Church of the Nativity

January 12 - Baptism of our Lord

Fr. Jerry

Did Jesus need to be baptized?  No, Baptism takes away sin and Jesus was without sin. Rather, He baptized the waters. And through the waters of Baptism, we gain several things.  The removal of Original sin grants our salvation, no longer slaves to sin, but brothers and sisters of Christ; friends of God. The Holy Spirit is planted within us and we are granted a perpetual flow of Sanctifying Grace, as long as we veer away from Mortal sin. It also incorporates us as members of the Church. We are made members of the Royal Priesthood as kings, prophets and priests (or priestess, prophetess and queens. The Royal Priesthood is our instructions for life: to praise God, spread the Word and care for those entrusted to us.

This Church we are brought into is not a building. We do call the places we gather churches, but the Church, capital C is all of us united into the Mystical body of Christ. We are not members of a Jesus Christ society; its more than just belonging to something, we become actual members making up the body of Christ on earth. We are grafted onto Christ and He endeavors to live His life through us.  We are now, His hands, His feet.

Recall at St. Paul’s conversion how Jesus says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  Not, why are you persecuting this group or that group of people, or that church or this community.  When you hurt a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, you are hurting Christ. Mt. 25 tells us, “whatsoever you do to the least of my people, you do to me.” The Church is Christ’s living body. In Him, we live and move and have our being.

Our ticket to become a member of this Mystical Body is our Baptism. We are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We enter into a dynamic of being with the Trinity. We are with God as we do all things in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And as one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, or rather one, holy, catholic and apostolic Mystical Body of Christ, we are connected to one another; not just now, but to all past and future the members of the one Body of Christ. This, perhaps may be difficult for us Americans who prize our individualism so highly. However, in reality, it is not about me or mine, but us; ours.

Imagine having a heart attack and the brain says, that has nothing to do with me. Your problems are yours; my problems are mine. No, your problems are my problems. Being members of the Mystical Body of Christ aligns us with the Historical Body of Christ. St. John tells us that the Word became Flesh and lived among us. This is the Incarnation. The same Christ envelopes us into His Mystical Body and we are included in His Incarnation.  

So what do we need then?  We need sustenance and support. We need the other sacraments.  Would you birth a child and not offer any food? The baby would soon die.  We are birthed into the Church; we need the food of the Eucharist. If we get sick, we need a doctor, medicine, convalescence. Our souls get sick when we sin. Sometimes, a Mortal sin destroys our spiritual health and disconnects us. We need the Sacrament of Confession. If I have not been to confession in 30 or 40 years, how would I repair a sin sick soul?

Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to realize we are all joined; not me/mine, but us/ours. We all are given a gift, a charism, to give back to the world for the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ, for the transformation of the world.

But as humans, even though we have the gifts of God among us, we fail. And God reaches out over and over. A parent who loves his children past the wrongs they do. A parent who loves us, not for what we do, but for what we are: His children. We don’t love God because we’re good; we’re good because God loves us.

Jesus said to John in reply, “Allow it now [baptism] for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

” Righteousness is an often used word, it means to make things right.  From the beginning, humans made things wrong. Original Sin eliminates us from the original intent of an immortal existence in a garden. Sin enters the world. We have a broken world, sin is real and we suffer. Jesus comes to make things right. His actions open up the gates to the Garden. Original sin, which we all inherit, can now be forgiven. Jesus teaches us to love God and neighbor. Jesus comes to show us God’s love. He doesn’t avoid sinners, but rather stands shoulder to shoulder with us. He is not the God that is beyond us but rather with us. He eats, sleeps, walks, talks and suffers alongside us.

Think of it like this:

There is a great football player. He’s won Super Bowls, and been an MVP year after year. He is put in charge of a little league football team as a coach. These kids don’t know anything. The great player could give up on them saying” they can’t throw a ball, run a play or even know how to dress in their uniforms” But he stays.  “This is the way you dress. This is the way you hold the ball, hike the ball, run the play. This is how you work together to get to your goal of being a good team.”

Jesus is the coach.

