Education without God is an incomplete education. Religion without our relationship with Jesus is an empty set of rules and regulations.

 

FOURTH SUNDAY IN OT  A  2023

 

Today’s Gospel are taken from the beginning of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount – the oldest teaching of Jesus.  The Gospel Beatitudes are to shape our lives as the disciples of Jesus.  Further, they are to shape our life as a parish community.

 

The Gospel Beatitudes are to be the rule of our life. 

Jesus himself is the prime example of the Beatitudes in practice.  The blessings of the Beatitudes is how Jesus  lived His life.

The Beatitudes constitute a whole. They are eight aspects of Christian discipleship, the Jesus way of being human. There is a movement between the eight so that the full picture of the ideal human being unfolds gradually, one beatitude leading spontaneously to another, until we grasp the entire teaching in its complex harmony.

 

The first Beatitude:  Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.  As we poor in spirit, our lives are not exclusively focused on the dying and the rising of the Dow Jones.  Our lives are to be focused on the dying and the rising of Jesus.  There are many who build bigger barns for their surpluses, ignoring the Christian advice of St. Ambrose, who in the fifth century said that the place to store our surplus is in the mouths of the poor.

 

Jesus says we are to be poor in spirit.  That is, we are to acknowledge our radical dependence on God and place our trust in him. 

 

There is a story of a woman of AIDS.  She asked to be anointed by a priest.

 

“I am lost,” she told the priest.  There is no hope for me.  Even God has given up on me.”

 

The priest saw a framed picture of a pretty girl on the dresser. 

 

“Who is this?” he asked.  The woman brightened: “She is my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my life.” 

 

“And would you help her if she was in trouble, or made a mistake?  Would you forgive her?  Would you still love her?” 

 

“Of course, I would!”  cried the woman, “I would do anything for her!”

 

“Why do you ask such a question?  Because I want you to know,” said the priest, “that God has a picture of you on His dresser.”    He has that same love for you and more so than you have for your daughter.

 

Conversion happens when this woman experiences God’s love in her life. 

 

This too is the story of our conversion when we are in touch with God’s unconditional love for us.  The Beatitudes are to be read by people who have experienced conversion in their lives.

 

This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week in our parish and in our diocese.  To ask the question, what is the value of Catholic education? I strongly suggest that education without God is a radically incomplete education.  Further, religion without a relationship is just an empty set of rules and regulations. The Catholic identity of the education offered at St Joseph’s

School is for us to know God’s unconditional and unending love for us. In terms of the above story, of the woman dealing with AIDS, God has a picture of each of our students on His dresser.  There is a profound truth to this statement.

 

But as a people of faith, we need to experience the love of Jesus in our hearts.  We need to encounter the Lord. The purpose of faith formation at St Joseph’s School is to deepen our relationship with Jesus.

 

Each and every school day begins with prayer.  How important is this spiritual dimension of the educational process for your son or daughter?  How important is the gift of faith to our daily living.  Without question, we need to value the spiritual dimension of life.  We need to live lives filled with the blessings of the Beatitudes.

 

Let me also be clear that I highly value all our parish’s faith formation initiatives in which we form parishioners of all ages in the meaning of Christian discipleship.

 

 Today’s gospel is described by Pope Francis:  The Beatitudes are the new law of Christian discipleship. They highlight attitudes of the heart rather than just a set of rules to be followed.

We do not stay just with the words of Jesus. His life and teaching were a commentary on this sermon. Jesus invites us to watch how the sermon is lived out in his life. All the qualities – being poor in the spirit, able to mourn our losses and work for peace – are qualities of the human person. This is how we know our need for God, our need for each other. Even in his risen life he was the humble one who could listen to the doubts of his disciples and guide them to further faith, each in his or her own way.

The church is called to live these qualities, which lead us to the compassion of Jesus and to bring compassion in our lives.  Compassion and understanding come from listening deeply to others, especially their joys and sorrows.

Compassion also grows in prayer – by asking for it, and by watching the compassion of Jesus in his life.

Someone once said that ‘an ounce of compassion is worth a ton of exhortation.’ Marriage, friendship and family life are all enriched by the quality of compassionate listening.

 

 

 

 

Again, the value of St Joseph’s School is not just knowing about the words of Jesus.  It is the living out the actions of Jesus.  That each student is loved, is listened, and is call to grow after the mind and heart of Jesus.

