We are called to turn our lives over to the Lord. We seek to discover Jesus in both the green pastures and the dark valleys of life.

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:  “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

We have just heard the first words Jesus speaks in Mark’s Gospel:  It’s time! The kingdom is here!  Repent and believe!  With this Gospel we have the beginning of the proclamation of the Good News in Mark.  Jesus is portrayed as discerning that the time is right for people to respond to the preaching of the kingdom.  It’s time for God’s definitive revelation of who God is in the person of Jesus; it’s time to let the world know once and for all that God loves this world; it’s time that God is defined by mercy and compassion.

The kingdom of God is at hand.  What are the conditions for entry into the kingdom?  Repent and believe the Good News.

Having announced that the kingdom is here and stated the conditions for belonging, Jesus begins the work of spreading the kingdom.  He begins to gather disciples.  In this liturgy, Jesus continues to call and gather his disciples -- you and I.  To follow Jesus is to not only listen and agree with his message, but to be willing to work with others he has called to build the kingdom.  Mark preached his gospel to help us know who we are as a people — those who have chosen to become one with Jesus in baptism; he did not imagine that he was writing down merely wise religious sayings.

For us as we respond to the call of God in our lives, our discipleship of the Lord Jesus involves responding to the call to be in community, to be Church.

The radical response of the two sets of brothers shows something of what is intended, they leave their nets and they follow. Peter and Andrew were grown men who were in the fishing business.  They experienced God’s call and immediately dropped everything, left their business, and followed Jesus.  The road they are taking will bring them to places they never imagined and will show them that following Jesus is a constant challenge to put themselves entirely into God’s hands.

How are we to pray over the radical response of the first disciples – they simply left their nets and followed Jesus – is to reflect on our Gospel commitment!  How does my commitment to follow Jesus and your commitment to follow Jesus compare with the radical response of the first disciples?

As disciples, we are called to turn our lives over to the Lord.  We seek to discover Jesus in both the green pastures and the dark valleys of life.  As a Spirit-filled people, we are consecrated to share ourselves in the service of others.

This is what the spirituality of stewardship is all about.  As disciples, stewardship becomes a way of life for us.

As we celebrate Stewardship Commitment Sunday today and invite you to place your pledge in the second collection today, we invite you to consider how the first disciples responded to the call of God.   Their sense of stewardship is an example for us to making God first in our lives.  If you did not bring your commitment card with you today, all is not lost as the ushers will make available to you extra commitment cards.

Our stewardship of treasure is not the only way we are called to discipleship but it is an important means of our willingness to turn over to the Lord.   If you are able to increase your giving, join me in making our commitment for our parish ministries to continue to grow.  If your commitment stays at the same level, thank you for that as well.  In all cases, we are grateful for your generosity.

Today we are blessed to have a fellow parishioner Barb Babiarz give a witness to how she lives a spirituality of stewardship in her life.

What we have is only on loan to us. Our life in Christ calls out of our comfort zone and to enter into the mission and ministry of Jesus.

As we celebrate the Word of God that has been proclaimed to us, God is calling the prophet Samuel, the first apostles Andrew and Peter, and you and I.  Yes, the call of God is given to us as surely as it was given to Samuel and Andrew and Peter.  The call of God, our vocation, is given to each and every one of us.  

I invite you to listen again to the dialogue of Jesus with the first disciples.  Jesus, sensing that two people were following him, asked:  “What are you looking for?”  They responded:  “Rabbi, where do you live.”  Jesus simply responds:  “Come and See.”

This call of the first disciples invites us to reflect on the call of God in our own lives.  Indeed, Jesus asks us what are we looking for?   May we too respond:  Master, where do you live?  What are you all about?  Then we receive the invitation to COME AND SEE.

I would like to ask you rhetorically this question for your prayerful reflection:  “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?  Do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior?”  If this is a puzzling question for you, I don’t blame you.  This is an unusual Catholic question.  This typically is a question evangelicals ask of each other.  Catholics, on the other hand, are called to live a life of morality, of responsibility, of a Gospel way of living.  To do the right thing.

But the invitation given to the first disciples is to COME AND SEE.  Come and See what life will be like when lived in relationship with Jesus and in relationship with the all the disciples of Jesus.  Come and See if the Gospel stories connect with your spirit and your way of looking at life.  Come and See if your relationships in the Church – the disciples of Jesus – allow you to love and be loved in life-giving ways.  Our relationship with Jesus to which we are called demands an adult commitment to discipleship.  We are to embark on our journey of faith.  All of our actions are to flow out of our relationship with God.

