The response to the responsorial psalm, Psalm 98, states that "[a]ll the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God." "All the ends of the earth": every continent and every country and State, city and village, in each continent has seen the saving power of God. Knowledge of God has been spread throughout the world. And, in fact, the law of God has been written on every heart. Furthermore, "everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him" (1 John 2:-3:6). St. John then says to us: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are!"
Each of us is a child of God! Each of us, if open to God's revelations and presence in our personal lives and in the world, "have seen the saving power of God." We have seen God's love being poured out, for instance, by little children who cling to their parents, who rest their tiny heads on their shoulders, who give their art pictures to mommy and daddy, who kiss their baby brother/sister, who want to help mommy and daddy with chores or with baking Christmas cookies, and the parents who respond lovingly to their child's needs and comfort them when they are distressed. We see God's saving power at work in the reconciliation of spouses, of grown children with their parents, of long-lost relatives being found, in criminals remorseful of the ways in which they have hurt others, in persons who risk their lives to save others from disaster, and on and on! This evening on the CBS news we have seen God at work through a little boy who has found "forever homes" for 1400 dogs confined to kettles in animal shelters. We see God's love and saving power at work in strangers helping strangers in need, in children making sandwiches for homeless persons and, with parents, distributing those sandwiches. Human being partnering with God, allowing God's power to flow through them, is endless and happens throughout the world!
"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done [and is doing] wondrous deeds" (Psalm 98) around the world, in our back yards and in our families!
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
God Has Done Wondrous Things for Us--Alleluia!
In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 98, we proclaim that the Lord "has done wondrous deeds: His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice [Christ the Lord]. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God...."
God has done wondrous things for us in sending Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, to take on our human nature. God stooped down to earth to lift us up to heaven literally! God could not hold back His love. He loves us so much that He sent His son to reveal that love. Jesus is the fullness of God in human form. He is fully human but also fully divine. Jesus is like us in all ways except sin, beginning with taking on human nature in Mary's virgin womb, being an infant and a child totally dependent upon His parents, to being an adolescent and learning a trade from his foster father Joseph to encountering the best and the worst in humankind and to even being put to death on a cross, crucified as a criminal by jealous, evil persons. And Jesus triumphed over death--death had no power over Him. And in Christ Jesus, with whom we live and die, we, too, will triumph over death! "His right hand has won victory for him" and for us who believe in Him and live for Him.
God held nothing back for us. What am I holding back from God? What holds me back from giving God my all in giving my all in sacrificial love for my spouse, my children, my grandchildren or, if I am a woman/man religious, a priest, what holds me back from giving my all to others with whom I live and work and play and pray?
God has done wondrous things for us in sending Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, to take on our human nature. God stooped down to earth to lift us up to heaven literally! God could not hold back His love. He loves us so much that He sent His son to reveal that love. Jesus is the fullness of God in human form. He is fully human but also fully divine. Jesus is like us in all ways except sin, beginning with taking on human nature in Mary's virgin womb, being an infant and a child totally dependent upon His parents, to being an adolescent and learning a trade from his foster father Joseph to encountering the best and the worst in humankind and to even being put to death on a cross, crucified as a criminal by jealous, evil persons. And Jesus triumphed over death--death had no power over Him. And in Christ Jesus, with whom we live and die, we, too, will triumph over death! "His right hand has won victory for him" and for us who believe in Him and live for Him.
God held nothing back for us. What am I holding back from God? What holds me back from giving God my all in giving my all in sacrificial love for my spouse, my children, my grandchildren or, if I am a woman/man religious, a priest, what holds me back from giving my all to others with whom I live and work and play and pray?
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Blessings on you!
The message to all of those who read this blog comes from today's first reading, Numbers 6: 22-27:
"The Lord bless you 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!
Happy New Year! May 2019 be the best year of your life!
"The Lord bless you 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!
Happy New Year! May 2019 be the best year of your life!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Happy New Year
Happy are those who believe in the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh. May our determination to follow His ways deepen in 2019.
All who believe in Jesus and accept the Lord as their Savior are saved! May our knowledge of needing God as Savior increase in 2019!
Power is given to those who wait upon the Lord. May our ability to wait upon God be strengthened in 2019!
Power is given to those who rely upon the Lord above all! May we seek God above all in 2019!
Yielding to the will of God is what Mary, the Mother of God, models for us. May we follow her example more consistently in 2019!
Numbered among those who belong to Jesus, may we cherish that belonging more than ever in 2019!
Enlightened by grace, may we, like John the Baptist, point out the Lord to others, as John pointed out the Lord to us. May our ability to recognize Jesus in others be stretched in 2019!
