Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (April 20, 2025)

We heard at the beginning of the Gospel the words: “When it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. The pre-dawn hour is intentionally mentioned in this Gospel where the symbol of darkness indicates the absence of the “light of the world.”

This pivotal celebration of Jesus’ resurrection is repeated every Sunday as a reverberation, a spiritual aftershock, a “little Easter,” a fifty-one-fold making present of this day’s celebration.

From the very beginning, God has been in relationship with us, his people: calling us forward from darkness into light, preparing us for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. We celebrate today God’s covenant, faithfulness, and everlasting love.

In our personal story, our first breath erupted in a cry as we emerged from the darkness of our mother’s womb.   

Darkness can be darker than the total absence of light. We know that darkness, too. The darkness of hatred that ravages our world as terrorism, the darkness of the violence that stalks our streets and invades our homes, the darkness of the loneliness that comes from the death of one close to us, the darkness of the loneliness of the loss of a relationship.

Jesus came as the final chapter in the history of salvation.  He proclaimed, “I am the light of the world.” We commemorate that truth today in the presence of the paschal candle. Last evening at the Easter vigil service, the unlit Easter candle represented Jesus’ body - wounds and all. Outside, near the doors, a live flame leaped from dead wood to become a small blaze, symbolic of Jesus’ gigantic leap from death to life. Then, this candle was lit from it, the paschal candle re-presents Jesus in his new, resurrected life, the “life” of a candle is its flame. Two thousand years ago, Jesus moved from the darkness of the tomb that had become his second womb to his resurrected life, the light to the world.  

Ritually, this single, towering Christ-candle, carried by the deacon led those present into church.  The participants’ candles were lit from the Christ-candle. Light/life was symbolically passed from the flame of the Christ-candle to the candles each held to symbolize the dispelling of the darkness of our hearts and minds. A wave of lights slowly crept across the worship space. Now, the paschal candle, tall and majestic, alive with light stands as a symbol for all. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world.”

When Jesus walked among us, he also said: “You are the light of the world.” We who have thrown in our lot with Jesus, who have accepted him into our lives as our basic relationship, now have a share in his resurrected life.  

Between now and the time of our meeting him face to face when we pass, we continue his life of light here, we share with others both the light of his warming compassion and the light of his wisdom.     

Our candles are to shine in the darkness of our world. We are carrying the light of Christ within us, the spirit of Christ to all whose lives we touch when we visit the sick, telephone the hurting, stop for a visit to the discouraged, go to a viewing and comfort a family, speak out for the oppressed, respond to the needs of the poor.

Jesus’ story draws us in with the celebration of light and challenges us with new life. May each of us accept his gift and follow him each day to the end, walking together as the people of resurrection.   

To that we can say alleluia. He is risen! Alleluia. So are we!

MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER (April 17, 2025)

Holy Thursday is the first day of the sacred Triduum. Today, we begin to celebrate three magnificent holy days. We celebrate the paschal mystery that is abbreviation for Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection -- his dying and rising. 

Our Gospel is from St. John, the “different” Gospel. As we know, Matthew’s, Mark’s and Luke’s gospels are called the synoptic gospels because they follow the same general outline of Jesus’ life. While all three tell of Jesus’ gift of Eucharist on this night, john alone tells of Jesus’ washing feet. John saw the washing as so important that he featured the washing rather than the bread and wine of the Seder meal that the Synoptics emphasized.

How do foot washing and Eucharist relate to that pregnant phrase, “paschal mystery”? What do bathing-water, bread and wine have to do with death and rising? And how does all this relate to you and me?

Each of us, in our normal development, begins life as a helpless infant. As far as we know when we are very young, we are the center-of-all; a parent answers our cries promptly. What we want and what we need, we get. We also know that that state of center-of-all becomes increasingly curtailed as we grow, but the tendency to enjoy being waited on continues. We do not get up in a table to help the waitress or waiter, do we?

At this last supper with his disciples before his death, Jesus the teacher had two, final lessons for his disciples and for us:

First, john tells us that Jesus got down and became a foot-washing servant.  Jesus taught them and us that our tendency to enjoy being served must die in order to be servant for others. The movement from being served to serving involves a death within us and a rising to new insight. When we stop and reflect on this teaching, we see that serving is what parents do for children.  Years later, it is what we children do for our parents. It is what friends do for friends. 

Also, Jesus dramatically modeled for his disciples and all of us as future leaders the mysterious paradox that to lead, we must serve. For Christians, service is the name for leadership. Leaders, in the tradition of Jesus come to serve, not to be served. Mother Theresa of Calcutta became a shining model who led by example. 

The second lesson is from the Seder, celebrating the Jews’ liberation from the Egyptian captivity. It was the Seder that brought Jesus to the upper room and what became the last supper. Jesus said earlier that unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But, if it dies, it can rise and be made bread. He also said that he was the vine, and his followers were branches who drew spiritual life from him, the vine.  Wheat dies to become bread; grapes die to become wine.

At the Seder, Jesus took bread and wine and carried their death and rising to a higher level still. He took a piece of matzo-bread and said: this is I and gave himself to his disciples in the form of bread. Later, at the time of the third cup of wine – called the “blessing cup” – he took the cup, said the blessing, and then identified himself with the wine: this is me, and distributed the cup to his followers. The bread and the wine become himself and are consumed by his followers. He nourishes and enriches us with his mystical, physical presence. At a level unforeseen by nutritionists who say we are what we eat, we Christians may say, “We become who we eat.” 

The paschal mystery of dying and rising is what we celebrate most especially during these days of the sacred Triduum:

Jesus, in his washing of feet both teaches and models the dying of our will to be served and the rising to the intention of serving one another in love. Jesus, in his giving himself as bread that is broken and as wine that is poured out nourishes us by his word-presence and physical presence. Jesus, in that moment of intimacy gifts us with what is the greatest of gifts:  the gift of oneself to another.

• This is love

• This is what we celebrate.

• This is who we celebrate.

• This is who we become.

This is what and who we have to offer to others after we are sent forth from Eucharist.

PALM/PASSION SUNDAY (April 13, 2025)

The Passion of Jesus is certainly an account of the last day of his earthly life. But the Passion of Jesus is also something that was demonstrated every day of his earthly life.

·        A passion for justice.

·        A passion of divine justice.

·        A passion for doing what is right and good.

