Jan 1 - Mary, Mother of God

 Today we celebrate both the august maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Mother of God, and the naming of her Child, eight days after his birth: the name given by the Angel at his conception: Jesus, Savior. The time of blessing had arrived: God has now entered our world, as one of us, born of a woman, in order to save us from our disconnectedness from God that would have remained permanent and unchangeable, unless God himself did not choose to intervene on our behalf.  The mediation of a human birth by means of a humble virgin of Nazareth was sublime in its originality, its simplicity and its faith.

 

And so we celebrate today Mary’s cooperation with the Divine Plan of Salvation, we celebrate the fact that she became the mother not only of one who had a human nature (like her own), but also a Divine Nature (wholly other, of God himself) combined without confusion in one Divine Person: Emmanuel, Christ the Lord. Mary truly was then, Mother of God (that is Mother of the God-Made-Man) who was wholly God, while being wholly man at the same time.

 

O wondrous mystery! The mystery of the exchange of divinity with humanity, and humanity with divinity! Man was now capable not only of having his sins forgiven, but of living in God forever – in his heart, where the Divine Person in his Divinity and later humanity always lives.

 

Mary often pondered on the events of which she was a part; the birth of her Son in a manger, the visitation by shepherds, the prophecies that were just beginning to be externally fulfilled in her infant Son. Yes, on the eighth day, as prescribed by Mosaic Law, Jesus was circumcised and named, as was prophesied, JESUS! And he immediately took on the role of SAVIOR and never let it move from the center of his focus until he breathed his last on the Cross, that he always knew lay before Him.

 

Thank you Jesus for all you have done and still do for our salvation; and thank you Mary for being not only the Mother of the Savior, the Mother of God; but also the Mother of all who belong to his Mystical Body, the Church: Mother of us. We love you and honor you this day, and ask that you always be our comfort and our joy as we try to live the best we can, the life modeled not only by your Son, but also you, who are our Queen and our Friend.

 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Dec 26 - St Stephen, the Martyr

+ Today in the shadow of the pinnacle of the Christmas celebration we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr, the first to give his life for the truths proclaimed by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ the Lord (as a composite whole), the first member of the Church to give his life for its founder.

 

All we know of Stephen is related in the Acts of the Apostles. He was one of the first deacons, and a preacher; and while preaching the Gospel in the streets, angry Jews who were angry at him for berating them, and believing his theological message to be blasphemy, dragged him outside the city, and stoned him to death. In the crowd, to the sight of the mob, who did nothing to stop the killing was a man who would later be known as St. Paul the Apostle. Before he died, Stephen asked God to forgive his attackers. This happened around the year 33.

 

And so, the veracity of the religion was shifted into a higher gear; and a tremendous example of martyrdom included one of Jesus’ most difficult sayings: pray for your persecutors, and even to expect to be put to death on account of his Name!

 

Stephen’s own words – Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, (echoing Christ’s own words on the Cross: into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit) – ought to be ours at all times – so that we live and die as members of Christ, joyfully, and as instruments of peace in his hands.

 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord:

 the Lord is God and has given us light.

 

Dec 8 - The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

+ Today we celebrate the fact that from the first moment of her existence in the womb of her mother, Ann, the Blessed Mother of God was preserved from the effects of original sin by means of a singular privilege and grace from God, granted in view of the merits of Jesus Christ her own future-coming Son. From the first moment of its existence, Mary’s soul was filled with sanctifying grace. She had at least the graces of the first Eve before the Fall and more. This privilege was befitting the one who was to be the mother of the Redeemer.

 

This doctrine was held in differing degrees by both East and West from the ninth century. The feast was originally known as the Conception of Ann, and celebrated on December 9, but finally the doctrine was defined formally and assigned a permanent feast day by Blessed Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854, in accordance with the texts of Scripture: “I will put enmities between you (the serpent) and the woman, and your seed and her seed”; and “Hail, full of grace.”

 

 What is more, this doctrine is established by living tradition, by the writings of the Fathers, by feasts observed in honor of this prerogative, and by the general belief of the faithful. The apparition of Mary to Catherine Laboure in Paris in 1830 and to Bernadette Soubrious in 1834 prompted devotion to Mary as the Immaculate Conception. And at the First Council of Baltimore, held in 1846, the U.S. Catholic bishops chose Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception as the patron saint of their (our) country.

 

It is Mary’s complete openness to God’s love, God’s gifts and God’s graces that we celebrate today, as well as her sublime status as “woman of absolute faith”; when we utilize fully what the Church has given us by means of life in the Body of her Son – cooperating in faith with graces freely given us - we experience with her the sublime confidence, joy and peace that she always had.

