance His Kingdom.

Pope Pius XI established this Feast in 1925 at a time when the manifestations of worldliness meant there was a need to uphold a different image of Kingship.  Jesus Christ has rightly earned the title King of the Universe because He stooped to the level of humanity, died, and then rose to New Life.  We share in the dying and rising to enter His Kingdom as we fulfill the mission He has given us on Earth.

November 19, 2023: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In keeping with the mood toward the end of the Liturgical Year, the End Times are coming, a reality that calls us to respond.

We recognize that we've been entrusted with the great gift of faith, and we're meant to immediately act to put it into action, and do so throughout our lives as we await Christ's coming again.

We live in a state of readiness, living in a way that is pleasing to God, in His light.  The first reading describes the qualities of a great woman, and many of them apply to the other gender, too.  Ultimately, our interior disposition is what counts, that it may lead us closer to God Who draws close to us.

Like the servants, we're called to us what we have and not just sit on it, even if that puts us at risk.  We are seeking the great reward of entering into the fullness of God's presence, which is worth all our striving now to live holy, because God has brought us into Light.

November 12, 2023: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we draw closer to the end of the liturgical year, we consider what is coming at the End of Time.

The parable in the Gospel reading likens it to a wedding feast.  We joyfully await the bridegroom's arrival.  Yet we must be ready, living in ways that draw us closer to Him, lest we be unready like the virigns who didn't have enough oil for their lamps.

So we are called to live with wisdom, confident that we'll find it when we seek it.

And we can have confidence and consolation that our Lord is coming and we will experience the fulfillment of the reality of the Resurrection living with Him.

November 9, 2023: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica

Today's feast celebrates the dedication of the church that has the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, and so is the Mother Church of the universal church.

Any church has meaning because of the body of people who gather there, as God builds us into a community.  Joined together, we make God present to the world.  As we open ourselves to transformation by His power, we show to the world that God is alive in Christ and is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.

November 5, 2023: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is the one Father over all people.

Yet ever since there has been rebellion against God, there's been a tendency among those He has created to attempt making themselves like God.

As we seek to grow in relationship with God, we step aside and open ourselves up to letting God do His work in us.  We acknowledge that He is Father and Master over all, even in directing the way we live our lives in response to Him.

And He fills us with everything we need to live an abundant, purposeful life, which we then share with others this Life, particularly in meeting needs in the world.  In this way, we humbly acknowledge His Word and open ourselves to the power of the Word manifesting God in us.

November 2, 2023: All Souls' Day

Through the Paschal Mystery, God has made a way for us to be fully alive in Him.

Christ rose from the dead, He promises that we, too, the faithful in Him will have a share in that Resurrection.

Even as we await the full revelation of the beatific vision, God is at work now bringing us to life.

Through His mercy, His purifies faithful people so they may truly experience the fullness of His glory.

We honor those who have passed on from us, who were faithful in this life, and marvel that they are bound for the glory of God, to share in the promise of Resurrection.

November 1, 2023: All Saints Day

We marvel at the saints, and on this day, we celebrate them and the example they give us for living the way of holiness.

We strive to be transformed more closely in the image of God, following His way that is so radically different from the world.  We rejoice in meekness and humility, along with the path laid out in the Beatitudes, because it makes real a vision of Heaven.

Even as we look ahead to reaching Heaven and joining the immense throng of the Church Triumphant, we, the Church Militant, are connected with them now as one grand communion of saints.

October 29, 2023: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates His care for those in need.  In the Law of the Pentateuch, He constantly reminded the Hebrews to look out for them.

Jesus brought fulfillment to that Law by focusing on the ultimate meaning:  When asked by a religious man, He declared that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others.

God has given us a great gift in showing us His love, especially in how Jesus saved us from sins so that we could truly be alive, focusing ourselves Heavenward.  

This great gift calls us to respond by acknowledging God, and then recognizing He is present in those around us, and so we show that love to others, even so that furthermore, God may truly be present in how we live our lives.  May it be a sign that God is transforming us in the image of His Son our Savior, so that we can be models for those around us as we advance the Kingdom.

October 22, 2023: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is a mighty ruler over all the Earth, and He works in ways to display that reality.  As the first reading declares, He even works through rulers who don't acknowledge Him to confirm that there is no one like Him in all the Earth.

God has created us to bear His image and reveal His glory.  The idea of images has a prominent part in the Gospel passage.  When Pharisees and Herodians attempted to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes, Jesus took the question to a whole new level.  With the coin that bore Caesar's image, He declared that we should give to Caesar what belongs to him to God what belongs to Him.

Furthermore, as is revealed in Redemption, and described in the 2nd reading, God chose us and called us, giving us a title and an anointing.  He does a great work in us to present us the saving message of the Gospel and work it in us and our lives through power, the Holy Spirit, and much conviction.  And with this reality living in us, we're called to live in a way that declares God's presence to the world.

The readings for this weekend have special significance because they were proclaimed at my Confirmation Mass 18 years ago.  At that time, I was called to recognize that I am created to bear God's image and go forth into confirmed life to acclaim God's glory in the world by putting faith into action.

October 22 is also the anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II's installation, and is celebrated as his feast day.  One important aspect of his legacy is Theology of the Body, which helps us better understand what it means for us to bear God's image in our bodies.  He did so much in his capacity as Pope to call the people of the church to live the vocation to love God by serving with their lives.

October 15, 2023: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is inviting us to a great banquet with the very best food, which is the realization of how He imparts His very Life to us.  We get a foretaste of Eternal Life when we partake of the Eucharist.

Indeed, like St. Paul writes, He provides for us abundantly, and we can lean on Him, knowing, in those powerful words of Philippians 4:13, that Christ strengthens us for everything.

It's an opportunity for us to respond, and partake of these riches of abundance.  The sadness of the parable in the Gospel reading is that so many turn away from the invitation, or even act harshly toward the servants bearing the invitation.  Even today, so many aren't coming to Mass on Sundays, to worship communally at Church.

When we're at this banquet, we're called to embrace a new way of life, to put on Christ and be transformed.

On this day 18 years ago, I responded to the call to live a new way of life in the sacrament of Confirmation, and it has brought me into an abundant banquet as I strive to follow the way of the Holy Spirit to grow deeper in relationship with God that is lived out toward others.

It's also the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, who sought to draw closer to God, and offered a way for others to mystically draw closer to Him.  The St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center at Valparaiso University has helped so many students like me encounter God in a vibrant community, and it gives me lots to celebrate this day.

October 8, 2023: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has done so much for the people He has chosen throughout the centuries, offering them His life-giving presence and so many blessings, like the owner of the vineyard who tends to it with such care.  No wonder God became so disheartened with the Chosen People when they turned away from Him, not bearing good fruit, but behaving wickedly, like the landowner who wanted to have the vineyard overrun and neglected.

In that same sense, Jesus describes a disheartening scene in the parable in today's Gospel reading, when the tenants of the land mistreat the servants sent to collect the owner's share of the land's produce, and then ultimately even mistreat the owner's son.  The religious leaders, to whom Jesus directs the parable, in responding to what should happen to the tenants, acknowledge what will ultimately happen to them because Israel's people rejected all the prophets up to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Clearly, things get out of hand for the Chosen People because they reject their relationship with God, Who is the Truth, seeking only for themselves.

