FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – January 29, 2012

I –I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth.
R –If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
II – A virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy.
A – The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light;  on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.
G –He taught them as one having authority.

+ Our readings today are about darkness and light. We are at that time of the year now when we fancifully spout out that “spring is right around the corner:” “See how much lighter it is getting every single afternoon and evening; it won’t be long now.” There is longing in each of us – planted by God – to be in the light, rather than to sit in darkness. Our faith, in conjunction with the Christmas cycle that we have recently concluded, tells us that Jesus Christ is the only Real Light: he is a reflection of the glory of the Father, energized by the shimmering Holy Spirit of Life.  And so the Alleluia verse today proclaims jubilantly: The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.

The gospel passage has an interesting perspective: the evil spirits who live in the shadows,  know who Jesus is, they recognize light when they see it and they are compelled, no, required to shout this information out: “You are the Holy One of God!”  But Jesus rebukes them, not because it is not true, but because his gradual revelation of himself does not correspond to these uncontrolled outbursts.

The virgins mentioned in the second reading tell us too about darkness and light. In the early Church the Order of Virgins was highly valued, these women were anxious about things of the Lord, rather than for a husband or family: their holiness was meant to be exemplary and be like a brightly shining lamp to reflect the light of Christ their Spouse so all in the house could see things as they were, all in the Church could find the way to holiness by witness of those who were actually doing it.
The first reading tells us how God at the beginning wanted to give his people the light of words, words of comfort and salvation: and so he raised up many prophets to speak on his behalf. This was a serious undertaking and woe to the prophet who misused his vocation.

The question we ask ourselves today is this: is there room for more light and hope and peace in our lives; is there room for more certainty, assurance and confidence? if so, then, if today you hear the voice of God speaking words that enlighten; close not your minds and harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For he is our God, our Light, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides out of darkness into light!

THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – January 22, 2012

I –The Ninevites turned from their evil way.
R –Teach me your ways, O Lord.
II – The world in its present form is passing away.
A – The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
G –Repent and believe in the Gospel.

+ Our readings today focus on our willingness to change, readjust, adapt and embrace something that rings truer than anything else we will ever hear or encounter: the Word of Life, the Gospel, the Good News of the Lord.  It is the very essence of Fallen human nature to be rigid, rebellious, unadaptable and isolated; and unfortunately the old saying “misery loves company” applies well here. Yet, there is nothing more miserable than “a nest of squealing rats on a sinking ship!”

In the gospel passage we see Jesus himself first proclaiming the gospel of God: THIS IS THE TIME OF FULFILLMENT. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL!  And then we see him walking along the Sea of Galilee and calling Simon and Andrew, James and John – two sets of brothers who were fishermen whom he was inviting now to become a different kind of “fisherman:” proclaimers with him of this great and awesome news that the entire redemption of the human race was happening right before their eyes and that everyone could now benefit from it.

The first reading prophesys what happens when a group of people, a city, listens to sound preaching – believes that they are receiving a message from God – and they change their lives to follow his ways: the Ninevites have something to teach us! The second reading encourages us who live in the final age to live as though the end really may be at any time, not so much interested in taking our comfort but in helping other people attain their salvation.

And so, may we, with God’s grace and mercy be willing to change, readjust, adapt and embrace all that rings true, as we encounter: the Word of Life, the Gospel, the Good News of the Lord; and then may we share what we experience with all we meet each and every day.

Teach me your ways, O Lord.

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – January 15, 2012

I –Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
R –Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
II – Your bodies are members of Christ.
A – We have found the Messiah: Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.
G –They saw where he was staying and they stayed with him.

+ Today we begin the 34 week “Ordinary Time” series of Sunday celebrations – which will only be interrupted beginning in late February for a 15 week Lent/Easter Season highlight. As we set the stage for these 34 “teaching weeks” we find a three part theme today: the calling of qualified “teachers,” the willingness of would-be students, the authenticity of the Master-Teacher.

• The first part regarding the calling of qualified “teachers,” we see in the first reading how Samuel is called personally by God to be his spokesman, to be a Prophet beyond reproach, to work with God’s people during a particularly difficult time in their growth and development. Samuel did not doubt the Lord’s selection of him as “teacher” “intercessor” “friend” of his people; and he is therefore set up for us as a model for “listening” to the call of God when it comes, however it may come, so to do what he wants us to do: we will know it is from God, if our minds and our hearts agree that an external and/or internal message is good, right, just, helpful to as many people as possible and somehow in line with what God would have us do.

