Happy New Year!

I haven’t felt much like writing this week.  With opening a new location with untrained subordinate help and fighting a cold that won’t go away (Thanks, Lily!), it has been a struggle just to get through the week.  But I’m home (long enough to do laundry and greet the family when they come home from their celebrating at the cabin tomorrow), and it is New Year’s Eve, the last day of the calendar year.  I want to end 2011 the same way I started it—with an entry in my blog, no matter how sick and tired I feel.  

This is a time when many of us are called to reflect on the year now ending, and our plans for the year about to begin.  New Year’s resolutions are a common undertaking, with self-made promises to get more exercise, eat healthier food, do more reading and watch less TV, do more volunteer service, be more charitable to people we encounter, and pray more frequently.  And for many of us, these promises are short-lived and do not significantly change our lives.

The timing of this secular event doesn’t match exactly with our Catholic liturgical cycle.  Advent marks the beginning of the Church year, but the first Sunday of Advent comes six weeks before New Year’s Day.  However, as the readings remind me, we are still in the season of reflecting on what the next year will bring on a secular basis and what my actions portend for me on a spiritual level.

John’s letter (1 John 2:18-21) reminds us that we live in “the last hour” (New Year’s Eve) and that we are drawn in our daily lives to move in many directions, not all of them good for us.  For me, this reminder that we are in a “last hour” invites reflection on where I am at this moment, and what paths I have followed in the past year.  When I do I can see that I haven’t always done what I set out to do a year ago, I haven’t always stayed on the road I intended to take.  It isn’t always easy to recognize the “many antichrists” that surround me, and I am confident I am guilty of unintentionally following some of them in the past.  But being aware of where I have strayed from the road I want to travel is one message I take from this epistle.

John’s gospel (John 1:1-18)  dovetails nicely with the epistle – tomorrow (New Year’s Day) is a new beginning and in that beginning is Jesus, who has been in God since the beginning.  So as I reflect on the wrong directions (the “antichrists”) I have followed in the past, I can plan mid-course corrections by renewing my focus on following the teachings of Jesus in the coming year.    

A Holy Family

The feast of the Holy Family is one of my favorites because it reminds me that with all of the difficulties Joseph and Mary must have endured (even those not recorded in the Gospels) I would guarantee that (except for one brief moment at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel) the thought never occured to either one of them to divorce when the going got tough.  I wish more couples in this day and age would look at Mary and Joseph as role models, instead of the celebrities who treat marriage as a "convenience".

The Advent gospels directed our attention to Mary, the virgin, betrothed to Joseph; to the ways of God calling her to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God; and to Joseph to take her as his lawful wife, God's will that he be on earth the protector.

Can you imagine what Joseph is thinking here?  As a father myself, I think I can!

During the celebration of the Nativity we see Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the stable, the crib, the animals, and the first submission and adoration by shepherds. All things were made through Christ and He is surrounded by signs of the wonders of heaven and earth. In the days that follow we hear of the first persecution. The Word tells us the family had to flee to Egypt.

The feast of the Holy Family lays out the fruit of their love and our Redemption. Christ is dedicated at the temple and witnesses to His identity speak out. The joy of the present and the cross of the future are acknowledged.

The inspiration and example of their lives lead us to examine our lives. Like Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3), and Mary and Joseph, how well do I receive the promises of God? As I contemplate the sacrificial love of the Holy Family and their communion of life, in what way do I cultivate communion with others in my family and among the community?  Scripture says, "And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)

Let's pray that the killing stops!

I just knew I wouldn’t get past this week without picking up the cold Lily brought home from Disneyland with her!  Between the lethargy that the cold brings on and the big post-vacation workload I came back to, I haven’t had (and I still don’t have) much time to write.  So I will just offer a prayer, with the help of the Holy Innocents on this, the day we remember them.

O Lord Jesus,

I pray today for all those who are involved directly with abortions and for all those who condone it. May your merciful love pierce their hearts and bring them to conversion. And may your loving compassion bring healing to them all, especially the young mothers. May they be enfolded in your merciful embrace, and be reunited one day with their children in heaven.

Amen.

Standing at the right side of the Father to welcome those who give their all

The day after Christmas is the feast of St. Stephen; the first martyr, my namesake, and my patron saint.  When reading about him today, I focused on a line I haven’t really paid attention to before.   "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." This line caused the mob to drag Stephen outside of the city and stone him.

We read in the gospels and we recite in our creed about Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father, but in this instance He is standing and not seated. What a glorious image that the King of kings stands to welcome His first martyr and I wonder if He has stood every time He has received one who gave it all for the kingdom.  My thoughts were turned to something Mom related to me this morning.