God ultimately sends His Son as the fullness of the message the prophets attempted to convey.  He is Truth, and He is our Life, calling us to bear fruit that will build a culture of Life in this world by reflecting Him.  While these parables in today's readings had a focus on ancient Israel, their message continues to call us today.

In the spirit of what St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, God will grant us peace as we turn to Him in the midst of our struggles.  And He grants us an abundant sense of Life as we turn our minds toward everything that is honorable, pure, lovely, and gracious, which is how we acknowledge that God is present with us.

October 2, 2023: Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

God has sent angels to guide us on our way to salvation, which Hebrews describes.

And God yearns for us to attain salvation in its fullness and reach the fullness of His presence in Heaven.

May we rejoice that God is providing help for us in our journey and know the closeness of His presence as His angels accompany us.

October 1, 2023: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There's something about this week's readings that speaks to last week's readings, when we were presented with the idea that God's ways are so vastly different from ours.  Now, we encounter further insight about how to respond to the grace God gives all of us so abundantly.  Ultimately, God is looking for each of us to do what is right in His sight.

While some delay in sinful ways, God values those who come to Him sincerely and live out their faith.  That is the way that leads to life and demonstrates how God's life is at work in us.

He calls us to have the attitude of Christ Jesus, seeking the good of others.  We put aside our differences and, by faith, bind ourselves more closely to each other in edifying one another, following the model of Jesus Christ:  He humbled and emptied Himself so that we could be restored to right relationship with God.  As we join with those in Heaven, on Earth, and under the earth in confessing His name, we answer the call to serve others in His Name that has saved us through abundant grace.

This day is typically the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, whose little way has provided us insight that, by faith, we can draw close to the heart of God Who loves us.  She drew close to God in the midst of her circumstances and helped show others the way.

We also give thanks on this Respect Life Sunday for God's most precious gift, and give ourselves to upholding the sanctity of life, starting from the moment of conception.

September 29, 2023: Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

Transcending our reality is spiritual warfare.

God has created the angels to serve us and the archangels fight mightily in defense of the Truth that is God.

May we have the eyes of faith to recognize God is aiding us through the angels so that we can stand strong in the face of opposition from evil and uphold what is right and true.

September 24, 2023: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It's clear that sometimes God's ways don't make sense to us.

Surely the laborers who started the earliest in the parable thought they would get paid more than those who only worked one hour at the end of the day.  The landowner, representing God, has to up his tone a few notes to make clear what his perspective is on payment.

In a similar spirit, the prophet Isaiah invites the readers to repent and focus upward, embracing that God is abundantly generous in ways beyond our comprehension.

God imparts to us His Grace and His very life in Christ, Who offers Himself totally to us.

In that spirit, we are called to repent and focus our lives toward God, living generously like Him, sharing ourselves and all that we have, which is all the gift of God, with others and so bring God's life and presence to the world.

St. Paul writes so eloquently in the 2nd reading about the mission that should drive all baptized faithful, that Christ may be magnified in our lives.

18 years ago today, I was on a retreat as part of my Confirmation preparation, which was three weeks prior to Confirmation.  We heard from a speaker who helped us see how our lives were meant to be lived as Confirmed, to live in love before God and in the communion of saints.

September 21, 2023: Feast of St. Matthew

God meets us where we're at, just like when Jesus came to Levi/Matthew at the customs post and called Him.

Jesus knew His divine power to transform those in sin and call them for great purposes.

St. Matthew answered the call to follow Jesus and proclaim the Gospel message of salvation that was first handed to the Chosen People and destined for the whole world.

So we are all called to repent and enter into a new way of life devoted to God, each of us doing our part to build up the Church.

September 17, 2023: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is calling us to forgiveness as a way of life, as we acknowledge how God has forgiven us.

Through His forgiveness, He has freed us from sin and brought us to newness of Life.

As we build the Kingdom, we experience the full effects of this forgiveness when we share it with others.  While it's not readily human for us to forgive those who wrong us, even those close to us, when we do so, it is a sign of God at work in our hearts.

On this day when we commemorate the signing of the US Constitution, we are reminded of the ultimate Law of God that directs our lives, and calls us to love as God does.

In such conduct, we truly show ourselves to belong to God, which is our Eternal Life and our Life now.  That is where we find our purpose.

We celebrate Catechetical Sunday this weekend, and in my personal experience, I have found such tremendous blessing in leading my students to walk in the way of Life to which God calls us all.

September 10, 2023: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Through baptism, we join in Christ's mission as Priest, Prophet, and King.

In the role of prophet, we proclaim the Truth, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to help steer others in the way of righteousness according to the Truth.  We are indeed meant to uphold this righteousness in our world.

In the Gospel, Jesus established steps for how to address misbehavior in the Church.  If it goes so far that someone won't even accept discipline from the church, we treat that person as a Gentile.  They may have removed themselves from acceptable standards of Church membership, but we still show them love.

Indeed, like St. Paul writes in teh 2nd reading, all the commands are ultimately about living love to others that God has first shown us.  Jesus came as the ultimate fulfillment of the Law, transforming us so that we can truly manifest that love in our lives as we put faith into action.

This week is special for me because it marks 10 years since I started teaching Religious Education.  The great gift of faith in me had been shaped in significant ways throughout my life, especially in middle school and college years.  Teaching RE has been a way for me to channel that faith in helping the middle schoolers in class before me to follow the way of faith.

I also think about how my grandparents have all shaped my faith in their unique ways, including how the love we have shared has manifested God's presence in our lives.  I certainly have so much to celebrate on this Grandparents' Day.

When we are faithful to this work of advancing God's righteousness through obedience to the commands, which is ultimately about manifesting God's love, He is truly present among us.  May our faith help us recognize that God is at work in us.

September 3, 2023: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Following Christ can be a great burden as we take up the Cross.  And to our human ears, it doesn't make sense that we would have to deliberately enter into a painful experience.  Just like St. Peter, we would perhaps go so far as to try and deny it.

Yet we are called to enter more deeply into the will of God, even when it's illogical and involves pain.  As we grow in our understanding of the Paschal Mystery, we realize that pain has a purpose.  Even Jeremiah yearned to be free of the traumatic experience of proclaiming God's Word to a people who opposed it because this Word condemned them. When he tried to stop speaking it, the Word burned in him.  In a sense, he realized it was his purpose.

So we realize we have a great purpose, because we offer all of ourselves to the One Who truly brings us alive, and are renewed to be more conformed to His purposes.  Furthermore, through death, we experience life, in Eternity, and even now because we are living according to His purpose, which is how we experience abundant Life.

Today is a special day for the United States, marking the Treaty of Paris 1783, which ended the American Revolution.  After a long struggle, there was peace.  So much striving led to the end of conflict and a new nation, in which a people could live with purpose of upholding ideals of God-given right and liberty.

I also think about how I started at Julian Middle School 21 years ago today.  It was a time when I came to see that faith brings great purpose to my life, a legacy that is ongoing for me even today.

August 27, 2023: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the spirit of the stewards of the Old Testament, when God granted authority to a servant, God, through Jesus, offered authority to St. Peter, after granting Him a special revelation.

While God's ways are sometimes hard to understand, we give thanks that He has given us special revelations that show how close He is to us.

