Luke 7:11-17 God has visited his people

In so many ways Jesus performed the same miracles as Elijah, so much so that at times, the people thought he was God and other times Elijah returned to his people.    Restoring life to the man who was dead is in line with all of the Gospel that Jesus preached.  He is the Good Shepherd and through him we enter into the Kingdom where he will give us new life.  It is echoed through Jesus' miracles of healing and bringing people back to life. 

In this particular Gospel reading Jesus tells this poor mother and widow not to weep.  He is uniting himself with her in her suffering.  He does that with each of us whether we have lost a loved one, are desperate for our children who may have addictions, are misguided, won't listen, etc.  He is with us in our suffering when we find out that we have an increased chance of Alzheimer's or been told we have cancer or diabetes.  The Lord knows our suffering.  His compassion and love are so great.  "Do not weep." He told the mother.  He is carrying her load with her, just as he carries it with us.  We go through the greatest trials in life, and yet make it through.  It is not because we are great and can do anything.  No, it is because we know that our God is amongst us, visiting us with his love and mercy. 

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. 

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.

John 15: 9-11 Keep in my love

As a communication tool the social media isn’t bad, but it also highlights that human need for love and acceptance.  It is what many of us in this life are searching for.  Our families and friends hold that key to love and acceptance, yes.  However, our relationships prepare us for that great relationship between us and our God, who is love, compassion and mercy.  Jesus reminds us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.”  That love is so complete and encompassing.  If we think of those greatest joys and times that we were filled with deep love for others around us…how they would pale in comparison and almost seem like suffering to what we receive from our Heavenly Father through Christ. 

How do we remain in Christ’s love?  He tells us, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” What are his commands?  Put simply, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.  Secondly, love your neighbor as God has loved you. 

John 6:52-59 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood shall live

As a child my siblings and I were always curious about vampire and zombie movies.  There was always something so very wrong with sub human creatures drinking human blood, or eating their brains that made us laugh.  We knew it was fiction.  As an adult I was briefly amused and annoyed when a friend learned that I was a Catholic and asked how could I be?--I was such a nice person, but did how could I partake in human sacrifice every Sunday and eat them?  It was a clear sign that our Church needs to do more in educating our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who belong to other churches. 

In today's Gospel the Jews are taken aback asking themselves, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"  It is as shocking to them as it was to my friend.  What does Jesus mean?

Think back to the wedding feast at Cana.  That is a precursor to the Heavenly banquet.  We are to be nourished and sustained in our faith.  All we need to do is believe.  The Son came down from Heaven like the manna in the desert.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, " From the beginning Jesus associated his disciples  with his own life, revealed in the mystery of the kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings." (CCC 787)  In joining with him, we come into communion with him, an ecclesiological communion which mimics that of the Father and Holy Spirit to the Son.  We share in his resurrection.  His flesh is our flesh, his blood our blood.  We, the Church,  are his body and he is our head.  At the Last Supper he gave us himself through the grace of transubstantiation whereby the substance of the bread was changed to Him while the outer veil remained like bread, and the same with the wine, that substance became him, for us to consume, to be nourished, not just physically, but spiritually with the grace that is God, inebriated with his Divine love and mercy. 

John 20:19-31 Divine Mercy Sunday

"Peace be wish you," Jesus says as he appears to the disciples within the locked room.  He shows them his hands and side, proof of his death and of his Resurrection.  He says to them again, "Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I have sent you."  He breathed on them (the imparting of the Holy Spirit) and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

This is the Mercy of God.  Our Lord and Savior came to die for the salvation of mankind.  Through the power vested through him, those whom he specially appointed those that followed after him, whom we call priests, have this power of life or death within their grasp: the power to forgive sins and lead us to everlasting life, or to allow the person to retain the sins that belong to death.  They are sent out, as Christ Jesus tells us, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to heal us and bring us life.  We are called to meet Christ within them to be healed through that Merciful give of the Sacrament of Reconcilliation.  Let us welcome God's gift of Divine Love and Mercy at each opportunity, and spend time today giving thanks to our Merciful Lord.  Amen.

John 8: 51-59 Vocation to Follow into Life

Religious leaders are important to the faithful no matter what faith people are.  As Catholics we look toward the Pope, our Archbishops, Bishops and Priests.  What is the first step in being a religious leader?  It is the vocation, that calling forth by God the Father for this particular mission.  It emerges from deep introspection and discernment.  If that calling, that vocation isn’t there, then it is empty.  Many of us know people who thought they were called to the vocation of priesthood, but it was not meant to be.  Whereas we all know those whose vocations were solid and bear good fruit as our Priests and Bishops.  As Jesus said regarding them in their vocations as our religious leaders, and to us in the paths that God has lead us on, “It is not you who have chosen me, but I who have chosen you.” (Jn15:16)

In our first reading today we see clearly that God has called Abraham to be a father of all nations, to shepherd of his people, and to lead them in the path of righteousness as God’s chosen people.  As God tells Abraham, I will be “your God, and the God of your descendants after you...”  God so loves us and knows what is right for us, that he guides us into the right paths as a loving merciful Father. 