 As we ready ourselves to celebrate Stewardship Commitment Sunday next weekend , Jesus is inviting to Come and See if we can embrace a spirituality of stewardship as part of our discipleship of Christ Jesus.

What is the spirituality of stewardship all about?  Very simply, the Lord calls us to share what we have been given in the service of others.  This is how Jesus lived his life.  Jesus invites to Come and See if we too can die to self-centeredness and live an other-centered life to help others.  Stewardship is central to a Gospel way of living.

The way we live a God-centered life is when we live our lives as Jesus did.  The call to discipleship is the call to Come and See what it means to share in the mission and the ministry of Jesus.  The compassion of Jesus, the unconditional love for Jesus for all, His willingness to forgive – even those who have betrayed him, His willing to lay his life in the service of others --- all of this is what Jesus invited his first disciples to COME AND SEE.

So we ask ourselves, does our spirituality have to invade the way we spend our hear-earned money?  Isn’t it enough to pray and keep the rules with a life of morality?  We need to hear this part of our relationship with Jesus.   How we use the money in our wallet or in our purse is an essential part of our spirituality.  In fact, there is no area of your life that is excluded from our spirituality.

Our stewardship of treasure is our opportunity to share what we have been given with others.  May we always be mindful of the words of Jesus:  “As often as you have done this to the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done to me.”

Personally, I intend as I have done in other years to increase my financial offering to the parish in handing in my stewardship commitment pledge card.  While you do not see me dropping my envelope in the collection basket, I assure you I give electronically each and every month in the support of our parish ministries.  I don’t say this to impress you.  I am just aware I need to walk my talk and seek to live my life in gratitude for God’s many, many blessings.

Further on a personal note, I have no intention to retire as the pastor of St. Joseph’s.  There is nothing I would rather do than serve as your pastor.

What I have said before is a strong conviction of mine.  You will never regret being generous.  You have received in the mail a pledge card in which we ask that you place it in the second collection next weekend on Stewardship Commitment Sunday.

I suggest that today’s Scripture readings alert us to the ways we can recognize the call of God in our lives.  The first Scripture reading describes the call of God in the life of Samuel.  “Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was.  The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”  Samuel ran to Eli and said: “Here I am. You called me.”  “I did not call you,” Eli said.  “Go back to sleep.”  This happened three times. Then Eli understood the Lord was calling the young Samuel.  He then told Samuel to go to sleep and the next time he was to reply:  “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

We too need people to recognize the call of God in our lives.  Who for you is the prophet Eli who helps you to recognize the call of God in your life?  I would love for us to have a dialogue on identifying the soul friends in our lives who have raised our awareness of the presence in our lives.

I firmly believe in the connection in how we respond to the call of God in our life, in the way we are invited to COME AND SEE what discipleship of the Lord Jesus is all about and the spirituality of stewardship.  We are called to be good stewards of the giftedness we have been given.  What we have is only on loan to us.  Our life in Christ calls us to let go of our comfort zones and to enter into the mission and ministry of Jesus – giving our time, talent, and treasure for the building of the Body of Christ.

Have a blessed day.

---

 [JS1]

We don't need to go to the Bethlehem crib to discover the Christ child; we only need to look to the neighbor next door.

“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?’”

That is the Epiphany question for the magi and for ourselves as well:  Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  Where?  The Christmas mystery is that the power of God is revealed through a baby.  The Lord of the universe is revealed in the infant of Bethlehem.

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the Good News of the birth of Jesus "breaking out" beyond the boundaries of Israel, and being made known to all the peoples of the world - to every tribe, and tongue and people and nation. So, we celebrate the Savior who comes to the Gentiles. This is symbolized by the three wise men, who came from the East to welcome and worship Him.

"Epiphany" - means "revealed". But what is it, exactly, that is revealed to the magi?

         

-- It's revealed that God loves all human beings, not just one kind.

- It's revealed that God has a plan to save us from the dead end of sin and selfishness, and love us back from the brink of hatred, jealousy, and greed that threatens to destroy us.

- It's revealed that God chose to do this through a small, humble and unassuming family from a poor neighborhood so that the poor and the rich could recognize the love at the heart of this world-transforming event.

 -It’s revealed that there were 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.

Notice the stark contrast between the Magi kings and Herod the king: Herod sees the promised child as a threat. He's 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've 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 leads to the salvation of all the nations. Today more than 2 billion people call themselves Christians, in large part because of the humility of these three kings.

