In the reading from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul speaks about the mysterious wisdom of God that is incompatible with the rulers and powers of the Earth. Yet God has revealed it to us through His Spirit, and it serves as the means for us to grow in relationship with Him.
This wisdom of God is revealed through God's Law, which is the authority for how we are to conduct ourselves in relationship with Him. Psalm 119 speaks about the importance of following God's Law.
And Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, affirms the importance of the Law, saying that He has not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. By His Paschal Mystery of Death and Resurrection, He frees us from sin so that we can live to be just like the Father in Heaven. Our righteousness surpasses the legalistic mindset of the scribes and Pharisees that is so narrowly focused on following rules. Instead, we take on a more holistic approach, to live with right attitudes toward one another, so that we act in right ways toward one another, revealing through our living the Love God shows to us, by sharing it with one another.
We are challenged to do more than the bare minimum, putting in the effort to give ourselves fully to abiding by the Law of God in love, that we may experience, as Sirach speaks of, the fullness of life.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Sunday, February 5, 2017
February 5, 2017: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As disciples, we are salt, bringing the glorious flavor of Life with God to all the Earth, and we are Light, shining His glorious presence over all the Earth.
We do this by serving those who are in need, deeds that please God and makes His presence known. By living in justice, we shine the Light of God's presence in a world of darkness and gloom. And in so doing, we proclaim the power of the Cross of Christ, by which God has brought deliverance to the world.
On a historical note, I recognize that February 6 falls the day after this Sunday. February 6 is the the Statehood Day of Massachusetts whose capital city Boston was founded by John Winthrop to be a "city on a hill". He had a powerful, God-inspired vision that this place and its people would set an example of holiness for all the world, just as God's people are called to do.
On a personal note, this weekend, I attended Mass at St. Teresa's in Valparaiso, IN, which was my opportunity to meet the new pastor, Fr. Chris, for the first time. St. Paul's words in the 2nd reading about coming "in weakness...fear and much trembling" speak to my experience of arriving at Valparaiso University as a freshman nearly 7 1/2 years ago, agonizing over the reality of being away from home. But the day after I moved in, I experienced God's presence in a powerful new way when I went to Mass for the first time at St. Teresa's. That day, and all days since, the community of St. Teresa's has boldly proclaimed the message of the Cross through the Christian living they demonstrate in serving the students and others in the community in His Name. They are ultimately faithful to the Lord by doing that which glorifies Him, which is our call as His people.
We do this by serving those who are in need, deeds that please God and makes His presence known. By living in justice, we shine the Light of God's presence in a world of darkness and gloom. And in so doing, we proclaim the power of the Cross of Christ, by which God has brought deliverance to the world.
On a historical note, I recognize that February 6 falls the day after this Sunday. February 6 is the the Statehood Day of Massachusetts whose capital city Boston was founded by John Winthrop to be a "city on a hill". He had a powerful, God-inspired vision that this place and its people would set an example of holiness for all the world, just as God's people are called to do.
On a personal note, this weekend, I attended Mass at St. Teresa's in Valparaiso, IN, which was my opportunity to meet the new pastor, Fr. Chris, for the first time. St. Paul's words in the 2nd reading about coming "in weakness...fear and much trembling" speak to my experience of arriving at Valparaiso University as a freshman nearly 7 1/2 years ago, agonizing over the reality of being away from home. But the day after I moved in, I experienced God's presence in a powerful new way when I went to Mass for the first time at St. Teresa's. That day, and all days since, the community of St. Teresa's has boldly proclaimed the message of the Cross through the Christian living they demonstrate in serving the students and others in the community in His Name. They are ultimately faithful to the Lord by doing that which glorifies Him, which is our call as His people.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
January 29, 2017: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God is calling us to a new way of life, with an attitude that embraces a kind of poverty. It is a form of poverty in which we don't seek to gain everything for ourselves, but rather humbly seek after God. He is the One Who cares about those who are in a lowly state, and raises them up to be with Him, that they may glorify Him.
The path to rising up to Him is laid out in the Beatitudes, as we embrace that spirit of poverty. St. Paul writes about how the lowly, those who are considered nothing, are used by God to bring down those who are something, so that He alone is glorified. And as sinners, that's how we all start out. But we can take great consolation that God will raise us up by His power, which is beyond human understanding. It's a glorious reality that is ours as we humbly accept it, giving ourselves to God even as we give ourselves to others.
The path to rising up to Him is laid out in the Beatitudes, as we embrace that spirit of poverty. St. Paul writes about how the lowly, those who are considered nothing, are used by God to bring down those who are something, so that He alone is glorified. And as sinners, that's how we all start out. But we can take great consolation that God will raise us up by His power, which is beyond human understanding. It's a glorious reality that is ours as we humbly accept it, giving ourselves to God even as we give ourselves to others.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
January 22, 2017: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our recent celebration of the Christmas Season, we recalled how Christ brought Light into the world by manifesting the presence of God through His birth.
In the Gospel reading, we see how Christ is now manifesting God's presence through the Kingdom that is now present on Earth, by proclaiming the Kingdom, healing the sick, and calling people to turn from their ways of life and follow Him into a new way of life. Through these actions, Christ brings God's Light to the world to those in darkness, as the prophecy foretells in the reading from Isaiah.