St. Peter was granted a special role as the rock on which the Church was built, and leadership as the first Pope, yet God grants all of us a special place in His Kingdom to advance His mission.

We are called to declare the reality of Who Jesus Christ is and make that known to the world, to bring the transformation God has brought to us.

I attended Mass at St. Teresa's for the first time on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, and it was an opportunity for me to affirm Who Christ is in my life, and to live out that profession.

The world has many ideas about Christ, yet through revelations, we can ground ourselves on the rock of faith in Who Christ truly is.

August 20, 2023: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Even in the days of the Old Testament Covenant, God had in mind that His Kingdom would be open to all people of the whole world.

Going beyond the external prescriptions of the Law, God is pleased by those whose hearts are faithful to Him.

And so He has promised that the benefits of the covenant will go to His people, the Hebrews, and to the Gentiles. As St. Paul makes clear, these promises are irrevocable, as He bestows His mercy on all.

The Gospel story has a great example of how this applies to one particular person.  While Jesus at first appeared to ignore the Canaanite woman pleading for His help, in her persistence, she revealed great faith, the kind of faith present throughout all the Gentile people.  I personally like this story because the woman offers a great comeback line to Jesus's remark about the dogs.  She demonstrated great faith by recognizing how the blessings of the covenant would extend to all people beyond Israel.

I am grateful for those who have been part of my life along the journey, drawing faith out of me. Around this time of August, I think about the impact of the St. Teresa's church community when I was in college as they reached out to welcome students from a variety of backgrounds, and build a community in the power of faith.

August 15, 2023: Solemnity of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary

God chose Mary to have a special role in salvation history, bearing His Son into the world.

Despite the uncertainties of becoming the Mother of God, Elizabeth declared her blessed, and Mary responded by magnifying the Lord.

Through the Son, we have life through His Resurrection.  He is the firstfruits of those who rise from the dead.

This promise applies to all disciples of Jesus Christ, including Mary, the first disciple.

God has indeed conquered death, and He does it through the living reality of the Resurrection in us.

30 years ago today was a glorious day in the Denver Metro Area when Pope St. John Paul II celebrated the World Youth Day 1993 Closing Mass at Cherry Creek State Park.  WYD certainly breathed new life and faith into those gathered.

August 13, 2023: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When the storms of life, in whatever form they come, swirl furiously around us, we can take comfort in the reality of our God Who is truly with us.

He sent to us a Savior, in accordance with the promises to His Chosen People, to free us from sin.

It is a contrast to Old Testament understandings, when people thought God came in fury, like when Elijah sees a great wind, a fire, and and earthquake, yet God wasn't present in any of them.  When he hears the soft sound, he hides his face as he enters into God's presence.

Now, God has come to us so closely to us in Jesus Christ, Who desires for us to draw close to Him, and to keep ourselves fixed on Him.

When life gets tempestuous, let us still ourselves to the quiet presence of God coming so close us, and surely that's what beckoned St. Peter to get out of the boat to go toward Jesus on the water.

I am reminded that yesterday, August 12, was the birthday of Blessed Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, and today, August 13, is his feast day.  He is a great model of bringing Christ close to people by meeting their needs in their difficult circumstances.

While there is so much to distract us when life gets challenging, let's keep focused on God Who comes to us in Christ to be our aid, and always remember that we can count on Him and to be not afraid.

August 6, 2023: Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

How glorious that this Feast is on a Sunday and we can celebrate it with greater emphasis.

Throughout time, God has constantly manifested Himself in glorious visions.

He revealed Himself as a Great King in Daniel.

And then, God Himself came to us in the flesh in Jesus Christ, Who revealed a glimpse of His full glory on the Mount to Sts. Peter, James, and John in His Transfiguration.

While there was an urge to bottle up the vision and let it persist, God then manifested Himself in a cloud, and spoke, making it clear they should go forth and continue listening to the Son, in recognition of His inherent majesty.

In the Espistle of 2 Peter years later, St. Peter writes that they were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, and that is the foundation for holding strong in faith.

How wonderful that this Feast concludes the 2023 World Youth Day event in Lisbon.  Participants have pondered what it means to go in haste to encounter God, Who reveals Himself in great majesty.  

We have this mountaintop experience speaking to the Transfiguration every time we attend Mass and encounter God's very real and living Presence.  And just like with the Transfiguration, we are called to go forth and live out in the valleys and plains of our lives what we have gained from these encounters.

Like Bishop Barron marvelously said in his homily for this liturgy, we are called to love God, be loved by Him, and then, grounded in this reality, live as a soldier in His army, striving nobly in faith, because it is leading us to glory, and giving us a glorious purpose along the way.

July 30, 2023: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus shares two parables in the Gospel passage for today about great treasures. 

Ultimately, our faith is truly a pearl of great price.

It is our way of entering into and growing in relationship with God Who loves us and has sought to bring us through the Paschal Mystery into His glory.  It is with this faith that we have the eyes to see everything from God's perspective.

God is just, and though He punishes, He provides a way for us to mercy and life.

With the eyes of faith, we also recognize what is most worthwhile.  It's telling that God granted King Solomon the opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted.  And while he asked for wisdom, Solomon already possessed a great measure of it to recognize that was the greatest thing to ask for when presented with such an opportunity from God.

So let us seek the greatest treasures of all, be filled with love for His commands, and follow His ways, seeing from His perspective.

For everything we do to grow in our relationship with God is worthwhile.

I reflected on these readings 18 years ago while preparing for Confirmation, in which I sought to be ready for the sealing in the Spirit, including the gift of Wisdom that would help me live most worthwhile.

I also celebrate the great wisdom that my Great Aunt Carmen has gained over the years that has led her to share her life, love, and faith with so many. As she turns 90 on her birthday today, we have so much to celebrate.

Truly, our lives are worthwhile when lived from God's perspective so we live for what is of the highest value.

July 23, 2023: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Though God has justice for wrongdoing, He is also gracious and provides a way for mercy and redemption.

The first reading is full of language describing this, and ends on a great note by saying people have hope because He permits forgiveness of sins.

The parable of the weeds illustrates how God may permit sin for now, but then will bring redemption at the end of the age, when the weeds and wheat are separated, and His people shine.

Even now, the Spirit is at work in us, aiding us through our struggles against sin, praying in us with "inexpressible groaning" in ways that we don't fully understand, and yet are working us toward redemption.  The Spirit is at work even to remove the weeds in our hearts so that we can be reconciled to God and one another as we bear one another's faults while working to build the Kingdom that starts small and grows abundantly within us.

July 22, 2023: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

St. Mary Magdalene knew the power of God's love in her life.

First, Christ cast multiple demons from her.

She devoted her life to serving Christ.

And she was given the honor of being the first witness to the reality of the Resurrection at the Empty Tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning.  At a time when a woman's testimony wasn't valid in court, God gave her the important role of announcing that Christ had conquered death victoriously.

This reality impacts all of us, even as Christ brings healing to each of us individually.  As healed and redeemed people, we follow in the way of St. Mary Magdalene and announce the Good News that lives in us.

July 16, 2023: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God speaks His Word and acts His Word simultaneously.

He sends it forth to the Earth, just like the rain and snow as Isaiah describes, and it accomplishes His purposes.

