John of the Cross

Today the church commemorates the feast of John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest, born in 1542 as Juan Alvarez.

It was in 1564 that St. John of the Cross declared his religious vows as a Carmelite. He moved to Salamanca where he studied theology and philosophy at the university there. In 1567, his turning point came with his ordination as a priest.

At first, he wanted to enter the strict Carthusian Order. It was an order that attracted him because of its encouragement of solitary and silent contemplation. Nevertheless, in September 1567 after a visit to Medina Del Campo, he decided to do otherwise and remain a Carmelite.

It was there that he met St. Theresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun, who was looking to reform & restore the purity of the Carmelite Order. She wanted to restart the observance of its “Primitive Rule” of 1209 which had become lenient under Pope Eugene IV in 1432. John worked with her to reform not only the Carmelite Nuns, but the friars and priests as well. He was met with great resistance and as a result suffered greatly in trying to answer God’s call to have the Carmelite Order live a stricter life of silence and prayer.

John of the Cross would go on to write such classics as The Spiritual Canticle, The Dark Night of the Soul and The Living flame of Love. In these books he would teach the importance of prayer and contemplation in one’s spiritual life in order to be open to the Will of God.

John is quoted as saying, “Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love” and “What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.”

In this day and age of noise and distractions, it is hard to be able to feel God’s presence in our day to day existence. We have so many distractions from cell phones, TV’s, radios, and the constant noise of living in New York City. It’s hard to make time to be silent and still before God. Yet, it is only in silence that we can hope to hear with our inner ears what God is telling us and teaching us.

I would like to encourage each one of us to set aside at least 15 minutes per day at a time that’s most convenient for you. Have the daily mass readings in front of you and slowly read them. Then, once you’re finished reading them, just sit for the rest of the time, with the readings in front of you, and ponder what God may be teaching you. After a few days of doing this you will find that inner peace that can only come from the presence of God within you.

Christ the Savior

“For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Luke 2:11

December is upon us and we are all busy preparing for Christmas on December 25^th. There’s the gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, Christmas Dinner to plan and prepare, getting in touch with family and friends that we may not have seen all year, going to those Christmas parties that seem to be more about food and drinking than anything else!  It’s a hectic time of year! To me, with all this activity, I wonder if people really understand what they are celebrating on December 25^th?

The weeks leading up to Christmas is known as Advent. Advent helps us to focus on what the true meaning of Christmas is: the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, into the world. Throughout all this activity of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, we must remember the Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ. During Advent I would like to suggest that you take time each day, maybe 15 minutes in the morning or night (or whatever time you can find to be alone with the Lord), and read the Scripture readings assigned for the Daily Mass. This will help you to focus on the events leading up to the birth of Jesus on December 25^th. This time of reading scripture will help you focus and realize that Christmas is more than time for family and friends to get together to celebrate! It’s not a secular holiday, but rather a Holy Day, time to celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ came into the world to help us grow closer to God and to turn away from our sins. During this time, you may also write a spiritual journal with your thoughts and concerns to present them to God to help you through whatever concerns you may have in your life. With all our families coming together, with all that entails, Christmas can be very stressful. Present these family concerns to the Lord to give you the gift of love and patience towards those we will meet this month.

Finally, if it’s been a while since you went to confession, make time during Advent to go to confession. This will help us to become spiritually ready for the celebration of the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember to keep Christ in all your activity during December and remember on December 25^th: “…a savior has been born for YOU who is Christ and Lord.”

Thanksgiving

First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Today we, as Americans, gather around our tables with family and friends to give thanks for the many gifts that God has given us. There are many things that we should give thanks for in our lives. We are to be thankful for the gift of life, with all it's issues and challenges; for our families, especially for those in our families that may get under our skin; and we finally pray for those in authority over us in the our government that we may "...lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity."

It may be difficult to pray for our family or friends that annoy us, or for those in authority over us in the government, especially for those who we really feel are not living up to what we feel they should be doing as leaders. We are called to pray for them, that they may be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We pray for those family members that annoy us. And we pray for those in government that are leading us in ways that we feel are not according to the Will of God.

St. Paul goes on to say, "This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

May God bless our country and our families during this Thanksgiving Day, and give us the peace and joy that can only come from Him.

The Presentation of Mary in the Temple

Today Holy Mother Church Commemorates the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. This feast dates back to the early sixth century and was first celebrated in Jerusalem. It was first celebrated by the Eastern Church, and it was later, in the 11th century, that the Western Church added this feast to it's calendar.

This feast is not based on anything we can find in scripture, but in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the Protoevangelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was 3 years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.