Similarly the in the Gospel today we run into the religious leaders, men called by God to lead the people,  discoursing with Jesus regarding Abraham; the leaders saying that Abraham, their father, was dead, but Jesus talking of eternal life.  The Jews do not believe what Jesus tells them.  They are convinced that life is finite, that “Abraham died, as did the prophets.” They ask Jesus if he is greater than Abraham and the prophets since he, Jesus, is telling them, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.”  They are filled with doubts and suspicion.  It is like something is missing from their spirituality.  Yet, here is the Good Shepherd, Our Lord, instructing and calling them and us in a Way that offers hope and life.

Pope Francis in a discussion on death reminds us, “God always gives life. He gives it to you here and he will give it to you in the next.  He is God of life, not of death…In our faith death is a consequence of human freedom.  We were by our own sins, those who opted for death, which entered into the world because we made room for disobedience to the plan of God.  Sin entered as pride before God’s plan and with it, death.” (On Heaven and Earth ch 10, p77; by Bergoglio and Skorka. Image/Random House 2013) At the same time God calls us to be closer to him and for this purpose sent his only Son for the salvation of humankind, that we might have life restored to us through him.  We are called to proclaim the wonders our God has done.  God the Father is fulfilling the covenant that he set with his people.  We are called to fulfill our covenant with him by following Christ in the Way, so that we might know the Truth when Jesus says, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.”  Christ Jesus was God for he tells us, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” 

 

John 5:1-16 Do You Want to Be Well

There was a man who'd been sick for 38 years sitting in the porticos of the Sheep Gate.  Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be well?"  (Note the irony that the Good Shepherd is taking care and healing his sheep at the gate.)

Human compassions would dictate that our hearts yearn to help those in need.  God's is no different.  Although the Jewish law dictates that no healing should be done on the Sabbath, God is greater than the Sabbath, and the Son of God heals this man.  God's mercy and compassion are endless for all days and all times. 

There is much in our world that we wonder where is God's mercy.  A child recently told me that sometimes God takes people away so they don't do really bad things.  Why is it so easy for a child to understand this and difficult for adults?  There is a man who is busy trying to take care of his grandchild because the boy's father wont.  He is trying not to become bitter, and wonders where is God's mercy in this situation?  Many of our saints remind us that when we ask God to help us with difficulties we have a preset idea of what God should do.  We forget that God will do what is best for us even if it takes us on a journey that we don't expect or are sometimes not entirely thrilled with.  Is it easier to fight God's will, or to put our will in-line with His letting ourselves be vessels of his love?

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 The Prodigal Son

Our catechism classes today reviewed the Ten Commandments.  As we looked at them we asked what they kids thought of them.  "Oh, they are so hard."  "It's hard to always tell the truth." "I don't always want to do what my mom and dad tell me." These were some of the refreshingly honest comments we heard from our youngest students.  This allowed a discussion about forgiveness to formulate, leading us directly into the parable of the Prodigal Son, which was part of today's Gospel reading. 

So many people focus on one of the two sons, but what about the father in the story?  He shows such love and compassion to his sons.  He seeks them both out and lets them know how much they are loved.  He speaks to them both directly, but in the one son who had been away, he also sends out helpers to show his love and mercy.  It is a great story about God's love, compassion and mercy for us.  As this is the time of Lenten reflection, how do we continue as His people?  Our catechism classes today were planned carefully so that the lessons of forgiveness and mercy toward others for the sake of God were high lighted.  In our parish each month a different Work of Mercy is highlighted.  This month it is Bearing Wrongs Patiently and a poster has been made to high light what it means and how we can help.  The older posters hang near the entrance to the church.  As the children walked past the one for Feeding the Homeless, and saw the photos from the shelter of the kids and adults in need, they wanted to help, and so today the second half of the class was dedicated to making food for tomorrow.  Tomorrow the food prepared by the children will be taken by volunteers at our parish to the shelter to provide a hot meal to those who have no home. 

The Point:  God forgives us our sins because he loves us so much.  In his mercy he cares for us in all we do.  We all have that spark of wanting to help others, no matter how young or old. That spark is God in us calling us to serve other through his love and mercy.