·        A passion for challenging others to promote the same.

In his Treatise on the Love of God (Book 10, Chapter 16), St. Francis de Sales identifies three levels of such passion.

We can correct, censure and reprimand others. This is perhaps the easiest because it does not necessarily require those who are passionate about righteousness to actually perform acts of justice. This form of zeal, obviously, can be very attractive because the focus is on what others are not doing. On the other hand, it can become a classic case of "do as I say, not as I do," because it does not require us to live in a just manner ourselves.

We can be passionate "by doing acts of great virtue in order to give good examples by suggesting remedies for evil, encouraging others to apply them, and doing the good opposed to the evil that we wish to eradicate.” “This holds for all of us," remarks de Sales, "but few of us are anxious to do so." Sure: it requires work and integrity on our part. We can't simply talk the talk; we must also walk the walk.

"Finally, the most excellent exercise of passion consists in suffering and enduring many things in order to prevent or avert evil. Almost no one wants to exercise this passion." This passion is willing to risk everything for what is righteous and just, even life itself.

"Our Lord's passion appeared principally in his death on the cross to destroy death and the sins of humanity," wrote St. Francis de Sales. To imitate Jesus' zeal for justice is "a perfection of courage and unbelievable fervor of spirit."

Jesus certainly challenged the injustice of others. Jesus was willing to promote justice through his own good example. Most important, Jesus was willing to go the distance in his passion for justice, even at the cost of his own life.

Passion Sunday - for that matter, every day - begs the question: How far are we willing to go in our passion for justice, peace and love? 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT (April 6, 2025)

I think it was Aesop who told the wonderful story of the blind men and the elephant in which various blind men had different perceptions of an elephant, depending upon their limited experience of touching one part.

Today’s Gospel is like that for those who hear this story. Some hear it as a test by the Pharisees, so that they can condemn Jesus. Some hear it as Jesus’ statement on capital punishment. Some, sensitive to women’s issues, hear it as “the case of the missing man.”

This story sounds like it belongs more in Luke’s Gospel than John’s. It stresses the compassion of Jesus - a main theme of Luke.

The episode is popularly named the woman caught in adultery. Not accurate.  Obviously, a caught woman implies a caught man. We don’t hear a word about him. According to Dt 22: 23f, both the man and the woman were to be stoned to death if a married woman was caught in adultery. Why was only the woman brought before Jesus? So much for equality in enforcing the law

Perhaps that double standard helps explain why Jesus’ response to her accusers was so effective. They were willing to condemn her but backed off when faced with their own double standard.

The question was supposed to put Jesus in a serious dilemma. Jesus must either: on the one horn, uphold Moses, or he would put himself above Moses. Also, his reputation for compassion would erode. Or, on the other horn, uphold Rome’s prohibition of Jewish sponsored capital punishment and thereby lose his reputation as a faithful Jew.

This Gospel is a striking example of Jesus’ non-dualistic thinking. Although Jesus showed a few examples of dualistic thinking [either/or], he clearly moved beyond the persistent practice of the Jewish leaders of his day and of so many people of our day. In this Gospel, Jesus was offered two options, but he created a third option. He neither condemned the woman nor ignored her sin. He brought her to fresh, non-dualistic thinking. Non-dualistic thinking can be stated positively, “tertigenic thinking,” bringing forth a third option – a form of “thinking outside the box.”

Jesus, by his refusing to condemn the woman and refusing to ignore her sin leaves open the possibility to accept him, a forgiving person, as mentor, not the self-righteous Pharisees. She could thereby enter a new path: personal relationship with our Lord. He maintained the delicate balance of forgiving the sinner while not condoning the sin: “From now on, do not commit sin.”

What did Jesus do in the sand? Perhaps, he detailed the sins of the accusers [St. Jerome] – or, perhaps, quoted older scripture about compassion: “It is mercy I demand, not sacrifice,” or, perhaps, cited the verses from Deuteronomy so the leaders would recognize their own faults…or just doodled and used the silence to prod the consciences of the accusers. We simply don’t know.

Jesus consistently opposed violence: he teaches us: “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you, blessed are the peacemakers, be compassionate as your heavenly father is compassionate.” Here, he challenges those who are ready to kill the woman. Upon being arrested, Jesus will order Peter to put away his sword.

The story of the blind men and the elephant finds us already what an elephant looks like. It has as its humorous, instructive point: having seen what the blind do not see and hearing the foolish ways they describe the elephant.

Today, our prior knowledge of Jesus being the compassionate face of god provides us with the “big picture.” That makes the narrow-minded, dualistic judgment of the Jewish leaders appear sadly incomplete. This understanding of Jesus’ compassion overarches: a test by Jewish leaders, a statement on capital punishment, and the women’s issue.

Let’s let the word, “compassion,” ring in our ears and in our hearts this Lenten season.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT (March 30, 2025)

Luke, chapter 15 is the “lost and found department” of Luke’s Gospel.  We hear the stories of the woman who lost her coin, the shepherd who lost his sheep, and now the father who lost his son.  All three rejoiced at their find. All three are a response to the Pharisees’ and Scribes’ complaints that Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, outcasts.

No more striking account of God’s understanding and love for the sinner is to be found in the scriptures than in Luke’s story of the forgiving father.

Perhaps, you, like myself as we mature, see these two sons not so much as individuals, but as archetypes, those forces extremely deep within us, that impel us.  With the younger son, it is the will to be independent.  The younger son says, treat me like the heir that I am: “Father, give me my share of the inheritance that is coming to me.” He wasted it and was penniless – becoming a hired hand who could not even eat the food for the pigs he was tending and yearned to be a hired hand who ate well in his father’s house. 

He presumed that the consequence of his sin was the loss of sonship. His memorized apology was based more on his own hunger and hard times than on having insulted his father. Perhaps, we identify more with this son in our younger years. Jesus saw this son’s identity in the sinners and tax collectors.

At first hearing, the elder son resonates with us because of a second archetype deep within us: self-righteousness. As we mature spiritually, we see that the elder son’s attitude is impelled not by love for his father but by: “look at all that I have done for you; I deserve better than this.” However, God does not keep score in his love as we tend to do when we are immature.