This feast gives us an insight as to who Mary was as a person, totally devoted to God since childhood. And thanks to her parents, Anna and Joachim, Mary was prepared to answer the call to be the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The influence of Anna and Joachim on Mary is a great example of what it means to be good and responsible parents. Not only were they concerned with Mary's physical needs, but they were concerned with Mary's relationship with God. Further, they were grateful to God for the gift of a child, and presented Mary to God in gratitude for Mary coming into their lives.

We can use this as an example in our society where the value of human live has so much diminished. It's diminished so much that abortion (the killing of an innocent life) is seen as a "right". Rather than be grateful for the gift of life, children in the womb are considered less than human, and, as a result, are disposable.

We, as a society, are encouraged to value all human life, from conception to natural death, as sacred. Further, in addition to the physical and educational needs of the children that are born to us, we are to make sure they develop healthy, spiritual lives. We are to present our children to God in gratitude for the gift of who they are: people made in the image of God.

The Kingdom of God

Today's reflection is based on the gospel for today's mass and can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111518.cfm

In today's gospel, the Pharisees are questioning Jesus as to when the Kingdom of God would come. They are living in a time of great oppression by the Romans and are looking for freedom from their oppressors. Jesus' response is, "For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:21

Jesus was reminding them that the Kingdom of God is always among us, living in each one of us. It is through the power of the love of God, living in each one of us, that the kingdom of God dwells. There will always be those in authority that will be unjust in one way or other (whether it was the oppressive Roman empire, or whatever government leader we have in office today), we should always remember that God is at the heart of who we are as people of faith. We are to bring the love of God into society by living lives pleasing to God, and attempting to make the world a better and just place, not only for those near and dear to us, but for all people.

I consider myself "pro-life" and I think that this is what our Lord may be referring to. We are to bring the kingdom of God into our society by encouraging a greater respect for all life, whether it's the unborn from the possibility of abortion, helping the elderly who are either lonely or are suffering due to illness, helping the homeless find decent housing, or helping those attempting come into our country for a better way of life. We are to remember that the kingdom of God is already among us and Jesus is calling us to share that kingdom of God with others in our lives.

The Kingdom of God is for all people. Let us share that Kingdom of God with all we meet by being better followers of Christ! The Kingdom of God is among you!

 

 



Lead us not into Temptation

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111218.cfm
Being a follower of Jesus can be challenging and go against what we really want to do. In today's gospel, Jesus tells us that he understands that temptation will always come. He knows and expects that, but also expects us to attempt to lead a life worthy of our call to be His followers. He gets tough, though, when he warns us about leading others to sin. We are called to attempt to lead a life worthy of Him, and to not be hypocritical in our faith in Him and in our actions with others.

There are those in our lives that look to us as examples of what it means to be Christian. If we're preaching love and forgiveness to others, we better be practicing that forgiveness ourselves. We are called to be always forgiving and understanding of the shortcomings of other people. Our Lord tells us, "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." (Luke 17:3) We are to lead others to Christ not only by our words of correction, but by our forgiveness towards them! Jesus goes on to say, "And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him." (Luke 17:4)

So, let us attempt to be loving and forgiving of those in our lives today, whether they are family members (usually the hardest to forgive) or the co-worker that can be annoying in his/her actions towards you. Remember, Jesus is asking us to be loving and forgiving at all times with those in our lives. And this may be the way you can lead others to understand the love and forgiveness that God has for each one of us.

All Saints and All Souls

 

During the month of November Holy Mother Church celebrates two important feasts: All Saints Day on November 1^st, and All Souls Day on November 2^nd.

All Saints Day commemorates those who have gone before us that are saints in heaven, both known and unknown. This includes the saints we all know and love, such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Therese Lisieux, and so forth. But it also acknowledges those saints that we don’t commemorate on the church calendar but are saints none the less. This includes those relatives of ours that have long since passed, went through purgatory, and are now in full vision of the face of God. These relatives of ours that have made it to heaven are also commemorated on All Saints Day.

All Souls Day is the day we pray for our relatives and friends that have passed before us but are still in purgatory. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1030 it says, “All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”  It’s important that we pray for those who are in purgatory to help them during their journey in heaven.

Pope Benedict XVI says of purgatory, “…we need a final cleansing, a cleansing by fire, to be exact, in which the gaze of Christ, so to say, burns us free from everything, and only under this purifying gaze are we, as it were, fit to be with God and able, then, to make our home with him…” Pope Benedict goes on to say, “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.”

So, lets pray for all our relatives that have gone before us during this month of the Holy Souls. Have masses said for them, pray for them in your private prayers, and ask God to look on them with mercy and love in order to bring them to the glory of heaven.

In addition to praying for our diseased relatives during the month of November, arrange to have masses said for them during the year. A mass said for a deceased relative is a great gift for those who have passed before us. Then, once they’re in heaven, they’ll be praying for us to the Lord our God.