At St Joseph’s School, more that learning strategies of how to deal with bullying in school, rather our students learn the Gospel way of living in which we love and respect each and every student.

 

 

The first Beatitude:  Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.  As we poor in spirit, our lives are not exclusively focused on the dying and the rising of the Dow Jones.  Our lives are to be focused on the dying and the rising of Jesus.  There are many who build bigger barns for their surpluses, ignoring the Christian advice of St. Ambrose, who in the fifth century said that the place to store our surplus is in the mouths of the poor.

 

Have a Blessed Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the day of our Baptism, we receive the life of Christ Jesus.

 

 

Second Sunday of OT  A  2023

 

With this Sunday, we begin the Ordinary Time of the Church Year.  In the Liturgical cycle of year A, we focus on the Gospel of Matthew.  But you will notice today’s Gospel is from the Gospel of John.  The second Sunday of the Church Year is always from John’s Gospel.  At the beginning of the Ordinary Time, the Church in beginning with John’s Gospel wants to orient us with a brief vision of the broader mission of Jesus.  The ultimate mission of Jesus is his passion and resurrection which is symbolized in Jesus as the Lamb of God.  We are also given a moment for us to reflect on the meaning of our own baptism and what it means to be baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

As I mentioned, the Church begins with John’s Gospel to orient us to the broader mission of Jesus, the ultimate destiny of his passion-resurrection and also to challenge us to live out in daily discipleship the meaning of being baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 

We need to remember our baptism.  Remember your baptism.    It was such an important moment in your journey of faith.

 

For me, my mom and dad, presumably with my older brother and sister brought me to Our Lady of Good Counsel on April 12, 1942. along with my godparents.  I was less than three weeks old.  Father Nolan who was the associate priest at Our Lady of Good Counsel at the time baptized me in a simple ceremony on Sunday afternoon.  As it happens, my mom and dad, the priest who baptized me, my god parents, and my older brother and sister are all deceased. But the grace and the meaning of my baptism is what still enlivens my spirit to this day.

 

In the waters of baptism, I received the life of Christ Jesus.  The words spoken to Jesus from his heavenly Father on the day of his baptism were also spoken to me by God the Father:  “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.  In baptism, I became God’s beloved; I was welcomed into the Church; I became a member of the Community of the Baptized; and I was given a sharing in the mission of Jesus to witness to the love of Jesus to one and all.

 

My first encounter with Jesus was at God’s initiative.  I was the recipient of the unconditional love of Jesus long before reaching the age of reason.  I was created by God, for God.  Understanding the grace and the truth of my baptism and realizing its meaning takes a long time, even a lifetime.  80 years later, I am still seeking to experience more fully the love of God that has continuously been given to me since the moment of my baptism.

 

Today’s first Scripture reading emphasizes that God has first recognized us.  From the first Scripture reading from the prophet Isaiah:  “I, the Lord, have called you.  I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you as a covenant of the people; a light for the nations.”

 

God has first loved us.

 

On the day of my First Communion, the day of Confirmation, the day I was ordained a priest 54 years ago, each time I celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, each time I celebrate the Eucharist, I deepen the life of Christ Jesus that I first received on April 12, 1942. on the day of my baptism.

 

It was my parents who made the decision for me to be baptized but with each sacrament I celebrate it is I who confirm the commitment to my discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Who am I?  I am a child of God.  I am God’s beloved son.  I am a member of the community of the baptized as a Catholic.  I am missioned to proclaim and witness God’s love in the community in which I live.

 

I am also an ordained priest that further identifies the mission that I was given at baptism, but I would be quick to say we share much in common as respond to the question WHO AM I?

 

The identity we all share in baptism is huge.  We are God’s beloved; we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus; and we all given the mission to witness to the mission of Jesus, to witness to the love of God in the world.

 

As we remember the Baptism of Jesus, may we also remember our own baptism.  Even more important, as a community of the baptized, may we missioned to witness to the love of Jesus in all that we say and do.

 

 

 Today’s Gospel speaks of recognition, faith-filled recognition -- recognizing the presence of Jesus in our midst.  John the Baptist affirms his recognition of Jesus:  “I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”  At what level do you recognize Jesus in our lives?  Do we call Jesus by name?  In what situations do we recognize Jesus?  My hunch is that in some situations we recognize Jesus and in other situations we do not recognize His presence.