Fr. Cyriac

The Christmas season, celebrating the Self-revelation of God through Jesus, comes to an end with the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Christmas is the feast of God’s Self-revelation to the Jews, and Epiphany celebrates God’s Self-revelation to the Gentiles. At his Baptism in the Jordan, Christ reveals himself to repentant sinners. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus is the great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on the feast of Epiphany because it is the occasion of the first public revelation of all the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of Jesus as the Son of God to the world by God the Father.  It is also an event described by all four Gospels, and it marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  The liturgical season of Christmas comes to a conclusion this Sunday with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.

His baptism by John was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First it was a moment of identification with us sinners. Sinless, Jesus received the baptism of repentance to identify himself with his people who realized for the first time that they were sinners. Second, it was a moment of God’s affirmation of His identity and mission: that He is the Son of God and His mission is to preach the Good News of God’s love and salvation and to atone for our sins by becoming the “suffering servant.” God the Father’s words, “This is my beloved Son,” (prophesied in Ps 2:17), confirmed Jesus’ identity as God’s Son, and the words “with whom I am well pleased,” (prophesied in Is. 42:1; referring to the “suffering servant”), pointed to Jesus’ mission of atoning for the sins of the world by His suffering and death on the cross. Third, it was a moment of equipment. The Holy Spirit equipped Jesus by descending on him in the form of dove, giving him the power of preaching and healing. Fourth, it was a moment of decision to begin public ministry at the most opportune time after receiving the approval of his Heavenly Father as His beloved Son.

1) The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission.  First, it reminds us of who we are and Whose we are.  By Baptism we become the adoptive sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of Heaven, and temples of the Holy Spirit. We become incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made sharers in the priesthood of Christ [CCC #1279].  Hence, “Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other Sacraments” (CCC, #1213).  Most of us dipped our fingers into the holy water and blessed ourselves when we came into Church today.  This blessing is supposed to remind us of our Baptism.  And so, when I bless myself with Holy Water, I should be thinking of the fact that I am a child of God; that I have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ; that I have been made a member of God’s family; and that I have been washed, forgiven, cleansed and purified by the Blood of the Lamb.

2)  Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our mission:  a) to experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as God’s children, and to appreciate the Divine Presence in others by honoring them, loving them and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children of God in thought, word and action. c) to lead holy and transparent Christian lives and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit and members of Jesus’ Body), by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy, or hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts of a loving Heavenly Father for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

3) This is the day for us to remember the graces we have received in Baptism and to renew our Baptismal promises: On the day of our Baptism, as Pope St. John Paul II explains, “We were anointed with the Oil of Catechumens, the sign of Christ’s gentle strength, to fight against evil.  Blessed water was poured over us, an effective sign of interior purification through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We were then anointed with Chrism to show that we were thus consecrated in the image of Jesus, the Father’s Anointed One.  The candle lighted from the Paschal Candle was a symbol of the light of Faith which our parents and godparents must have continually safeguarded and nourished with the life-giving grace of the Spirit.”  This is also a day for us to renew our Baptismal promises, consecrating ourselves to the Holy Trinity and “rejecting Satan and all his empty promises”.  Let us ask Our Lord today to make us faithful to our Baptismal promises.  Let us thank Him for the privilege of being joined to His mission of preaching the “Good News”, by our transparent Christian lives of love, mercy, service, and forgiveness. 

January 5 - Epiphany of the Lord

Fr. Jerry

Epiphany is the manifestation of something unknown. Today, the magi appear at the house of Mary and Joseph. They have read and heard of the prophecy; the prophecy of a new king to be born. A star appears and they follow. The baby is found and there is an epiphany; this baby, Jesus, is the King of the Jews.

How many magi came? How many followed the star?  One? Two? Three?  St Matthew doesn’t tell us today. He just says magi came but because they brought three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, tradition has limited their number to three. And, we’re not really sure their stations in life. The Magi had many different titles; kings, sorcerers, astrologers, magicians. What religion where they?  They certainly weren’t Jewish. At this time in history, there were only two religions from the view of the Israelites:  Jews and Gentiles.  The Jews believed in the one God. Everyone else didn’t. Everyone else, the Gentiles, worshiped other gods, followed other creeds. The magi were Gentiles, so they were pagans.