Lk 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus

Just as innocently as a child we can find ourselves in situations where our pride and greed get the better of us.  Once is not a bad thing.  However, we need to be cautious that they do not become bad habits which eventually will turn into great sins. 

In today’s Gospel Luke gives a beautiful contrast between the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man has a lavish lifestyle and has fallen into bad habits which become a bane to him, prohibiting him from seeing that they are truly sinful.  He exhibits what we would consider the cardinal vices: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth.  Thus for these he is condemned to suffering eternally.  As we hear in Jeremiah, “Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.”     

Lazarus on the other hand was a poor man who spent his days in the doorway of the rich man.  Seeing Lazarus across the chasm with our father of faith, Abraham, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus over so the Lazarus could drop some water on his tongue to refresh him.  The rich man even in death hasn’t fully learned.  Abraham must explain to him that Lazarus was a good faithful man.  In fact we can almost imagine him the very opposite of the rich man exhibiting in his difficult life the Cardinal virtues:  prudence, justice, temperance (meaning restriction or restraint), and courage (or fortitude), faith, hope, and charity. 

Why are we given these two men as examples?  Jesus wants us to understand the correct way of living the way that Our Father wants us to live in our covenant with him.  For the rich man he had Abraham to explain and show him the error of his way.  For us, we have Christ.  And he reminds us, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”  Let us not be hard headed like the rich man, but prayerfully ask the Lord his mercy and forgiveness that we may one day be ushered through the door of Heaven, just as poor Lazarus who sat patiently at the door waiting to be asked in. 

(Side note: Cardinal comes from a Latin word meaning hinge.  They are the hinge upon which the door swings good or bad.)

Luke 4:1-13 Temptation in the Desert

"Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days..."

These lines remind us of Jesus' baptism at the Jordan when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and the Voice of God the Father was heard saying, "This is my son in whom I am well pleased."  The Spirit then brings him to the desert where he is tempted. 

We are all temped every one of us, even once we are baptized.  We are given the fruits of the Spirit to help us in our life's journeys.  What are these gifts from God that we should be aware of and be comfortable employing in face of temptations and life's troubles?  They are wisdom, understanding, fortitude, counsel, knowledge, piety, and fear/awe of the Lord.  These gifts can help us so much.  They helped Jesus in the temptations in the desert.  These gifts of the Holy Spirit helped to lead Jesus our of the desert.  They help us too in our tough times.  When we lose our pride and ask God for help, that is when we can be led by the Spirit the best. 

We are called to conversion and our Lenten journey should help us there.  Let the Spirit guide you in his love and mercy, through acts of kindness and charity toward others. 

Mark 4:26-34 To What Shall I Liken the Kingdom of God?

Today we have two parables that describe the Kingdom of God.  The first is the farmer who can't explain why the seeds the has sown grow in his field and ripen before the harvest yet he checks on the field day and night and is amazed with its growth.  The second is the mustard seed, one of the smallest of the seeds that grows into a huge bush/tree where the birds find safe haven beneath it.

From these two parables we begin to infer that the Kingdom grows in ways that we cannot begin to understand, in places that we may or may not expect; that it is up to God.  The next thing that we begin to realize is that it, and we in our faith lives, will come to full fruition becoming fully ripe to the point when we are ready for the harvest, that judgement promised us by Christ.  The Kindom comes to us inconspicuously though it grows into something strong and lasting.  To it many flock and take refuge within it because of its enduring love and mercy.

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 Baptism of the Lord

There was once a woman who asked whether she should have her child baptized.  The woman's mother wanted the grandbaby to be baptized, but the mother and father didn't follow any faith, and the mother especially struggled because she had been raised Catholic and her first husband, who was a devout Catholic, had been killed in a tragic accident; In some ways she still blamed God.  In the end the mother decided that she did not live her faith; that she would allow the child to be raised in a home devoid of religion and he could decide for himself when he was an adult whether he would pursue faith.  The grandmother, when he was an infant, took Holy Water from the Jordan River and claimed him for Christ in the hope that if he should die, he would have the hope of attaining heaven through God's mercy.

In light of today's Gospel where we hear of the Glory of the Father descending with the Holy Spirit upon the Son, that cleansing, that holiness, and rich blessing, knowing that this is similar to the baptism that we experience when we are baptized into Christ, it is almost unfathomable that parents struggle to decide to baptize their children; this however is due in part to our current age of secular relativism.  God is not bound my time or current human philosophies.  We need to look to the Eternal and the meaning of our sacraments, instead of whether we find them convenient. Jesus was baptized with water and the Holy Spirit.  "The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.  He commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1257.    Let us pray that we do not prevent the little ones from coming to the Lord. 