Did you notice that our father physically left what he was doing and went out to meet each son?  He spotted the younger son down the road. He went to meet him. He did not let him finish his prepared, self-serving apology. He called for a robe and a ring and sandals and preparation for a wonderful banquet of joy. All these gifts clearly imply a relationship of a restored son, not a newly hired hand.

When the elder son was pouting and grousing outside his home, the father also went out to meet him. He did not “chew him out.” He spoke lovingly to him. His movement toward each son was divine grace.

The younger son must have been overwhelmed with his father’s loving forgiveness and finding that he did not have to crawl back, but simply come back to a place he did not even dream of occupying.  

We do not know what happened with the elder son, who represents the scribes and Pharisees that accused Jesus. Hardness of heart involves deep pride with heels dug in - an “I’ll do it my way” mind set. These folks, so often, do not change their ways. The story does not reveal its outcome. At this point, Jesus’ story just stops; it does not have an ending.

As we spiritually mature, we finally “get it.” The story follows the Jewish leaders’ upsetment with Jesus’ eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus tells three stories about lost and found and the rejoicing, never rejecting at recovery. The climactic parable could easily be renamed, the greathearted father.  Jesus gives us a story of how we should forgive as our father forgives. We remember that when Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect,” it was in the context of the father’s forgiveness, not in our doing everything perfectly. Thinking that we have to do everything perfectly is a spiritual affliction currently known as “perfectionism.”  

The church assigns to “Laetare” – rejoice-Sunday in Lent – this likely candidate for the most beloved parable, the story of great rejoicing. He presents for us the model of “the great-hearted father” during our season of self-examination.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT (March 23, 2025)

I have great respect and admiration for those “working the program” in Alcoholics Anonymous.  One of the admirable aspects of AA is the wonderful aphorisms, helpful “sayings,” that they have. 

One is: “It’s not my drinking that gets me stinking, it’s my stinking thinking that gets me drinking.” I’ll repeat . . . Stinking thinking, unproductive, self-hurtful thinking, can put an alcoholic on the slippery slope towards falling back into taking a drink. There is a close parallel in the spiritual life. Jesus gives two examples at the beginning of today’s Gospel where he reads the stinking thinking in his listener’s minds. 

In the first instance, he perceives that the hearers thought that Pilate acted for god who did not accept the Galileans’ sacrificial offerings and therefore sent him, Pilate, to kill them. In the second example, the falling of a tower and killing 18 was an action willfully done by God. In current, American parlance, Jesus’ answer to both situations was “no way! “

The seekers in today’s Gospel are like us when we ask a theoretical question about someone else, but we are really asking for a very practical answer for ourselves.

The point to this Gospel incident is that each of us has the clear mission to do God’s will. God does have expectations of us. When you and I fall short, God is in some divine way disappointed in us. 

John Shea has good insights that I would like to share with you. He identifies parallel instances in the Gospels where Jesus makes the same point as the story of the fig tree: the story about the prodigal son who squanders his inheritance, the light that is put under the basket instead of on top of the lamp stand, the salt that must be thrown out because it has lost its power. We can add Jesus’ words to the Jewish leaders: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will yield a rich harvest.”  [Mt. 21]

The story of the fig tree is that it, too, is a story of someone who is not performing, not doing the will of the master. The will of God. Without doubt, is that we change and produce fruit that we help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. The lord’s prayer, the prayer that Jesus himself taught, prays that the kingdom of our Father in heaven come, that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Christians may disagree on many things, but never that doing the will of God is paramount in Jesus’ teaching.

Christian, stinking thinking can take different forms in addition to the stories that begin this section of Luke where bad things happen to presumably good people. It can take the form of some catholic devotion that adherents think that saying certain prayers fulfills all of Christianity. It can take the form of a curable, mental disorder, like scrupulosity, where one is consumed with fear of committing mortal sin. It can take the form of there being a divine plan for everyone, so whatever bad thing happens must be in God’s divine plan. Where did that destructive idea come from? It has been around for a long time.

The mind can hold only so much. If it is filled, is consumed with thoughts such as “any of the above,” the mind cannot grow. John Henry Neumann, the Anglican priest, converted to Catholicism said that what is true in nature is true of our minds: “Growth is the only evidence of life.”

Life is not looking outside ourselves at “already done deals” to work backwards into what can be seen as God’s will. It is in listening to the will of God in our time of prayer that we come to understand what God calls us to. It is in prayer that we can discern God’s will, what needs to be changed, and then begin to weed and cultivate the soil of the unproducing aspect of our situation without playing time-wasting, speculative, mind games. 

That is metanoia. That is the work of Lent.

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT (March 16, 2025)

In the past I have spoken about different aspects of the Transfiguration. This year I thought it might be helpful to speak to the message itself. What is the point of the Transfiguration?

After the miraculous, dazzling brilliance and conversation between Jesus and Moses and Elijah, Peter, who seems always good for a blurt, said, “Let’s build three tents;” that is, let’s not just stand here; let’s do something.  Immediately, the group was enveloped in a cloud of divine presence, and the words here repeat the father’s words at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus is named the beloved son of the Father. But, there is an additional line here at the transfiguration that is not found at the baptism. It is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels: “Listen to him.” The father ignored Jesus’ blurt. He simply says, “Listen to him.”

Then, Jesus was alone with the three apostles with the Father’s words still ringing in their ears. The father had not said, “Look at him and the splendor of his luminous body.” The father did not have a list of things for them to do.  The Father was not interested in housing.   He simply said, “Listen to him.”

The crisp command, “Listen to him” is the climax of the transfiguration and the key to its meaning. When we stop to listen, we realize that “Listen to him” is the one and only directive we hear from the Father in the entire New Testament.  The Transfiguration was not for the personal gratification of Jesus and the apostles, but that we might learn the supreme importance of listening. As with Jesus, the life of glory will follow as day follows night.

This command to listen was not a vague mandate, but it referred to Jesus’ recent teaching that his career would come agonizingly to an end. Instead of being crowned king of Israel, as many had hoped, he would “suffer greatly, be rejected, be killed and on the third day be raised.” They need to listen to the fact that the path to glory in following him would not likely come in this life.  Jesus taught that by his own words and his own example.

This explains why Moses and Elijah were on the mountain.  Years ago, they too had been rejected by their fellow Israelites - just as Jesus.  The teaching of Jesus and his rejection was foreshadowed in their lives.  Now, they are glorified. John, the beloved disciple, would spend his lifetime of ministry dedicated to writing what he had heard and seen, so that we might be able to listen

What should we serious Christians learn from this event?  First and primarily, we need to listen to Jesus’ words of love for us. Then, after listening to his message, we spread his and our love to our neighbors.