While visiting my brothers and sisters-in-law for Christmas, she was able to get to confession.  She prefers (as I do) to confess to the priest face-to-face.  When she sat down in front of Father, he stated he recognized her, but he didn’t think she was a member of his parish.  She told him that she was (my brother) Bob’s mother.  He told her that he would never forget Bob, and that Bob was a big help to him when he first arrived as the pastor and whenever anything was needed, my brother was right there, whether he could walk that day or not.  He would find a way to serve his church community in any way he could.  Mom said it was great for a parent to hear such good things about a child of theirs.  I know the feeling.  She said Bob’s wife, Marilyn, cried when she heard the story.  I must admit I did, too.  It makes me wonder if Jesus stood to welcome Bob, as well.  We can hope.  

The story of St. Stephen and the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 10:17-22) combine for a powerful and maybe uncomfortable message. Doing the right thing is hard. Sometimes it can be dangerous, and, as in the case of Stephen and other martyrs, doing the right thing and speaking with the Spirit can be fatal. In the Gospel, the message to the disciples is a grim one, reminiscent of much of what we see and hear happening around the world today. People do inconceivable things to each other in distant places and around the corner.  Why do these things happen? Who lets that happen?

We see hateful things every day. Perhaps we can’t do much about the world’s problems, but we can do something about our own lives. We have to stand up and do the right thing every day. When someone is being demeaned by another person, we can ask God, as Jesus says in the Gospel, to give us what to say, for the grace and wisdom to speak up and stop the tiny bits of hate, of people treating others as less than human. We treat people as less than human when we gossip, when we let an unkind remark go by, when we witness something cruel. While we may not be the ones doing the deed, our roles as silent bystanders help build up those little bits of hate.

We often let ourselves off the hook by thinking these small things don’t matter. I don’t want to make a scene, we say to ourselves. I worry what others might thing, we say to ourselves.  It’s time to change that message to ourselves. I will speak up because it’s the right thing to do. I will ask God for the grace and wisdom. As the psalm says, “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your kindness.” (Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17)

Reading over the account of Stephen’s life, ministry and ensuing martyrdom in Acts Chapters 6 and 7, I find myself humbled. Here is a man, so in love with his Savior, so full of faith and belief in the promises of the life to come that he gives no thought to the persecutions of this world. Here is a man who didn’t hesitate to spread the good news, a man who literally gave his earthly life for the sake of sharing Jesus’ message, and a man who didn’t need to think twice about if this exchange was “worth” it. Here is a man who truly reflected what it means to be an evangelist, to be someone who believes so strongly in Jesus’ message of salvation and love that he was willing to give his own life in the process of sharing this great story with all he encountered.  Here is a man who truly gave his life for Jesus’ sake…and in doing so gained eternal life (Matthew 16:25).

Unlike Stephen, I often find myself placing my own personal comfort level above the call to share Jesus’ message of salvation. Too often I find myself hiding behind pretenses of “it’s just not the right moment” or “that would make things awkward” when faced with moments of opportunity to speak Jesus’ message to friends, acquaintances, coworkers, etc. Too often I neglect to realize how miniscule these concerns are when compared to eternal life. Am I really so concerned with how people perceive me, what they think about me, that I refrain from sharing God’s love with them? Am I really so focused on myself that I cannot step out of my comfort zone to proclaim the most important news known to mankind? Sometimes (well, more like most of the time) I am. I lose sight of what matters, what is lasting versus what is not. I forget that I am here for a greater purpose than to feel comfortable, be liked, etc. I am here by the grace of God, called according to his purpose…a purpose that is undeniably centered on sharing His offer of love, grace and eternal life.

My prayer today is that I might embrace this purpose, this higher calling, more wholeheartedly. That I might live a life more like Stephen’s…a life focused on sharing the message of salvation and love extended to us by our heavenly Father. A life that keeps Jesus at the center, a life that isn’t dictated by my perceived comforts and discomforts. My prayer is that I would be granted the grace and courage necessary to share Jesus’ message of love, hope and salvation with all those I am blessed to encounter throughout this life.

Blessed Christmas!

The story of the birth of Jesus, as told to us by Luke, is full of joy in the midst of great conflict and sadness - even irony and rejection.  It prepares us for the scandal of the cross by helping us see, in such a beautifully told story, that Jesus' mission is revealed to us, in how he came to us - in poverty and humiliation.

There, in the hay, we begin to know.  There, in the manger, we begin to understand.  Our God is revealed to us by coming in the lowliest of possible places.

It is a meditation for our whole lives.  This story is here to bring us light in the midst of any darkness, poverty, rejection, emptiness, sinfulness we experience.  By reminding us of where he comes, the Good News is also a revelation of who we are.  We are the "people who walk in darkness."  We are people who experience parts of our lives as dry and unwelcoming as that hay.  We are people who, on our own, not only fail to know and understand; we are capable of tremendous infidelity and stubborn independence.