• The second part has to do with the audience,  the students, the disciples who will benefit from what a teacher has to say: it is often said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear; in this case the people of God were finding themselves in all kinds of challenging situations having to do with their salvation both materially and spiritually,  and being very fond of his people, God, therefore, sends them always the personnel they need when they need it: at this time in their history they needed Prophets who would speak loudly to them his wishes, desires, exhortations and warnings; and the people for the most part were quite ready to listen, to specially chosen ministers such as Samuel.

• Lastly, the third part of the teaching theme has to do with the Truth, the Rock, the Authenticity of the chief Message and Messenger – who are one and the same Person: Jesus Christ. All of the Prophets pointed to Jesus; the truths they were delivering from God, pointed to God’s own delivering to his people of his own Word, the Truth, the Message-made-flesh – so that we could be absolutely certain that where we stand now is exactly where we need to be, and that the fulfillment of all of our dreams for health and wholeness, justice and peace would be beyond our wildest imaginings – in a Kingdom yet to be fully revealed!

And so as we begin our trek through this liturgical landscape of sights and sounds and smells of the ancient world, may we be assured that our Guide, our Master, our Teacher, our Friend: Jesus, will point out everything we need to know for our spiritual welfare day by day; and that at the end of this year’s journey, we may be much more deeply in love with him, and his Father, and his Mother Mary, and all the saints who have lived his message, his teachings, to the maximum, throughout the ages, thus encouraging us with hope and giving us the same to share with others.

We have found the Messiah; Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD – January 8, 2012

I –The glory of the Lord shine upon you.
R –Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
II – Now it has been revealed that the Gentiles are coheirs of the promise.
A – We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.
G –We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.

+ Today we celebrate the arrival of the Magi, bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This presentation of gifts to the Christ Child is an obvious reference to the gift-giving nature of this Season of the year. Just as the gifts we give, these gifts were not arbitrary, something they picked up on their way out the door; they were carefully chosen and prophetic in origin and nature: gold for Christ the King, who came from obvious royal lineage; frankincense, for Christ the Priest, who would offer his life on the altar of the Cross; and myrrh, (an embalming ointment) that signified the death of Christ the Savior of the World.

These three Kings, these three Wise Men, these three Magi followed the Star of Bethlehem to find him resting in the arms of his adoring mother, Mary; and guarded by his foster-father, Joseph. And what they found was that the Light that was the Child shone brighter than any star, and they message they got was that this Child would illumine the entire world from that moment on: not just the insular surroundings of Bethlehem, but the entire world: this Child is indeed the Desire of the Nations: all of them: he is Light of all Nations, and the glory of His people Israel: he has come to change nothing, he has come to change everything.

What a magnificent feast this is, both in its revelation of Christ as the one true, awaited Messiah; but as Savior for any in the whole world who would simply believe in Him, and commit themselves to living their whole lives long like they did believe in Him, following his words and ways, as members of his Body, as members of his Church.

The task henceforth for his own people would be to accept him, and believe; for everyone else: the entire Gentile (non-Jewish) world, it would be in gradual stages to get to know about him, by first hearing about him, listening to preaching about him, and then by allowing themselves to be drawn into the life of his Body, the life of his Church, where he and his Father, eventually wants all to be. This would be a long process because the darkness of the human mind is not only very dark, but deceptively so: it tells so many that there is no other way, and that “false lights” are the best hope, as a poor substitute for what hearts deeply long for.

This, of course, is not true; there is another way, a way of Light and Blessed Assurance; a way of truth, and a way of peace. It just takes an initial  “leap of faith” – which itself is God’s gift: we really don’t have to do anything at all, except use our precious gift of free-will to acknowledge its Creator, its Sustainer and its Redeemer.

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you; let our nation soon be among the first to make significant inroads in realizing this prophecy; let the people of our land be among the first to truly love and serve God as he would be loved and served, if only by following the guiding star of the perfect natural law that is within every human heart!

