Luke 1: 39-56 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

So many of us are familiar with Mary's visit to Elizabeth's home before their children were born.  One could think about how miraculous it was that John first recognized the Christ Child even before his birth and Elizabeth was pointed toward him by her son, as was John's role. 

We could also contemplate Mary as the Theotokos, the God-bearer, chosen by the Father before time, as the passage in Genesis foreshadows Mary and Christ (Gn 3:15). 

Perhaps the greatest lesson that can be learned are those of love, humility, faith, and trust that Mary shows in aligning herself with God's will.  These virtues are contained in Mary's Magnificat which she proclaims within today's Gospel.  These virtues are not for women only, but have been attained by male and female saints alike in their following of Christ.  Our Lady is our example in the New Covenant.  Let us pray today that not our will, but your will be done, O Lord.  Amen.

Mark 12: 1-12 Memorial Day

Today's Gospel is a story we have heard countless times and is even alluded to within the passage that the Master is the God the Father, who sends his servants, the prophets, that are run off.  Then he sends his only son to the tenants, who then kill him, as did truly would through his Crucifixion. 

The question then becomes, which characters in the story are we?  Are we servants who come to the tenants on the Lords behalf?  Are we the tenants trying to live ordinary lives, worried about day to day living and thinking of ways to acquire wealth to live comfortably? 

In reading a newsletter with an article by Fr. John Hampsch I chucked because we sometimes get into thoughts, like, if this was my last day, what would I do, or what is on my bucket list that I can accomplish now?  We focus so much on the doing.  Fr. Hampsch pointed out, that we ought to be looking at instead, how will God see us on the day we die?  In thinking about that, how tricky since none of us knows the day nor hour of our death except the Father in Heaven. How then can we put forth our best selves so that we'd be prepared at a moment's notice to meet the father? 

Perhaps the answer lies in today's parable.  If we are those to whom the master sends his servants and his son, wouldn't it be wise then, to be good stewards, to be hospitable to others, to live honestly, to act justly? 

Today in thinking of those Veterans who fought for our rights, our freedoms, I think of my grandfather and Godfather who fought in WWII.  They had horrible tales, the worst of which were never shared, but they also had tales of hope and hospitality from strangers in both Europe and in the Philippines.  We are all called to be good stewards in our different vocations in life.  May we rise to the expectation set by Our Father.

Luke 9:11 B-17 Feast of Corpus Christi

When the Body of Christ is presented to us, we respond, "Amen," meaning, 'I belive.'
When the Blood of Christ is presented to us, we respond, "Amen," I believe. 

The bread and wine we receive at mass is not a symbol, but rather the Lord God himself through the thin veil of bread and wine.  

We can learn much from the children who come to the Banquet of the Lord for their First communions.  Let us be like the children who believe in absolute faith and trust.  Amen.

Mk 11:27-33 By Whose Authority Do You Do These Things

In our first reading St. Jude tells us,
"Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in the love of God
and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life.
On those who waver, have mercy;
save others by snatching them out of the fire;
on others have mercy with fear..."

As we walk in faith, in prayer for help from the Holy Spirit, in Love with the Lord, and follow the precepts of the Christian life, we show mercy and love to others.  In the Gospel today the scribes and Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in his teachings of love and mercy: those ways of healing.  They ask him by whose authority he does these things.  He tells them that he will give the answer if they can answer whether John's baptism was heavenly or divine.  In the end, they understand that Jesus' works come from the Father in Heaven, but cannot admit it.

Jesus' words and actions lead to eternal life.  He has given us the Spirit as our advocate to guide us toward that life.  May we always show love and mercy to others even in difficult times, and seek understanding and have compassion across cultures, seeking always to find Christ in others. 

Mk 11: 11-26 Have Faith in God

Today is a long Gospel reading.  Jesus is at the temple, looks around then leaves.  He curses the fig tree outside Bethany, then returns the next day to Jerusalem, to the temple where he drives people out and overturns tables.  The following morning as Jesus and the twelve return to Bethany the disciples notice the fig tree that Jesus cursed had withered.  Jesus uses the withered tree as a teaching lesson in faith for the disciples; teaching that what we ask for in prayer will be given; teaching the importance of forgiveness of sins of others so that our sins may be forgiven by the Father.