We begin to listen, first, by being quiet.  We need to stop talking. Then, we need to be silently present to the events recorded about Jesus’ life.  We need to listen to the words Jesus spoke – and, more profoundly, be present to Jesus’ wordless presence within us. The truth of his life, of his words, of his simple presence emerges within us and transforms us.

Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John. In this Eucharist, Jesus brings the power of Transfiguration to us in the transfiguration of bread and wine into himself. We welcome him. We are then sent forth to transfigure those whose lives we touch.  A wonderful Lenten practice.

First Sunday in Lent (March 9, 2025)

Immediately after John baptized Jesus and the father called Jesus his “beloved son” and the Holy Spirit filled him with himself, Jesus was then “led by the spirit into the desert.” This was just before Jesus began his public ministry. These temptations probably represent temptations Jesus had throughout his whole life, but the Gospel writers telescoped them into a one-time event.

I have heard many homilies and read many commentaries about Jesus’ temptations. They do not contradict one another, but each writer seems to have a different emphasis about pride, selfishness, and the abuse of power. I thought that this year I would simply reflect on “temptation” in general.

Temptations are impulsive thoughts about strategies, ploys that I use that are counter-productive to becoming who god calls me to be. An impulsive thought that may move us doing something good, we call “inspiration.” An impulsive thought that may lead us to do something evil, we call “temptation.” 

Personally, I suspended “the devil” notion years ago. I surely do need God, but I do not need to conjure up a character to account for my own inclinations to do my own will. I do not need a “devil” to blame for my selfishness.  I am quite capable of coming up with less than virtuous ideas all by myself.  I do not need a snake to blame - as we read in the genesis myth. I do not outright deny the existence, just the need in my life. You make your own decision.

Jesus always had his priorities straight and followed them. He did not sin, but he was human, so he had temptations as all humans have.

We humans do not always have our priorities straight. We sin in choosing not to follow the appropriate order of priorities to which Jesus calls us. At times, we put ourselves ahead of God or someone in need. We sin.

Today, we are looking at what inclines us to sin. A helpful way for me – and perhaps you – is to check first, our priorities and second, our temptations, our inclinations regarding those priorities, by looking at the people and things in our lives in the light of the time, talent and treasure we expend on those priorities.

Temptation wears a thousand masks. It never asks, “Would you like to do something evil?” The serpent asks, “Would you like to be like God?  Then eat.” Temptations “sound” good. Paul and John call impulsive thoughts “spirits”; the “spirits” should be discerned to determine whether they are or not God’s will. To discern them, we first need to recognize them. Our current state of mind is expressed in our priorities.

One way to recognize our priorities is to evaluate them according to the amount of time, talent, and treasure spent on each.  Use your imaginations, your wits, as to how. You might want to score your priorities on a scale of one to “whatever” and then score the time, talent, and treasure expended on each. Such pencil and paper devices can be very revealing.  It is a practice like this that I use during my annual retreat. I find that it helps me to concentrate and face the facts of what my priorities really are.  It also helps to expose the inclinations, temptations that I experience in my day-to-day spiritual life.

Our inclination to possess things, our desire to control our lives can get out of hand and be hurtful to ourselves and others. Unlike New Year’s resolutions, Lent provides a protracted period of time to look thoughtfully at ourselves and see ourselves as we are and not as we would like to think we are.

Lent is the season for conversion of mind and heart. If we want to grow spiritually, to go through ongoing conversion, we need to know ourselves as we really are.  An examen of first, our current priorities, and second, our impulsive thoughts makes for a productive start.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (March 2, 2025)

Today’s selections from the Book of Sirach and Luke’s Gospel suggest a powerful standard by which we can judge the heart and mind of another person: the subject and manner about which one speaks.

Pretty obvious, isn’t it? Negative people tend to speak negatively. Jealous people speak resentfully. Judgmental people speak suspiciously. Their conversations tend to weigh others down.

By contrast, positive people speak positively. Happy people speak graciously. Energized people speak enthusiastically. Their conversations tend to lift others up.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, conversation seems to be expressions of the heart. 

Francis de Sales writes in his Introduction to the Devout Life: “Just as physicians learn about a person’s health or sickness by looking at the tongue, so our words are a true indication of the state of our souls.” (Part III, Chapter 26) This diagnosis has several aspects.

First: how do we speak of God? “If you are truly in love with God you should often speak of God in familiar conversation with others…just as bees extract with their mouths nothing but honey, so your tongue should always be sweetened with its God…always with attention and reverence.” (Ibid)

Second: how do we speak of others? “Be careful never to let an indecent word leave your lips, for even if you do not speak with an evil intention those who hear it may take it a different way.”  When one’s heart is filled with evil or rancor or intrigue, their tongues are no longer like the sweet ones of the bees but become “like a lot of wasps gathered together to feed on corruption.” (Part III, Chapter 27)

Third: how balanced is our conversation? “It seems to me that we should avoid two extremes,” observes Francis de Sales.  “To be too reserved and to refuse to take part in conversation looks like lack of confidence in the others or some kind of disdain.  On the other hand, to be always babbling or joking without giving others time or chance to speak when they wish is a mark of shallowness and levity.” (Part III, Chapter 30)

What do the content and tone of our words tell others about our hearts?

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 23, 2025)

Today’s gospel offers us the great challenge for a disciple of Jesus:

“Love your enemies, do good to those who dislike you, bless those who speak ill of you and pray for those who mistreat you.” “Be merciful just as your heavenly Father is merciful.”

We all know how difficult this is to do.

We’ll never be able to do it without God’s grace, without learning to be very conscious that God is present with us each day, without asking God for the strength of his grace many times each day. The invitation of Jesus to love those who get in our face, who know how to push all our buttons, goes against our natural feelings of irritation and anger. Jesus seems to be asking too much.

What Jesus is asking of us is to be all that grace enables us to be. By our baptism, we have been given a share in the life and love of God. Jesus has become our brother; we are children of our heavenly Father by grace. Divine life is in us and that life enables us to live as Jesus lived. Jesus is asking us to learn to live by the new life we have been given. Because of grace, we are able to be merciful as our Father is merciful. Jesus has shown us how to love those who irritate us, how to forgive those who injure us.