Luke 5:12-16 Your Will Be Done

In today's Gospel Jesus is confronted by a man with leprosy.  The man acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ.  He asks for God's mercy to heal him,  but acknowledges that it should be God's will and not his own that needs to be done.  He is willing to continue suffering the leprosy if God so desires.  Jesus Christ tells him that it is his will that the man be healed, "I will do it.  Be made clean. 

We are called in this reading to be mindful as to whether we ask God's will be done in our lives, or if we demand that our will supersede that of God.  May we walk humbly always with the knowledge that God so loves us and is merciful.  May we put our trust in Him to allow his will be done in our lives, even if it means a continued suffering, or great healing.  Let us not forget to praise and adore him.

Mark 6:34-44 God is Love

In today's Gospel we hear of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  This is God's generosity, his bounty within the limitless Love that He is.  Saint John reiterates in his letter, "Beloved, let us love one another, because God is love...God sent his only-begotten son into the world so that we might have life through him.  In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins." (1 John 4:7-10)

Sometimes we forget that God is love or how much he loves us.  Sometimes we have someone we know and love who is sick and there is nothing that can be done to cure them.  Doctors think the person too old, or the condition too severe, and refuse further treatment.  Where is God then?  Where is his love in that?  Perhaps we are too narrowly focused and God's love is in our periphery view.  His love is there in the telephone calls from family and friends gathered around the one dying, in the comfort and care they give each other.  It is in the sadness the doctors feel for not being able to make the antibiotics work, or the frustration with the insurance companies denying treatments.  God's love is there too in his gift of time and the knowledge of how short we have together so that we can prepare ourselves and celebrate each passing moment as the treasure it is.  There is also the gift of mercy and hope in knowing that through God's love we may be reunited in the next life and spend an eternity of joy together. 

Perhaps the loaves and fishes are a metaphor for God's love, that he has given us each the gift of love and we must collect it from amongst ourselves.  As we share and pass it along the way, in the end we find that it will overflow and cannot be contained for the love that we share is greater than us all.

Mt 4:12-17, 23-25

Jesus Christ was manifested to us.  We are called to acknowledge Christ in all we do.  St. John helps us ask the question, "How do we know where Jesus Christ is manifest?"  We need to discern the Spirit and what Jesus calls us to do by what he says and does.   

In today's Gospel we learn of Jesus' reaction to the arrest of John the Baptist.  What does he do?  He does not act rashly or build an army to storm the prison.  No. Jesus withdraws.  Often when we withdraw from a situation, what does that entail?  Often it is  deep consideration of where we are in our interior life.  Perhaps a reprioritizing of those things that are important. 

We are told, "From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand."   

This was a huge step forward in Jesus' ministry.  He is a light to all nations.  People from all around recognized him through his healing message and followed him.

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who like Jesus, reveled in the Kingdom.  She is the first saint born a US citizen.  She was not a Catholic to begin, but her heart was touched by the fire of Christ's mercy. Despite her family and friends, she became Catholic.  She became a bastion of hope and mercy for others.  She is our example today of how to prepare our interior life for the kingdom; that it isn't our will that ought to be done, but that our desires should take a back seat to those of God.  This is one of her prayers:

O Father, the first rule of Our dear Savior's life was to do Your Will.  Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what You wish we will be pleasing to You. Amen.

John 1: 19-28

In  today's Gospel John the Baptist is directly asked who he is.  He has no pretense.  He knew they were asking if he was the Christ.  He was born to be a witness to the Truth.  "I am not the Christ."  But he was the one crying out, pointing to the light who was amongst their midst, that they could not see.  He was a focal point to show them the way to the Light.  He knew that he, like us, was unfit to tie the boot strap of the Just One, Christ the Lord, who was present to take away the sins of the world through his ocean of Mercy.

We are not gods, but mere mortals.  How tempting it is with technology and power at our fingertips to think that we can do anything we want.  How tempting it is to look past those in need, those who hunger, those who thirst for justice, those who need mercy and compassion.  I am reminded of Father Kolbe.  He was a Franciscan priest in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Germany during World War II.  He followed his vocation to the priesthood.  He followed Our Lady's direction in dedicating himself to the Lord.  He taught the multitudes to love the Truth and Life and spread the Kingdom of God throughout the lands.  Then when it was his time to receive the crown of martyrdom, he gave his life for Christ to save another "for greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for their brother" Jn 15:13.  Carnage was a daily part of life in that evil camp and his example almost went unnoticed, and yet through God's grace it didn't.  His courage and witness for the Truth planted that rich seed of hope and faith in those who watched and kept the experience of watching the events of Father Kolbe's life play out.  Through them echo his and their witness to the Mercy of God  shown through Father Kolbe.   Although not in the same way, we are each called to be witness to Christ through our love and compassion for each other.  We are called to do this by sharing time with each other, forgiving each other, and brining peace to others.  We are not worthy to tie the boot straps of the One who was sent, but we are called to obedience. 

