Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - 2018

Some remember this feast as being celebrated during the Octave of the Epiphany – then in 60’s, when the liturgical calendar was revised, it was moved to the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas as we have it today. So, what exactly is a family? By definition: A family is most commonly understood as a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children. Sometimes when people talk about a family, they mean children. They decided to start a family.  Or sometimes when people talk about their family, they mean their relatives and ancestors.  Then there is that general group meanings, when we say a family of animals or plants is a group of related species and so on. Today we are celebrating the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. At first glance this is a familiar family image – husband, wife and a son – but the reality of this family is profoundly more than what it appears to be. What then is the significant difference about this family? – We have a husband, a mother, and a son living together as a family – what is different, what makes this family Holy is who they are and the way they are brought together – they come together as a family by God’s divine intervention; It is God who brings Joseph together with Mary as husband and wife when the Law would forbid their marriage after Mary is found to be pregnant.  Mary conceives Jesus in her womb and becomes Jesus real mother, but not by Joseph’s seed.  Jesus’ Father is God, Jesus is God’s Son, sharing the very life and divinity of God the Father.  Joseph will be a father-gardian to Jesus, caring for all his needs to grow healthy and strong. These are profound mysteries that make this the Holy Family – and herein is to be found a new plan, a new dimension to the natural family as we know it. God wants to make every family a holy family – by uniting them to His Holy Family. Not only is the family to be God’s plan for the continuation of the whole human race – but that the human race is to be formed into one single heavenly family. Now it is here that we must bring into focus the realization that there is an enemy against God’s plans for the family; attacking the family is priority number one for this enemy. We see the beginning of war on the family already in the Christmas story with the murderous undertaking of king Herod to murder Jesus by murdering the holy Innocence children – the feast just celebrated this past Friday. The shield the family is given to employ in its defense is love – husband and wife – parents and children – first revealed in the commandments, then St. Paul lays out God's plan for the Christian family in Ephesians 5&6. The family is the womb of love and the school of love wherein we learn that life itself is dependent on mutual caring, one for another. This priority of mutual caring carries over into the whole of society, making it healthy and strong. Our generation is experiencing a toxic atmosphere for true family life, a climate of selfish, self interest. “Me first and only as long as I like it”. This mentality is proving to be lethal to the family. That makes today’s feast all the more important for us to commemorate. Here are three way we may do this: To gather as families of faith in worship and prayer, thanking God for the gift of his Spirit who fills our hearts with divine love and teaches us how to love one another.  Filled with that love flowing from the Holy Family, let us be instruments of compassion and healing, in our families and others, where the absence of love has wounded and divided.  To be both sign and advocate in our society for all that strengthens and advances authentic family life as modeled in the Holy Family.

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Christmas - 2018

The birth of Jesus took place during a period of history known as the Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman Peace") It was a long period of relative peace and stability experienced by the Roman Empire between the accession of Caesar Augustus, founder of the Roman principate, and the death of Marcus Aurelius, last of the "good emperors". During this period of approximately 206 years (27 BC to AD 180), the Roman empire achieved its greatest territorial extent and its population reached a maximum of up to 70 million people – a third of the world’s population. Keeping track of population numbers was a preoccupation of the Romans at this time, as we see in today’s gospel. So, it is with Joseph and Mary, they must participate in the census the Romans are now conducting. The Son of the God, creator of this vast universe, is now confined to this obscure planet earth, and who’s life is now under the influence of a mere human dictator. The idea that the Lord and creator of all these vast worlds could now be dwelling in the human body of a baby boy is a challenge quite beyond any mind to fully grasp. To get us started, God employs his heavenly messengers. They announce it – to Joseph, to Mary, to Zachariah & Elizabeth, to lowly hillside shepherds, and finally to the Magi, representing all the nations. But the plan to reveal this mystery of God-made-man to future generations will go beyond the messenger-voices of angels. A voice in the desert begins to cry out, “… prepare, the Lord is coming.” Then the Lord’s own voice, “I am He, come from the Father – believe?” From here the messenger-voices began to grow in numbers, down through the ages. And the messenger-voices continue today. They are many and diverse, telling this same mystery of God-made-man, still with us in our world today. A mystery is a reality that can be known but not fully known, able to be seen but only partially, able to be encountered yet leaving us in wonder and awe, desiring to see more. This is faith. Speaking of the people of his own time, St. Paul remarks, “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” 1 Cor. 1:22 In our time it is "scientism" that makes the demand: “. . . show us the scientific proof of what your religion calms to be true if it is to be believed”. So who are the messenger-voices that God is sending into our world today. It is us, we who believe, we are the messenger-voices now who must continue to announce the Message to our world. And we do so not simply with words, but with lives lived for all to see. Our lives of holiness, manifesting spiritual and corporal works of mercy are the action-voices that will convict and convince the mind of scientism. Are you ready to be a messenger-voice in this age? Let us go forth now, the world is waiting to hear truth which is the Good News.