 

Hail, Mary, full of grace! Pray for us now and at the hour of our death

…and pray for our nation, dear Mary, please pray for our nation, which is dedicated to your patronage under this very title of Immaculate Conception, and which is in perilous danger now, as well as is the world, if swift and decisive changes for the better are not made across the board, immediately! The world, and even parts of the Church are spinning out of control, and will result in catastrophe, if individuals do not con-vert, turn, and return to God!

 

Amen!

Nov 27 - First Sunday of Advent

+ I hope that one movie presentation still lives in the hearts and memories of many generations of men, women and children: And the movie is the Rodgers and Hammerstein blockbuster presentation of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. In the production, Mother Superior encourages soul-searching postulant Maria to search for her life, to “climb every mountain ‘til she finds her dream:” until she finds God’s will and is “intent on doing it with all her heart.” This Maria does and finds a life beyond anything she could have imagined.

 

Our first reading today invites us to “climb the Lord’s Mountain” to the heights of Zion – because from there we will hear instruction, and the word of peace that is to be proclaimed to all the nations – and that peace is none other than the coming Prince of Peace, Jesus the Lord.

 

Whenever we come into a church or a chapel we climb the mountain of the Lord – to hear his words of peace and encouragement, to be fed by his spiritual energy in sacramental form, so that we can come back down the mountain, go outside to our neighborhoods and live a changed life – for the good of ourselves, yes, but more importantly for the good of our families and every person we run across on any given day!

 

As we begin, once again,  the Advent season today: let us awake from sleep – let us be attentive to what we do in this place, even moreso this coming liturgical year – for our salvation – the completion of our salvation - is closer than it was last year -  and there is reliable prophetic information that the great Spiritual Reset, inaugurated by Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, whom we honored just last Sunday – may be truly close at hand.

 

Only God the Father knows when he wants us all to join him – in the meantime – let us never cease giving him glory and praise and thanks – in all that we think, say and do in our ordinary activities, because this is what he wants of us and this is what we will be doing when we get there anyway!

 

“How you solve a problem like Maria,” is to set her free to be what God intended for her to be all along; may we search for and find what God intends us to be all along – even before we experience the fullness of it in heaven!

 

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Nov 9 - Ded Bas St John Lateran

 Today we celebrate the feast of the oldest of the four major basilicas of Rome, St. John Lateran – whose official title is the Patriarchal Basilica of the Most Holy Savior and St. John the Baptist at the Lateran. It stands on the site of an ancient palace on the Celian Hill, which formerly belonged to the Laterani family.

 

The Lateran Basilica (not St. Peter’s) - originally known as the Church of Savior - is the pope’s cathedral church, in his primary role as Bishop of Rome. It is considered “the mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world.” Five ecumenical councils were held there (in 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215 and 1512-17). The emperor Constantine received the palace as part of his wife’s dowry and then donated it to the Church about the year 312. Thereafter, it was the official residence of the popes until their departure for Avignon, France, in 1309. This feast commemorates the original dedication of the basilica by Pope Sylvester I on November 9, 324.

 

Any church, cathedral or basilica is meant to be first, last and in all ways, “a house of prayer” – and that according to the desire and formulations of Jesus himself as we see in the gospel passage. They are to be “awesome” places – which stir up a sense of wonder and awe from the most humble and small of expressions to the largest and grandest.

 

 Above all, the faithful that gather there must reflect on the fact that the building they are in represents themselves as spiritual dwelling places for God – they themselves are God’s building, God’s temple, God’s church, with God dwelling in them in a much deeper way than he ever could in a compilation of stone, mortar and glass – beautiful though they may be.

 

And all of our church buildings are to represent and lead us to the most supreme awesome throne of God – where we will dwell in our spiritual home forever in Christ as One Body, One Temple, and One Church forever!

 

The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

Nov 6 - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ The liturgy, prayers and readings of today are brief and to the point: and their point is this: we do not know when the Lord will come, and so we must be ready all the time! Not the kind of sitting around kind of waiting, but the “keep doing what you have been taught all along” kind of waiting. In a sense it is like a test. Is all of this “Jesus stuff “and religious stuff real or not? If it is then, the final day will not be terrible for those who are faithful and faith-filled; and looking forward in hope to eternal peace with God: they shall not be disappointed. But, as the first reading tells us, those who just don’t want to buy into the program, those who think they know better than Jesus and his religion, those who think they will slip through the cracks and land somehow in the same eternity as everyone else: they are mistaken. There are consequences to our choices regarding Jesus and his Church – and they shall suffer theirs!