There can be much written of, but those last three thoughts:
-have faith
-pray for what you need, believing it is possible
-forgive, that you may forgiven

These are ultimately what Jesus preaches again and again.  Do we not hear these same ideas when we pray the Our Father?  In it we profess our faith, our belief in God in the Father.  We petition him for what we need, our daily spiritual bread.  We pray that we may forgive others, and that God will forgive us.

When we say the Lord's Prayer today, let us think more clearly on the meaning of each of the words that we are saying, and not as something that we have simply memorized.  Let us reflect on the meaning of each word.  Amen.

Mark 10:46-52 Your Faith Has Saved You

In Today’s Gospel we hear Bartimeus begging for mercy from Jesus Christ.  Bartimeus know that Jesus could offer more than what he could receive through ordinary begging of alms.  He is not only one man, but represents us all who beg for the Lord’s mercy.  In this misery of life we are told like Bartimeus, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”  How extraordinary that love of God that he hears us and calls to us first have courage, then to get up and meet him because he is calling to us too. 

In the story today, Jesus asks Bartimeus, “What do you want me to do for you?”  It is the same question that Jesus asked James and John when they asked him for a favor.  To Bartimeus comes a more positive answer when he asks to see.  “Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”  Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”

Because Jesus hears Bartimeus and calls out to him, we know that we too are permitted to beg mercy and petition the Lord.  We desire that salvation that following Jesus leads us.  “Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk
so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 PT 2:2)  We need that rich nourishment that will help us grow in our faith.  To Bartimeus he gives this with sight in this world, but also the sight to see the Messiah in his glory through this miraculous gift of mercy. 

In this year of Mercy we are reminded that his gifts of life and healing are for all.  Do we hear the cry of the poor in our busy world? How do we hear the cry of the poor? Sometimes we are so blinded by what we see, that we can’t see, can we?   

St. Philip Neri’s feast is today.  He was known for his devotion to listening to the poor and burdened at all hours, day or night.  To help others, to help them not sin, this is how he heeded to Lord’s call to serve. He did it with joy and laughter.  He was known for his sense of humor and beloved by all for it.  His suffering and burdens were not difficult, but light because he was given the sight of seeing salvation.  He shared with this love, and mercy to make those whose lives he served less burdensome and joyful.  He recognize Jesus in others.  Let us pray for sight that we too may spread God’s loving mercy to others in need, recognizing Jesus in everyone we encounter.  We ask this through Christ out Lord. Amen.

Mark 10:32-45 The Son of Man Came to Serve

In our low points in life we may be tempted to ask ourselves what the point of life is--we are born, get old and die.  So, we may be temped to ask ourselves, why do anything?  On the other hand, he may also be tempted to throw ourselves into work and focus on that to provide for our families, as we should, but are sometimes tempted to prefer spending more time at work when given the opportunity, away from those we love.  Presented are two extremes: hopelessness and love of busy work. 

St. Peter today tells us in our first reading (1 Pt 1:18-25) that Jesus has come to ransom us from our "futile works."  As humans we get so caught up in what we are doing and our routines, bad ways of thinking, and we miss the bigger picture.  James and John in today's Gospel enjoy what they do with and for the Lord.  They are caught-up in it.  They want to be rewarded for it, so they ask Jesus, the Son of Man, if they can sit at his right and left when he comes into his Kingdom.  They still don't get that Jesus is King of the Eternal Kingdom, not some temporal realm.  They were missing the big picture.  They were just like us. 

Jesus gently admonishes them.  The key to seeing the bigger picture, for holding the Kingdom in our vision and not this temporal world, is by focusing our attention on loving those in need, serving those who need to be served. 