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Advent - 2018 - Week Four

This generation takes great pride in its individuality, sometimes called the “Me” generation. It’s my life, I decide for myself what is truth what’s best for me, what morals will guide me etc. This past week, in our gospel readings, we explored the lives of Mary & Joseph and events leading up to birth of Jesus. I doubt that they would ever think like the “Me” generation – but they were making plans for a life together. Joseph as a carpenter, Mary as wife, caring for the family home.  Little did they know that Another was making plans for their lives, plans they could never have imagined. It’s Matthew & Luke who give us the details of these events and how they unfolded. Because of the extraordinary nature of these plans it was necessary for God to send his angel to announce them. And so now we take these stories up once again to meditate and explore the wonder that they are. But, might we, in our meditation, entertain the question – does God have special plans for life? We do talk about vocations – vocation to the priesthood & religious life – vocations to marriage and family life. But within these vocations we’ve chosen might the Lord have further plans for our lives; to be a special caregiver to some in need, to join with others in special projects such as charities addressing contemporary needs, evangelization work, social justice action projects, working in projects directed to today’s youth, being a visitor, a shopper, a contact to the isolated. Many of the classic Christmas stories describe people being awaken to new vocations, expanded vocations, to bring the presence of Christ to the world. And age is no obstacle to new vocation from God. Remember Zechariah, when told he was to be the father of great prophet John, “…  said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Let us realize, that these days are not just meant to be a reason for exchanging sentimental images on Christmas cards. They are meant to be real, for us, to accept Christ and new way that our lives will be called to serve Him.

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Advent - 2018 - Week Three

The Third Sunday of Advent is transitionally referred to as “Gaudete Sunday”. The name comes from the first word spoken in the liturgy for this day, in the Entrance Antiphon: (Gaudete in Latin): Rejoice in the Lord always: again, I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near. There is a similar theme that recurs in Lent, in the fourth Sunday of Lent, traditionally called “Laetare Sunday” again taken from the first word of the entrance antiphon: (Laetare in Latin) Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation. The first words of the third Sunday of Advent are the words of St. Paul found in the fourth chapter of the Letter to the Philippians, vs. 4-5. So why Gaudete, why Rejoice? The answer begins in the First Reading, with the words of the prophet Zephaniah.  Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; The Lord, your God, will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. Zephaniah 3:14-18 Israel has been conquered and its people have been living in exile for many years. But now the prophets are telling the people that soon their exile will come to an end, and they will be returning to their homeland. They believed that God was punishing them for their sins by letting their enemies conquer and enslave them. But now, what is this they hear? Believers of every generation, at various times, have found their hearts and hope shattered; believing they have been abandoned by God, left alone with no hope. So, the Church returns each year in Advent, to address this ancient problem, the Problem of Evil, to gather all who are wounded, to hear once again these words of truth and healing and restoration: “Rejoice, the Lord is near”!  You will notice that all the serious Christmas stories that we read all have this same theme running through them. In the darkest night, when all seems lost, hope is restored. Now the true spirit of Advent has a penitential character to it, where we examine our lives to root out our own causes for our downfalls and miseries. Then, the candle of the Advent Wreath, lighted on this day, the Third Sunday of Advent, rose colored, with the name “Joy”, raises up our spirits at the prospect of the new coming of mercy into our lives. In many ways, our popular culture, with its commercializing of Christmas has interfered with the real spirit of Advent with its rich and beautiful spirituality. So where does this Gaudete Sunday find you? Are you one who is carrying heavy burdens – be they burdens brought on by your own faults and failures, or has human frailty and the faults of others beset you? If so, the grace offered on this Sunday is meant for you.  The Grace of Gaudete Sunday is the grace of a clear sense of Presence. I am not alone, the Lord is here, with me now. The Lord comes bearing gifts, the gift is the gift of Hope. What ever the details of my deliverance are to be, will be revealed in the days to come. But first, a broken heart must be healed and given the eyes of hopefulness with which to see - to begin to see how the Lord's plan is to unfold. For me, now, it is to turn my face eastward, to look forward in hope for His coming. Hear again these words of the prophet: The Lord, your God, is in your midst, . . . he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love