 

The terrible persecutions that Christ tells us his followers should expect will lead to one great thing: “to your giving testimony.”

 

That is: the ability to speak a word of Truth, and Contradiction, and Boldness that we do not prepare beforehand, that Jesus himself will give us, and that leave our adversaries powerless to resist is an irrefutable sign of the authority and majesty of Christ.

 

“The day is coming when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble.”

 

The words of urgency and truth and steadfast boldness of Jesus are what turn the wicked to stubble. Bur for those who fear God’s name, “there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” The Lord Jesus calls us to take very seriously his provident care of us: “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed,” but prepare for it to be blowing in the “winds of change and the coming of the Kingdom in its fullness!” Amen.

Nov 2 - Feast of All Souls

 + Pope Benedict XVI tells us: “I would go so far as to say that if there was no purgatory, then, we would have to invent it, for who would dare say of himself that he was able to stand directly before God. [and I add: “as is” at time of death!]

 

And yet we don’t want to be, to use an image from Scripture, ‘a pot that turned out wrong,’ that has to be thrown away; we want to be able to be “put right.” [or as I could say: “pot right”!]

 

Purgatory basically means that God can put the pieces back together again. That he can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with him and can stand there in the fullness of life.

 

Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed, and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being.”

 

I, to complement this message from Pope Benedict, have this to add: purgatory is an instantaneous process of becoming fully configured to the Christ of our Baptism, our Confirmation, our Eucharist – so that the deceased enters now fully into the communion of saints in heaven because he is so configured to Christ that the Father sees both Christ and the Person – this is what purgatory is the completion of a transformative process that actually is meant to take place our entire lives.

 

If we cooperate in our transformation through suffering in our lifetime – then our purgatorial process will be brief, if necessary at all.

Another point is that those in the purgatorial state – they cannot pray for themselves any longer – but we can pray for the completion of the process in them – and it counts very much.

 

How many souls will be released into heaven from purgatory by this very mass? It’s up to us, and our intention to free them! So let’s “free away!”

 

“Come, blest of my Father, enter into the joys of the Kingdom prepared for you!”

 

 

Aug 13 - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ This gospel passage always seems to surprise us: why would God-shalom, the God of Peace, say he has come not for peace but rather for division – to “stir things up,” using the language of Pope Francis. Well, that is exactly the point: in order for the people of God to break away from the mold of slavery that they insist on keeping themselves entrapped in, Jesus says: “Come on, let’s get with it! I wish that the purifying and purging power and fire of the Holy Spirit were blazing all over the earth. But I know that this cannot happen until I experience the fire of my Passion and Death for you people who are so loved by God.”

 

And so in the passage he is just inferring that there will be a lot of “stirring up” among family, friends, and co-workers, and school-mates!” Those who allow themselves to be “touched by God’s Spirit” – to be “set on fire” with Truth, and Love, and a Desire to Serve People – for no other reason than because they love God - will distance themselves from everyone else – and then the conflicts will begin. But it at this point that we must recall the other side of the coin: that the end result will be peace, real peace, the peace that Christ alone can bring and the world cannot give. If we keep our sights on that fact: then all the bickering and arguing and debating that will ensue will all be worth it!

 

In the second reading St Paul calls the goal-focusing: “keeping our eyes on the finishing line of the race of faith that we are running” – where Jesus is waiting to welcome us and reward us with a crown of glory!

 We are fortunate in our country that not many of us have to pay the ultimate price for witnessing to this faith, (but might I add “yet” – but a time of great spiritual turmoil and witness will be forthcoming),  but we are called upon to do it in maybe lesser but just as significant ways on a smaller scale: staying in there and rubbing shoulders with the ignorant and the overly educated, and poor and the reprobates who “just don’t seem to appreciate that we are trying to keep them on the One True Path, when they are obviously going astray),” is a martyrdom all its own.

 

God saved Jeremiah (of the first reading) from his narrow escapes with death many times – he will do the same for us: if we trust – and just do what he says, when he says it!

 

Amen! 

Aug 7 - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ Our gospel passage today is a continuation of last week’s passage about “storing up treasure!” The man in last week’s story that Jesus told, piled up his treasure in earthly storage bins, very large ones – thus thinking himself well-off, safe and “in good shape” for years to come. But God demanded his life that very night, asking – so now, you foolish man, who is all of this stored up wealth going to go to? The point was that we need to make our treasure where it matters most to God – and that is with him!