People respond in different ways, like the different types of ground on which the sower's seed falls in the parable.

Since God's Word is so mighty, we are called to have hearts with rich soil where the Word will bear fruit, so that as it accomplishes God's will, it bears fruit in us.

I visited Father Hurlbert, a former pastor at Ascension Parish, attending Mass at Nativity Parish, where he is now.  He insightfully discussed how healthy plants bear seeds that produce fruit.  Just so, those of us with a vibrant faith life pass on the faith to the next generation so that they grow abundantly and bear fruit.

We indeed are the firstfruits of the work of redemption, which St. Paul describes in the 2nd reading, which not only impacts us, but all of Creation.

God continued a mighty work of redemption through Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose feast is today.  And he did it also through San Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary who founded the first California Mission at San Diego on July 16, 1769.  He founded a string of missions, all in the name of proclaiming the Gospel.

And so we are called to have rich soil in our hearts so that the Gospel is alive in us, even shown in how we live the Gospel as a blessing to the world around us.

July 9, 2023: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The prophet Zechariah speaks of the coming of the King with great joy.  This King comes to us humbly, on a donkey.  And He brings lasting peace to all the earth.

We see this prophecy in the coming of Jesus, especially in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  He brings peace because of His close relationship with the Father, which He reveals to us.  When we humble entrust ourselves to the God Who gave Himself for us in Jesus Christ, we know His peace, because we rest in Him.  And we share in the Divine Life of the Trinity:  The Father and the Son love each other, and the Holy Spirit proceeds forth from that love.

And the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us so that our lives are transformed as we repent from ways of death and enter into the fullness of Life God grants us.  We celebrated this great reality three months ago on Easter Sunday, April 9.  And we continue to rejoice in it today, Sunday, July 9, because God has revealed to us great mysteries, showing that He alone brings purpose and joy to life.  When we turn from thinking that worldly things can satisfy us, we will truly rest and share in that joy.

July 2, 2023: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are called to follow Christ with devotion that surpasses even our love for those in our family.

We do so recognizing God is the source of all goodness in our lives, just like in His goodness, at the word of Elisha, God provided a child for the Shunamite woman, who had been so good in serving Elisha, acknowledging He was a prophet.

God shows His greatest goodness to us in sending us His Son, Who brought us salvation.  We join with Christ in baptism into His death and rise to newness of Life that we live following Him wholeheartedly.

At this time of year when we celebrate the independence of the United States, we recall that our faith teaches us we have been set free for the purpose of being who we are meant to be in God's sight, which we discover when we give of ourselves.

June 29, 2023: Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Jesus Christ founded the Church, and entrusted its leadership at the start to important figures including Saints Peter and Paul.

Each played a role in building a foundation by proclaiming the reality of the living, Risen Christ--and each encountered Him in unique ways.

No matter what obstacles they faced, they had a solid grounding in their faith in Christ.

They now are regarded as pillars of our Church, and give us an example for what it means to be grounded in faith so that we can build up the church and proclaim the reality of our faith in the Risen Christ to all the world.

At Ascension Church in Oak Park is St. Peter, above, and, below, St. Paul.

June 25, 2023: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Being a disciple means proclaiming the message of Truth, even when resisted by those who oppose the Truth.

Jeremiah faced this reality as a prophet, yet trusted in God to stand by Him.

Jesus consoles His disciples not to be afraid of those who kill the body but can't touch the soul, because God cares for them.  So they are called to be bold in proclaiming the message about the reality of God.

St. Paul lived out what it means to be a disciple, proclaiming the message God gave Him even when facing those hostile to it. He was truly rooted in the message of the God who reversed the curse of sin that brought death from the time of Adam by sending His Son to save us and bring us life by an abundant, overflowing gift.

Now, if we deny God, we'll be eternally separated from Him and suffer grave consequences to body and soul.  Yet if we are true to Him and proclaiming His Word, He promises to preserve us for Eternal Life.

June 24, 2023: Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

The birth of St. John the Baptist caused a stir, and so did his parents' choice of his name.

Clearly, he was someone special.  He was born with a purpose, to prepare a people to be joyfully ready for the coming of the Greater One.

No wonder St. John was acclaimed as greater than all born of women.

May we joyfully acknowledge that each of us is created for a purpose in life, to declare that God is among us, so that all the world may welcome Him and rejoice.

Thinking back 1 year ago when the Dobbs vs. Jackson decision was issued, this past year has brought an opportunity to take up the work of promoting a cultural where all children are welcomed and cared for, because each comes into this world loved by God and created by Him for a purpose.

June 18, 2023: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It may be Ordinary Time, yet we hear extraordinary stories about God's choosing of people as His own, for His purposes.

God chose the Hebrews as His special people, to be a people of priests to make His presence known to all the world.

Jesus, seeing the great needs of the people, took action to respond.  And He chose 12 disciples and gave them authority to participate in His work, even during His ministry, as much as He did following His Ascension.

Just after the great Heart feasts, we rejoice that God had such great love for us that Christ died for us sinners who were unworthy. He reconciled us by His death and new life so that we may live with new and abundant purpose.

And the authority He gave to the Apostles has been handed down so that we fulfill the mission of Christ grounded in the sure Apostolic faith.

June 17, 2023: Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mary, as the Mother of Jesus, had such a close relationship, especially when she bore Him in her womb.  Her heart beat to bring life into Jesus as His tiny heart beat.

She exemplifies for us what it means to love the Son of God in a deep, intimate way.

She was fully aware of God's love and then shared it.

We, too, are called to respond to the love God has shown us by bearing into all the world, sharing it in a way that blesses those around us.

As we reflect on the Paschal Mystery that has been our focus since Ash Wednesday, may we be inspired by the love of God through Christ and put it into action.

June 16, 2023: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

God loved us into creation, and sought us when we went astray into sin.  He chose a special people for Himself.  In the fullness of time, He revealed the complete depth of His love for us in Christ, Who died on the cross for us to free us from sin and bring us into Eternal Life.

We can count on God because of the Love He showed us in Christ, Who is meek and humble of heart.  He gives us rest for our souls in a world plagued by trouble because He has already met our greatest need, our salvation.  He brought us salvation through the Paschal Mystery, which we focused on for the past three months.  Now we're almost at the end of the feasts whose dates are determined by the date of Easter Sunday.  The mystery of salvation is capped off by a celebration of God's immense love for us.

One year ago on this Feast, the Dobbs vs. Jackson decision was issued.  God truly poured out His love our land by restoring us back to the right way of upholding the dignity of life through this critically important development.

Indeed, the love God pours out for us is so abundant, flowing over and around us, sustaining us to live with purpose as Who He has called us to be, His beloved, sharing that Love with others.

June 11, 2023: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

On this Little Easter, we have so much to celebrate, with today's Solemnity lauding the great gift of bread that has come from Heaven.

Jesus came to us as fully God and fully man in the incarnation.

And He Who was once dead is now alive forever and ever:  He continues to be closely present to us in the offering of His Most Holy Body and Blood, by which we enter Eternal Life now.

We can count on Him to provide for us.  He Who is the Bread of Life demonstrates to us what truly satisfies the deepest longings of our souls.

Furthermore, we are bound together as One in His Body because we share in the same bread and cup.  We are commissioned to be what we have consumed, to continue making Christ's Living Presence real in the world.