We get our word "manger" from the Latin (and so French, Italian, Spanish) root, which means simply "to eat."  Jesus comes, into the greatest place of our poverty, not only to be "with us" but to nourish us.  The manger can be the place we go this Christmas to be fed with the acceptance, love, and peace we need.  There is no place of darkness in which we need ever feel alone.  There is no situation, no loss, no tragedy that need ever leave us empty.  There is no sin, no matter how selfish that will ever leave us apart from God's love.

We have prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people.  We await your coming.  Come, O Lord."  Now, our eyes are opened to the wondrous joy of his coming to us in that manger 2,000 years ago, so that we will know and understand his coming to us in our hunger today, and ultimately so that we will long for his final coming to bring us to the banquet that has been prepared, to fill all our longing.

And so, dear family and friends, I will conclude this Christmas Eve reflection by posting links to the Nativity stories of both Luke and Matthew (the last part of Chapter One and the first part of Chapter Two) Have a very Blessed and Happy Christmas.  I hope that each of us gets not only what we want this Christmas, but what we truly need.

Here’s a bonus reflection for your reflection during the 3^rd Mystery of the Holy Rosary tonight.

Our part of God's Covenant

Sometimes it seems the world is spiraling out of control.  You don’t have to look far to find greed, chaos, cynicism, violence and evil in the world.  Fearful and uncertain, we ask, where is the hope?  In fact, after reading the headlines you would think the order of the day should be despair rather than hope.  Yet here we sit waiting to celebrate the birth of Christ.  In the midst of the hopelessness of this world we have hope.  Why is that?  Are we a bunch of naïve Pollyannas?  Are we delusional?  Our hope is not baseless.  Our hope is not some vague, wishful thinking.  It is a solid rock.  It is grounded in God’s character, grounded in the fact that God loves us.  How do we know?  Well, tomorrow we will be celebrating the day God sent His Son into the world for us.  Christ is God’s covenant with us—His declaration of His love for us.

So what is our end of this bargain?  Well, we have to accept the notion that God really does love us (not easy).  And we have to trust God (really not easy).  And how do we present our hope to the world?  I wish I had a good answer to that one.  I believe that each one of us was created for a purpose.  Our main purpose is to glorify God and the tools that we need to accomplish that have been specially crafted and fitted to us by our Creator.  I meet so many people who are seeking a spiritual life, but the moment I mention church they clam up.  They obviously view the church as a hindrance to a relationship with God.  How do we get past that?  How do we convince people that we are for, not against them?  How do I introduce someone to Jesus?  I can think of no better way to impact someone’s life than to do just that.

My prayer today is for everyone celebrating Christmas.  That people would see our hope, maybe in something as simple as a smile or an encouraging word.   And that we would remember God’s gift and the Reason for our hope.

Things lost, things found

Zechariah was a humble man.  A priest, he performed the rituals of the sanctuary for many years.  But his faithful spirit was stretched by what the angel revealed that day in the temple.  There must be some mistake.  Surely he and Elizabeth were too old to conceive.  Being resigned had grown familiar.  Living in expectation had faded with the years.  God gave the future father the discipline of silence from that day until the child was born.  Shut off from words, he could no longer conduct rituals.  In silence, Zechariah regained his senses.  Like a child, he learned again to listen and see.  There was so much he had missed about the world.  When his voice returned at the naming of John, Zechariah burst into praise. (Luke 1:57-66)
Messengers still come.  We are a skeptical people, and God devises new ways to interrupt our doubts and wake us up.  Maybe it is the comedian who peels the blinders off our eyes.  Maybe it is the winter sun that reveals every twisting branch on the trees outside the window.  Maybe it is the crowds of people throughout the world who cry out for justice.  Maybe it is gathering at the altar to give thanks.  God calls us through fire and light.  Like Zechariah, we must quiet down so we can hear again.  A light has come that is not of our own making.  When this truth finally dawns on us, like Zechariah, we give praise.

For me, it's been a couple of days of “lost and found”.  It started out with losing a letter.  No, not a letter as in a message, but a letter; the letter “O”, to be precise.  I’m no longer “Oompah”, but “Ohmpa”.  Every time Lily spoke of me this week, it was “Ohhhhm-Pah”, not “Ooooooom-Pah”!  It's not a big deal, but I noticed it.  This is minor compared to my other "losts" and "founds" this week.

Wednesday was shaping up to be a long day, and my patience had worn thin to the point of losing it. My displeasure had begun when I realized it was apparent that Disneyland had instructed their employees to use the phrase “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”.  I’ve been going to Disneyland every few years for the past 4 decades, and they have always said “Merry Christmas” from Advent through New Year’s Day.  I was sorry that they had buckled under the power of political correctness instead of recognizing Christmas as the Birth of our Savior. 