 

Today the theme continues: do not be afraid little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom – what an amazing treasure that is! Place your heart here, in mine, he says and your treasure will be secure not only through this life, but well into the next! No thief can reach it here, or moth destroy; the storage containers cannot wear out here!

 

“The one condition, however, to place your treasure here, in my heart, is complete and total detachment from the things of the world, so that you will have to live on complete and total trust in me: this trust is called faith: the faith of Abraham (of the second reading today). Abraham lives in my heart, and so can you!” [This does not mean that you cannot own things, but they must not own you, and you must be ready to give them up at a moment’s notice – to drop it all when the Lord calls you – (which as our gospel passage tells us can be any time at all) - so that you can reach out for your treasure with open hands and hearts in heaven! Closed fists clawing on material goods will not get anyone anywhere when the Bridegroom comes knocking on the door!]

 

God, you have chosen us to be your own possession, your own people, your own children! We are fortunate beyond all imagining having you as our Father! May we this day, and the days of the coming week: open our hands and our hearts and set our goal on seeing your Face one day, fix it there, keep it there – keep this desire above all other desires – so that we may not have anything at all to fear – in this life - or when the next one begins! And it would be remiss not to relate what the latest and current legitimate prophets and prophecies are telling – the time for the unveiling of the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth may be soon indeed!

 

I would also be remiss if I did not mention the very latest Eucharistic Miracle – a miracle regarding the Consecrated Host at Mass – on July 24, in Guadalajara Mexico, a large consecrated host display in a monstrance during Eucharistic Adoration began to visibly beat and show itself as a regular cardiac event of the left ventricle of the heart pumping blood out to the rest of a Body, His Bruised, Beaten and Traumatized heart as He hung from the Cross FOR US, AND FOR OUR SALVATION! And when we see Jesus we see the Father, and so if we see the living bread come down from heaven with a visibly beating heart, then we are also seeing the Father’s heart that was mentioned our readings today! And as we begin a 3 year study of what the Eucharist is all about, in all our Catholic churches throughout the world – perhaps, just perhaps, God set this dramatic and sublime miracle in play to GET OUR ATTENTION, TO TURN US AWAY FROM OURSELVES, WITH ALL OUR PREOCCUPATIONS WITH SELF, and TO TURN TO HIM – WHO IS OUR SALVATION – what would profit a person to be a self-centered, big-deal in this life, if he forfeits eternal life and happiness just because he did not activate the gift of faith that is given to everyone.

 

So when receiving the Eucharist today know exactly who, and what it is you are receiving and how much he loves YOU!! YOU!! YOU!! And wants his heart to literally beat inches from his, when you eat and when you swallow!

 

Praised be JESUS CHRIST, NOW AND FOREVER!

 

May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you!

Aug 1 - St. Alphonsus Liguori

+ One of the most holy bishops and doctors of the Western Church, St Alphonsus Liguori was born to nobility and its capricious lifestyle, but early in his adulthood he turned away from it and to religious life. A child prodigy, Alphonsus was extremely well educated, receiving doctorates in canon and civil law from the University of Naples by age 16. He had his own legal practice by age 21. He loved music and could play the harpsichord. He declined an arranged marriage, studied theology and was ordained a priest at age 29.

 

 Father Alphonsus was preacher and a home missioner around Naples, noted for his simple, clear, direct style of preaching and his gentle, understanding way in the confessional. He wrote on asceticism, theology and history; he was a master theologian. In 1732, Fr. Alphonsus founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Liguorians; Redemptorists) at Scala, Italy. (This, two years after founding a similar order for women).

 

It is no surprise that he was appointed bishop (diocese of Sant’Agata de’ Goti, Italy), by Pope Clement XIII in 1762. He worked there to reform the clergy and revitalize the faithful in a diocese with a bad reputation. He was afflicted with severe rheumatism, and often could barely move or raise his chin from his chest. In 1775 he resigned his see due to ill health, and went into what he thought would be a prayerful retirement. But there was a political issue with the royal government which claimed that the Redemptorists were covertly carrying on the work of the Jesuits who had been suppressed in 1773. Calling on his knowledge of the Congregation, his background in theology, and his skills as a lawyer, Alphonsus defended the Redemptorists so well that they obtained the king’s approval. Bishop Alphonsus lived to be 90 years old and now nearly blind knew that he had done what he vowed to do – never to waste a moment in working for God and his Church.