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ADVENT SERIES WEEK THREE
In the Mountains - William Kurelek	Two Barns - William Kurelek	Christmas
MONDAY <> LINK	WEDNESDAY <> LINK	FRIDAY <> LINK

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Advent - 2018 - Week Two

Today we light the second Advent Wreath candle. Tradition has named each one. 1. Hope; 2. Peace; 3. Joy; 4. Love. Our First Reading for this Second Sunday of Advent is from the prophet Baruch. He is prophesying to the Jewish exiles who are scattered off into foreign lands. But now the days of exile are numbered, freedom is about to come upon God’s people  Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them. For they went out from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne. These words of consolation from the mouth of the prophet long ago still have deep meaning for us, God’s people today. We too can be exiles but our exile is not a political one but rather a spiritual one. Our enemy, the Great Deceiver, invades the citadel of our life of faith and captures us with the weapons of sin – disarming us of our shield of faith and right living. For some today, their faith is lost completely – they are now under the rule of this deception, this secular age of unbelief. In today’s gospel the dramatic figure of John the Baptist appears with a call to come back – back to a life of right living, back to faith in God.  He went into all the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins … The culture around us is already heavily into Christmas celebrating. But we should not let that overshadow these beautiful and important days of Advent. We should have a two-directional view in Advent, one inward, the other outward. First we look inward, into our own personal life. In what ways has the Deceiver gained influence in my personal life? Think of St. Paul’s beautiful prayer in today's Second Reading; let it be heard as a personal prayer, directed now to us; For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, Our outward view should be to those around us who are now exiled from their faith. Let us desire to share in the spirit of John the Baptist – to be signs of faith and hope to our brothers and sisters, separated from this life-giving communion with God. Let us fill all the valleys of darkness with the light of faith and good works. Let us move the mountains of doubt and confusion blocking people from seeing God and his love for them. Let us straighten the crocked ways of the world with right and just lives lived with courage and integrity. Let us help others get over the rough times in their lives that make believing near impossible for them. These things should be our tasks in these Advent days so that: “. . . all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

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ADVENT SERIES WEEK TWO Repeat Series for Advent Based On the Lectio Divina Approach to Prayer
William Kurelek The Welcome at the  Country Mission	William Kurelek The Presentation to the Children	William Kurelek A Boathouse Man's Excuse
MONDAY <> LINK	WEDNESDAY <> LINK	FRIDAY <> LINK

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Advent - 2018 - Week One

Last Advent I posted a series of meditations based on the Lectio Divina method of prayer. I am including these again this Advent. The graphics used in these posts are of the paintings by William Kurelek found in his book, Northern Nativity.

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ADVENT SERIES WEEK ONE Repeat Series for Advent Based On the Lectio Divina Approach to Prayer
William Kurelek The Nightwatchman's Christmas	William Kurelek A Farm Family's Adoration	William Kurelek The Holy Family as Indian
MONDAY <> LINK	WEDNESDAY <> LINK	FRIDAY <> LINK

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Christ the King Sunday - 2018

No doubt, everyone has faced that dreaded “0-hour”. Usually our first experience with “0-hour” is exam time in school. And finally, the teacher says, “children, put down your pens, time is up”. Some of you may have done so with a confident smile, but the rest of us where in a panic. “Oh no! Why did I not take more time to study? I knew better, but just had to go out and party the night before”. And so it goes, many, many time through life. Even when you finally become seniors you have to pass that testing to renew your drivers licence. Well the liturgy, today is meant to be a day of examination; not a final exam however, more like a midterm – thank God. Matthew’s gospel Ch. 25:35, presents us with an image of Judgement Day. We hear Jesus describing how the standard of our accounting is to be measured by the Works of Mercy. o   “For I was hungry and you gave me food, <> I was thirsty and you gave me drink, <> a stranger and you welcomed me, <> naked and you clothed me, <> ill and you cared for me, <> in prison and you visited me”. From this the Church has derive the Corporal Works of Mercy and with these we are most familiar. But to these has been added the Spiritual Works of Mercy, also seven in number, compiled from Jesus teachings found throughout the gospels. They are no less important: o    <> counsel the doubtful <> instruct the ignorant <> admonish the sinner<> comfort the afflicted <> forgive offences willingly <> bear wrongs patiently <> pray for the living and the dead. In Matthew’s account of the Corporal Works, we see how people are surprised by how they are judged, asking: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?” It is even more surprising when we are held up to the standard of the Spiritual Works. But these are no less important. Our Holy Father, in Misericordiae Vultus, the Vatican document which announced the Year of Mercy, described the Spiritual Works this way: o   Our Holy Father writes, “We will be asked if we have helped others to escape the doubt that causes them to fall into despair and which is often a source of loneliness; if we have helped to overcome the ignorance in which millions of people live, especially children deprived of the necessary means to free them from the bonds of poverty; if we have been close to the lonely and afflicted; if we have forgiven those who have offended us and have rejected all forms of anger and hate that lead to violence; if we have had the kind of patience shown by God, who is so patient with us; and if we have commended our brothers and sisters to the Lord in prayer. Holy Father ends with: Let us not forget the words of St. John of the Cross: ‘As we prepare to leave this life, we will be judged on the basis of love,’ on how concretely we showed love to others — both those in need spiritually and those with physical needs”. Advent begins next Sunday – a new gift of time, a time to prepare, a time to examine our lives, a time to resolve to get down to work in all seriousness. Yes, there really is a day of accounting – and the standard is the standard of love.