I think about occasions I've been celebrating recently, like my anniversaries of graduation from Julian Middle School and Valparaiso University.  Yesterday, I extended my celebration by visiting Father Kevin, attending Mass at his parish.  God has truly shown His goodness to me through so many, and has inspired me to be part of Church community to show His goodness to others.

In this goodness, we are truly alive!

June 4, 2023: Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

While the Trinity is a mystery, and thereby is something we can't completely understand, we can recognize its effects all around us.

We acknowledge that God is merciful towards us sinners and forgives.  Furthermore, He has saved us and called us to live a holy life.  He has enabled us through the Holy Spirit poured out from the Paschal Mystery to extend forgiveness and peace to others, binding ourselves closely as one people, one church chosen by God.

I participated in a wonderful celebration of the annual Lumen Cordium Mass celebrated by Cardinal Cupich.  In this context, we celebrated how we all do our part to edify the Church as we seek to live like God in the way that God enables us by giving us a share in His Divine Life, in His Love by which we know He is real and make Him known to the world.

May 31, 2023: Feast of the Visitation

In the story of the Visitation, we see how joy runs deep within us.

St. John the Baptist and Elizabeth rejoice when Mary came to visit, because they recognize that God was truly present to them in that moment in Christ.

As we celebrated throughout the Easter Season, God is so close to us through the Resurrection of Christ, and through the abiding Presence of the Risen Christ in the Holy Spirit.

So let us rejoice as we open ourselves to God's presence coming among us and welcome Him with great joy.

May 29, 2023: Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church

The Blessed Mother Mary bore Christ into the world, the Head of the Church.

Christ then entrusted Mary to the church when handing her to the beloved disciple at the Cross.

Mary's fiat reversed the curse of sin brought by the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

And she played an important role at the start of the church, praying with the apostles as they awaited the Holy Spirit.

Five years ago, we first celebrated this feast on the day after Pentecost.

May we rejoice in her intercession so that we grow closer to God as the Church, the Body of Christ.

May 28, 2023: Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday

The first reading starts by stating the time for Pentecost had been fulfilled, just as the Paschal Mystery is at that time.

The Holy Spirit descended powerfully on the disciples gathered in the upper room.  They are enabled to proclaim Jesus as Lord, like the 2nd reading from 1 Corinthians describes.  The Spirit manifests Himself in various ways, as each of them spoke a different language so that those gathered from around the world could understand the proclamation of the mighty works of God.

Indeed, the joy we experienced 7 weeks ago on Easter Sunday we encounter again today because the Risen Christ has breathed His life-giving breath on us so that we become alive in the power of the Holy Spirit.  And as Jesus said to those in that locked room, so He has sent us forth on that mission to continue proclaiming the Paschal Mystery.

10 years ago on Pentecost Sunday, I graduated from Valparaiso University.  During my four years there, I was enlivened with new understandings of faith, and upon graduation, I truly sensed being sent forth to carry out the gift of faith.

Over 100 years ago, St. Joseph's Church was established in Alexandria, VA, in part with funds from St. Mother Katherine Drexel.  She answered the call to use money from her inheritance to start churches and church institutions for African Americans and Native Americans.  And as I saw there at Mass today, the Holy Spirit continues to bear fruit through the efforts of her and so many others.

May 21, 2023: Solemnity of the Ascension Sunday

The Resurrection is a great feast, and the Ascension is another that summons forth more exuberance for another part of the Paschal Mystery.

The Risen Christ entered an even more glorious state when He ascended to Heaven.  Before doing so,  He left His disciples with important words:  They would receive power from the Holy Spirit to fulfill a mission of proclaiming what Christ taught them to all the world.  They would make disciples.  And in the powerful words that end the Gospel according to St. Matthew, He would be with them always.

St. Paul profoundly describes the marvelous work of God when Christ rose from the dead and then went to Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. And where the Head of the Church has gone, we, as the Body of Christ, will follow.  We join with St. Paul's prayer that God will give us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we can faithfully do the work of His mission and on our way to Heaven, experience it now.

My home church of Ascension in Oak Park has a great patronal Feast, especially to inspire us to take up this mission.

May 14, 2023: 6th Sunday of Easter

At the Last Supper, Christ promises to send another Advocate to always be with His disciples, and all His people.  This Advocate, the Holy Spirit, keeps us close to God, so that we are conformed to His ways, living His commandments, including the greatest commandment to love, and we abide in His Love.  Even when the world doesn't see or understand, we acknowledge that God is alive among us through the Spirit.

This Holy Spirit is the power upon us and in us that brings us alive, just as Christ, after suffering for our sake, came alive.  When the people of Samaria, customarily regarded at the time as ostracized from Jews, accepted the word of God, the apostles came to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them.  It makes sense that there was great joy in Samaria because of the Holy Spirit's work.

We continue to experience joy as the Holy Spirit works among us, revealing God's love among us, just as we see it in the way our mothers love and care for us.

With this Holy Spirit, we are aware that we have reason for hope, as St. Peter writes.  We proclaim this hope because it is real in us.

May 7, 2023: 5th Sunday of Easter

God is no longer as mysterious to His people as He once was because Jesus, in John 14, declares Himself "the Way, the Truth, and the Life", with direct access to the Father.

Jesus reveals that God does great works among us, and He continues to make Himself known in doing these works among us.  A great example is in the first reading, when the early Church addressed a controversy of some widows' needs getting neglected.  Men filled with the Holy Spirit were called to meet those needs, serving as the first deacons.

Today, we join with all people of the church as living stones building ourselves into a spiritual house where God's spirit dwells and continues to do even greater works among us.

April 30, 2023: 4th Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

We have a Good Shepherd in Jesus, because He lay down His life for us, and continues to bring us life.

When He faced opposition for what He stood for, He submitted, and His obedience brought us back to the way of righteousness.

Indeed, in another analogy in John 10, Jesus describes Himself as the gate by which the sheep of His flock go on the path that leads to Life.

It is the glorious Gift of Life that rises from the Empty Tomb and comes alive in us.

With so many other voices around to distract us, let us draw close to the Good Shepherd Who knows us so closely, and follow His voice into Eternal Life, opening our hearts to this Life even now.

I am grateful for the many shepherds who followed in the way of Christ to guide me in faith, starting with Father Pacocha, who baptized me on his ordination anniversary.  As I mark the anniversary of my baptism at the end of this month, I have much to celebrate because of the ways Christ has led me through so many people and experiences.

April 25, 2023: Feast of St. Mark, the Evangelist

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Best News of All.

And the Risen Jesus sent forth His apostles to proclaim this message, as described in the final verse of today's Gospel reading.  Though Jesus ascended to Heaven, He remained with them in the work of proclaiming the Gospel with "accompanying signs".

And God is still at work among us as we do our part to proclaim the Gospel even in our lives with signs that demonstrate He is alive among us and continues the work of redemption in manifesting the Paschal Mystery of Christ's Death and Resurrection.

God is alive, roaring like a lion, as in the Newsboys song.

And I was stirred in the heart to be part of the work of handing on the faith to my students for the past 10 years, and to conclude my tenth year this evening by helping my students encounter God in our time together as we learned about what faith means for us.