The gift of eternal life is offered to the peoples of the world through the birth a child.

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, may the story of the Epiphany be our story as well.  Like the magi, we are seekers searching for an encounter with the Lord, a deeper relationship with Jesus in 2018.  Let us respond to the deeper meaning of this Feast by participating in the ongoing epiphany, the ongoing revealing, of God's love and light to a world desperately stands in need of redemption.

The magi did not come to the Bethlehem crib empty handed.  The gospel tells us: “They opened their treasures.”  Like the magi, each of us has a treasure to offer

Christ.  The prayerful question we should ask ourselves this Sunday is: what is it? What do we have to give?

 The magi presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child.  What gifts do we offer to the Christ child?  Our gifts are not gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Rather, our gifts are our time, talent, and treasure that we offer as good stewards of the giftedness that God has blessed us with.

I invite you to see the connection between stewardship and the meaning of the Epiphany event.  The magi were overjoyed at arriving at the Bethlehem crib and offered their gifts.  So too, for us, when we are overjoyed in encountering the Lord, we are led to share from our giftedness in the service of one another.  For us we don’t need to go to the Bethlehem crib to discover the Christ child; we need only to look to the neighbor next door.  How much and how often are we to give?   As long as our God continues to share his unending love with us, that is how long we are to continue to give in the service of one another.  Period.  End of the story.

Like Zacchaeus in the Gospel account, when we know how much we are loved and forgiven and healed by our God, we never regret our generosity that is given in praise of God and in the service of one another.

Please note well in the Christmas mystery that 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.

The spirituality of stewardship is all contained in the beautiful Epiphany account.  As you fill out your stewardship commitment card and place it in the collection basket, see yourself as the magi who are seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus.  The magi were givers, not taker; they reached out to others; and they were not self-absorbed.   It is in giving that you receive.

In the Christmas-Epiphany mystery, God has become man in Christ for to share his life and love for our salvation.  Our spirituality is a response to God’s love for us.  We gather thankful for our blessings.  We live life with an attitude of gratitude.  We gather also knowing that love is the first requirement of a disciple of Jesus.  We share our love as we share our treasure in praise of God and in the service of one another.    In a spiritualityof stewardship, like the magi, we are givers, not takers.  We do not encounter the Lord empty-handed.  We share our treasure with the Lord and with the Church.

As we place our stewardship cards in the second collection today, may we like the magi share our treasures as we encounter the Lord in this mystery of the Eucharist.

Have a blessed day.

Instead of focusing of my goals for 2018, may I be open to God's plan for me in 2018.

NEW YEARS DAY  2018

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.

It’s the time of year when we roll out the old and bring in the new.  It’s the time for making new resolutions, new promises to ourselves.  We resolve to devote more time to family life; we resolve to work more efficiently; and we decide to become healthier by dieting and exercising.

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 are 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 2018?  Instead of naming my resolutions for the coming year, I seek to listen to God’s resolutions for me this coming year.

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 2018:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your word.”

In contrast to the frenzy of our celebrations on New Years’ Eve, Mary pondered in silence and stillness in the Bethlehem crib.  “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

Mary pondered and wondered and discerned about all that had puzzled her in the message of the angels and in the gifts of the magi.  Yes, there was uncertainty and questions for Mary and Joseph as they pondered the messages given to them about their Son.  But her uncertainty about the messages given to her by the shepherds and the Magi did not keep her from reflecting and pondering about God’s plan for her life. 

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.

If we want to celebrate Christmas as Mary did, we need to ponder this sign:  the frail simplicity of a tiny newborn child, the meekness with which he is placed in a manger, the tender affection with which he is wrapped in his swaddling clothes.  This is where God is.

What Mary pondered reveals a Gospel paradox.  The Gospel speaks of the emperor, the governor, the high and mighty of those times, yet God does not make himself present there.  He appears not in the splendor of a royal palace, but in the poverty of a stable; not in pomp and show, but in simplicity of life; not in power, but astonishing smallness.  In order to meet him, we need to go where he is.  We need to bow down, to humble ourselves, to make ourselves small.  The newborn Child challenges us.  We need to discover in the simplicity of the divine Child the peace, joy and the luminous meaning of life.

Jesus enters our life to give us His life; He comes into our world to give us His love.  In 2018 through the intercession of Mary, may we be challenged and called by Jesus.  Let us draw close to God who draws close to us.  Let us pause to gaze upon the crib, and relive in our imagination the birth of Jesus: light and peace, dire poverty and rejection.  With the shepherds, let us enter into the real Christmas, bringing to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds, our sins.  Then, in Jesus, we will enjoy the taste of the true spirit of Christmas:  the beauty of being loved by God.  With Mary and Joseph, let us pause before the manger, before Jesus who is born as bread for my life.