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD – January 1, 2012

I –They shall invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.
R –May God bless us in his mercy.
II – God sent his Son, born of a woman.
A – In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
G –They found Mary and Joseph and the infant. When the eight days were completed, he was name Jesus.

+ Today we celebrate both the august maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Mother of God, and the naming of her Child, eight days after his birth: the name given by the Angel at his conception: Jesus, Savior. The time of blessing had arrived: God has now entered our world, as one of us, born of a woman, in order to save us from our disconnectedness from God that would have remained permanent and unchangeable, unless God himself did not choose to intervene on our behalf.  The mediation of a human birth by means of a humble virgin of Nazareth was sublime in its originality, its simplicity and its faith.

And so we celebrate today Mary’s cooperation with the Divine Plan of Salvation, we celebrate the fact that she became the mother not only of one who had a human nature (like her own), but also a Divine Nature (wholly other, of God himself) combined without confusion in one Divine Person: Emmanuel, Christ the Lord. Mary truly was then, Mother of God (that is Mother of the God-Made-Man) who was wholly God, while being wholly man at the same time.

O wondrous mystery! The mystery of the exchange of divinity with humanity, and humanity with divinity! Man was now capable not only of having his sins forgiven, but of living in God forever – in his heart, where the Divine Person in his Divinity and later humanity always lives.

Mary often pondered on the events of which she was a part; the birth of her Son in a manger, the visitation by shepherds, the prophecies that were just beginning to be externally fulfilled in her infant Son. Yes, on the eighth day, as prescribed by Mosaic Law, Jesus was circumcised and named, as was prophesied, JESUS! And he immediately took on the role of SAVIOR and never let it move from the center of his focus until he breathed his last on the Cross, that he always knew lay before Him.

Thank you Jesus for all you have done and still do for our salvation; and thank you Mary for being not only the Mother of the Savior, the Mother of God; but also the Mother of all who belong to his Mystical Body, the Church: Mother of us. We love you and honor you this day, and ask that you always be our comfort and our joy as we try to live the best we can, the life modeled not only by your Son, but also you, who are our Queen and our Friend.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.

THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD – December 25, 2011

I –A son is given us.
R –Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
II – The grace of God has appeared to all.
A – I proclaim to you good news of great joy: today a Savior is born for us, Christ the Lord.
G –Today a Savior has been born for you.

+ Today we celebrate the birth of the impossible, the nativity of the improbable: the coming to our earth of God-as-Man. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us!”

We have just concluded the O Antiphon Series at the daily Evening Prayer of the Church for the past seven days announcing the Royal Titles of the coming Messiah: O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens, O Rex Gentium, O Emmanuel: translated: O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Sunrise, O Sovereign of the nations, O Emmanuel – and now today we extend the “O sentiment” three steps more: O Great Mystery, O Wondrous Exchange, O Come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

The text: O Great Mystery (Magnum Mysterium) is part of the celebration of the Midnight Hour (Matins) of the Divine Office for Christmas Day. O great mystery, and wondrous sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in their manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Christ. Alleluia. For centuries, composers have been inspired by the beautiful text depicting the birth of the new-born King amongst the lowly animals and shepherds. It is a fitting affirmation of God’s grace to the meek and the adoration of the Blessed Virgin.  We will hear a majestic version sung by the Southwest Seminary Oratorio Choir as our post communion meditation at this Mass – Morten Lauridsen’s rendition soars to the height of the radiant star of Bethlehem. It is a truly stunning piece.

The central “O phrase” for our celebration today, however, and fodder for our spiritual Christmas pondering is this: O Wondrous exchange!
The Creator of human nature deigned to take on a human body and soul, and be born of the Virgin. He became man without having a human father and has bestowed on us His divine nature! O Wondrous exchange!

This, of course, is incomprehensible without faith – God’s own light-giving gift – the inner light of our souls, the warm glow of our hearts! With faith this exchange is beheld as an awesome event: God shares in our humanity, and we begin to share in his divinity! O Wondrous exchange! God is now capable of suffering, capable of expiating (making up for) our sins by His sufferings, and of healing us by his humiliations!  Blessed be God forever! O Wondrous exchange! We must participate in this exchange through faith. And the astounding gift the Christ child has for us in this exchange is that those who receive him by believing in Him have the power to become children of God – brothers and sisters of the Lord – and coheirs with him of an everlasting Kingdom. O Wondrous exchange!