Now there are some issues that come to the forefront with Epiphany and these Magi. Three gifts bring to mind three questions.

1. Even though the Magi Were Gentiles, they still recognized the newborn King of the Jews, the promised Savior; God. But the Chosen people were the Israelites, the Jews. Why wouldn’t this Epiphany occur to the Jewish leaders; the people who believed in the One God? Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians today: “.... that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Jesus, the King of the Jews came not just for the Jews, but for everyone. God dwells in our hearts, in us. We are all God’s creations and we must see God in everyone. In seminary in New Orleans, I discovered the tradition of a King Cake, the Spanish have the same tradition, Roscon de Reyes. A cake, in the shape of a ring is baked and within the cake is place a plastic baby; the Christ Child. The one who gets the slice of cake with the Christ Child wins (in more ways than one). You can’t see the Christ child, but you know he’s there in that cake. Perhaps there are times that I fail to recognize Christ in another person. But I should know……because he is there! If the pagan Magi could recognize God, why can’t I? Don’t be afraid! There are so many people who need to hear you tell them the joy of Jesus in this life and the life to come.

2. The Magi didn’t come empty handed. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. That makes me think, what gifts am I supposed to give to this King; Jesus, my Savior? And, how freely do I give those gifts. Can you imagine one of the Magi opening up his box of gold and saying, “just take a little, I need the rest?” Just take some of the frankincense, I need the rest; some of the myrrh? But what if I don’t have gold, frankincense and myrrh? I must still offer a gift, if only sometimes, the gift is myself. A gift of my presence to others or just a smile. Time, talent and treasure. What gifts do I bring and how freely do I share them? If the Magi offered gifts, why can’t I?

3. These Magi made a great sacrifice to come and see the King. They didn’t live next door, or in Bethlehem. They presumably came from countries to the east. How did they get there? They didn’t fly or drive and they didn’t stay at fine hotels along the way. Our tradition tells us they traveled on camels or on foot. Weeks of traveling. The Spanish tradition is that one came on a camel, one on a horse and one on an elephant. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that would have been? And then, they had to travel back to their homes. They went out of their way to offer their gifts, their selves.  They got up and acted to get to know the new King. What sacrifice do I make to get closer to God, to know Jesus better? If the Magi made a sacrifice to know Jesus better; Why can’t I?

4. The Magi went back a different way. A true relationship with Jesus transforms us and we travel a different way.

Fr. Cyriac

The Greek word Epiphany (επιφάνεια), means appearance or manifestation. Multiple revelations of Jesus as God are celebrated on this Feast of the Epiphany. In the Western Church, the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ first appearance to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, while in the Eastern Church, the Epiphany event is celebrated in the commemoration of the Baptism of Christ when the Father and the Holy Spirit gave combined testimony to Jesus’ identity as Son of God. Later, in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus revealed Himself as the promised Messiah, and at Cana Jesus revealed His Divinity by transforming water into wine. The Church celebrates all these epiphany events on this Feast of Epiphany.

The adoration of the Magi fulfills the oracle of Isaiah in the first reading, prophesying that the nations of the world would travel to the Holy City following a brilliant light and would bring gold and incense to contribute to the worship of God. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72) includes a verse about kings coming from foreign lands to pay homage to a just king in Israel.

In the second reading, St. Paul affirms the mystery of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. Paul explains that this plan includes both Jews and Gentiles.  Jesus implemented this Divine plan by extending membership in his Church, making it available to all peoples. Thus, the Jews and the Gentiles have become “coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” That means there can be no second-class members of Jesus’ Body, the Church.

Today’s Gospel teaches us how Christ enriches those who bring him their hearts. If God permitted the Magi – foreigners and pagans – to recognize and give Jesus proper respect as the King of Jews, we should know that there is nothing in our sinful lives that will keep God from bringing us to Jesus. There were three groups of people who reacted to the Epiphany of Christ’s birth. The first group, headed by King Herod the Great, tried to eliminate the Child, the second group, priests and scribes, ignored him, and the third group, represented by the shepherds and the Magi, came to adore him.