 

The gospel passage today talks about what happens to salt when it loses it flavor, it is good for nothing but to be trampled underfoot: St. Alphonsus in a way used this imagery to deal with a worldly minded priest, who resisted all attempts to change: ‘he summoned the priest to his study, and when the priest arrived he found a large crucifix laid on the threshold. When the priest hesitated to step in, Alphonsus quietly said “Come along, and be sure to trample it underfoot. It would not be the first time you have placed Our Lord beneath your feet.”

 

It seems at this day in our age of human history that many of the faithful who live and work in the social systems, societies of our day, in the secular realms, including the political and governing associations and the spiritual, the bishops, priests and other ministers have likewise, most in their extreme lackadaisical attitude – turn their backs on their consciences, thereby, disgracing their baptisms, confirmations and ordinations, thus trampling underfoot all the Christ Jesus did for our salvation – denying ordinary folks across the globe of the hope and daily sustenance that they need in mind, body, spirit.

 

Through the intercession of St. Alphonsus Liguori, let us pick up a copy of his stations of the cross – google it – and let us marvel at the love that God and Jesus had for us when we were yet still his enemies, and who are still his enemies on many fronts.

 

Dear friends, the world order is collapsing, the effectiveness of the One Church of God is disintegrating, we ourselves faces losses and changes that are irreversible – where is our hope, where is our refuge, where is our peace. IT IS IN THE IMAGE AND REALITY OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED! For God’s sake, for the sake of others, for our own sakes LET US LOOK UP TO IT AND LIVE!!!

 

St. Alphonsus Liguori died on August 1, 1787 at Norcera, Italy of natural causes and for his many writings and great spiritual classics (including his Stations of the Cross that became popular to Catholics everywhere in the 20^th century) he was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.

 

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

 

Jul 31 - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ The second reading today brings us our point of focus: if you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. And in the gospel passage Jesus tells a parable with the same punch line: don’t store up treasure for yourselves here below – but be rich in what matters to God – and store up heavenly treasures that will always be there for you.

 

Regarding the first: Paul is telling the Colossians that if they really, truly and honestly call themselves Christians and believe that when they were plunged into the baptismal waters, they died, and then coming up out of them, rose with him – then from that point on they should be seeing everything differently: beyond, over and above, super-naturally! This is how Christians are meant to see and hear, think and speak and act from that moment on. So he tells them to put to death the parts of them that are earthly – immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed that is idolatry. You have put on a new self – Christ’s self – so for the sake of God – live like it!

 

Then Jesus again in the gospel parable tells people to stop looking below, gathering and hoarding, and storing and hiding their goods and their possessions: you cannot take it with you: and what you hoard will be distributed in any number of ways that you most likely would not approve of: so stop building bigger barns, and go straight for the sky: consider your spiritual gifts and possessions as the most important: and keep your eyes of faith focused on them in heaven! It is really not that difficult: all it takes is the initial turning away from the vanity of thinking that there is always something more to get, purchase, buy, and negotiate for: then stop worrying – all things will work out in the end – so long as you tune in to the voice of the Lord, and the Spirit – and DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU – trying to live a supernatural life in a natural world!

 

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

 

Jul 11 - St. Benedict of Nursia

+ St. Benedict was born at Nursia, in central Italy in 480. He studied in Rome, but was soon disgusted with the rampant immorality that he saw there, and so he “headed for the hills:” he went up Mount Subiaco and lived in a cave there as a hermit for a year. Others found him, however, and asked to join him in his monastic observance: and so he set up 12 deaneries with 10 monks each. Soon though he left the region and went to Monte Cassino, near Naples, where he finished his Rule borrowing inspiration from Sts. Basil, John Cassian, and Augustine and other “monastic writers” of the times.

 

His Rule emphasized authority and obedience (modeled after the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Jesus), and stability and community life (the only way to progress in spiritual life is the given tension of life-together that is lasting, not just temporary and fleeting). The duties of the monk are to pray the Office and read complementary readings and texts; and manual labor. The flexibility of the Rule allowed it to be instrumental in shaping centers of scholarship, agriculture, medicine and hospitality.

 

 Benedict stayed at Monte Cassino for the rest of his life. Though never becoming a priest and not intending to even found a religious order, St. Benedict soon became known as the Father of Western Monasticism: sometimes your destiny has your name written all over it. St. Benedict is one of the most widely known saints in Church history, along with his sister St. Scholastica, who founded an order of nuns who followed his Rule. His patronage is of monks, of course, but also against the forces of evil and Pope Paul VI named him a patron saint of all of Europe. He died in 550 and was buried near his sister! In the year 2000 there were 8,000 Benedictine monks, and 7,000 Benedictine nuns and 10,000 active Benedictine Sisters.