 

Do we recognize the presence of Jesus in the mystery of the Eucharist we are now celebrating?   Will we recognize the presence of Jesus at our family dinner table today?  Do we recognize the presence of Jesus in whatever I am stressed out about today?  Do I recognize the presence of Jesus in the poor and the immigrants who need my help?

 

As we pray over today’s Gospel, we prayerfully ask how we recognize Jesus who is always present to us, and how do we, like John the Baptist, enable others to recognize Christ?

 

Indeed we are missioned to be John the Baptist in pointing out the presence of Christ to others.  Parents, it is your profound responsibility to help your children recognize the presence of Christ in good times and in bad.  As parishioners, we are missioned to reveal the presence of Christ to each other and to our community and in our world.  We ask for the grace to be John the Baptist for others.

 

Have a Blessed Day.

 

 

My hunch is that the Lord is placing a star in our life on this Epiphany day.

 

EPIPHANY 2023

“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews saying, ‘we saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’”

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, may the story of the Epiphany be our story as well.  We are today’s magi who come to discover and encounter the Christ child.

The magi symbolize what is restless in the human spirt seeking for a greater depth of meaning and purpose in life.  They left behind what was comfortable and safe and took considerable risk in traveling to another country in search of the Lord.  The magi speak to our restless human spirit seeking to discover the spiritual meaning and longing for that which ultimately satisfies us.

May each of us be in touch with our restless human spirit that is looking for something more in our spiritual journey.  How is the Lord calling us to move beyond our comfort zone and follow a star that will lead us to that deeper relationship with Jesus that we seek?  The grace of Epiphany invites to come to know Jesus in a deeper relationship.

The magi come to the Lord bearing gifts.  In our epiphany story, what gifts do we bring to the Lord?  Much more that gold, frankincense, and myrrh, do we bring and give and share the best instincts of the human spirit:  do we give our love to the Lord, our joy, our compassion?  Do we give our very lives over the Lord?  Is it more important for us to give, rather than to take in our day to day living?

My hunch is that the Lord is placing a star in our life on this Epiphany Day that we are to follow.  That star may not be in the sky but possibly be the star that is in the heart of someone you are called to love and to help and to serve.  That star may be in the hearts of the poor who we are called to reach out to.

The star in our life, strange as it may seem, may be a struggle, a loss, a disappointment we have experienced.  The grace of this experience may make us realize that we are not fully in control of our lives; this star event may lead us to trust more fully in the hand of God for our lives.

 

 

 

Please note the sharp contrast between the Magi and King Herod in the Epiphany Gospel.   Herod sees the promised child as a threat. He is afraid the coming baby will crimp his style, will challenge his power and lower his status.

The Magi see the promised child as wonderful gift. They have humbled themselves to travel a great distance to a strange culture that speaks a different language, in order to embrace this baby who fulfills God's love.

Herod’s selfishness fueled by his fears leads to his downfall. The Magi's worship of the Christ child leads to the salvation of all the nations. Today more than two billion people call themselves Christians, in some way the result of the humility and the seeking spirit of the Magi.

We see the hostility of King Herod to the notion that he would have a rival to his kingship.  Moved by jealousy, he hatched a murderous plot that was foiled by the non-cooperation of the magi.

Before we simply reject the treachery of Herod, we need to acknowledge that there is a Herod within each of us that keeps from following Christ more fully.  What are the demons within us that make more self-centered than Christ-centered?  How radically do I share with those in need?  What keeps me from listening more fully to another’s point of view?  Do I make time for God in the way that I live?

Yes, we all need to confess that we are sinners, and there is a bit of King Herod in all of us.  But thanks be to God, the Bethlehem infant has come to be our Savior and Lord.  We seek the grace of allowing ourselves to be loved by the Christ child.

In our discipleship of the Lord Jesus, we are the magi – seeking to encounter the Lord Jesus more fully in our lives.  In seeking to encounter the Christ child, we come to a universal truth that brings great promise to us all.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s revealed that there no outsiders at the Bethlehem crib.  There was no racism.  All were welcome.  Jesus welcomed everyone – the ox and the ass, the shepherds and magi, poor and rich, the Jews and Gentiles.  He came for us all.  He would reject no one, as he would accept the unique gifts of each.  As we pray over this epiphany account, we too are to affirm that are no outsiders in our Church and in our world.  All are welcome.  We are to love our neighbor, no exceptions.