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.

Our faith life revolves around how we relate to others -- especially those closest to us: our family

God broke the silence of the centuries to reveal himself to us in the helpless infant of Bethlehem.  The power of God is revealed through a baby.  This is the Christmas mystery.

 As we continue the Christmas season in celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family, the Evangelist Luke tells the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph – not as individuals, but as a family.  The dawning of our salvation is revealed to us in the context of family life.  This is such an important dimension of the Christmas mystery.  This family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the holy family.  As we ponder the Scriptures today, we reflect on our own family life as well.  The message is that our family is a holy family.  We need to claim who we are.

One of the most difficult things for some Catholics to admit is that no Christian biblical author seems to suggest that the contemplative life is the ideal way to live one’s faith.  This is not to say that the contemplative lifestyle is not valid, but we see in both OT and the NT that our faith revolves around we relate to others.  Thought our relationship with God is always a first priority, the first step in forming that relationship is to connect with the people around – especially those closest to us: our family.

It is in family that we live our faith.  It is in our family we discover our holiness.  Our faith is interwoven, for better or for worse, with our family life.

There is a special presence of God in the family.   In the love that is such a beautiful part of family, God is present.  In fact, God is present in all aspects of family life.

God isn’t very fussy!!!  This is such an important dimension of who God is.  God is not fussy.   God isn’t very fussy where He lives and moves and has His being.  God desires to be part of our wonderfully imperfect family.

As we know, family life is very varied:  divorced and separated parents, gay parents, widowed parents.  All are welcome.  While all are welcome the church does clearly and unmistakably propose that the family of mother and father is the most beautiful expression of the sacrament of marriage.

No matter what stresses there are in family life – the sacrament of marriage promises the help of God and the faith community.

The church encourages family prayer, like visiting the crib.  The Gospel today is about the life of Jesus growing in humanity and wisdom in his family life.  He was brought to the temple.  Mary and Joseph taught him to pray.  May the prayer of Mary and Joseph help us in our family life.  Bless us, O Lord, with the joy of love, and strengthen all families in your loving care.

f Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Temple.  There they encountered the elderly Simeon and Anna.  They were like grandparents in this moving story.

Simeon teaches us how to grow old.  He lives in the light of the Word of God. For this reason, even though he realizes that his days are coming to an end, he does not fear death.  He is happy and asks the Lord to welcome him into His peace.

Simeon took the child from the arms of his parent.  This moving scene depicts the task of transmitting the faith within each family.  They hand it on to their children and grandchildren.

May I suggest what I believe to be a profound truth in family life.  In families where there is not an elderly person, life can, at times, be easier.  But they also may be missing the wisdom of our elderly.  The eyes and the hearts of our elderly teach us faith and the real meaning of life.

In the Gospel, Simeon speaks the words of much faith and wisdom:  “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

As I said that where there is not an elderly person in a family, life can seem to be easier but so much love and wisdom can also be missing.

So too, in having another child.  My niece Emily and her husband Josh have welcomed into their family their fifth child.  Their infant Taylor Mae may keep them from doing some beautiful outdoor events as a family.  There life might be more convenient in some ways without a fifth child.  But the love this child brings into their family life is simply priceless.   There is nothing more important than the precious gift of love we receive from our children.

But at the end of the day, your family is not meant to be anyone else’s family life.  God’s plan for your family is to be exactly who you are.  Your particular family dynamic is not an accident; it is by God’s design you are who you are. 

God is present in your family life – with its joys, with its challenges, with its beauty and with its messiness.

Further, may we commit ourselves as a Church to reach out beyond our own family life.  May we be about finding solutions to homelessness and poverty in family life.  We need to be aware of the stresses of other people’s family life, to understand them and find funding for caring for them, especially children.

Yes, family life is always a challenge.  Our religious ancestors had advice about how to make it work.  Family life in the Bible is both difficult and grace filled.  Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him and then decided instead to sell him into slavery, but their reunion years later is among the most touching scenes in the Bible. 

In the first Scripture reading, Abraham and Sarah saw the birth of their son Isaac as the culmination of their own faith in God’s promise.  Isaac’s birth proved that God was alive and at work in the world.

Many of us might have difficulty finding such grace in our own families.  We may think of our own family as being so different from the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  But they, like us, struggled to understand what they were being called to.  We are more alike than we think.