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Thirty-third Sunday - 2018

We are coming to the end of this present liturgical year. Next Sunday is Christ the King, followed by the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new year. This year we are now completing is year B in the three-year cycle of Sundays and the gospel of Mark has been the principal source for our gospel readings. Next year is year C and the gospel of Luke will be our gospel source. The gospel readings of late have included references to end times, as we see in today’s gospel. In these days we are reminded that God’s salvific plan for us is contained in a framework of time, as is the whole of creation. It begins in time, unfolds for a time, and when completed the end time arrives. That there is to be an end time we know for certain. What we don’t know is when the end of time will come. The first generation of the Church for the most part believed that the second coming of Christ would be in their time. But this seemed not to be happening and some began scoff at the idea all together. St. Peter addresses this in his Second Letter to the churches. Know this, that in the last days scoffers will come to scoff, living according to their own desires and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation.” The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. 2 Pt. 3: Down through the ages there have been predictions of the imminent end of the world which aroused many people with fear. Some of you may remember the Cuban missal crisis of 1962. For 13 days, from October 16–28, Russia and the United States stared down the barrels of their atomic bombs at each other. Fear of Armageddon was real and palpable. I was in the seminary at the time and some America students studying with us were notified to be ready to be called home for military duty at any moment. Today a new doomsday warning is being issued to the world from the environmental scientist – that we may be destroying the planet we live on. But aside from the question of end times, each of us knows well that our own lives are governed by time and like sands in the hourglass time is passing. For the spiritual direction of these days the Church is counselling us to take to heart the many texts of scripture that exhort us to use wisely our God-given days of time and to live holy lives. “Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast . . . How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later . . . you, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.” Lk. 12:35 Take some time during these next couple of weeks to check the progress of your spiritual life. How am I doing? What needs to change? What might I do better? Am I ready for that knock at my door?

Thirty-second Sunday - 2018

For these Sundays of October and November, the 2nd Reading in the Liturgy of the Word is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The author’s main theme is the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus; it is meant as a means of restoring the lost fervor happening among the Hebrew Christians at that time and of strengthening them in their faith. Another important theme of the letter is that of the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem. This theme is intimately connected with that of Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The new temple, the new sanctuary is now in heaven and Jesus is the High Priest. Ancient peoples believed that the gods dwelt out of sight somewhere up in the heavens. Although indifferent to humans on earth, these gods could at times become annoyed and angry with humans and would hurl down from the ski all manner of punishment; storms, lightning, floods, earthquakes, famines and all manner of catastrophe. Humans in turn, would try to appease the anger of the gods by offering sacrifices; gifts of all kinds, even sacrificing human life. The ancient Hebrews also were affected by this world view, but through the prophets were beginning to get a clearer idea of what was really true. Yet, they still had the temple, and altars of sacrifice, and priest making offerings with which they continued to believe they could appease God’s anger – manifested when bad things would happen. Jesus comes with an entirely new understanding; a new understanding of who God really is, of who we are in God’s eyes, and why God created us in the first place, placing us here on this earth . Jesus reveals to us that God is a loving God, and he has a very particular plan for us humans. God wants to share His divine life with us; literally making us divine child of God, clothing us with the glory that is God’s glory. But before this can happen, we must be made capable of receiving such glory. The angels were given a share in God’s glory before us, but some of them, when they saw how glorious they were, began to think and act as if they too were gods. It was necessary for God to strip them of the glory he had given them and expel them from heaven. Not wanting this fate to happen to humans when they receive glory, God starts us off here on this remote planet earth, in the school of "humbling reality". Once humans are convinced of the truth of their humble state, it is safe to cloth them in glory. A quick look of human history makes it abundantly clear that we are very slow learners. True religion happens when we enter the school of holiness by attaching ourselves to Jesus in a personal relationship. True relationship is not simply knowing about Jesus – the devil knows all about Jesus, true relationship happens when we enter into a spiritual communion with the Spirit of Jesus. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 And who is our teacher in the school of holiness – it is the Holy Spirit, and the school complex wherein we study is the Church.