And so then, come, O come ye joyful and triumphant ones, come ye poor and displaced ones, come ye homeless and ye starving, come ye jobless and ye overburdened, come ye politically enslaved and ye voiceless, come ye marginalized and downtrodden;  come ye young and ye old, come ye sick and infirm: come to Bethlehem and behold the King of angels; behold your Lord and your Friend, come as shepherds came, leaving their flocks, drawing nigh to gaze, with them to adore him with wonder, to embrace him with love, to reach out to him with hope  – and your life will never be the same again!

May the Spirit of the lowly, tiny and o so loving Child in the Animal’s Manger permeate your heart and soul, both now, this Christmas Day, and forever! Amen.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – December 18, 2011

I –The kingdom of David shall endure for ever before the Lord.
R –Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
II – The mystery kept secret for long ages has now been manifested.
A – Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
G –Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

+ Today we reach the final Sunday before the celebration of Christmas, which will coincidentally be one week from today, next Sunday. A fitting point of focus at this point for us might be to consider the words of Mary to the angel Gabriel who proposed to her the fact that God had selected her to be the mother of his Only-Begotten Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary unhesitatingly replied: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. And it did happen, at that very moment. Jesus came to exist in her womb, the Incarnation was underway, and our salvation was now in progress. What a jubilant and joyful scene that was, yet so humble and so fair!

We need take note that when we do as Mary did, and respond in the affirmative to God’s plans for our life, both in general (our vocations), but also the individual decisions we are faced with daily in living that vocation out; when we say from our hearts: Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, may his will be done in me, this day and every day of my life: Jesus immediately comes again to dwell within us, to empower us and help us to carry out whatever task the Father assigns, as he did Mary, as he did all of his disciples, and all of the saints both of the past and of the present. Without the help of God, our lives would be next to impossible to live in any kind of a positive or hopeful way, or in a way that pleased God; but with his help “nothing is impossible with him!” and in fact all is gloriously redemptive!

It was from the House of King David, that an eternal kingdom was established with Jesus, his royal descendant, being born in a stable in Bethlehem. May we this day, through the obedience of faith, carry on that royal mandate to bring as many as we can into the kingdom with us, by means of humble, simple submission to God’s loving will, and by our example of being a happy, holy people who look and act  like they enjoy being members of the kingdom!

Mary, be our Queen, our Mother, and our Model as we imitate your unlimited confidence and hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises; and help us to get all in final readiness for the birthday celebration of your Son!

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT – December 11, 2011

I –I rejoice heartily in the Lord.
R –My soul rejoices in my God.
II – May you entirely, spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
G –There is one among you whom you do not recognize.

+ Today we celebrate the loftiness that is “Gaudete Sunday” – “Rejoice Sunday”: taken from the opening Latin word “gaudete / rejoice” of the “Introit” or as we say now the “Entrance Antiphon” of today’s mass. We have arrived now past the midpoint of the Advent Season, and the intensity of our spiritual preparation increases, the desires of our hearts intensifies and the time left to finalize this year’s spiritual gift to the Lord is winding down.

It is very evident that this is a “gift giving time of the year”; but what is becoming unfortunately less and less evident is the real reason for the giving; the true motivation behind it. And that motivation originates in this:

God the Father gifted us with a Savior, a Redeemer, a Reconciler – without whom we would have suffered eternal separation, loss and pain as a result of our inherent affiliation with our sinful first parents: (and this Redeemer, his own Son) was born in a stable on Christmas Day;

in time, this babe, this child, this adolescent, this young adult, this grown man gifted us with signs and wonders, but also with the introduction of a system of morality, based on truth and justice, and self-sacrificial love and service (which was something new);

this Suffering Servant Son, Christ Jesus, then put everything on the line and died for proof of his love – laying down his life for us and our salvation;

then, activated by the working of the Holy Spirit,  God the Father and the Son, gifted us with the Church,  to be the Presence of Jesus, his guidance and companionship” along the way” to eternal life – of this Church we are members; to this Church we invite as many as we can to join us!