St. Francis de Sales recommends several practices that can help us remember the strength of divine life within us.

Begin the day with a short prayer of awareness: “My God, you are here loving me today; help me to remember you’re with me as we go through the day.” Then, talk with God about the grace I will need to deal with particular people in my life who can irritate me or have mistreated me. During the day, when I know I’m going to meet such a person, I ask God’s help that I may relate with that person in a way that is pleasing to God. Then, each evening, thank God for the times when grace gave me strength and ask pardon for the times I forgot to ask for God’s help and failed because I tried to do it on my own.

The key is learning the discipline of remembering that I share divine life. When my prayer leads me to greater awareness of God’s loving presence each day, then I will more likely become dependent on the grace God makes available to me. Then the challenge that Jesus offers – to love my enemies – is not so impossible for me to try to meet. I can meet it because I trust in God who lives in me.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 16, 2025)

What does it mean to “trust?” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines it thus: “Firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing.”

Imagine a world without trust. Imagine a world in which nobody believed in the “integrity, ability or character” of others. Such a place could indeed be described as a living hell. Trust is the mortar that binds us together. Trust is what enables us to form families, friends, community and country. Trust is an integral part of what it means to be human.

In stark contrast with the importance of trusting one another, Jeremiah warns: “Cursed are those who trust in human beings.” What are we to make of this?  Simply put, trusting one another is not enough to sustain us in life. Why?  Because, as we know all too well – and painfully – we humans, despite our best efforts, are not always trustworthy.  If our trust is limited to the human plane, we run the risk of being overwhelmed by the woes of pain, disappointment, heartache and cynicism.

Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the one is always trustworthy. Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the faithful friend who never deceives or betrays. Our fundamental trust allows us to not merely survive this life, but to thrive in it, especially when confronted by our own imperfections and those of others. St. Francis de Sales wrote: “If the whole world turns topsy-turvy, if all around is darkness and smoke and din, God is still with us.  If we believe that God lives in the darkness and on Mount Sinai which is full of smoke and surrounded with the roar of thunder and lightning, shall not all be well with us as long as we place our trust in God?” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 125)

Cursed are we if expect others to fulfill all of our deepest wants, our deepest needs, our deepest desires and our deepest dreams without fail. Such expectations lead to bitterness, resentment and despair. Blessed are we if we take confidence and consolation in the God who is always trustworthy, even when we humans are not. Our trust in God will not shield us from life’s inevitable disappointments – those we receive, those we cause – but it will enable us to name them, to work through them and to ultimately move beyond them.

Our trust in God enables us to celebrate the ways we are trustworthy. Likewise, our trust in God enables us to forgive one another when we are not.

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (February 9, 2025)

I saw an interesting tee shirt, that read: “Some fish to forget troubles; some fish to eat dinner. Me?  I like worms.” Jesus might have worn a tee that said: “Some people fish for fish.  Me? I fish for people.”

Today, Jesus calls Peter, James and John to help him fish. Isn’t their reaction amazing?  These three, Jewish, commercial fishermen had the haul of fish of their lives --their biggest profit lay ahead. Jesus calls them to become people-fishers. They neither protest nor ask to first sell the fish. They immediately leave their nets.

These three would become the inner circle of the Twelve. The trio that would be with him when he would raise Jairus’ daughter to life, when he would be transfigured on Mt. Tabor, when he would be on the mount of olives the night before he was killed.  Evidently, the men did show some fear because Jesus counsels them not to be afraid.  They courageously accept Jesus’ offer. What charisma Jesus must have had! Let the Jesus-adventure begin!

The time had come in Jesus’ life to put out into the deep waters of Israel and the world and begin, like a fisherman, to lure people into the kingdom of his father. 

Today, there are two movements that comprise evangelization - a big word for a simple idea, the process of bringing people to Jesus. One movement addresses the recognized fact that many who call themselves catholic Christians are not really “hooked” by Jesus.  They are nominal or sometime, Catholic Christians. Church leaders claim the first task of evangelization is converting the already baptized Catholics who have been lured away by other values or addictions.  

Also, there are some baptized, church-going Catholics who are concerned with the “things” of religion: this devotion or that prayer.  Prayer-sayers are not what Jesus wants.  Jesus wants pray-ers, communicators with him in relationship.  Any practice in religion must be a means toward the end of relationship with Jesus. No particular devotion hooked Peter, James or john in today’s gospel.  They were lured and hooked on the person of Jesus.

There are physical addictions that lure us from time for our Lord. Our people get hooked on drugs, food, alcohol, smoking. 

There are also cultural addictions that take the time needed for relationship with our lord: sports [playing or watching], hobbies, shopping, TV-watching, texting, the internet and more.  These can be addictive as well.

The second movement of evangelization consists in introducing those not of our faith expression – or of no faith expression – to our faith in Jesus

God is love; Jesus is love enfleshed and calls us - as he called Peter, James and john - into a personal relationship with himself and his father and the spirit. When he lures us with his love, we are moved to return his love with our love; we are hooked – as the great fisherman wants us to be..

Anyone associated with the oblates has heard the motto of St. Francis de sales: Tenui nec Dimittam . . . I have held on, and I will not let go.   A loose translation in the light of this gospel loose translation could be: “I have been hooked on Jesus who loves me, and I will not get unhooked. “

Like the wonderful relationship of love between humans, our relationship with our god grows and deepens. It is so real - it becomes visible to others.  Remember in the Acts of the Apostles: “See the Christians, see how they love one another.” It still happens today.  Our neighbors see something in us that they want. They seek. They inquire; they join the RCIA. That is how the second movement of evangelization happens.  It is how the call of Jesus to Peter, James and John continues.

Let’s look in our spiritual mirrors. Do people see something of Jesus in you that Peter, James and John saw in the person of Jesus?  To the extent that they do, we know that we are growing spiritually; we know that the RCIA will flourish.  The work of Jesus will go on and spread. Jesus called it the “Kingdom of God.”