And He is drawing people together in Himself, which is why St. Paul exhorts the people to not engage in meaningless quarrels about who they follow, but to seek after the One God through Christ, proclaiming by their unity His presence among us, just like the bold preaching of the Dominicans for the past 800 years.
We enter a new way of Life in Christ as He shines His light on us, so that we may shine His Light forth unto all the world by giving of ourselves to follow His way, which is the way of salvation, in which we experience the ultimate goodness of abiding forever in His presence.
In the Gospel reading, we see how Christ is now manifesting God's presence through the Kingdom that is now present on Earth, by proclaiming the Kingdom, healing the sick, and calling people to turn from their ways of life and follow Him into a new way of life. Through these actions, Christ brings God's Light to the world to those in darkness, as the prophecy foretells in the reading from Isaiah.
And He is drawing people together in Himself, which is why St. Paul exhorts the people to not engage in meaningless quarrels about who they follow, but to seek after the One God through Christ, proclaiming by their unity His presence among us, just like the bold preaching of the Dominicans for the past 800 years.
We enter a new way of Life in Christ as He shines His light on us, so that we may shine His Light forth unto all the world by giving of ourselves to follow His way, which is the way of salvation, in which we experience the ultimate goodness of abiding forever in His presence.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
January 15, 2016: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus, Who existed before all Creation, was the One endowed with might and power to save us by the Spirit of God. Now saved, we are called to be holy and sanctified before Him. And God has named us, His children, to be His servants to accomplish His purposes. He has especially graced us that we delight in doing His Will, that all people should grow in relationship with God.
Monday, January 9, 2017
January 9, 2017: Feast of the Lord's Baptism
The Christmas Season is all about celebrating new beginnings in our world with the coming of Christ.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrates the event that signaled the beginning of Jesus's ministry. At this important moment, God revealed Himself, anointing Jesus with the Holy Spirit and calling Him His own beloved Son. God furthermore announced how pleased He was with Him, for submitting obediently to doing the Father's Will. Throughout the next couple of years or so of His public ministry, Jesus would continue revealing God's presence in the world, doing the Father's will, by preaching, healing, and calling people to repentance.
This is a great Feast to end the Christmas Season, when we've celebrated the many ways God has come to our world and revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son. One line from Father Hurlbert's Epiphany homily stands out to me: "To get to know God, get to know Jesus. To get to know Jesus, get to know those Who He's most concerned about."
We are called to be in relationship with God, getting to know Him by getting to know the Son He gives us, and getting to know the Son through those in Whom He is present, especially the lowly and those who would not seem to have any kind of place in God's people. We share in the revelation of God to all the world through baptism, as, like Jesus, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, and named children of God, and sent forth to do His work of healing and calling others to the new way of Life in Him, to which He gathers all people, who are His by living His Truth.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrates the event that signaled the beginning of Jesus's ministry. At this important moment, God revealed Himself, anointing Jesus with the Holy Spirit and calling Him His own beloved Son. God furthermore announced how pleased He was with Him, for submitting obediently to doing the Father's Will. Throughout the next couple of years or so of His public ministry, Jesus would continue revealing God's presence in the world, doing the Father's will, by preaching, healing, and calling people to repentance.
This is a great Feast to end the Christmas Season, when we've celebrated the many ways God has come to our world and revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son. One line from Father Hurlbert's Epiphany homily stands out to me: "To get to know God, get to know Jesus. To get to know Jesus, get to know those Who He's most concerned about."
We are called to be in relationship with God, getting to know Him by getting to know the Son He gives us, and getting to know the Son through those in Whom He is present, especially the lowly and those who would not seem to have any kind of place in God's people. We share in the revelation of God to all the world through baptism, as, like Jesus, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, and named children of God, and sent forth to do His work of healing and calling others to the new way of Life in Him, to which He gathers all people, who are His by living His Truth.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Sunday, January 8, 2017: Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord
The world cannot be the same now that Christ has come, born as a baby, and abides with us forever as the Word Made Flesh. He shines Light into our world, and compels us to seek Him, guided by that Light, just as the Magi did.
The major point of the Christmas message is that because Christ came to our world, He now appears anywhere and everywhere. Christ can appear even in places we would not expect, and perhaps overlook. He came to shine Light in all the world, so that all the nations would come to worship Him. This is our glory as God's people.
Our mission now is to earnestly seek to acknowledge the presence of God wherever He appears, be transformed by the seeking and the encounter with Christ, and go forth to share the Light He gives us with all. We offer Him our finest gifts, especially in adoring His presence in others.
The major point of the Christmas message is that because Christ came to our world, He now appears anywhere and everywhere. Christ can appear even in places we would not expect, and perhaps overlook. He came to shine Light in all the world, so that all the nations would come to worship Him. This is our glory as God's people.
Our mission now is to earnestly seek to acknowledge the presence of God wherever He appears, be transformed by the seeking and the encounter with Christ, and go forth to share the Light He gives us with all. We offer Him our finest gifts, especially in adoring His presence in others.
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