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.