Later in the day, my family and I decided to make our way to a spot in front of Snow White’s castle for the fireworks display.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, really fond of being in a crowded situation.  Being on Main Street in Disneyland while park employees are “herding” guests where they obviously don’t want to go is as close to mayhem as I can imagine. And where the crowd wants to go is not where Disneyland wants them, for the most part, so tempers flare.  “Herding” causes otherwise normal-thinking men and women who are created in the image and likeness of God to act in ways that are contrary to that image.  I was tempted to get caught up in the frenzy, as well.

I say "tempted" because the Holy Spirit sent a messenger to cut through all of that noise and confusion I was experiencing, and show me some light in the darkness.  He used a park employee to be His messenger!  After we had staked out a pretty good spot for viewing, a young man in a Disney uniform said in a loud (but not overly so) voice, “If you can hear me, clap once!”  Just about everyone in a 20-foot radius complied, and clapped once.  “Great!” he said, and raised his voice just a little louder.  “If you can hear me now, clap twice!”  Clap, clap was the response.  It was beginning to be a game for the crowd to shorten the wait for the fireworks display.  He raised his voice just a little more and repeated his request, but this time it was for 3 claps.  After he got the response he expected he said, “Great!  Now that you can all hear me, I need you to stand up and move forward as far as you can to create more room so that more families can enjoy the performance!”

Not only did they all move up a bit, but they did it for the most part because of the method this ingenious young man had used to make us realize we could help someone else simply by being kind and generous.  But the increase of people in the immediate area around me caused the noise level to rise exponentially as well.  I was standing up, feeling my age (sore and tired), I couldn’t hear myself think, and I was beginning to get aggravated again.

Call me crazy, but I know I heard another small, still voice whisper to me, “Pray my rosary.  All is calm.”  I wondered how I was going to concentrate on the rosary in the midst of all that noise and distraction!  “Close your eyes and begin!” was all that I heard.  Not one to take these matters lightly, I did precisely that.  I closed my eyes, made the sign of the cross and began.  Almost immediately, the stress of the day, the aches and pains and even the discomfort of hearing “Happy Holidays” for the umpteenth time disappeared. 

I finished just as the fireworks began.  Up to Disneyland’s usual exceptional standards, it was a pretty good show, with plenty of CHRISTMAS music, including Silent Night, O Holy Night, and Joy to the World!  As the latter song started playing, they shot fake snowflakes out of the street lamps, creating a “Winter Wonderland” that was very uplifting for me.  I was singing Venite, Adoremus  even as we made our way to “TomorrowLand” after the show.  “Good for you, Walt (Disney).” I thought, “They may try to make Christmas just another secular season, but you still managed to make it, for me, a Holy Season.”

I lost my camera about an hour later.  I was sitting on a bench outside of one of the attractions, waiting with Lily for the family to come out.   She was asleep, and looking so peaceful that I took a picture of her, then I put the camera in my jacket pocket.  The family came out, and Alicia, Vickie and I decided to go back to the hotel with Lily.  About 5 minutes out, I realized I didn’t have my camera with me in any of my pockets!  I rushed back and asked a couple of folks who were sitting where I had been if they had seen it.  They replied, “Yes!  We just turned it over to a park employee.”  Whew!  I was relieved!  This morning, I went to the Lost and Found Department to find out if the park employee actually turned it in. So far, they haven’t found it, but I’m hopeful.  My experience at the fireworks display gives me hope in things not seen and in Him, Who created all things. 

It's a matter of trust

Sometimes I chuckle to myself when reading scripture because it seems God is so predictable. We know the story of Abraham and Sarah, both elderly and Sarah unable to bear a child, and then, Sarah defies nature and gives birth to a son!

Then we have the story of Samson whose mother was also barren, but yet she had Samson! Later, we read of Zechariah and Elizabeth both getting old and unable to have children and then she gave birth to John the Baptist! It seems whenever God finds an older couple who have been unable to conceive, He makes the impossible happen and a great child is born!

The point is, however, that God can and does take seemingly impossible situations and makes them possible. Old women give birth, Abraham was a nomadic herder, Moses was a stutterer, Peter was a simple fisherman, Paul was a persecutor of Christians, and the list goes on and on about how God defies logic and makes miracles happen.

Why do we doubt? Because there is just so much dark stuff out there. There is so much evidence of bad people doing bad things. There is such a tendency in our world to think of my needs first, and to ignore the great suffering and sorrow of others, and this attitude is becoming contagious.

Zechariah could speak again, when he acknowledged his belief in the promise. He confirmed the name given to the promised child, "his name is John." The name "John" means "God is gracious." When we can say "God is gracious," then we can speak again. The ability to speak, live, act, witness a hope in God's fidelity to us starts with our acknowledging that "God is gracious."