Presentation of the Lord (February 2, 2025)

In her reflection in Living Faith, Elizabeth – Anne Stewart writes “…like all prophets, Simeon saw beyond the surface. Even as he spoke two thousand years ago, Roman forces occupied the land and atrocities abounded. What he saw was the presence of God cradled in the palms of his hands. As he gave thanks, he was not so naïve as to imagine the Child would banish all suffering; rather, he knew that by embracing the suffering of the world, this Child would show us that love is always a possibility. …Be our light in times of darkness, O Lord that we may shine with your love”

In Luke’s Gospel message, Jesus’ parents were faithful to the Law presenting him in the Temple. Devout Jews like Simeon accepted Jesus as God’s promise to all people: an inclusive Salvation opportunity.

Messianic Salvation is a “Beacon” shining before all nations, a Light that dissipates the darkness and enlightens them.  In the Light of his presence, there can be no neutrality, for he is the Light that reveals our innermost thoughts and forces us be part of his Light.

Saint Francis de Sales was a model for us of the Light of Love and a burning Heart.  He was a Light in his time that helped all persons to pursue a life of devotion in the state and stage of life in which they lived each day.  His relationship with the Divine created a beacon of blessings through his writings, preaching and guidance, enabling us to strive to be a Light for others.  To do this, he stressed the need for our transformation from the inside out.  De Sales writes:

“For myself, Philothea, I cannot approve the methods of those who try to reform someone by beginning with outward things. On the contrary it seems to me that we ought to begin inside… Since the heart is the source of our actions, as the heart is, so are they; whoever has Jesus Christ in their heart will soon have him in all outward ways.”

Our “temple” is in our hearts. Our light is how we live the gospel, even when we encounter suffering. Are we a beacon of Christian Light in our generation?  Can we announce salvation through Jesus by our living action?

Sometimes we are too near-sighted and too hard of hearing to be truly in the presence of his Light. Someone has to open our eyes, ears and hearts beyond our own perceptions. Simeon recognizes in Jesus the Messiah promised long ago.  We need to trust in the fulfillment of the divine promises and see the Light in all peoples.  St. Francis de Sales was a Light for us too.  He was a Light who gave people the heart they needed to embrace life as it was and to dream about life as it could be.

Genuine encounter with Christ leaves us changed forever and impacts our choices, our motivations and our attitudes.  Have we let this child into the temple of our hearts?   Live Jesus—Let Jesus Shine!

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 26, 2025)

We heard both last week and this, Paul’s message to the Corinthians and us about gifts.  Paul says that it is no longer necessary for Jesus to be physically present to us. The spirit distributes gifts to us, the baptized. We, with our gifts, blossom into the body of Christ.  The church calls this the “mystical body of Christ.” We need our imaginations to conceive Jesus as the head and each of us as body parts.  Mystical points to mysticism.

Huston Smith humorously, winsomely, and lucidly notes that mysticism begins with “mist,” ends with “schism,” and has an “I” in the middle. Appreciating who we are and who Christ is blurs the boundary between humanity and divinity in our relationship with God: it is “misty.”   It also causes a “schism” - the schism of a break from our former understanding of distance and, perhaps, from those who still have that understanding.  The “I” is not the ego, but the “I” of “I am who am,” the God we meet in the inner sanctum of our true self. We meet our neighbors there, too.

Because of our varied talents:

Some perform the function of his feet by taking Christ’s presence peacefully and prophetically to far away places;

Some perform the work of his hands in caring for children, for the sick, for the elderly;

Some perform the function of his heart in consoling the broken-hearted; 

Some perform the work of his mouth in his work of teaching and preaching;

Some perform the work of his ears - listening compassionately;

Many multi-task.

We see a very clear image of the mystical body right here at mass. The Second Vatican Council in the Constitution the Liturgy #7 says: “No other action of the church equals its [Eucharist’s] title to power or to its degree of effectiveness.” We have a deacon, a celebrant, readers, we have Eucharistic ministers, and we have ministers of hospitality, ushers, altar servers, ministers of music. A sacristan, bread bakers, linen washers.  Each contributes in an integral way to the celebration of Jesus’ presence in word and sacrament and in the presence of one another in community. 

Eucharist exemplifies the reality that each of us has a function to perform in this body of Christ as hands, feet, heart, mouth, ears to one another. This is the “talent” piece of stewardship’s:  time -treasure - talent.

Our culture focuses on celebrities in entertainment and sports. Now is the season for the “hooray for me” shows: Golden Globes, Emmys and Oscars and the various competitive music categories. I think these awards diminish the worth of real all-stars who are not in the limelight of competition but stand in the shadows of helpful cooperation. The truly beautiful people affirm that what God value is what is important. Beautiful people remember that a gift is a gift. We did not create this gift, so we cannot take undue pride in it. The only proper response is gratitude and good stewardship. We use our gifts in community, where we share our gifts.

Let us all realize that without any one of us, this community tends to diminish. We all need to affirm others around us and give each contributor his/her due. The greatest sign of respect we can give to others is giving them responsibility. Jesus could hardly show us greater respect when he does by asking us to continue his mission through him, with him, and in him.

Today’s second reading is the theological basis of the saying: “None of us has it all together - but together we do have it all.”

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 19, 2025)

As we move into ordinary time, we hear a passage from the fourth Gospel, John, symbolized by an eagle because of the theological heights to which he soars.   

Today’s Gospel recounts the first of the seven signs in the first half of John’s Gospel. At first hearing, signs sound like miracles. A more careful listening reveals an important difference. John’s “signs” have two levels: the one that our senses read and the one that points to a deeper reality – some aspect of the meaning of Jesus’ life.  John’s Gospel is different.

Abundant wine trditionally symbolizes God’s generosity. Water jugs of that period contained about 25 gallons.  Just the additional wine was enough for 100 guests to have 30, 8oz glasses of wine each. Could we call that a staggering amount of wine?  This would certainly provide a challenge to wine enthusiasts.

This episode begins with Mary. Mary’s faith elicited Jesus’ response - which was, at first, reluctant. John makes it clear that Mary’s faith is central to the action of the story.  She is also the catalyst for the belief of others.

John makes a startling statement: “They began to believe at this time.”  Mary’s faith, her initiative, her trust, brought those present - guests and disciples alike - to trust Jesus. As we know, trust is faith.

Wine in abundance was an Old Testament symbol of god’s salvation at the end of time. This first sign of Jesus in Cana points to Jesus as the source of wine in abundance. John’s gospel is subtle; it is not a simple, “miracle story.”