Mark 10: 28-31 The first will be last, and the last will be first

In today's Gospel follows the story of the young man who has been faithful to the law of Moses, and yet Jesus calls him to give up everything of this world and follow him.  Today Peter says that he and the other apostles have done just that: followed the Law and given up everything to follow Jesus.  It is almost as if, he is asking "Where is my reward?" 

Jesus reassures Peter and us that he has done right, and that everything will be given back to him in the life to come, but that he should be prepared for persecutions and tribulations in this life before he can reach the next.  Within Jesus' words is an echo from Job when trials and persecutions afflict Job, then he family is lost, and finally he is afflicted in body, yet Job remains faithful and is rewarded abundantly with great riches, wife and more children, and life.  Is Jesus perhaps trying to make this correlation for Peter?  That suffering in this world and becoming detached to temporal things will lead us to ever greater joy and the richness of the life to come?  Perhaps. 

St. Augustine wrote about the two Cities, the temporal city and the City of God existing with each other, how we can belong to both: living in this world yet simultaneously living in God's kingdom.  Our priests and other religious are called to live that way, and thus are our living example.  We find our greatest saints, both lay or religious are that same way, so we know it is possible.  How can we strive to find that balance in our lives starting fresh today?

Mark 10: 17-27 All things are possible for God

In today's Gospel we encounter the young man seeking Jesus, the Master, "What must I do to inherit eternal life."  We may all seek the answer to that same question.  When we reflect on that question though, don't we realize that we have placed the burden on our selves alone, "What must I do?" as if salvation and the act for it are found within us, as if we have that extraordinary power of God and can do this.  It reminds me a little of an RCIA candidate that I worked with years ago.  She'd worked for a municipality and believed in the black box: if you put something into one side, you get something out the other side.  She didn't understand how that box worked, and wanted to have it for herself so that she could become Catholic immediately without having to go through the process of initiation. 

It brings us back to the question of faith.  Is faith something that we create ourselves?  No.  It is that impuse within us set by God that draws us closer to him and yearn for him.  The young man in today's Gospel say the goodness in Christ, but as Christ willingly admits, that goodness comes from God and is merely reflected in Christ because of his faith and relationship with the Father. 

This story is a great story because it illustrates that we can live a good life being devoted to the Lord, but still harbor those things within us that keep us temporality bound.  Perhaps it really is more possibly for a camel to pass through the eye of a tiny needle than for the rich man to pass into Eternal Life, but thankfully Jesus Christ reminds us that "all things are possible for God."  He sent his only begotten son (an incredible and seemingly unlikely thing) to suffer and die, to descend into hell the be raised (wait, that was only possible for God!), and ascend into Heaven so that we all may be united with him in his glory within the Kingdom.  Jesus in these few words of faith and omnipotence of God brings us right back to the Passion and Resurrection.  Alleluia!  Praise be to God!

Jn 16: 12-15 Holy Trinity Sunday

In catechism class recently we were discussing the Holy Spirit with a group of 2nd and 3rd graders.  We asked, "Can you see the Holy Spirit?"  They answered, "No."  "Can you feel the Holy Spirit?"  The kids took a little longer, and all but one child said no: one child said yes.  "Can you hear the Holy Spirit?"  There was a resounding "YES!"

How do we know that they Holy Spirit is with us?  The kids said that we had symbols to remind us where the Holy Spirit is.  They had been listening to Start a Fire by the band, Unspoken.  They said that the fire symbolized that excitement and energy that made them want to do good.  The wind shakes the trees and makes them move, so it was similar to the way the Spirit moves us.  When asked about the dove, they said it was how the Spirit brings us peace.  They were stuck on other symbols of the holy spirit, then someone shouted out, a heart...the Holy Spirit is love. 

In today's Gospel we hear of Jesus telling us that the Holy Spirit is the advocate that the Father will send, and like him, the Spirit speaks not his own words, but the Father's.  They are united as described by Christ's words.  They work for a common cause within our lives and within our hearts to lead us to Heaven to be united with them.  May the blessed Trinity guide us always and be with us to the end of our days.  Amen. 

