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.

Heaven & Earth

Scripture readings for the Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112919.cfm

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 29:33

As we come to the end of Ordinary time in the church year and approach Advent and the preparation of the Birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, we see in our readings talk of the end times and the final judgement of God.

In our first reading from Daniel we hear of Daniel’s visions of large beasts, all scary each in its own way. One is described as “terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength…” (Daniel 7:7) This reading concludes with a description of what sounds like to be Jesus Christ, “One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven.” (Daniel 7:13) It goes on to say that “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingdom shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)

Then our gospel finishes with our Lord saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Luke 21:33) The Lord is constantly present to us in all the events of our life, both in the good times and the bad times. We may despair that the Lord is not present when we are going through tough times. We may not feel His presence in those times when we are struggling with personnel problems and issues in our lives. We may feel scared and alone during these issues in our lives. But the Lord is ever present to us.

Like the fig tree Jesus is talking about in todays gospel, before the buds burst open, we think that the tree is dead. Also, like in our life when we have problems, we assume God is not present. But then the buds burst open and there’s life. We feel God’s presence and we receive peace and comfort when we find resolution to our problems. We need to be people of faith, hope and charity.  By trusting that the Lord will be present in all instances of our life, it is then we can know and understand that He is ever present.

Let us thank God for the great gift of faith that we have been given, the sacraments we have been given, and the faith community we have to support each other in our journey in our relationship with God.

Lord Jesus, help us to be faithful when there seems to be no reason to do so. Amen.

Relationship with God

The following reflection is based on the readings for the Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time and can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111519.cfm

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Luke 17:33

In our gospel for today Jesus is talking about relationship with God, to always have God in the center of our life and to turn away from our sinful ways. He points out two familiar stories from the Old Testament: that of Noah and that of Lot. The people in Noah’s time and Lot’s time, like today, were self-absorbed in their lives and had turned away from God. In Noah’s day he warned them to turn from their selfish ways, but they continued eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day of the flood. They completely ignored the warnings of Noah to turn from their sinful ways and to turn to God. Same with the people in Sodom during the time of Lot. They were so involved in their sinful activities that they had no desire for God and so they continued to live out their sinful lives. As a result, both the people in Noah’s time and in Lot’s time, God punished them for their sinfulness.

Our Lord is encouraging us today to have him in the center of all we do. To turn away from whatever sins we may cling to and to turn to Him to seek forgiveness and healing.

Further, our lives can be so busy and full of worry about our family, children, friends, or even our finances. Listening to bad news on the TV news, worrying about our health, worrying about what can go wrong in our families. These are things that can bring us away from God.

Our Lord in today’s Gospel is telling us to let go of our sinfulness, worries and cares. This is the life that he wants us to lose, and by losing it and turning to the Lord we will save it in the sense that Jesus will bring us that peace and calm that can only come from him.

One way to let go of our sinfulness and worries is to turn to Our Lord in the sacrament of confession. By turning to God in the sacrament of confession, we are placing all our sinfulness, cares and worries in God’s hands and are receiving healing, peace and forgiveness.

Lord, help us to rest in your presence today. Help us to let go of fear and doubt and to trust in your love for us. Amen.

Prudent Children of Light

The scripture readings for the Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110819.cfm


“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light." Luke 16:8


In our gospel for today it sounds as if Our Lord is praising the dishonest steward for doing things that are dishonest and selfish. In the parable, we see someone that is self-centered and only worried about himself and trying to protect his way of life. He was first stealing from his master, and then when he discovered that he was to be let go, he further cheated his master out the profits due to him from those the steward dealt with.

What our Lord is really teaching us is that we can learn from the dishonest steward in how to conduct our affairs with God. The steward was prudent in the sense that he knew how to protect himself and to obtain a secure position once his master fires him.

We are to be prudent in our relationship with God in the same way he was with his master and with those he dealt with, but for godly reasons. This is to help us gain something far better than material wealth. We are to be prudent with God in order to gain heaven.


The ways we can be prudent with God is to first develop a deeper prayer life with Him. In addition to daily mass and the rosary, we should make time to read Holy Scripture in order to be open what God is trying to communicate to us. The best way to do this is by studying the scripture readings assigned for daily mass. By spending about 10 or 15 minutes daily reading the scriptures from Mass, we are allowing ourselves to be open to the voice of God and what he may wishing to tell us.


In addition to prayer and meditation, we are to take our faith in Jesus to others in our life: our family, friends and those we encounter daily. Like St. Paul in our first reading, we are to be a minister of Christ Jesus to all people we know and meet.


We can show them love and kindness, even to those we really don’t like. By showing love and kindness to those we truly don’t like, we are bringing the love of God to them. That is being a good and prudent steward of the love that God gives to us daily.
Whatever challenges you may face, know that Jesus will help you to respond with love. He loves those in your life as much as he loves you.

Lord Jesus, help us to see you in all people that we meet this day. Amen