When we experience an emptiness in our lives in 2019, may we turn to Jesus, who came that we might have fullness of life.
Your success in 2019 depends on whether you keep your focus on the Lord.
Every day of 2019 offers us opportunity to grow in our love for God, others and self. May we seek to deepen this love by our humility, our willingness to forgive and our reliance upon God!
All of us have received from Jesus' fullness, "grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1: 1-18). May our gratitude and awareness of grace grow in 2019.
Remember that the Word of God became flesh and dwells among us! Seek Him in all of the events of 2019! He is there to be found by those who seek Him!
All who believe in Jesus and accept the Lord as their Savior are saved! May our knowledge of needing God as Savior increase in 2019!
Power is given to those who wait upon the Lord. May our ability to wait upon God be strengthened in 2019!
Power is given to those who rely upon the Lord above all! May we seek God above all in 2019!
Yielding to the will of God is what Mary, the Mother of God, models for us. May we follow her example more consistently in 2019!
Numbered among those who belong to Jesus, may we cherish that belonging more than ever in 2019!
Enlightened by grace, may we, like John the Baptist, point out the Lord to others, as John pointed out the Lord to us. May our ability to recognize Jesus in others be stretched in 2019!
When we experience an emptiness in our lives in 2019, may we turn to Jesus, who came that we might have fullness of life.
Your success in 2019 depends on whether you keep your focus on the Lord.
Every day of 2019 offers us opportunity to grow in our love for God, others and self. May we seek to deepen this love by our humility, our willingness to forgive and our reliance upon God!
All of us have received from Jesus' fullness, "grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1: 1-18). May our gratitude and awareness of grace grow in 2019.
Remember that the Word of God became flesh and dwells among us! Seek Him in all of the events of 2019! He is there to be found by those who seek Him!
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Clothe Yourselves in Love
In today's second reading, Colossians 3: 12-21, St. Paul encourages us to clothe ourselves with "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another...And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly....
I cannot help but think of all the money and fuss we sometimes make over the external clothes we wear, the makeup we put on to look beautiful, and the length to which we will go to have our hair looking awesome. Do we, I wonder, go through the same lengths to clothe ourselves with humility and kindness, compassion and understanding, patience and forgiveness? Do we go to the Lord each day and ask to be clothed with love or are we too busy clothing ourselves externally? Do we let Christ's peace enter our hearts or are we too busy being critical of others or blaming others for our discomfort, misery or dissatisfaction, or, even, building accolades for ourselves?
Lord, give me a change of heart! Refocus my eyes to see the gifts you give me each day. Help me, Lord, cultivate a grateful heart. Clothe me in love, Lord. And may I , in cooperation with grace, put forth effort daily to clothe myself with "compassion, kindness humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another...." Thank you, Lord, for your generous response to this prayer.
I cannot help but think of all the money and fuss we sometimes make over the external clothes we wear, the makeup we put on to look beautiful, and the length to which we will go to have our hair looking awesome. Do we, I wonder, go through the same lengths to clothe ourselves with humility and kindness, compassion and understanding, patience and forgiveness? Do we go to the Lord each day and ask to be clothed with love or are we too busy clothing ourselves externally? Do we let Christ's peace enter our hearts or are we too busy being critical of others or blaming others for our discomfort, misery or dissatisfaction, or, even, building accolades for ourselves?
Lord, give me a change of heart! Refocus my eyes to see the gifts you give me each day. Help me, Lord, cultivate a grateful heart. Clothe me in love, Lord. And may I , in cooperation with grace, put forth effort daily to clothe myself with "compassion, kindness humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another...." Thank you, Lord, for your generous response to this prayer.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Partnering with God, as Mary Did
It is not even a week since Christmas and we are encountering what living the Christian life is all about: surrendering to the realities of life. In today's Gospel, Mary and Joseph present Jesus to the Lord and themselves undergo the purification rites "according to the law of Moses". They are to "offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.....[W]hen the parents brought in the child Jesus...[Simeon] took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 'Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.'" Simeon then prophesies, saying to Mary: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce)..."
Imagine a young mother and father being given dire news about their child either at his/her birth or at his/her baptism and also told that their hearts will be pierced with sorrow because of the destiny of their infant. Now, Mary knows that Jesus is the Son of God, conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit, not by an earthly father but a heavenly one. Shouldn't everything be rosy for Mary? Not so! How did she manage the sorrows of her life? Mary surrendered to God, trusting Him throughout her life: at the Annunciation, at the birth of Jesus, the Presentation in the Temple, the flight into Egypt, the wedding feast of Cana, his public ministry, Calvary, the Resurrection, the Ascension and Pentecost. She let go and let God be God and she always "the handmaid of the Lord"--God's servant!