That's our Advent journey - to say in our heart and out loud: "I believe that You are and will be gracious, because I believe You love me and have come to set us free from the power of sin and death. The immenseness of Your promise is hidden in the mystery of the humility of Your coming."

Dear Lord, give me the grace these very busy days to trust in your love and mercy. Give me hope. Open my heart and my eyes to see your goodness, in the midst of the gloom around me. Each day this week, let me experience being on a journey of expectant hope in you. Soften my heart with your love that I may be a source of comfort and joy for those around me who need comforting and a renewed joy in your fidelity.

The Meaning of Christmas

The meaning of Christmas is summed up in His name, Emmanuel - that is, God is with us - to destroy our fears and make us ambassadors of the Light. Advent has been all about waiting. And now we know what the waiting was all about - to live our lives, consoled in the midst of our frustration with war and corruption, as well as with our own personal failures.

Because God is with us, making sense of all the suffering, all the misery, helping us believe that we are in a much larger plan - waiting for Love to be born for the last time when all those prophecies we heard read to us in the last few weeks are brought to fulfillment. It's a question of that mysterious presence in our hearts that calls forth from us faith and hope and love.

If we can only say a simple, unqualified "yes" as Mary did (Luke 1:26-38), life could be so simple, and God would be so pleased with us.

That's why it's so important that all of us confess our sinfulness before Christmas, and be absolved of anything that could keep Jesus out of our hearts. Advent ends this week and Christmas is just around the corner, when Jesus will be born again in hearts that are prepared to receive Him.

Amateur Poetry Night

(A poem for Lily on her birthday)

Tomorrow is Sunday and you’re turning 3

So for one reason or other,

despite protests from your mother,

Oompah’s going to try his hand at poetry.

(Oh, man!  I’m already off to a bad start!

But I’m thinking, “That’s all right,

As long as it’s from the heart!”)

After a long week of work far out of town

I can get pretty bored, lonesome and down.

Thoughts of your Mar Mar, Mommy and you

Keep your old Oompah from getting too blue.

When I’m home again and

I hear your sweet voice

My heart fills with love

And shouts with rejoice!

You’re a gift from God—

You’re just what I needed

To know that God’s plan for me

has already succeeded.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Princess!

Love,

Oompah and the Super Readers (long story, no time)

Saints celebrating feast days on Lily’s birthday include Saints Rufus and Zosimus, Saint Gatian, SaintFlannan, and Saint Winebald.  (In case you’re interested)

Family ties

I hope one day to be able to read the beginning of St. Matthew’s gospel without tripping over the pronunciation of some of the names in his recitation of the genealogy of Jesus Christ all the way back to Abraham! (Mt 1:1-17)  I used to think it was “nice to know” the history of Jesus’ family, but I never imagined I would ever  meditate on why it was important enough to be included in the Scriptures. 

I think the genealogy is to help us understand that Jesus Christ was like us in all things. He came from a family that had more than a few members who might not be the kind of people "nice" people hang around with. But is that a way of judging the person who resulted from the lineage? For some it was. But part of this teaching is that Jesus Christ rose above His human ancestry, and such a possibility is open for all of us. With grace we can be better than we can without it. Someone might look at our families judgmentally and say that we come from a line of "losers." But that is only to external appearances.  Lol.

Anyone who joins God's family through faith and grace transcends the worst past and betters the best. There's nothing as comforting to me as being a child of our Loving Father who overcomes all obstacles, who makes even the shadiest past a source of glory and light for the world. That we are the children of sinners—and the parents of sinners—is subsumed in His grace and love.  We become children of Light and Love; all else is meaningless.

As we await the birth of Our Lord, anticipating Christmas in so many ways, let’s recall our heavenly family. Let’s have frequent occasion to talk to Mary, our Mother, Joseph our foster-father, Jesus our Brother, and most of all to spend quality time with God, our all-loving and gracious Father.

Pray that all people may find hope

I work with a young man who is an atheist.  We have talked about my faith only a couple of times and I’m sorry to say I have not been able to persuade him to just listen for Jesus’ voice in his life.  From the few conversations we have had, it is obvious that he has no hope for an eternal life, and, it seems, he has no hope in this life either.  What a shame. I’ll keep trying to show him, through my example (I hope) that God exists, and that He loves every one of us, in spite of ourselves. 

We sit in what seems to be a growing darkness in the world, and we increasingly recognize that we are helpless to truly change our situation.  Whether we be Christians or not, we almost literally await a savior from elsewhere, and our longing is intense—although we seek to abate that longing with what is not God, such as drugs, sex, food, possessions, power, pleasure, and any warm fuzzies or bright and shiny things that can distract us from that almost painful hunger.