Today’s feast reminds us to seek God’s love anew through our loved ones in our own family.  It may be hard to spot at times.  The key to finding God in our family is for us to find God in our own lives.  God is within us and God is with us in our family life.

Lord God, we ask for the spiritual sightedness to recognize your presence in each and every family relationship we are gifted with.

Have a blessed day.

In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. We are missioned to be the bearers to the keepers of the mystery of Christmas.

The first Scripture reading from the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light:  upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.  You have brought abundant joy and great rejoicing.”

This is a wonderful, wonderful way of describing the Christmas mystery.  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel  -- not just a temporary flicker but an eternal flame.   We are indeed a people who wait in joyful hope not because the darkness is over, but because the Light is with us now, and the Light will overcome the darkness.

I see darkness in the halls of Congress where there is a distinct lack of dialogue and honest listening to one another. I see darkness when we cannot trust one another and instead we fear for our safety and security; and I see darkness in the brokenness of too many relationships.

On the other hand, I  see only light when I participate in our children’s lessons and carols and in our school’s Christmas concert.  Our children are beacons of God’s light and love.  There is so much enthusiasm and beauty and love when our parish families gather and speak the language of love to one another.  There is so much potential for us to be the light shining in the darkness.  And so, we gather on this Christmas feast to celebrate the light of Christ – that light that overcomes the darkness of our lives; that light of Christ that brings joy to our Spirit; that light that brings hope and the deepest meaning to our lives.

The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes for people in dark places.  The real, lasting, and deep joy of Christmas is that light shines in the darkness.   The Christmas story affirms that whatever happens, the light still shines.  Because of Christmas, it will never get so dark that you can’t see the light.

In one simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed.  From the evangelist Luke:  “While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.”  The power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.  God is with us in the Bethlehem infant born to Mary and Joseph.

This night of mystery had its origins on the darkened hills of Judea.  In a manger, in a town far away, among shepherds, and in the dark of night, Jesus is born.  Our salvation is dawned with the messiness, poverty, and weakness of ordinary human life.  This hardly seems a very auspicious beginning to the dawn of salvation.

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  No room in the inn is not simply a description of the housing situation in Bethlehem at the time.  It is a probing statement that is meant for us to continually reflect upon as we retell the Christmas story.

 And so, may I ask you what is the housing situation in the inn of your heart?   Is there room in the inn of our hearts for the birth of the Savior?    Is there room in the inn of your heart for the family member for whom you have difficulty getting along with?  Is there room in the inn of your heart for people who think differently than you -- politically, religiously, or in any way whatsoever?  Is there room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus who lives in the hearts of the poor, the immigrants, and children of all cultures and of all ways of life?

The mystery of Christmas happens for us when we connect the story of our lives with the story of Christmas.  The Christmas message is the story of God’s unconditional love for us.  As his disciples we are to fill this world with many other stories that mirror and give witness to God’s love for us.  That is the meaning and wonder of the Incarnation.

Our exterior Christmas decorations are up and they are beautiful.  What about our interior Christmas decorations?  May we allow the peace of Christ to enter once again into our lives, calming all of our anxieties and filling with all that is good.

I had a most beautiful Christmas moment earlier this month when we were celebrating First Reconciliation with our second graders.  I just celebrated this sacrament of God’s merciful move in the life of this young seven year parishioner.   After her confession, she said:  “Father I have a question for you.”  I politely asked what her question was.  She asked me:  “Father, do you ever sin?”  The preciousness of her question made me fully realize that yes I am a sinner; I stand in need of God’s forgiveness; and this beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation expresses God’s desire to share forgiveness and love with one and all.

God desires to be part of my life as Lord and Savior.

Christmas is not simply about Mary and Joseph and the baby.  It is about God becoming part of our daily struggle, transforming the world through us.  We are the people who walk in darkness – the darkness of sin, the darkness of war, the darkness of relationships that are broken, and the darkness of the threat of violence and terrorism. 

You may be sure that to whatever area of our life we allow the Christ child to enter, the darkness recedes.  The mystery of Christmas is allowing the person of Jesus to enter the inn of our hearts.  It is an invitation to look at our present moment through a different lens, the mystery of the nativity of Jesus, the wonder of the Incarnation.  This new lens enables us to see a new and radiant vision, a light for people who walk in darkness.

When the Lord of history, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, broke the silence of the centuries and spoke in the darkness of that first Christmas night, he spoke through a vulnerable infant in a manger.