Luke 2:16-21 The Lord is Salvation

In today's Gospel we are greeted by the shepherds as they enter the presence of the ultimate Good Shepherd laying in the manger with Mary and Joseph by his side.  Christ has entered into the human story to be one with us, in communion with us, and to bring to fruition that saving act prophesied that would reunite human kind with the Father for all time, namely through his Passion and Death.     

Mary keeps all these things in her heart.  She is our example in contemplating scripture, or in her case, living Scripture through the words and actions of her son, Jesus, whose name means "the Lord is Salvation," in light of the teachings of the Old Covenant. She comes to understand and proclaim the Truth.  Imagine being near to the Lord, hearing the voice of God, feeling his presence and helping him within the early communities as he reaches out to those who seek his compassion and mercy.  Mary is our example, our guide in how we should follow the Lord Christ, our Good Shepherd.  She remains obedient and humbled, but continues to contemplate throughout her life.  We are called to her example to find understanding.  As we begin this new year, let us follow our Lady in following the Lord of Mercy and Compassion.  Let us hold in our hearts those who are in states of migration, those who are refugees, those who like the shepherds, live a modern nomadic life; may we be true Christians as we follow Mary's example of following Christ's command to love one another as God loves us. (Jn 13:34)

John 1:1-18 Light of the World

In John's Gospel we hear a new creation story through the revelation that has given to us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

Christ is our light.  John the Baptist pointed to him as our light and testified to the Light so that others like us might recognize the Savior.  We are born into that light.  We received the Light of Christ at our baptisms, at our confirmations, at every sacrament the Light of Christ is present.  As Catholics we walk our journey through life with the Light that God has given us, knowing that God is there with us.  He is our light and life that animates us with us in his strength, fortitude, compassion and mercy. We are the Lord’s children by his will for John tells us, “To those who accepted him (meaning Christ Jesus) he gave the power to become children of God.”  Through Christ we have come to know Truth and the fullness of grace. 

Christ is the Light of the World.  We are his disciples.  St. Augustine wrote, “We have not only been made Christians, we have been made Christ.”  What does this mean?  There was once a man riding his bicycle along my road.  I watched him from the upstairs window. As he passed in front of my home, he hunched over forward on his bicycle and collapsed with the bike.  I grabbed my telephone and raced outside to him.  As he opened his eyes he saw me looking down at him, and asked, “Are you my angel?”    I couldn’t help but laugh for I have so many flaws.  But for that moment, I was Bryan’s angel.   

None of us is perfect.  We are all flawed human beings.  However, we are instilled with the Light entrusted to us by God.  Remember that children’s song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”?  It means that people will come into our lives, and need that light to show them the way in the dark, and it is through our love, compassion and mercy for others that the light spreads and brings life to others.  There are so many Bryans in the world, and sometimes I may be in need, and maybe you.  God will provide the opportunities, but we must be willing to share the light and life which has been given to us through Christ.  In giving of ourselves like this, we are like John the Baptist testifying to the Light so that others may believe and have the light of life.  Remember what John tells us in regard to Christ, "What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race." 

We are the face of God to each other.  We are His hands and feet.  Let us strive to act as children of the Light showing mercy and compassion to others through our actions and words.  We ask this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

(From my reflections)

Matthew 11:11-15

In today's Gospel Matthew gives us a classic turning upside down of the norm.  Paraphrasing, Jesus says that none born is greater than John the Baptist, in the paradigm shift, he says the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John.  What is Jesus driving at?

What he says is truly humbling all the way around.  Why should we let our pride get the best of us?  John the Baptist was a prophet who wandered the desert eating wild honey and locust before he was jailed and beheaded.  The least in the kingdom would be born in a cave without a home, would serve others with mercy and love for all, would be arrested in hate, scourged, tormented while forced to carry the beam and finally crucified among jeers.  The least was greater than John the Baptist.  He was greatest in obedience and patience through his love and mercy.  We are called to let go our pride as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.  When we do things for others are we truly doing it out of love and mercy, or is it merely our pride dressed up as mercy?  St. Francis de Sales warned against the kind of pride that makes the poor "hate you for the very bread that you give them."  Let us examine our hearts as we prepare for the coming of Christ.