Isaiah proclaims that there is hope for those who have sought to yearn and hunger honestly (Isaiah 56:1-3a, 6-8), a theme that Jesus develops in the Beatitudes (John 5:33-36), and we must empty ourselves of depending on these insufficient substitutes for the salvation we seek.  That can amount to emptying ourselves completely even of a desire for good things, such as health and long life, and we can then receive the salvation that our God, in His infinite love and wisdom, wishes to give us and in whatever way He thinks best.

And John makes it clear that the salvation that the Father sends is His Son, His Jesus.  We must yearn for that Word of love from the Father, must hunger deeply and pray constantly for His coming to us as individuals and as a world, and we must do His works as we wait.

Pray for the gift of honest and deep hunger, for only those who hunger and thirst will be filled with the Lord.  Only those who desire honestly and deeply, who accept an uncomfortable salvation, can truly find life in a Crucified Lord.

Infinite Love

God’s love never ceases to amaze me.  There are plenty of verses in the Bible to remind us of God’s unfailing love for us—more than I have the time to enumerate here. (How about John 3:16?) We aren’t even worthy of the love and compassion He shows us daily.  We sin and make mistakes, fall from faith and disobey, but God still has this unconditional love for every single one of us.  It is staggering to me that God could never love us less; He can only love us more.

God’s love is so infinite it can be very hard to grasp sometimes. I came across this video recently and it moved me to tears.   Maybe you’ve heard the story about the man and his son.  The son has severe cerebral palsy and because of this he is also a quadriplegic and cannot talk.  Using advanced technology, the doctors hooked up his brain to a computer, and he was able to express to his father that his dream was to compete in marathons.  Because his father loves him so much, he made his son’s dreams come true by pushing him in a wheelchair, running behind him, in over 60 marathons and races and still continues to do so.  The son’s ultimate dream was to complete in an iron man competition, so of course the father trained for this as well. He pulled him in an inflatable boat while swimming, pushed him in a cart while biking, and pushed him in his wheel chair while running.  This is an ultimate kind of love, but doesn’t even begin to compare to God’s love for us.

God is like the father in the story in a lot of ways.  He pulls us along when we need encouragement, He carries us when we can’t carry on ourselves, and He pushes us to new limits so we can trust in Him.  He does this for us not because we deserve what He has done, but because He loves us to such a degree that we can’t even comprehend.  Let’s remind ourselves of God’s infinite love every day.

"I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me!"

Are You the One?

While John was in prison, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus this fundamental question. “Are you the one?” (Luke 7:19) Whether we know it or not, this is the same question we are asking Him today, two thousand years later. “Jesus, are You the One I need to be living my life for, or is there another?”

It’s a relatively straightforward question.  Jesus can either answer “yes” or “no” and the problem will be solved.  But He chooses not to dictate everything in exact detail for John, and He certainly doesn’t dictate everything in perfect detail for us either.  I often wish Jesus would speak to me with a deep, booming voice from Heaven.  “Do this! Do that!”  It would make discerning God’s will in my life much easier, but God doesn’t operate that way.  Instead, He asks us to look around us, to look at the signs, and to answer the knock on our door when He comes to visit. We must see the work God is doing in our lives and be open to His call, because it will come, but only if we listen.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  We live in a noisy world.  There are countless distractions, like the television, the Internet, cell phones, and iPods. None of those things are bad, but they all contribute to the noise which surrounds us and drones out the voice of God. How often do we actually take time to be quiet and listen to God speaking in the quiet stillness? When we take the time to watch nature, we experience something remarkable: silence. Nature grows in silence. The trees, the flowers, and even human beings all grow and mature in silence. In much the same way, our spiritual lives will grow in silence, but we have to let it. We need to make time every day for silent prayer, whether it be meditating on the Word of God, the mysteries of the Rosary, committing to a Holy Hour in Eucharistic Adoration, or even just having a quiet conversation with Jesus in the depths of our heart. If we take time out of our daily lives to listen to God’s voice, we, too, will come to know for ourselves that Jesus is the Son of the God, and the One who is asking us to give our lives in pursuit of holiness.

St John of the Cross, we ask you to intercede for us in Heaven, and help us find silence and listen to the voice of God in our lives that, through our thoughts, words, deeds, and actions, we might lead others to Him.

That old North wind came in this evening.  It was pleasant all day until the sun went down and the wind came up.  Now it’s “teeth-chattering” cold!  Tonight’s prayer intention is for everyone who is suffering through these cold nights with no place to go.  I pray that they may find shelter and warmth in the mantle of the Blessed Mother, and the love of her son, Jesus Christ.

A change of heart is sometimes needed

"Lord Jesus, change my heart that I may only desire that which is pleasing to You. Help me to respect Your Will and give me the strength, joy and perseverance to carry it out wholeheartedly."

Amen.