Mt. 10: 13-16 Let the little ones come to me

Today's Gospel reminds me of an incident I experienced in a church a number of years ago.  There was a family with little children including a baby.  During mass the parents tried to keep the children quiet, then the baby started to cry.  They church had no crying room.  After mass an older parishioner told the family they weren't wanted at the church, that they should not come back.  To see the look on the parents' faces was heart breaking.  They had come because they had that strong desire to adore and honor the Lord and receive him in Holy Communion.  This was their faith.  This was the faith that they had their children baptized into.  It is a shame that the family was rejected the same way the parents and their children were rejected by the disciples.  But in both cases, there was a happy ending.

Jesus rebuked the disciples and freely opened his arms wide to the little ones.  God so loves us not matter how old we are, or difficulties, or infirmities.  In the case of the family, the parish priest took notice and in the manner of Christ, wrapped his vestment covered arms around the parents in a warm embrace and asked them to continue to come, that the person was in error, that they were wanted.  He befriended them.  As the children grew they became some of the first altar servers at the parish. 

The point?  Everyone has their place.  Everyone is needed.  Those little children who hang around their parents knees at the church, they need to be welcomed by us, not rejected.  It is they who reteach us what it is to live in innocence. 

Mark 10:1-12 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

Divorce is such a tricky topic in our times and in Jesus' own.  All too often we hear of couple breaking up because of adultery, lack of faith in each other, or they have just grown distant.  My mom's reason, she simply didn't love my father after sixteen years.  Life is difficult.  There are no clear cut paths.  In so many ways, this is why we are called to love deeply and forgive.

Jesus is pretty harsh today.  The Pharisees are trying to trick him into stating something against the Mosaic Law, but Jesus handles it perfectly saying that it is because we are human that Moses permitted divorce.  Jesus goes on though saying that what God has joined together, no one can undo.  If we think about this in relation to those we love, we can see the truth in it.  Whether we love friends or family, there is that deep emotional bond of love that allows us to be separate and to come together again as if no time has passed.  It is because God has joined us together. 

Mark 9:41-50 It is better to enter into Heaven with one hand...

In today's Gospel we are cautioned about leading the innocent away from Christ, and are instead encouraged to have peach with others, and to nourish each other and ourselves. 

Today we hear the we will be "salted with fire".  It is a curious turn of phrase.  These are two elements important to human life.  Because our bodies do not produce it, animals including us consume salt for life and good health.  Fire was considered since ancient times a gift from the gods, one of the most ancient and primal elements necessarily for humans.  Fire has certain properties.  It grows in intensity, and has widespread, practical life applications.  Fire is also one of those things that seems eternal. 

When we think of these things together we realize that not only is the fire a symbol of the Spirit of God within us, spreading to others his Word, but it is sprinkled with salt, that which keeps it living and strong and perpetually fresh.  Let us nourish that fire in our soul and continue to sprinkle it with salt through learning more about God, from sharing, and challenging our selves in our faith from time to time to keep our spirituality fresh.

Mark 9: 38-40 He drives out demons in your name

Do you recall Charles Colton's famous quote, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery"?  In today's Gospel the Apostles are appalled that someone who was not in their eyes 'authorized' is driving out demons in Jesus' name. 

It calls to mind an image of one who is trying to become Christ-like, and therefore has radically changed their life to be as much as they can like Him.  It is what we are all called to strive to do.  It is difficult, but Jesus reminds us, that these people who do this, who try to imitate him, they cannot be against him:  if they were against him, they would not be trying to imitate him.  How do we start to try to imitate Christ, and why should we?

St. Paul says, "Put off the old man who is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth." (Eph 4:22-24)  As Dietrich von Hildebrand explains we must desire to be this new man or woman in Christ.  It has been interesting speaking with young adults recently who attest how easy it is to become complacent in their faith and with the things of life, that they are suddenly realizing that they need to keep challenging themselves to grow spiritually and to become better people--this challenging the way they think, pushing themselves to help others by taking their own selves out of their comfort zones, by working to be more forgiving and compassionate, these are the ways to put on their new selves, to live in imitation of Christ, to be Christ-like. 