 

The purpose and goal of the monastic life is to seek and find God (the Father), using the tools of poverty, humility and obedience – and then to do his holy will. The Benedictine way is a sure-fired way to do that – not only in a formal way by joining the Order proper, but there are thousands who belong in the Professed Oblate Program – and there are many other organizations and groupings that adhere to the chief tenets of the grand and glorious, tried, tested and true Rule of St. Benedict! [We are such an association – and we are thankful to Benedict, and for his Rule.]

 

Just as Jesus assures Peter (in the gospel passage) that he will receive a great deal for his sacrifice, the Lord assures us the same; and Peter received his reward because he did all for love of Jesus; may we do the same – armed by the mighty and ancient Holy Rule of the Saintly Patriarch of Nursia!

15th Sunday in ORdinary Time

+ Today we have magnificent summer readings. Jesus tells us quite plainly that we must treat others, especially the lowly, the poor and the sick with as much care and compassion that we can – giving from our want if necessary. What matters is people! What matters is our brothers and sister in the family of God that we belong to. What matters is loving concern.

 

When we hear this exhortation we just know that it is true; there is a little bell that it rings that only grows louder and louder, the more we try to ignore it. The people of Israel, in the time of Moses, had a difficult time with heavenly-attention-span, as much as this generation – and they kept on “searching high and low” for something that was not only “right in front of their noses,” but deep down inside their beings, in their hearts. GOD WROTE THE MESSAGE OF LOVE AND COMPASSION ON EVERYONE’S HEART so we would be sure to find it. The only problem is that he gave us free will and we can tell him “no thanks” – “leave me alone” - “I’d rather keep searching – at least I might have some kind of excuse for not being informed, if I just keep searching the skies, or looking across the seas (for what will never be found looking there.)”

 

Well, fortunately for those who were happy to have God’s law written in their hearts and tried to live out what they read there – God sent an example, a friend and redeemer THE PERFECT HUMAN BEING, who would TRANSFORM HUMANITY INTO DIVINITY – all for the price of death on a Cross for him and then resurrection; this DIVINE FRIEND is JESUS CHIRST, and belief and living a life of loving obedience and compassion after his example will win a place in heaven with him forever!

 

We have our choice today – use that free will – that precious gift given in order for us to lovingly and without constraint to seek and find God, and serve him with all our heart, being and strength – and others because of him – all others, whether we like them or not, whether they are of our clan or country-club set or not – we must be Good Samaritans – if we are to truly reflect the image of Christ to others! - or we will not reflect his image and we will bring disaster upon ourselves.

 

Where we will spend eternity depends on our answer!

 

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

So, to whom else can we go?

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ Our gospel passage today is a continuation from last week. Jesus is still resolutely making his way to Jerusalem. He is still determined to embrace the Cross of Calvary that will save so very many people, including you and me, if we want it, from eternal separation from God and punishment. He loves us so very much!

 

While on the way there, today, Jesus sends out into towns where he intends to visit on the trip, thirty-six pairs of helpers – whom he asked to courageously go among all kinds of people and announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand for them. “He’s coming! Get ready!” These helpers (these disciples) were to travel very lightly. They were to keep as their main focus their job, the task that Jesus gave them to do. They were to test the waters of their visitations by announcing peace. When peace is offered to someone – it pretty much speaks for itself. If a peaceful man hears the offer, he will accept it gladly and offer it back to you. If not, there will be a lot of mumbling and even cursing and the offer of peace will be thrown right back into the face of the giver.

 

Jesus is actually calling us to do as these disciples were called: follow him to Jerusalem, where we will have the privilege of witnessing God’s tremendous love for his people – by an unprecedented act of forgiveness, reconciliation and setting free – by means of the Cross. Later he would have us boast of the Cross of Christ as the sure hope of salvation for all in the world, but also he would have us carry our own crosses, boasting of them as well; for if we do not carry and boast about our own crosses – then we shall not share in the glory of the resurrection, the grace of forgiveness, the fullness of freedom, the fullness of peace forever!

 

God wants our hearts to rejoice because we feel so very much loved by him – even as a mother loves her children (I - Isaiah). We are his children – by baptism – and this is huge – this is our access point to so very many gifts, the greatest being faith and charity: belief in Jesus and the ability to love as he did with a love that emanates from the heart of God the Father himself.