This divine dynamic of self-sacrificial gift giving is the true model of gift giving at this time of the year. For what we have learned from the sermons of Jesus is true: that which we give to others, we give to him, personally. The question then is: do we remember or even realize these realities at this holiday time of the year? What is important is most assuredly the personal thought behind a gift: an object hand-made, a service rendered, some help that is given, the cheer and goodwill bestowed. It is not about the price of  or quantity of  “things” “objects” “gadgets” or “devices” that matters – in the big picture these will fade away – in fact very quickly – but what will remain is the spirit behind truly personal gifts given, in imitation of the personal giving of God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit: gifts that bring glad tidings to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, liberty to captives, release to prisoners, a year of favor lived in God’s presence with brothers and sisters who truly care!

Coming to understand this concept at this stage of the Advent Season can be reason for great rejoicing; and we still have time maybe to rethink some of our holiday gift list. The best rule of thumb might be: give what will be able to be taken with you when all is said and done! Think about it!; act on it!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT – December 4, 2011

I –Prepare the way of the Lord.
R –Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
II – We await new heavens and a new earth.
A – Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths; all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
G –Make straight the paths of the Lord.

+ Today, the Second Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as “Love” Sunday, as we light the “Love Candle” - second of four candles in the Advent wreath. For as we continue our spiritual preparation for this year’s celebration of the birth of Christ, today the tenor of the readings shifts into a gear of higher excitement. The voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD: MAKE STRAIGHT HIS PATHS, rouses us to action, rouses us to responsibility, rouses us to accountability. Our human lives have purpose: we are loved intimately by God: we are to welcome Him, the God of gods, into our lives and receive his kindness, his peace, his truth and his justice.

The Prophet Isaiah exquisitely crafts for us the image of God as Lover, as Shepherd, as Father: Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.
A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Go up onto a high mountain Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem…fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: HERE IS YOUR GOD! Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

The second reading, however, reminds us living today, that we not only have waited for the Lord and Messiah to come the first time, but we also await the time for him to come again and establish the fruit of his promise: new heavens and a new earth: where the Kingdom of his Father will be in effect forever.  Therefore, we must conduct ourselves with holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the Day of God, May we be eager to be found without spot of blemish before God when he comes to complete his action of love and bring about eternal peace!

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT – November 27, 2010

I –Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.
R –Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
II – We wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A – Show us, Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation.
G –Be watchful! You do not know when the Lord of the house is coming.

+ We begin again! This is actually “New Year’s Day” in the Church: the beginning of a brand new liturgical year of grace with twelve months ahead of us to once again behold the great mystery of our faith: the coming as Savior of the very Son of God himself – who became for us Jesus Christ the Lord. This is also a fitting day to welcome the new Third Edition of the Roman Missal; may its prayers guide us lovingly through the liturgical events of the coming year. The Advent season is the time to look back into our Jewish history and see the great preparation that God himself made before the actual birth of the Messiah on Christmas Day. This history tells of a people, formed by God to be his family, who found themselves in situations more and more intense and even dangerous – mostly by their constant disobedience to him. God had to rescue this people over and over again; but at the same time they were always longing and yearning for a true and lasting liberator, Messiah, who would free them from all their slaveries and be their leader triumphant against all their enemies. God had this same desire for them, but with a twist; this Messiah and King would not be of a political bent, as they thought he might be, he would instead inaugurate a spiritual kingdom that would last forever; and the slavery that he would free them from was the most deadly of all: sin – which, unless he had come to forgive it, would have kept them, and everyone else, out of that kingdom forever!

And so, when the time was right – and the hopelessness of this people was immense and their longing was at the bursting point – “this fullness of time” produced the familiar story that we will hear about in the coming weeks: the arrival of the magnificent Lord of the universe, in the tiny body of a little baby boy! Our God is so powerful that he could do this: out of love for us!

Our readings today are magnificent: this yearning, groveling people know that they are but “bits of clay, and that God is the potter;” and as works of his hands they ask for freedom, mercy and love! And he gives it! The gospel passage encourages us to be watchful and waiting both for the second coming of Jesus, but also in a new way this year: the first. Let our hearts burst with yearning and hoping and crying out to God for his peace and his love: and he will give them – just as though we were there at the stable in Bethlehem. There is reason to have hope - God is faithful to his promises – he is devoted to those who are searching for his face: he will show it to them!

Dear Lord, show us your love; and grant us your salvation!