Do we appreciate the signs that Jesus has placed in our lives? Do we grow from what god has done in our lives and allow it to deepen our faith and significantly change our lives?

Do we allow life changes in our relationship with god to spark the growth of faith in others? This is what the gospel is challenging us to do today. We learn from a sign.

Your faith, my faith, is strengthened by each of us; our faith is a sign seen by others. What attracts others is the love that is seen, the gifts we have as a community, and the generosity with which we share them.

When we pool talents, the wonderful thing called “community” happens.  We have, in our pooled giftedness exponential power. We have the spirit of God within us. Our gifts do not diminish us in the giving. We ourselves grow in giving.

If God deals in 25-gallon jars, it is ever right for us to deal in half-pints? God’s self-gift calls for our response to be extravagant.

As Mary was the catalyst at the first sign in Cana in Galilee, may we be the signs/the catalysts where we live, labor and love every day.           

Baptism of the Lord )January 12, 2025)

Jesus is full of surprises. Here we see one at the kickoff of his public ministry. Jesus’ cousin, john the baptizer, has just said that his [John’s] baptism with water will be followed by one mightier than he whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This scene is followed immediately by Jesus’ coming to john and asking for john’s baptism by water. Interesting.

Why does Jesus get baptized with John’s baptism of repentance?  Jesus, who committed no sin, was in no need of repentance, but he got baptized, nonetheless. As we saw a few weeks ago, baptismal water symbolizes a dying/drowning experience. In John’s Gospel we learn that baptism is like re-entering the water in our mother’s womb and emerging from that womb-water with a new life in Christ. Why does he do it? Although he was like us in all things but sin, Jesus humbled himself and chose to do what his fellow Jews who were sinners were doing. Jesus had john baptize him in order to identify completely with us. What an awesome example of humility!

Jesus seems to take John’s baptizing as a sign from his father to begin his own public ministry. Do you notice that Jesus uses real-life-experiences as indicators of his father’s will? Today, it is the action of cousin John that initiates his action. Jesus seeks to do his father’s will every moment. When he finds himself in the garden of Gethsemane near the end of his time with us, he prays that what was apparently going to happen would not happen. Yet, he concludes: “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” But we are getting ahead of today’s gospel.

 On this day, Jesus did what he later counseled his apostles to do. He will instruct them not to “lord it over” others. He did not lord it over anyone who sinned.  He identified himself with us all who are sinners and experienced the baptism of repentance with John. He provided good example as a leader from his first act.  He led by example. 

He is a world-leader without equal; he did what leaders seldom do. So many leaders act in a superior fashion with those they lead. Jesus would later chastise the Pharisees for “lording it over” others, self-importantly taking the first seats in synagogues.  From his first day of ministry, he did not lord it over others, sinners. He identified with those he came to be with. He associated with all; he ate with all, unlike the religious establishment of his time who shunned those Jews whom they deemed “unclean” as well as the gentiles. It was a hallmark of Jesus’ life that he would be present to anyone who sought his presence. Is this not a lesson for religious leaders of our time? Is this not a lesson for all of us who have a share in Jesus’ power?

How will we use that power today?

Epiphany (January 5, 2025)

Matthew’s sketch of the birth of Jesus provides us with a picture of Jesus’ future.  In broad strokes, he tells us of the visit of the Magi, Persians, fascinated by astrology, who – without GPS-equipped camels - saw and followed a curious star in the heavens. They were not Jews awaiting a messiah, but wise pagan-gentiles in search of a Jewish king. They stopped for direction from king Herod, the paranoid puppet of Rome. Herod tried to get them to inform him later of this infant king’s whereabouts, so he could kill him as he had, his brothers and at least two sons as possible threats to his kingship. Matthew foretells that Jesus had serious opposition from the beginning; and it will get worse at the hands of Herod’s living son who will later condemn him to die.

We have all heard the jokes that say that the wise men were not as wise as women would have been. The men brought the wrong gifts for a newborn.  Please note that the men did stop and ask for directions.

Let’s look at their gifts.

One brought gold. So, it wasn’t pampers. But what do you suppose paid for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus’ trip to and settlement in Egypt when they could not return to Nazareth and Jesus’ likely death at the hands of Herod? Today, we continue to “Live + Jesus” by sharing our “gold” with the Jesus in others, except that we call it sharing our “treasure.”

They brought frankincense. Frankincense got its name from the Franks, the crusaders who brought back from Yemen and Oman this gum cut from trees.  The sap, attached to some bark, was allowed to dry and had multiple uses through time.  It was seen as a cure for different poisons and several illnesses.  It is still burned as incense in worship services. It is also burned in aromatherapy for its stress-reducing property. Today, we use our “frankincense,” our gift of healing words of encouragement and support with those who need us.

They brought myrrh, the strangest of the three gifts. Myrrh, like frankincense, is made from dried sap of different trees. So, it wasn’t baby formula. It was used – and is still used - in over a third of all Saudis as medicine. Today, we are called to become a healing ointment in our relationships.

In short, the gifts given to Jesus two thousand years ago: gold and healing power have been given to us–in-Jesus today.  John told us that “he [Jesus] came to his own [the Jews ], and his own did not receive him.” Do not we as Christians share Jesus’ rejection as well?  True, no one except radical Muslims consider us as “infidels” and already have killed and would actually kill us. It is also true that many contemporaries have quietly rejected the following of Christ. They think us somewhere between “odd” and “fanatic” for going regularly to church and trying to see the face of God in others.

Both Jesus’ and our own rejections are painful.

May each of us have the passion of the Magi in reading the signs of the times, seeking the one who is the way, the truth, and the life.  May each of us generously be an epiphany, a manifestation of our God to all others whose paths we cross on our journey.

Holy Family (December 29, 2024)

How fast things can, at times, go downhill. Joseph, Mary and Jesus travelled to Jerusalem for the high holy days with their extended family. It must have been very exciting to be in Jerusalem at Passover with about two million other visitors.  How panic-stricken must Joseph and Mary have been when they realized that their adolescent son, Jesus, was not travelling home with them? We can only imagine the terror that gripped them. No blame game was recorded; they returned to Jerusalem on a desperate mission: to find their son.