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As a father and grandfather, I want my children and their children to live in God's love. If they act wrongly, I don't wish harm on them. Instead, I want them to repent and choose God's way. I want them to be free, restored, and healthy, not damaged for life because of any of their misdeeds. I want them to personally know God, experience His unconditional love (Eph 3:19), and rejoice always in His abundant mercy.  I want them to change their hearts, learn to do right, and walk humbly with God (Mi 6:8).

God is our Father (Mt 6:9; Is 64:7). How much more does God the Father of all he living love us, His children, than do even our human parents! The Father shows great kindness in punishing us promptly for sins instead of allowing sinful behavior to linger and merit a more serious punishment later (2 Mc 6:13-15). He assures His repentant children: "On that day you need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against Me" (Zep 3:11). Jesus presented the father of the prodigal son as a model of God the Father. This father did not constantly remind his returning son of his prior rebellion and wrongs; instead, the father saw only with eyes of love and welcome. The things of the past were forgotten; God made all things new, especially His restored relationship with His repentant children (Is 43:18-19; also Rv 21:5).

God wants all His family present at His Son's Christmas birthday, including His sinful, rebellious children. Do what the Father wants (Mt 21:31). Repent, do His will, and welcome His Son Jesus.

Christ loves each of us so much that He was willing to die on the Cross for us. He gave us the gift of free will so that we can choose to love Him deeply or not at all. He knows us by that love, as opposed to the way we look at one another, that is, according to financial status, looks, degrees, etc. These things are all superficial in the eyes of God.

I’ve heard of a young man who was sharing his excitement and pleasure with anyone who would listen that he had recently become engaged. Naturally, the first question asked was, “When’s the big day?”  He responded with a surprised look, stating that he had no plans of marriage as he had everything he needed in the relationship already. His response was, I’m sorry to say too common in today’s society.  He was willing to "engage" but not really commit to a permanent relationship by giving his all. Sometimes it might be that way with our relationship with Christ if we do not give our all to Him, but merely "engage" in the relationship.  I’m told the young man mentioned above did marry the woman he was engaged to and has a beautiful family.

Christ startled His followers with this statement in the gospel: "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you." (Matthew 21:31) That statement gives us the chance to evaluate our own relationship with Christ. How much have we trusted our love to Him? Are we only "engaged" or do we give our all?

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Today’s prayer intentions are for those that will be alone for Christmas this year.  I pray that they will be comforted by the companionship of Jesus and his mother.

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Sorry, but the last couple of days have just been a blur.  Between work, and family, (and prayer!), I didn't feel much like writing.  But I think I'm back into it now! 

Gaudete means "Rejoice"

The words of this Sunday's readings are the closest we have to the joy of Christmas itself. In the second reading, we hear "Rejoice! Again I say to you, rejoice!" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) "Why?" we ask.

The reason for joy is the same as that of the early Christians. They held to their firm belief that Jesus Christ paid the price for their sins and that He would bring them to glory in the life of heaven.

Yet we can be left emotionally unmoved at this teaching. A false "holiday" spirit has robbed Jesus of His own birthday. So we need to spiritually enter into the hearts of Mary and Joseph as they excitedly await the child's arrival.

St. Paul knew that the early Christians would be tested, so he exhorts them (and us) to "pray without ceasing" and to "give thanks always." Above all, he warns them, "Do not quench the Spirit." In this way they will be "preserved blameless in spirit, soul, and body . . . for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." For many, Christ came quickly as their faith led them to martyrdom. But they never lost their joyful spirit.

The Gospel continues the preaching of John the Baptist. (John 1:6-8, 19-28) How carefully he makes clear to the Pharisees that he is not the Christ, nor the light, but a voice testifying to the light that has come into the world. Fear and doubt thrive in darkness. Just as turning on a light in dark room can take fear away from a child, so the light that increases in us each day of Advent can shrink our fears and bolster our hopes. When the light intensifies to the radiance of faith's assurance, then we know joy.

The only legitimate fear we're allowed to cling to is the fear of not appreciating enough what the coming of the Christ Child into the world really means. Historically, it was truly an earthshaking event. Nothing would ever be the same again. Sin and darkness fled when the Son of God was born in Bethlehem. Of course, people can and do close their eyes to the light and choose to live without His Light. Only when we refuse to repent of our sins and hang on to the darkness can we have reason to fear.

When John in prison sends emissaries to Jesus to ask if He is really the Messiah, Jesus sends back the answer that He is already fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. (Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11) He tells John that the blind now see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Good News preached to them! John must have been filled with joy, even in prison.