 

Our greatest joy, our greatest freedom, then, is the freedom of the children of God! It is only as free children of God – operating on the supernatural level of faith and charity -- that we can even begin to understand how human life both individually and in community, the secular society, ought to be lived. In this we can see clearly how all natural law is based on and derivative of supernatural law. It cannot be otherwise. It is very difficult for a real Christian to live in the world – but no one ever said that it would be anything other than that. Jesus himself said it quite plainly: the world will hate you and persecute you if you believe in me and live by my brand of charity! In fact, unless the world does look askance at us, perhaps we are not as Christian as we ought to be.

 

Let the peace of Christ, then, control our hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in us richly! And may we be transformed by the renewal of our minds!

A New Direction for this Blog! LIFE IN THE TRINITY OF JOSEPH, MARY and JESUS

 For a while I will not be posting homilies - having posted to this point in my history nearly 3,000 of them in this blog - since the times in which we are living seem to be escalating into a level in many venues, disciplines and experiences to which we have not yet encountered anything like this in all of civilized history. 

There are many indications that perhaps we are deeper into the "end of the END TIMES" that has been promulgated since the Ascension of Jesus, and although Jesus himself does not know when the winding up of human history and indeed this history of the cosmos will be - just as Jesus was prophesied for centuries - so has the signs of the end of the end! And in my humble opinion, I think we are almost there.

And so, for however long it takes, I will be devoting my blog posts to the SIGNS OF THE TIMES and what they could be saying to us, day by day! 

I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide each and every word that I think, write and say - for your good and for your salvation, as well as my own! 

God Bless 

Mary, Joseph, Jesus PRAY FOR US! 

Father Bill

Mar 6 - 1st Sunday of Lent

+ Today we speak of the temptations of Jesus, which have a two-fold purpose: for Jesus: to clarify his mission for himself; and to make clear that what he does he does always “for us and for our salvation.” And so he is tempted in three major categories of pleasure, prestige and power, so that when we are tempted in similar ways he can indeed sympathize with us and give us abundant grace and help to deal with it. But before we even consider the temptations let us first consider the setting:

 

          - chronologically, Jesus had just been baptized by John in the Jordan the day before; he is marked out then and there for great things, and the favor of God, and his special relationship with God is pointed out, with the instruction for all of us to pay careful attention to Jesus from that moment on “Listen to Him!”;

 

          - next, it is the Holy Spirit, the same one who descended on Jesus at his Baptism (the very love between the Father and the Son) who leads Jesus into the desert for this forty-day period, of silence, solitude and stillness, which ended in great temptation: why would he do that? why would God lead God into human temptation? – because of free-will – Jesus, as one of us, humans, has to freely choose to be our Redeemer and Savior – or “it wouldn’t take” – and the whole project would have been ill-fated!

 

          - lastly, the temptations come at the end of the forty days; but the entire time was spent by Jesus wrestling with the forces of darkness, as we ourselves often do, in the darkness of our nights, and the terrors of our days – and he did not eat – and the phantoms and the terrors must have become more and more real and upsetting to him as time went on…

 

and so, at the end of the six-week period Jesus, already worn out by physical and spiritual warfare, has three more encounters to endure:

and Satan tempts him in three ways trying to divert him from his mission, from his goal, from the Cross by offering him easy way outs to the challenges set before him – and it comes down to an exchange of extremely important words that saves the day, dismisses Satan and summons angels to minister to Jesus:

 

when Satan makes truly tempting but hollow and godless offers to Jesus: he counters them by the use of Scripture (Old Testament Scripture) which Jesus had at the tip of his tongue: “One does not live on bread alone.” “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” and when even Satan quotes Scripture in one last-ditch attempt to capture his prey, Jesus asserts the one true reality: YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD, YOUR GOD, TO THE TEST.

         

at that point the devil left Jesus for a time (but yes he would be back – he always comes back to tempt the Lord and his flock) but Jesus has just taught us three great lesson here:

 

          - no one will deter me from my mission (nor should they us)

          - the word of God has the power to save one from the wiles of Satan

          - I am the Word of God – I am near you – I am IN YOU, listen to me, believe in me, learn my words, memorize them as I did the Scriptures of old, and you will always be safe from any attack that could come (just as I was); and you will be secure and well taken care of!

 

O Lord, as you were with our Fathers when they were in the wilderness, as you were with Jesus in his time in the desert, be also with us in our Lenten journey from confusion and darkness to truth, light and JOY!