April 23, 2023: 3rd Sunday of Easter

The Risen Christ continues appearing to His disciples, and us, in powerful ways.

He came along despondent disciples, who had lost hope in the One Whom they thought was the Redeemer of Israel.  He opened their minds to the Scriptures, and then they profoundly recognized Him when He broke the bread.

It's just like how we encounter Christ powerfully each time we gather at Mass:  We encounter the fullness of the Paschal Mystery and it happens together in community.

And we rejoice in hope that our God will not abandon us to death, and will raise us, just as He did Jesus, the Lamb of the sacrifice Whose precious blood redeems us.

God continues to bring us alive through the Holy Spirit, His Living Presence Who remains with us.

I'm reminded of that in a special way as today is the traditional Feast of St. George, the name I selected for my Confirmation.

The Holy Spirit is the powerful Presence of the Risen and Living Christ, Who abides with us so that our encounters with Him in Word and Sacrament truly bring us alive.  And we are sent forth on the mission to share the Best News of all, that He is alive.

April 16, 2023: 2nd Sunday of Easter

The Risen Christ exerts great power.

He effortlessly passed through locked doors to enter into hearts tinged by fear to touch them with the peace He alone brings.  This peace comes from the great mercy He bestows on us because He has forgiven our sins, and that forgiveness continues in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This peace gives us great hope and purpose in life, as we see in the early Church in the reading from Acts, and the purpose we have as Church now.

We are called to endure challenges in life with the power of the Risen Christ. Let us draw forth to embrace the reality of the Resurrection in such a way so that we may acclaim Him like Thomas.

Even if we haven't seen Him, let us believe, and live that belief that is meant to bring us to new life.

St. Faustina had such a vital sense of life through the images of the Divine Mercy, and Pope St. John Paul II recognized the power of promoting this devotion, one example of many ways he brought people a vital sense of life and faith in his ministry.  Pope Benedict XVI, born today 96 years ago, did much the same, using his scholarly mind to ultimately lead people to life-empowering knowledge of Christ.

Let the Easter Alleluias continue, as Christ comes alive in us, sustained by the Holy Spirit He breathes on us.

April 9, 2023: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Let us rejoice in the cornerstone reality of our faith that we celebrate today: Jesus Christ has Risen from the dead.

Yet it's not just an event that happened 2000 years ago:  It speaks to us now, calling us to transformation. We no longer have to feel stuck in the sin and darkness of this world.  We can be filled with Light and Life, raising our eyes above, for Christ has made a pathway to be in Heaven with God always.

On our way to Heaven, we can experience Heaven in the joy of the Resurrection reality that lives within us, and share it with others.  The faithful women who came to the tomb were greeted with the news by an angel, and sent forth to announce it, just as Christ reiterated it to them when they encountered Him on the way.  So we, too, are called to announce this joyful news that lives in us today and live it.

April 8, 2023: Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil

Through the Liturgy of the Word at this wondrous Mass, we recall how God has marvelously worked in our world:  He created us in goodness, and then strove to restore us to right relationship with Himself when we went astray.

And in restoring us, He has given us the great gift of glorious New Life in His Son.  The Resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus, but happens to us as we join Him in His Paschal Mystery of dying and rising.  Now, we live as He is alive in us.

April 7, 2023: Cross Friday

Jesus endured great suffering and a literally excruciating death on the Cross, yet it was all for a noble purpose.

The prophet Isaiah foretold the suffering of Christ, the servant anointed.  Even if He was someone to be avoided, He took on our sins, and would be acclaimed by God.

As the Gospel according to St. John recounts, Jesus fully knew His purpose, which was clear from the moment when the band came to arrest Him, to His declaration about Truth before Pilate.

Ultimately, witnesses to His execution, and even the flow of blood and water, testified to the Truth, which He is, so that we would come to believe.

And we come to believe that Christ took on our sins, and provided us a way to be restored to right relationship with the Father.  So we continue to honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

April 6, 2023: Maundy Thursday

The night before He was lifted up on the Cross, Jesus made it clear that His death had a purpose.

It arose in the midst of the Passover meal that solemnly commemorated the freedom God rendered to His people from slavery in Egypt.

Gathered with His apostles, Christ offered His Body and Blood in a New Covenant that would free us from slavery to sin.

And in this New Covenant, we find a new purpose for life:  Christ calls us to follow the model He gives, to pour ourselves out in serving one another.

So we continue to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, proclaiming the Death of the Lord that brought us life and continuing to pour ourselves out as He did.

April 2, 2023: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

The crowds hail Jesus with "Hosanna" as the One Who saves.

And even when the crowds turned against Him days later, Jesus resolutely faced all the mistreatment and did what He came for, to be our Savior.

He didn't come in immense glory, but in humility, in His birth at Bethlehem, and then as He rode a donkey to enter Jerusalem.  And then He was handed over to the ruling authorities and perished in a most gruesome and painful way upon the Cross.

Yet, through it all, He showed Himself to be the greatest King of all, Who gave Himself for His people.  And so God exalted Him, and the Cross became a symbol of God's power to triumph over sin.

So we this day, at the start of Holy Week, continue to acclaim Christ as the One Who saves, and that He is worthy of everlasting acclaim as Lord.  We furthermore declare Him Lord as we take up our crosses and follow His way, joining ourselves to Him in death, with the hope of joining Him in Resurrection and New Life.

March 26, 2023: Fifth Sunday of Lent

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, a sign of how we all experience Resurrection, not just at the End of Time, but even now.

God calls us from death to new life, leaving parts of us in the grave that don't lead us closer to God.  And we take on new perspectives about ourselves, living fully alive as God intended for us, just as He said the people of Israel would rise from the graves of exile to a new existence as His people.  And it is all sustained by the life-giving Spirit of God.

So even if we die physically, we are alive by faith, through the working of the Holy Spirit in us.  Indeed, we can live with new purpose now, because Christ has power over death, and He works this Resurrection power in us now.

March 25, 2023: Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord unto Mary

It's wonderful that we started this week celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph, and we end this week celebrating the Blessed Mother Mary, when the angel Gabriel announced to her that she would bear the Son of God.

The coming of Christ was foretold by the prophets centuries ago, as one born of a Virgin, and, as Psalm 40 states, One Who would take the next step beyond upholding the Law and its prescribed sacrifices to offering Himself.

It's only fitting then that all His disciples would be called to conform themselves to Christ by offering themselves for continuing to do God's work, and that Mary would be called upon to do so as the first disciple.

Not everything about God's plan was clear to Mary, but she still listened and responded in faith, and then watched as God brought salvation to the world through her Son.  And faith will help us respond to God as we take part in His works and wait upon Him to marvelously unfold them, manifesting the continued advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

March 20, 2023: Solemnity of St. Joseph

Throughout the centuries, God unfolded, little by little, a marvelous plan for the salvation of His people.

He revealed a little bit more of it to St. Joseph in a dream.  God made it clear that the Child to be born would be the Savior, and called upon St. Joseph to care for Him.

Joseph responded in faith: Even if it didn't make sense completely, he took Mary into his home to care for her and the Child she bore to be the Savior of the World.

Let us look to the example of St. Joseph and respond in faith to the promptings of God, as we take our part in His plans for the world.