Yet we may be confident that the final word of the story will be one of light shining in the darkness and life triumphant over death.  The true gift of Christmas is the ability to discover God in the midst of brokenness and darkness.  The spiritual power given to us in the mystery of Christmas is the power of our faith -- the faith that enables us to hear the Christmas story filled with the promise that our future is full of hope and that we always and forever are God’s beloved sons and daughters. 

In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  We are missioned to be the keepers of the mystery of Christmas – God is with us. We give birth to Christ when we allow the light that is within us to extend to our family, and our parish family, and to all of creation.

We celebrate Christmas with our children.  We tell the Christmas story that is ageless and needs to be told and retold again and again.  From the darkened hills of Judea in the dark of night long ago to this liturgy we celebrate, Jesus is present in our midst when we speak the language of love to each other, when we share our giftedness with one another, and when we gather around the Table of the Lord in awe and mystery to give thanks to the Lord our God.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.

This third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday --  Rejoice Sunday.  We light the pink candle of the Advent wreath.  We wear the pink vestments expressing that the joy of Christmas is beginning to invade the Advent season.

In ten words, St Paul expresses the theme of today’s liturgy:  Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks.

My hope for myself and for you is that the joy of Gaudete Sunday is the joy that you experience everyday as a disciple of Jesus:  rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in all circumstances give thanks.

The way Pope Francis expresses the Advent joy is with one of his favorite expressions:  “Evangelizers must never look like they have just come back from a funeral.”  In Advent, we prepare with much hope and joy in our hearts.

How can possibly pray one without ceasing?  St Augustine gives us a beautiful example of praying without ceasing.  St. Augustine tells the story of his life as a prayer to God.  He shares his anxieties, successes, discoveries frustrations and even his sinful behavior in his classic autobiography entitled Confessions of St Augustine.  Augustine shows how every moment of his life can be a conversation with God.  May you have a faith perspective that enables you to view your whole life as a conversation with the God who created you and loves you with an  unending love.

In all circumstances, give thanks.  At every Mass, w begin the Eucharistic Prayer with:  LET US GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD OUR GOD.  It is right and just.

In today’s Scriptures the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist are models for all of us.  We are called to be prophets in our world; we are to bear witness to Christ;  and in the wilderness of human greed, injustice, and falsehood, we are called to make straight the way of the Lord.

The Gaudete message is true joy and happiness is found only in God.

But we get fooled because John the Baptist is in the desert eating locusts and wild honey.  He may not seem like a person with an infectious smile out there in the desert.  Yet, make no mistake about it, John the Baptist experienced the joy of knowing the Lord.  Joy is one of the characteristics of God’s spirit in the human heart.

The question that people kept asking John was:  “Who are you?”  John knew his identity.  He knew who he was and who he was not.  John said:  “I am not the Christ…I am the voice of one crying in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord.”  John went on to say:  “There is one among you whom you do not recognize.”

John’s mission was to help people recognize the presence of Christ who is in our midst. 

So we ask ourselves the question:  What helps us to recognize the presence of Christ that is in our midst?  Also, we need to humbly ask what blinds from recognizing the presence of Christ in our midst.  We might be so intent on something that we miss the gem right before us.

 John was filled with a faith-filled vision in recognizing Christ.  John lived his life deflecting attention away from himself so that the focus might be fully and directly on Jesus.  John had plenty of time to focus on Jesus because nothing else mattered to John.

May we in this Advent season exercise a John-like role directing attention away from ourselves and witnessing to the Christ who is in our midst.  May we find joy, Gaudete, in helping others recognize the presence of Christ.   It is my prayer that my preaching can help others know Jesus in their lives.  Yours is an even more important witness.  You are to preach without words.  How?  By a simple smile that communicates friendship, and in all the ways we wash the feet of God’s poor, we witness to the mystery of Christmas.  Our God is present to us in human flesh – in your human flesh and in mine.

The mission given to us at our Baptism is the same mission that was given to John.   We are to witness to the presence of God in our midst.  In so doing, we rejoice.  We rejoice even in the midst of the violence that surrounds racial conflict and the threat of terrorism that we live with.  We rejoice because God is present among us.

 When the question is asked of us that was asked of John in the Gospel:  “Who are you?”  May we witness to the reality that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us.  And thus, we are a parish community filled with the qualities that Paul asks of us:  “Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks."

May the Church of the Holy Spirit in this Advent season herald, give witness, give voice to the presence of Christ in our midst.  May our Advent attitude be:  “Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks.

Come Lord Jesus.  Marantha.