 

The victory will be yours – you will reign – and we will reign with you - this we believe!

 

Amen!

Feb 27 - 8th Sunday in Ordinal Time

+ Our readings today are about speech, speaking, communication. Jesus makes it clear that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and not essentially from the mind, although the mind must interact with the heart to make its final proclamation. This sounds kind of illogical, but it is very true. We speak from the fullness of the heart, the overflowing well-spring of either good or bad intention and will. Things, situations, circumstances, propositions, ideas are either basically good or bad, productive of goodness and truth, or of badness and deceit and lies.

 

Yes, it seems more logical to believe what Jesus says.

 

And so, St. Paul in the second reading from the letter to the Corinthians tells them and us to be firm, steadfast, and always devoted to the good works of the Lord, knowing that in the end we will indeed be rewarded after the test and struggle of earthly life is over for us.

 

The first reading from the Book of Sirach tells us to be word-wise and wait for the speaker to speak before we praise him, for in his presentation he will reveal his true heart and mind.

 

It is so easy at times to spot the one whose heart is very lax, very confused, very cunning, very deceitful, and very malicious at the core. And sometimes these sit at the head of governments, which is a devastating reality.  We must pray for these souls, so that they can have their outside match their inside, if not for the smooth running of a family, a workplace, a school, a church community, a sports team, and governments. Enterprises must run on truth and good and beauty and justice.

 

Jesus is all these things in the flesh! Let us call on him who knows what it is like to live in a human body, to help us live in ours, while we are always vigilant to help others live in theirs, for the love of God and his ultimate plan for our astounding and unimagined happiness.

 

The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.

 

 

Feb 20 - 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ Our readings for Mass today are full to the brim with all kinds of imagery, innuendos, and instructions, being the continuation of last Sunday’s gospel passage of St. Luke’s version of St. Matthew’s great Sermon on the Mount. This last sentence just demonstrates the fullness, amplitude, and comprehensiveness of some very useful and helpful gospel imperatives: which all boils down this week to the Alleluia Verse before the Gospel:

 

I give you a new commandment (says the Lord):                                                  Love one another as I have loved you.

 

In this one sentence Jesus summarizes all of what came before him, and what proceeds after him: he provides and gives the foundation and moral sense that David employed in the first reading when he spares the life of King Saul, who was chasing after him with 3000 soldiers to kill him (seeing him as a threat to his Kingship) – David would be later chosen by God to replace Saul as King. But it was the heart of David that beat with the same love that God himself had, that will move God to choose David to be king, a man “after his own heart” – and so we see David’s goodness, kindness, and compassion in full array even at an early age.

 

This can be helpful to us, when, as sometimes happens, we finally get our “enemy-”of-sorts (if even those we make up in our own heads) into our grasp: sound asleep at our feet, with the “spear of justice” sitting right close at hand, and we follow the God-given impulse not to beat the daylights out of them (or even to kill them), but rather to have mercy on them, to show mercy with them, and to become mercy for them, in sparing that person’s life, be it literally or figuratively and symbolically.

 

In the second reading St. Paul tells the Corinthians that redemption for them means a kind of real and authentic incorporation of themselves into Jesus, who became the Second Adam – thus becoming spiritually generated children of God who become at the same time “assimilated into God’s mercy, compassion and forgiveness – just as Jesus always was.

 

And so, we need to bear our physical likening to Christ, as he bore ours and then rejoice that we do indeed have a share in the very mortality that he has come to transform into his own divinity and likeness, because he loved us and showed us mercy, compassion, and forgiveness.

 

In the gospel passage then, we see St. Luke “sermonizing” with a variety of suggestions, applications, and instructions on how we are to interact with one another lovingly from the heart – and not just half-heartedly like the pagans do sometimes. We are to allow ourselves to be moved to do for others what God has done for us: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you: this is going over and above bare minimums:

 

          Turn the other cheek, give your shirt and your coat to those who ask for just one thing, give without expecting repayment, give generously and overabundantly, because you will receive back an amount based on what you have given, and with the same motivation and willingness: for the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you!

 

And so, all these matters today can be tied in with and bound together with the reality that LOVE – self-sacrificial outpouring of yourself for the good of another DOES MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND – and that BEING FEARFUL and not willing to go out of your way for others for any number of reasons – MAKES THIS WORLD A MUCH DARKER, COLDER AND LESS INVITING PLACE than it can and ought to be!  

 

The Lord is kind and merciful! And so must we be so, that our joy knows no bounds and that we infect everyone we come into contact with, with love, hope and peace!