Mark 9:30-37 The Last Shall Be First

What does Jesus mean by “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”   I know some good people who sit at the back of the churches because of this reading, but they've often shortened the phrase to: the last shall be first and the first last, omitting the part about being a servant to all.

I was recently speaking with a friend who openly admitted that the was the jealous type.  So am I.  I think it is common to jealously guard our friends, families, our positions, what we've done, etc.   Our natures tend to be like that.  It is what we see from the Apostles in today's readings, they each believe that they have put in the time and effort and deserve to be considered the 'greatest' one of the group. How many times have we been like that?  Haven't we all done a good job at something and desired someone to say, "Hey, you did a great job." 

Jesus indicates that we should let it go and not let our personal jealousy that leads to pride get in the way of doing our work.  It is echoes in the first reading from the letter of St. James: 
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.

James is talking not necessarily about the physical relationship between people who are not married, but more metaphorically about our "marriage covenant" as it is between us and God, as his people for whom he sent his only son for our salvation.  Should we turn away from him for the pleasures of the earth, for our innate jealousies and pride instead of accepting the grace that he gives us so that we can be united with him, then we become his enemies.  Therefore, Jesus reminds us today, that we need to be humbled, that we need to serve others to preserve those graces, continue that abundant love of God, and letting it flow.  Hard to do?  Maybe.  However, it is readily seen in caregivers, and families who are at hospitals with loved ones.  This is merely one example.  There are so many more.  We need merely open our eyes to it. 

Mark 9:14-29 The Power of Prayer

In today's Gospel Jesus teaches us three very important things:

1) Evil is real.

2) Prayer is important.

3) Prayer overcomes evil. 

Evil is not cut and dry.  It permeates everything, is sweet and seductive.  We are overcome with it in ways that we can't believe by the time that we notice we have fallen into its trap.  Prayer is the solution.  In prayer we place God before all things.  We praise and glorify God.  We ask to be protected by evil.

It is not easy to pray.  That is one of the tricks of evil, to make it difficult.  In those times what a Godsend that we have the Lord's Prayer and others to help us through those dry times where prayer doesn't come easily.  I have a friend who I think must struggle with prayer because every time he goes somewhere in the car, he prayers a Hail Mary.  Group prayers such as the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are another way to combat fatigue in prayer as well as to encourage and strengthen. 

Prayer overcomes evil.  Each of us are victim to that internal struggle of good versus evil.  God is helping us win.

John 17:11B-19 Consecrated in Truth

These words that Jesus speaks today remind us of our priests who speak to God the Father upon the altar, and thus are known as Jesus' "high priestly prayer" as he speaks to the Father on our behalf, offering us up with himself, so that we may be in union with him and the Father.  It is what our dear priests do at every mass during when they call down God and lift us and our prayers up during the sacrifice of the mass. 

“Holy Father, keep them in your name" is a line that marks us as a people of God, set aside and anointed.  Jesus asks that we be consecrated in the truth by the Father.  "Your word is truth." he acknowledges.  Through God's word we are made holy.  Through Christ, the Word, we are made holy.  Let us rejoice and be glad! 

John 17: 1-11A

"I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them."

Praying for others is so important.  Jesus prayed for us.  We are to pray for each other.  Sometimes it is difficult.  Sometimes we make lists, or incorporate those we are praying for into Rosaries or litanies or novenas.  These are good things.  Let us not forget to ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother too.  Recently in my emails I received a missive about how there is a famous exorcist who said that the devil once told him that people saying the Hail Mary was like driving a spike through his head because the focus of the Rosary is Christ and our redemption and salvation from hell.  Something to think about if we tend to say that we'll pray for others, then forget. 

John 14:6-14 ..so that the Father may be glorified..