They find him in the temple. They realize, at some level, that Jesus must be about his father’s work in this one glimpse of Jesus just before he becomes a teenager, and how his parents react. It is a glimpse of the second holy family in action. The original holy family is the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – a love relationship from all eternity.  Did you notice the names the trinity picked were family relationship titles to reveal themselves: parent, son/brother, and mysterious spirit?

We cannot explain the workings of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in their unique family, but we can draw helpful parallels to our own family.  Joseph was the breadwinner.  It could not have been an easy task because Mary and Joseph almost immediately became refugees in a foreign land, Egypt, in their early years when they did not speak the language. They stayed in Egypt until Herod died and they could safely return home to Nazareth in Galilee.

At times, they, like us, had to make difficult choices. I’m sure every parent here can identify with having a missing child – even if for only a few seconds. After Jesus was crucified, many years later, Mary had the terrible experience of holding her dead, bloody son in her arms – in the next to last chapter of her life.

You adolescents can identify with the young Jesus who wants to do something, but his parents say, “Not yet; you are not old enough.” Jesus experienced the disappointment in being “dragged away” from the temple where he wanted to be and must have felt annoyed and misunderstood.

Our family is a great place of discovery. Most of us have had good experience in being nurtured in the womb of the family:

·        it is the place where we experience the forming of our self-identity

·        it is the place where we experience self-esteem, a sense of our own worth

·        it is the place where we experience what “belonging” means

·        it is the place where we experience love and learn compassion for others

·        it is the place where we learn the absolute necessity of respect for ourselves, for all others, for property, for the material world we live in

·        it is the place where, hopefully, we learn those three important phrases in communication; “I was wrong,” “I’m sorry,” please, forgive me.” 

·        it is the place where we are first introduced to God

Every one of us in church on this day did not have all the good experience just described. If we did not, we have experienced families outside our own that have provided sources of learning for us. Let us never wallow in self-pity for not having been born into the perfect family; it doesn’t exist. 

We pray this morning that the lessons we learned before kindergarten, during kindergarten and thereafter will be revisited with gratitude. May we question ourselves about our subsequent choices and how we may correct our bad ones.

Christmas (December 25, 2024)

Christmas is perhaps the event that is best remembered from our childhood.  For some, childhood is recent; for others of us, it has been a long time.

We remember our Christmases past. Each of us has different memories of celebration, unique to ourselves. We always went to mass on Christmas morning. I recall never being allowed to look at or open Christmas gifts until after mass.  Jesus had to come first since Jesus was the reason for the season.  It was painful then, but I got the message.

There are a lot of warm fuzzies connected with our individual recollections of Christmas past.  We bring past memories into the present as a computer stores bits and bites and brings then together.

Sharpening our collective memories as Christians is exactly what the Gospel for today celebrates. The Gospel records that the birth of Jesus came at a precise time and at a particular moment in history:

“In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” This time was not “once upon a time” as in a fairy tale or a Santa story might begin, but a moment in real time - an attempt by the first Christians to nail the event in time.  This event marks the primary division in history: before Christ and after Christ, “a.d.” anno domini, in the year of Our Lord.  Or, in the new reasoning, “c.e.,” the Common Era.

The birth of Jesus took place in a real place.  It did not take place in never-never land or the Land of Oz.

“They [Mary and Joseph] went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem.” A real place where real people lived and died.

This day commemorates a real event. God loves us human beings so much that God gave of himself.  He sent one called “Jesus” to show us how to become God-like.   To quote Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest bishops: “God became man, so that man might become God.”

As we celebrate Christmas, we need to stop and reflect on this reality on a day on which many act as if it were everyone’s birthday, but Jesus.  It is well said: “The unreflective life is not worth living.”  Jesus is Emmanuel – “God with us.”  Let’s never forget.  Let’s Live Jesus.

Fourth Sunday of Advent (December 22, 2024)

On the cover of an issue of TIME MAGAZINE, a beautiful, dark-eyed toddler rides on her big sister’s shoulders. Marissa Ayala was conceived in the hope of being a tissue match; only a bone marrow transplant could save the life of her elder sister from leukemia

Marissa did not offer to come into this world to experience the pain of surgery for another.  There is no doubt why Marissa was conceived: she is a “b.r.v.” - a “biological re-supply vehicle.” If there is no match, the plan was to abort and try again.

In today’s Gospel, we hear of two pregnancies. We hear in the second reading: “you… prepared a body for me… here I am; I have come to do your will, O God.” 

There is no doubt why Jesus was conceived either. This infant Jesus was conceived not for saving one life, but for saving millions of his brothers and sisters by showing them how to live, what it means to be fully human and fully alive.  

We may tend our sorrows, silently and in private, but good news aches to be shared with one who will rejoice with us. Jesus is good news, and Mary hastens to share her good news with her cousin, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth responds in a way that surely exceeded Mary’s expectation. Before Mary says hello, Elizabeth asks, “Who am that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” There are few words recorded from this meeting. Those who look for scripture sources speaking against abortion often cite Elizabeth’s calling Mary “mother of my Lord” so soon after the annunciation. Both Elizabeth and Mary recognize each other’s place in God’s plan of salvation and together they share the joy that comes from that knowledge.

Before we celebrate Christmas, we need to stop and remind ourselves who this baby is:

·        Truly human - fragile flesh that develops understanding as he increases in wisdom and age and grace, just as we have done;

·        Truly divine - stripped of glory to dwell in our midst and show us the way.

He is, in the prophetic words of the first reading, peace. He is not judgment, not condemnation, not vindication of our ways over others’, but an offer of peace when we are rooted in him.  Peace among all peoples, all families, all friends.

Jesus has taken flesh, not only in Mary’s womb, but also in our own selves.   We carry him with us and we - male and female - give birth to him in a world which questions whether Jesus and many an expected child is really good news.

If we really believe that this pregnancy, Mary’s and ours, is good news, can we keep it secret any less than Mary? Shall we let anyone who will listen know that the child who has taken flesh in us is god’s own? That the child born to give life to all our brothers and sisters peace for our troubled world?

We gather at this table for a life-saving ‘transplant.’ Here, Jesus gives us his word and gives us his body and blood as real food. Here, we, in turn, become his body to go forth from our celebration and give life to the world that hungers for him - even when they do not realize it.

When and if the opportunity presents itself -- as when we hear the politically correct “happy holiday” instead of “Merry Christmas” -- will we acknowledge Jesus as the reason for the season?  Let’s not miss the opportunity.