St. John the Apostle

The scripture readings for this blog can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122719.cfm

“…what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:3

Today we commemorate the feast day of St. John, traditionally known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Throughout the ministry of Jesus, John was privileged to be witness to the Lord’s Transfiguration and the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane. His closeness to Jesus is most illustrated at the Last Supper where he reclined his head upon Jesus’ breast. From the cross, our Lord sees his mother and John, “the disciple whom he loved” at the foot of the cross. It is at this point that Jesus gives the care of His mother to John. He says to Mary, “Woman, behold your son.” And to John, “Behold your mother.” And then from that hour John took care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In today’s gospel, John enters the tomb after Peter and saw and believed that the Lord was not in the tomb. With that belief in the risen Lord, John would go on to spread the good news that Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the dead for our salvation.

In John’s own response to Jesus throughout his life was to bring the love that Jesus preached to the world. Further, John wants us to know and believe that Jesus truly was divine, truly was God made incarnate (human/in-the-flesh), a God who in person walked among us, taught us everything important— and then completed the greatest sacrifice ever made on behalf of the human family.

The entire Gospel of John is a step-by-step revelation of the glory of God’s Son, who comes to reveal the Father to us and then return in glory to the Father. We for our part are called to share this faith in the Risen Lord by how we live our lives.

Let us pray to the Lord for the gift of courage as we live out our faith and proclaim it with those in our lives. This way we can live out what John writes in today’s first reading, that we have fellowship with each other and fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.

The Scripture readings for today can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122519-the-nativity-of-the-lord-night.cfm
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene in a small Italian town called Greccio. The scene was based on his memories of a cherished Holy Land pilgrimage during which he had been deeply impressed by the humility of the Incarnation. On that Christmas Eve, the townspeople of Greccio gathered around the nativity scene with candles in hand to venerate the crèche and give glory to the newborn king. Mass was celebrated on an altar that had been made over the manger. Francis read the Gospel and gave a homily, referring to Jesus as the “Child of Bethlehem.” Someone present later reported seeing a sleeping infant in the manger. Thomas of Celano, Francis’ first biographer, pointed out how appropriate this was: Jesus was waking up a sleeping world.

In the gospel assigned for Midnight Mass describes this nativity scene that Francis so beautifully displayed at Greccio. Can you imagine the reaction of the startled shepherds when all of a sudden there appeared an angel declaring the birth of the Jesus?

These shepherds went to where the Child Jesus was laying and were the first to witness salvation coming into our world through the new born infant at Bethlehem. This scene from the Gospel of St. Luke describes the true meaning of what we celebrate each year on December 25th.

I've heard on the news during Christmas Eve that people were still going out shopping and getting their last minute Christmas presents for their loved ones. It just seemed to me that these people doing this last minutes shopping are missing the point of what Christmas is all about. Instead of SHOPPING for their loved ones, they should be spending time with them and reflect on today's gospel. The angel told the shepherds, "I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord." (Luke 2:10).

Let us spend time in true thanksgiving for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for His life, death and resurrection. It is through Jesus Christ that we have salvation.

Merry Christmas!

Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord

 

The scripture for this reflection can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/122019.cfm

 

All this week we have been hearing in the gospel different narratives of the coming of Jesus into the world.

On Tuesday we heard the genealogy of Jesus Christ, who Matthew indicates is the son of David, the Son of Abraham. This genealogy starts with Abraham and ends with, “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.”

In Wednesday’s gospel we hear of the angel visiting Joseph in his sleep and telling him of Mary being pregnant. Since he assumed that Mary became pregnant by someone else, he was all set to divorce her quietly. But once the angel explained to him that it was through the power of the Holy Spirit, Joseph took Mary into his home and became the foster father of our Lord.

Yesterday, we heard of how Elizabeth became pregnant with John the Baptist, and how John’s father, Zachariah, couldn’t believe that his wife, Elizabeth, advanced in years, could possibly be pregnant. Due to his doubting the angel, he became mute until the day John was born.

Today, we have the beautiful story of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her that she’ll be the mother of the Savior. She was startled at first, but once it was explained to her how it was to come about, she gave her “Yes”: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Both Joseph and Mary were open to God’s will in their lives. The gospel describes Joseph as a righteous man, meaning that he was attempting to live his life according to God’s will. As a result, he was blessed to be the foster father and protector of Jesus Christ.

Mary, upon reflecting on the angel’s words to her, was ready and willing to do God’s Will and bring our Savior into the world. As a result of her yes, salvation came into the world through Jesus Christ.

We are all called to imitate Joseph and Mary in our response to God. Both knew that things may become difficult in saying yes to God, but they trusted that God will be with them in all that will happen to them, good times and rough times. We are all called to bring Christ into the world and share our faith in Jesus Christ with those in our family or friends to help them know the love and peace that can only come from God.

Let us, like Mary, say, “Behold, I am the handmaid (servant) of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

St. Nicholas

The Scripture readings for today can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120619.cfm

 

You may remember a movie from a while back called “Miracle on 34^th Street” where the Macy’s Santa Claus was accused of being crazy for claiming to be the real Santa Claus. As the movie progressed there was a trial where there were people that were brought forward to testify one way or other of the true existence of Santa Claus. Eventually Santa won and it was conceded by the court that Sant was real.

Well, I didn’t need to see that movie to help me believe in the existence of Santa Claus. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas, of whom the legend Santa Claus was based. St. Nicholas was a 4^th century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. He was most noted for his charity towards those in his area. There was a story where a father of three daughters did not have enough money for their dowry. The father was too proud to ask for charity for his girls, but this would result in their not getting married. St. Nicholas hearing of this went to their house under cover of night and threw a purse full of money through an open window. He did this for three nights, one for each girl, thus helping them to have a dowry to get married.

This is but one story of St. Nicholas’ generosity. His fame spread throughout Europe and Russia. The name Santa Claus evolved from Dutch traditions, where in Dutch he was called Sinterklaas, and later as time went on, he was called Santa Claus.

Through his generosity towards all he met, I’m sure St. Nicholas was very familiar with today’s gospel of the two blind men seeking sight. Central to their receiving their sight was the fact that they had faith in Jesus Christ. Once they received their sight, they shared their knowledge of Jesus Christ throughout the land. St. Nicholas, too, with his faith in Jesus Christ, and by his generosity towards those who were poor, spread the love of Jesus to all those he encountered.

During this time of Advent as we prepare for the birthday of Jesus in Bethlehem, let us be like St. Nicholas and share our faith in God with others through generosity and love.