March 19, 2023: Fourth Sunday of Lent/Laetare Sunday

Let us rejoice that we're now past the midpoint of Lent.

And let us furthermore rejoice that God has come to enlighten us so that we see as He sees.

He sees straight into the heart--just as He tells Samuel when looking to anoint one of Jesse's sons.  And in the heart, He transforms us.

In His light, we come to see God for Who He is, and from seeing, we believe.

The man born blind was healed by Jesus, which was a sign of how he came to believe in Jesus, progressing from seeing Him as a healer, to testifying to Him as a prophet, to worshipping Him as Messiah.  Meanwhile, so many others around him were lost and stuck in the darkness of sin, unwilling to recognize the sign that revealed God was at work.

During this Season of Lent, this time of purification and enlightenment, may God open our eyes to go deeper in our belief in Him, with the Holy Spirit constantly rushing over us to sustain in us that belief, drawing us from darkness and death to light and new life.  As we grow in our relationship with God, may we see the others around us in new ways, as God is at work in them.

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis's installation Mass today, and the birthday of Cardinal Cupich, let us give thanks for these leaders who are the presence of the Good Shepherd among us, leading us into the goodness of God and the ways of Eternal Life. And may we be transformed to do the works of light that reveal God to others.

March 12, 2023: Third Sunday of Lent

It's human for us to have physical thirst, and also spiritual thirst, something to give us a sense of grounding in a world with dryness and an apparent lack of meaning.

God meets that thirst through Jesus Christ, Who is all we ever need.  That's why Jesus crossed a cultural barrier to reach out to a woman at the well, because He knew what she needed, even as He started the conversation by requesting a drink, which was a sign of the greater spiritual thirst we experience as humans.  When she acknowledge Him as the Messiah, her needs were met, and she went to tell others.  Jesus ended up staying there, because they welcomed Him truly as God's presence meeting their deep sense of need.

During this Season of Lent, we're called to recognize our needs and reach out to Jesus Christ, not simply wallowing in what we lack, as did the Hebrews.  We are called to a deeper level of trust in the One Who met our greatest need, through pouring out His love for us.  He did so in a powerful way: As St. Paul writes, Jesus demonstrated God's love for us by dying for us sinners.  As saved people, we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, by living in a way that reflects His presence at work in our lives.  And we proclaim the reality of the Messiah Who dwells among us, quenching our thirst, and transforming our lives as we live in the hope we have in Christ.

I think again about how I first visited St. Augustine Misison on the 3rd Sunday of Lent 10 years ago.  It is a ministry that manifests God's presence by meeting the needs of the people there, even as we took part in helping with the ministry during our week there, and opened ourselves to God's working in us.

March 5, 2023: Second Sunday of Lent

The call to repent and turn toward the Gospel is about seeing a new vision for our lives.

God called Abram to a new place, and promised that he would be a blessing to all the world.

Jesus provided HIs close circle of disciples a glimpse of His glory that was to come, after He had accomplished the Paschal Mystery--St. Luke's Gospel account refers to how Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about "His Exodus" in Jerusalem.

On the mountain, they see Jesus for Who He is, and gain a new understanding who they are in His sight.

The disciples were called, as we are, to go forth from this glorious vision on the mountaintop, listening to the beloved Son of God, so that we may follow in His way to share in His transfiguration as we are conformed more closely to the image of the Son.

Indeed, God calls us to a life of holiness, as St. Paul writes, which is part of the plan He had in mind for ages past, and now made manifest in the Gospel.  God grants us a glimpse of His Glory so that we know He's real, and we can bear hardship to uphold the Gospel and live out our faith.

All this week, I am recalling the trip I had 10 years ago to St. Augustine Mission in Nebraska.  It was a kind of mountaintop experience in the hills of eastern Nebraska, where I gained a new understanding of God and myself through service and spending time with the Native Americans there.

February 26, 2023: First Sunday of Lent

We seek to conform ourselves more closely to Christ during these 40 days of Lent, and the liturgy reminds us of His 40 days in the desert on this First Sunday.

Tempted there, He took a decisive stand, which was part of God's plan of salvation to reverse the effects of sin unleashed when Adam and Eve gave in to the serpent's words and ate the fruit that God had forbidden.

That one act brought about sin and its pain and suffering.  Then Christ, by His obedience, had an even more powerful effect of bringing us back to God and sharing in His Life and Grace.

With Jesus as our perfect model, Lent is the time to follow in His ways.  We ground ourselves in the Truth of the Word of God, and see a way to face and overcome temptations, turning away from sin.  We grow closer to God, showing His character, which is what He desired by creating us.

February 22, 2023: Ash Wednesday

We hear the call to repentance once again on this Ash Wednesday, recognizing our sin and need for mercy.

Yet it goes beyond actions to the inner state of our hearts.

God honors those with hearts that are contrite and desire to leave aside what is unrighteous and draw closer to Him, abiding in His ways.

Indeed, God has made possible a way for us back to Himself.  Now is truly the acceptable time, the day of salvation, to turn to a new direction and live in the way God desires for us.

February 19, 2023: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God declares that He is holy, and calls us to holiness, because His Spirit dwells in us, so that we are a temple of God's presence to others. 

We are meant to reflect the character of righteousness He shows to all people, displaying goodwill to others.

Jesus adds new perspective to what the Law of Moses indicated when He declares that we should go beyond loving our neighbors and do good even to those who do harm to us and persecute us, noting that God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on good and bad alike.  We see in Jesus's words the wisdom of God that is beyond our human understanding: Yet when we live it, we are demonstrating what is truly divine.  

Indeed, by showing to others what they don't deserve, we reflect what is truly holy, and that God is dwelling in us, His temples.

February 12, 2023: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The commandments of God are more than just rules: they are the means by which we enter into the life of God, and then go forth called and equipped to share it with others.  The language in the first reading from Sirach is similar to what Moses tells the people of Israel as recorded in Deuteronomy as they prepare to cross into the Promised Land.  Psalm 119, the longest psalm, says so much about what it means for us to follow the Law as a way of life.  Indeed, the call comes up throughout the Old Testament to choose the Law and so choose life.

Jesus Christ elaborates on this idea further, saying He has come not to abolish, but to fulfill the Law, so that it penetrates deep in our hearts and we live it more fully, as people who care for one another and act with integrity.

This understanding of the Law is akin to what St. Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians, that it demonstrates the wisdom of God revealed to us, showing us the way to the place God has prepared for us.

God has revealed to us the way we can uphold the demands of the Law, through the Spirit that brings the life of the Risen Jesus into us.

Today is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who is esteemed in US history for using his position as president to truly uphold the nation.  And when we think about the power of the Law, what counts is how we use it for a greater good.

Also, today is the anniversary of my Dad's baptism. And it is through baptism that we enter into the life founded upon Jesus Christ, Who fulfilled the Law, and bestowed on us His life, so that we may live what God truly intends for the Law.

February 5, 2023: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we cotninue in Post-Christmas Ordinary Time, now on the 5th Sunday falling on February 5, we once again encounter the theme of Light in the readings.

Isaiah the prophet calls people to move beyond mere fasting and pious acts to offer true worship to God through doing good deeds to serve the needy.  Doing so, he says, will cause their light to shine.  And like the Psalmist proclaims in Psalm 112, the just one does good deeds for others.