Life here on earth, as it was for Mary, is like a rose bush: it's beautiful and brings much joy but it also has thorns! The thorny side of life is what we sometimes resent! The thorns in a rose bush, however, I think, keep hungry creatures from devouring it. So, too, the thorns of life are a protection for us, as it is those very difficult times that have the power to turn us away from evil toward the good, away from relying upon oneself alone to partnering with God. The sufferings of life, I believe, are filled with graces that empower us to rely upon God, not upon ourselves alone. God is a powerful protector and helper as we deal with life's thorns and climb the mountains we encounter on our way to eternal life as God's servants here on earth!
Imagine a young mother and father being given dire news about their child either at his/her birth or at his/her baptism and also told that their hearts will be pierced with sorrow because of the destiny of their infant. Now, Mary knows that Jesus is the Son of God, conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit, not by an earthly father but a heavenly one. Shouldn't everything be rosy for Mary? Not so! How did she manage the sorrows of her life? Mary surrendered to God, trusting Him throughout her life: at the Annunciation, at the birth of Jesus, the Presentation in the Temple, the flight into Egypt, the wedding feast of Cana, his public ministry, Calvary, the Resurrection, the Ascension and Pentecost. She let go and let God be God and she always "the handmaid of the Lord"--God's servant!
Life here on earth, as it was for Mary, is like a rose bush: it's beautiful and brings much joy but it also has thorns! The thorny side of life is what we sometimes resent! The thorns in a rose bush, however, I think, keep hungry creatures from devouring it. So, too, the thorns of life are a protection for us, as it is those very difficult times that have the power to turn us away from evil toward the good, away from relying upon oneself alone to partnering with God. The sufferings of life, I believe, are filled with graces that empower us to rely upon God, not upon ourselves alone. God is a powerful protector and helper as we deal with life's thorns and climb the mountains we encounter on our way to eternal life as God's servants here on earth!
Friday, December 28, 2018
The Impact of Negative Emotions Left Unexamined
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the male infants and little boys two years and younger slaughtered by Herod, who felt threatened when he heard from the Magi that, Jesus, the king of the Jews, was born in Bethlehem. When the magi did not return to Herod to let him know where to find Jesus so he, too, "could do him homage" (Mt 2:9), Herod pursued other actions in his determination to destroy Jesus.
In today's Gospel, Matthew 2: 13-18, Joseph is warned of Herod's intentions. An "angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said 'Rise, take the child and and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.'" Joseph followed the angel's suggestions!
In our lives, we have choices: 1) to follow the angels' suggestions in our lives and trust God's Presence to keep us safe from Satan's snares or 2) to get carried away by fear, anger, jealousy and an insatiable thirst for power and control and "wealth" of any kind--anything or anyone in our way is then destroyed in some way: infants in the womb, men and women and children seeking asylum from violence in their own countries, men and women of integrity threatening another's corruption deception and unjust pursuits, persons in the way of a romantic relationship outside of marriage, and so on!
Fear can drive us to do horrible things, including murdering children, killing our spouse, destroying anything or anyone who gets in our way of staying in control, holding on to power, gaining wealth and prestige--pursuing idols that we are convinced we must have.
Lord, open my eyes to what might be motivating me to do what I do! Open my eyes to your Presence, my ears to the voice of the Spirit, my heart to love you and my will to follow you! May I have the courage to examine my motivations and recognize negative emotions driving me to act irrationally!
In today's Gospel, Matthew 2: 13-18, Joseph is warned of Herod's intentions. An "angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said 'Rise, take the child and and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.'" Joseph followed the angel's suggestions!
In our lives, we have choices: 1) to follow the angels' suggestions in our lives and trust God's Presence to keep us safe from Satan's snares or 2) to get carried away by fear, anger, jealousy and an insatiable thirst for power and control and "wealth" of any kind--anything or anyone in our way is then destroyed in some way: infants in the womb, men and women and children seeking asylum from violence in their own countries, men and women of integrity threatening another's corruption deception and unjust pursuits, persons in the way of a romantic relationship outside of marriage, and so on!
Fear can drive us to do horrible things, including murdering children, killing our spouse, destroying anything or anyone who gets in our way of staying in control, holding on to power, gaining wealth and prestige--pursuing idols that we are convinced we must have.
Lord, open my eyes to what might be motivating me to do what I do! Open my eyes to your Presence, my ears to the voice of the Spirit, my heart to love you and my will to follow you! May I have the courage to examine my motivations and recognize negative emotions driving me to act irrationally!
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