There is something really beautiful in everything that Christ does, and that is that he continuously tells us, it is not for him or his sake that he asks us to do things, but for our Father in Heaven.  Jesus is so willing to give completely of himself.  It reminds me of when he told the Apostles that, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends." (Jn 1513)  Jesus lets us know that his words and works are from the Father.  This is how he is in the Father and the Father in him.  Thus they become one. 

"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father."

Jesus promised to send the Advocate and with the help of this Holy Spirit send by the Father in Christ Jesus' name, we will have great power to do His will.   It is an incredible amazing thing.  Hard to be true, yet it is.  How does it relate to our own life?

A brother who has sought God in nearly every religion throughout his life looks at my faith and asks, how can you believe?  Why can't I quite turn the question around and ask, why don't you believe? In today's reading Philip asks Jesus to explicitly show everyone the Father as proof.  Thomas the Apstle is with them.  Philip and Thomas portray those doubts and uncertainties we all have.  This is why Jesus has already challenged Thomas to put his fingers into the wound marks.  Now he explains explicity how he and the Father are one, how what he does glorifies the Father, and how we are to be united with him in following him in his works to also glorify the Father: to give our whole selves to God.  Christ died for our sins, that he could raise us up with himself for the honor and glory of God.  Alleluia!

John 15:26-16:4 A Feast of St. Athanasius

Can we testify to the Lord?  Are we willing to share our faith with others through word and deed?  In working with Confirmanti on their Confirmation retreat they were asked, "What comes next?  Are you going to keep practicing your faith, or are you going to stop attending church and do other things?"  The kids were kind of shocked by the question.  They had the choice??  Then they started wondering what the catch was.  They were in charge of their faith, not their parents.  They were beginning to understand. 

As newly confirmed people, how did they plan on nurturing their faith?  This took more discussion and self reflection.  What did they need to continue to grow spiritually?  How could they grow spiritually?  In the course of discussion forgiveness came-up.  Different types of situations needed deeper forgiveness, some situations, like murder, they were unsure that they could ever forgive.  St. Paul was mentioned and the great forgiveness that Ananias had only through the help of the Holy Spirit in order to forgive Paul and to heal him.  The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper, is needed daily in inspiring us to love and forgive and heal.  Wow, sounds like Christ.  The Spirit is here to help us carry on Christ's work. 

In their written reflections, how did they decide they could be nourished in their faith?  By continuing to receive Christ in the Eucharist and Gospels at mass; through sharing their faith with others, especially their younger siblings and to those random strangers who asked them questions about their faith, they would try their best; they would continue to honor their parents and families with love; they would try to live their lives as good people and in doing so, hopefully the Spirit would walk with them and they could be a light to others.  They are a great group of kids.  Our kids are the future of our church.  May God bless them and guide them on right paths. Amen.

John 14:23-29 The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you

Jesus is preparing to depart.  He tells them, "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."

It is difficult to say good-bye to family and friends when they have come for a long visit and have to depart for their own homes.  It is even more difficult when someone dies and we long and yearn for one more touch, one more word.  It is these combined that Jesus prepares us.  We should not despair not become despondent though, for the Father will send us the Advocate in Christ Jesus' name.  It is the same Advocate whom the Father sent at Christ's baptism to help him in his ministry and prepare for his death and Resurrection into glory: It is the third person in our Triune God, the Holy Spirit. 

It is suggested that we rejoice for Christ as he returns to his home in heaven and paves the way for us to follow.  We should not live in this world, but be always ready for the next.  Our greatest joys and triumphs here in this world are pale in comparison as to what will come, and although they are joyful, it their shadow form, dont' they resemble suffering when compared to the joy of heaven?  We have much to look forward to.  We have much to prepare for.

In working with Confirmanti we asked them to reflect on what comes next for them after they receive their Sacrament of Confirmation.  They were uncertain and thought they may a little lost.  They are where the Apostles were as Jesus was preparing to depart.  However, they are hopeful because they know the Spirit will descend upon them and direct them as it does all of us to continue to share the Good News.