There have been several examples of the joy that Christ’s light brings in my own life and in the lives of those around me this Advent season.  On Thanksgiving Day, my mother, knowing that I had to work and unable to accompany my wife and kids to the cabin where they were going to spend the entire weekend, had resigned herself to having a “TV Thanksgiving dinner”.  I felt really bad about it, but there was nothing I could do.  A couple of Mom’s neighbors, a father and son, came over and asked if she would like to have a Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the trimmings as they were cooking a huge turkey and would not be able to eat it all themselves.  She told them she would love to share their meal!  Because they were having trouble cooking the bird, it was a bit late when she finally ate, but they brought her two great big slices of turkey, some mashed potatoes and gravy, some green beans and some cranberry sauce.  She said it was delicious!  When I made my regular visit to her on the following Sunday, she related this story to me.  She thought it would be a good idea if I thanked them for reminding both of us what CHRISTIAN charity is all about.  I agreed.  They turned what could have been a very sad, very lonely time for my mother into an occasion for joy, because she saw Jesus through these two men.   A short while later, I heard them getting into their car to go somewhere (probably church) and I rushed out to thank them.  As I opened the front door, Mom said, “Look! Someone has planted some beautiful flowers in the box under my kitchen window!”  Sure enough, freshly planted, recently watered flowers were standing proud in the flowerbox.  I told the neighbors that I appreciated the love they show my mother all the time.  I wasn’t thanking them so much for their kindness to Mom as for their showing me the true face of Jesus.  They truly make me feel inadequate as one who preaches often and practices seldom.

Despite the poor economy and lack of civil discourse, despite growing poverty and eroding morals at all levels of society, we must let Advent rekindle our own spirit of hope and bring as much light and spiritual joy as we can to the darkness around us as we await Christmas.

Dear God, you know that our hearts long for the joy and gladness promised by life with you. Help us to remember that you are with us always, and that our hearts will rest only when they rest with you.

Holy Spirit, guide the choices we make throughout this week. Help us endure hardship. Remind us to be patient. Stifle our tendency to complain. Help us realize how much we owe the Creator for all we have and all we are.

Father in heaven, we offer thanks to You for sending John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of the savior. Help us to heed the Baptist’s message to repent and to renew our commitment to live in holiness.

Come Lord Jesus. So often we are impatient for Your coming, yet we are fearful of living our lives as one with You. Come and ease our anxiety. Come and reward our patience. Come and remove our sorrow. Our communities and our world eagerly await the day of Your birth.

My prayer intentions today are for those who truly show the face of Jesus to others through their obedience of His command to love one another.  I pray that they will be rewarded with His pleasure on their own day of judgment. 

Now I've seen everything!

I the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17)

Coming to the end of the second week of Advent, we should now be at a point where we reflect on three things:

·      We are not of this world

·      We should reflect on the seriousness of sin, and

·      We ought to prepare ourselves for the final judgment.

We are constantly bombarded by anti-Catholic behavior, thoughts and idols that exalt the things of this world. It would be better for us to give our God greater time so that we might better receive His message. If we listen and learn from the Lord, we won't have to be concerned with the passing things of this world, things that will not last.

The choice is ours: will we follow Jesus on the path to holiness, or will He in judgment compare us to something else? (Matthew 11:16)

The choice is ours!

I haven’t seen it all, but I’ll say it anyway!—

“Now I’ve seen everything!”

I made plans to attend Mass for today’s Holy Day of Obligation at Holy Spirit church inFresno.  I had been there once before and remarked on the opulence.  I had forgotten just how opulent it is, and that grandeur really stands out in the evening darkness.  The fountain out front is lit up, and the stained glass windows seem 60 feet high! 

The church is in the Northern end of Fresno, near Clovis.  That’s the “wealthy” part of town.  They are not pretentious about it, though it’s obvious in their manner of dress, the types of cars in the parking lot (I felt like I was “slumming” the place up) and their general demeanor.  But they are very good Catholics nonetheless, and the Mass was very pious (except that the lector and the celebrant seemed to “rush” through the readings and prayers.)  They had a 25 or 30 member choir all dressed in red albs.  It reminded me of the high school choir competition in the movie “Sister Act”.

But I’ve seen that before.  What I haven’t seen however, is a parishioner using an iPad as her missal!  Until tonight.  I watched her as she pulled up the hymns, the readings and even the ordinary (new translation) of the Mass.  It’s unbelievable, where technology has taken us!

I’m taking Mom South with me on Sunday after Mass.  She hasn’t been down there since last January, after Bob’s funeral and the Christmas holidays.  She and I made plans earlier this year to go down, but one thing after another made it clear to us that we weren’t meant to go at that time.  So Mom is really “chomping at the bit” to go see her other children (not that I’m not a regular bundle of kicks and giggles each week, but Dick and Jane are coming up to LA from Texas as well, so she can visit both my brothers and their families as well as Marilyn and her kids all at once). My prayer intentions for Saturday and Sunday this week will be for a safe trip for all of us who are traveling, and a Blessed Christmas season for all of my family!  Please pray for us!