The magi did not come to the Bethlehem empty handed.  The Gospel tells us:  they opened their treasures.  Like the magi, each of us has a treasure to offer the Christ.  The prayerful question we should ask ourselves this Sunday is:  What is it?  What do we have to give?

Notice well, the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they departed for their country by another way.  Of course, they would return by another route.  Their lives have been changed by their encounter with Jesus.  May we too with God’s grace have our lives changed by our encounter with Jesus.  We cannot go back to our old way of living -- with our fears, our anxieties, our addictions, our grudges, our pettiness.  We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

A final thought: in the Christmas mystery it is not just the magi who are seekers.  God is a seeker.  We are sought by a God who has become one of us and who hunts us down with His love.  In the Epiphany mystery, we need to allow ourselves to be found by the love of the Christ child.

Have a Blessed Epiphany Day.

 

 

 

 

The life of Jesus begins with Mary at the Bethlehem crib. Therefore, it is most appropriate that we begin this New Year with the Feast of Mary.

 

New Year’s Day  2023

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

The life of Jesus begins with Mary at the Bethlehem crib.  Therefore, it is most appropriate we begin the New Year with a Feast of Mary – Mary the Mother of God.

 

As a people of faith, we gather on this New Year’s Day to honor Mary, the great woman of faith.  We are told, once again, how she used time -- to treasure and reflect in her heart all that God had done for her and how God was giving direction to her life.  Her example should speak to us, for we also need to take the time to treasure and reflect within our own hearts what God is doing and what God is calling us to do.

We listen best when we make the effort to go to that quiet place to hear God speaking to us.  We take the side of God in the battle between hope and fear, between light and darkness.

 

There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.  We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her.  With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy Word.”

Can we with Mary speak these words at the beginning of 2023:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your word.”

In contrast to the usual frenzy of our celebrations on New Years’ Eve, Mary pondered in silence and stillness in the Bethlehem crib.  “Mary kept all these things, pondering on them in her heart.”  Her heart becomes the place of discovering Jesus, and who He truly is.

May we too ponder in our hearts who that child now born to us really is. To ponder means more than thinking, organizing, worrying, doing, procrastinating, scurrying, etc.  To ponder means that we pray with a faith-filled heart over the joys and the struggles and challenges of the day.  It means to meditate, quiet down and know we are surrounded by God’s unending love.  We give thanks for the blessings of the day.  May we commit ourselves again to imitating her openness to God’s will and her love for Christ and His Church.

 As Mary spent her life pondering the visible Word of God that was and is her Son, we too must ponder that Word in scripture, that Word in each other, that Word in the created world around us.  We too are asked to incarnate Jesus in our lives.

As we begin 2023, we ask for the grace to use the gift of time that is given in this New Year.  As we name our resolutions for the New Year, we get sense of how we wish to use the gift and what are our priorities for the year.

 

For myself, I hope to part with a few more pounds this year, to spend more time with family and friends, to live more fully with an attitude of gratitude, and to spend more time with the Lord in quiet prayer.

These are noble goals, are they not. 

Our resolutions are filled with our dreams and hopes and goals for the coming year.  But the question that the Scriptures today invite us to reflect on is:  What is God’s plan for us this year?  Instead of focusing on our resolutions for the New Year, may we be open to God’s resolutions for us this year.

This is such a fundamental spiritual conversion the Scriptures call us to.  How do we become more aware of God’s plan for us in 2023?  Instead of naming my resolutions for the coming year, I seek to listen to God’s resolutions for me this coming year.

Reflecting on the Christmas mystery, imagine yourself as the inn keeper who decides if there is room in the inn of your heart for Jesus?  I invite you to ponder this resolution question again and again in 2023?  Does the way I live my life reflect there is room for Jesus within me.

Do I make time for daily prayer?  Is there is room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I am too busy to pray even for a few minutes each day?

Do I have time to be present to my family, to friends, to neighbors?  Is there room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I am too busy to be present and really listen to people?

Do I use and share the God-given talents and resources that I have to serve and minister in the lives of others?  Is there in the inn of my heart to serve Jesus as HE is discovered in the lives of those around us?

How do I make a difference in the lives of the poor and people in need both in our community and in our world?  Is there room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I do not reach out in service to people in need?

There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.  We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her.  With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy Word.”

May the blessing that the Lord said to Moses be the blessing the Lord speaks to each of us:

 

The Lord bless and keep you.

The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.

 

Have a blessed day and a blessed New Year.