Office of Readings for Monday of the 31st Week

Wisdom for this Generation

From the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council Reeducation for peace Men must not be content simply to support the efforts of others in the work for peace; they must also scrutinize their own attitudes. Statesmen, responsible as they are for the common good of their own nation and at the same time for the well-being of the whole world, are very much dependent on the opinions and convictions of the general public. Their efforts to secure peace are of no avail as long as men are divided or set against each other by feelings of hostility, contempt and distrust, by racial hatred or by inflexible ideologies. There is then a very great and urgent need to reeducate men and to provide fresh inspiration in the field of public opinion. Those engaged in education, especially among young people, and those who influence public opinion, should consider it a very serious responsibility to work for the reeducation of mankind to a new attitude toward peace. We must all undergo a change of heart. We must look out on the whole world and see the tasks that we can all do together to promote the well-being of the family of man. We must not be misled by a false sense of hope. Unless antagonism and hatred are abandoned, unless binding and honest agreements are concluded, safeguarding universal peace in the future, mankind, already in grave peril, may well face in spite of its marvelous advance in knowledge that day of disaster when it knows no other peace than the awful peace of death. In saying this, however, the Church of Christ, living as it does in the midst of these anxious times, continues unwaveringly in hope. Time and again, in season and out of season, it seeks to proclaim to our age the message of the Apostle: Now is the hour of God’s favor, the hour for change of heart; now is the day of salvation. To build peace, the causes of human discord which feed the fires of war must first be eliminated, and among these especially the violations of justice. Many of these causes are due to gross economic inequality and delay in providing necessary remedies. Others arise from a spirit of domination and from a contempt for others, and, among more fundamental causes, from human envy, distrust, pride and other forms of selfishness. Since man cannot bear so many violations of due order, the result is that, even where war does not rage, the world is constantly plagued by human conflict and acts of violence. The same evils are also found in relations between nations. It is therefore absolutely necessary that international institutions should cooperate more effectively, more resolutely and with greater coordination of effort, in order to overcome or prevent these evils, and to check unbridled acts of violence. There must also be constant encouragement for the creation of organizations designed to promote peace.

Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 31st Week

Wisdom for Our Generation

From the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council The Christian duty of working for peace Christians should cooperate, willingly and wholeheartedly, in building an international order based on genuine respect for legitimate freedom and on a brotherhood of universal friendship. This is all the more urgent because the greater part of the world still experiences such poverty that in the voices of the poor Christ himself can be heard, crying out for charity from his followers. There are nations – many of them with a majority of Christians – which enjoy an abundance of goods, while others are deprived of the necessities of life, and suffer from hunger, disease and all kinds of afflictions. This scandal must be removed from among men, for the glory of Christ’s Church and its testimony to the world are the spirit of poverty and the spirit of love. Christians, especially young Christians, deserve praise and support when they offer themselves voluntarily in the service of other people, with bishops giving a lead by word and example, to do all in their power to relieve the sufferings of our times, following the age-old custom of the Church in giving not only what they can spare but also what they need for themselves. Without being uniform or inflexible, a method of collecting and distributing contributions should be established in each diocese and nation and on a world-wide level. Whenever it seems appropriate, there should be joint action between Catholics and other Christians. The spirit of Charity, far from forbidding prudence and orderliness in social and charitable action, in fact demands them. Those intending to serve the developing countries must therefore undergo appropriate and systematic training. In order to foster and encourage cooperation among men, the Church must be present and active in the community of nations. It must work through its own public organizations with the full and sincere cooperation of all Christians in their one desire to serve all mankind. This end will be more effectively achieved if the faithful are themselves conscious of their human and Christian responsibilities and seek to awaken among those in their own walk of life a readiness to cooperate with the international community. Special care should be taken to give this kind of formation to young people in their religious and secular education. Finally, it is to be hoped that, in carrying out their responsibilities in the international community, Catholics will seek to cooperate actively and constructively with other Christians, who profess the same Gospel of love, and with all men who hunger and thirst for true peace.