Jesus elaborates on this theme further in the next installment of the Sermon on the Mount.  We are meant to be filled with zest for a purpose-filled life, and such a powerful sense of God's presence that we shine forth the Light He has placed into our hearts.

We are not meant to keep the light of faith to ourselves.  We are supposed to shine it, so that through our good deeds, the powerful presence of God is known to others.

As St. Paul humbly states, He came preaching, not with the intention of showing His power, but magnifying God at work in Him, as all of us baptized faithful are called to be.

February 2, 2023: Candlemas Day/Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

God came to His Temple when Jesus was presented 40 days after His birth as the firstborn, and Mary was purified.

In the Temple came a revelation of Who He is and His purpose, as Simeon and Anna proclaimed, since their understanding came through a deep sense of prayer.

Jesus came to identify with His people and purify them to be righteous before God, walking aways in the Light that Christ brought to our world.

In the Light of His Presence, we come to see Who we are, and our purpose, to walk in that Light and bring it to the world, sharing it with others.

January 29, 2023: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has a special eye on the lowly, the poor, and those who are humble, because He manifests Himself mightily in them.

And when we think about it, we realize that we are lowly, and it's amazing to consider that God has chosen us, imparting to us wisdom, and bestowing on us the benefits of righteousness, sanctification, and redemption so that we live as His people.

Indeed, as people of faith, our lives are ultimately about a relationship with God, and how we show it in our lives.  We are blessed to not follow the ways of the world, but to do something drastically different, striving to be poor in spirit, and for purity, because we will see God and make Him known.  Even when we face opposition for being people of faith, we are blessed because our relationship with God is so paramount in our lives, that, even in dire circumstances, He still works mightily in us.

I think about the final Sunday of January 4 years ago in Panama City for the Concluding Mass of World Youth Day 2019.  We who gathered there were blessed to have that taste of Heaven, to give us direction in our lives now to follow the ways of the Kingdom that transcends this Earth, yet is ever present in giving us purpose.

January 25, 2023: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

A month ago, we celebrated the Light that entered the world when Christ was born.

Today, we commemorate the Light that blazed upon Saul and totally changed the course of his life from persecuting the faith to proclaiming it boldly.

The end of the first reading shows how quickly Saul took up his new role.

During his ministry, St. Paul actively proclaimed the Gospel message to the Gentiles, so that the faith would spread in new ways.

We, the baptized, are also surrounded by the Light of Christ, and share in that call to proclaim the Gospel.

January 22, 2023: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we just celebrated in the Christmas Season, Christ has brought a great Light into our darkness.

And that Light transforms us to fulfill God's promises by repenting and following Him to build the Kingdom.

We build it as One People in Christ, who are called to proclaim the Good News.  In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we remember that we all call upon one God through Christ, our Savior, and that is a Light to the world.

The land of Israel knew great hardship when foreign powers invaded, yet God unfolded a great victory when Christ was born into our world.

He truly began something new by bringing Light into the world, as the Word Made Flesh.  In today's Gospel, He, the Word, speaks the Word that announced the arrival of the Kingdom of God, called people to repentance, and invited new disciples to follow Him and do His work, just as He does for all the baptized faithful even today.

I also think about how the darkness that Roe vs. Wade brought to the USA 50 years ago has been overcome by Dobbs vs. Jackson, shining a great Light as our society has the opportunity now to provide real solutions to mothers in need.

We don't have to settle for any kind of darkness, because Christ has overcome it, and we share in that victory.

January 15, 2023: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we head from Christmas Season into post-Christmas Ordinary Time, we hear the profound words of St. John the Baptist, who points to Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, and the One anointed by God to bring new Life to all the earth through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

He is the Servant Who came to redeem Israel and has a greater mission of being a Light to all the world.

In that Light, God has sanctified us and called us to be holy, so we can share in Christ's mission to be that Light in the world.  Indeed, God created and formed us for this purpose, even from the time we were in the womb.  He calls us to ongoing transformation so that we live fully according to His purpose, that our lives testify and point to the reality of Christ, Who has come to abide with us always.  

I remember 6 years ago when I heard these readings proclaimed at the Basilica of St. Paul in Daytona Beach, FL, where my family gathered to celebrate my brother and sister-in-law.  Above the altar in that church is artwork that depicts St. Paul's conversion.  He was overwhelmed by the LIght of Christ and called to go forth and be that Light, to his fellow Jews, and then beyond, to Gentiles all over the Mediterranean world.

And we can be that Light as we live out our calling in marriage and family life, and throughout all areas of our lives.

January 9, 2023: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Just as God manifested Himself through the birth of Christ, and again in the star that led the Magi to Him, so God manifests Himself when Christ was baptized in the Jordan River.

Christ demonstrated obedience to the Father by submitting to baptism to identify Himself with the people Who He was born among and whom He would save.  His submission was acknowledged when He came up from the water, and there was a revelation with all Three Persons of the Trinity present.

God sent His Spirit to anoint His Son, and declared His Love for Him and that He was well-pleased with Him.

With this anointing, Christ went forth to fulfill His mission.

And as the baptized faithful, we all share in the call to obedience, in the anointing, and in the mission.  In obediently following this way, we, too, can hear the Father declare that He is well-pleased with us, as God continues to be manifest in the world through our work.

January 8, 2023: Epiphany Sunday

The glory of God has come into the world through Christ, and it is for all the world.

Isaiah spoke about how God would restore Israel to glory, and all nations would stream toward it.

While Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire when Christ was born, Gentile Magi came from a land far to the east to worship the Christ Child and bring Him gifts, acknowledging Him as the true King Who saves all the world's people.

St. Paul mentions that in the revelation of the great mystery, we see that even Gentiles share in the promises of salvation in Christ, Who truly came to redeem all people.

This Christmas Season has been a magnificent way to celebrate encounters with God, Who is in our world now.  And these encounters truly now have the purpose of transformation.

We are meant to notice where God is, as the Magi saw the star shining brightly in the sky, and then followed it to encounter Christ, where they worshipped Him and offered Him their treasures.

They didn't engage in self-serving purposes like Herod.  They gave of themselves, just as we are called to give of ourselves in those encounters, so that we go forth to bring the Light to all the world so others may encounter Him.

I have to wonder what the Magi did as they journeyed back to their homelands.  Surely they realized how profound their encounter with God was, and they were eager to share it with everyone.

Indeed, we see in Christ the Good News, which, like a light in darkness, we are called to share with the whole world.

January 1, 2023: Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God/Naming of Jesus

It is a wondrous revelation of God that He has come to be so close to us forever in Jesus Christ.

He came as a human, subject to the Law, so that we may experience the freedom of sons and daughters of God to be all that He has created us to be.  As is revealed in the Name He received formally on this 8th day following His birth, God truly saves us, and we live in the Light and Hope He brings by His coming.

Because God is now so close to us, we can experience the fullness of His kindness and grace to us.  Those blessings that God directs the priests to speak in the reading from Numbers are now fulfilled in the Incarnation of Christ.

And we extend the blessing into the world.  We follow Mary's example, who gave birth to the Son of God, and contemplated deeply these mysteries, aware of their great power to transform. On this Octave of Christmas, the same day we launch into a new year, we celebrate her motherhood, because it is the model for how we are called to give birth to God in the world.