(1) Let us make sure that we belong to the third group.  a) Let us worship Jesus at Mass, every day if we can, with the gold of our love, the myrrh of our humility and the frankincense of our adoration.  Let us offer God our very selves, promising Him that we will use His blessings to do good for our fellow men.   b) Let us plot a better course for our lives as the Magi, obedient to the angel, found another way back home — and so avoided the wrath of Herod who was intent on murdering the Baby. In the same way, let us choose for ourselves a better way of life for traveling through the New Year by abstaining from proud and impure thoughts, evil habits, and selfish behavior, and by actively sharing our love with others in acts of humble, generous, serving love.   c)  Let us become stars, leading others to Jesus, as the star led the Magi to Him.   We can remove or lessen the darkness of the evil around us by being, if not like stars, at least like candles, radiating Jesus’ love by selfless service, unconditional forgiveness and compassionate care.

(2) Like the Magi, let us offer to Jesus God’s Own gifts to us on this feast of Epiphany.

(a) The first gift might be friendship with God.  After all, the whole point of Christmas is that God’s Son became one of us to redeem us and call us friends. God desires our friendship in the form of wholehearted love and devotion. 

(b) A second gift might be altruistic, genuine friendship with others. This kind of friendship can be costly, for   the price it exacts is vulnerability and openness to others.   The Good News, however, is that, in offering friendship to others, we will receive back many blessings.  

(c)  A third gift might be the gift of reconciliation. This gift repairs damaged relationships. It requires honesty, humility, recognition of our own part in the damage done by our sins to those around, understanding of others, forgiveness, and patience.  

(d) The fourth gift of this season is the gift of peace: The only way we can receive this offered gift is by seeking God’s Peace in our own lives through prayer, the Sacramental life, and daily meditation on the Word of God. It is out of humble gratitude that we give Him from our deepest heart our gifts of worship, prayer, song, possessions, talents, patience, and time through our humble, loving service of those we encounter.   As we give our small, seemingly insignificant gifts to God, the Good News is that God accepts them! Like the Magi offering their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, we offer what we have, from our deepest heart as we respond to the Divine Gift that the Child offers us – Himself.

December 29 - The Holy Family

Fr. Jerry

Whenever I begin to celebrate the Mass, I’m always happy. But I think how are you? Did you have a fight on the way to Mass? Did you have to wrestle with your children to get them ready or even to come to Mass? 

Are you waiting desperately for school to get back in so that you can get some rest?  Being married is the most difficult job in the world. Add children to that and often, it seems unmanageable. And there’s no guide book.

For some, Christmas should have gone better but it was disappointing. Perhaps this is the worst time of the year for you. Some may have received exactly what they desired for Christmas but it turned out to actually be a letdown.

Sometimes, we already have what we need right in front of us.  On this Solemnity of the Holy Family, we remember our families; our mothers, our fathers, our brothers and sisters.  Whether they are perfect or imperfect.  Especially if they are imperfect; they need our prayers! Whether they are alive or not. In our family, we came to be and in our families we were shaped to be who we are today.  

We also remember that we are part of a bigger family; the Family of God in which we find a Father in God, a Brother in Christ and a mother in Mary. 
As we face another year, let’s look at marriage and the family versus the culture we live in:

Each one of us reflect Christ to the world. Everything Jesus touched was redeemed. He took on flesh, so our flesh has dignity. It’s not that we glorify sex and pornography so much as that we forget the dignity of our flesh which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. 

We believe in a Trinitarian God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We see the Trinity as a love community. The Father looks at the Son, the Son looks at the Father; they realize the love they have for each other and that love spirates out, flowing over to unite us all. The Holy Spirit.

As individuals, we are all altus Christus; other Christs. We are the hands of feet of Jesus Who is not here physically.

In the great and beautiful Sacrament of Marriage, we see the reflection of the fullness of God as a Trinity. The lover, the beloved and the love that ties them together. One loves, the other receives that love (and the roles often change) then there is the love that ties the two together.

The outward sign of the sacrament are the words spoken: “I will, I do” and the inward sign is Jesus tying the two souls together. Now the two become one and the love that ties the two together reflect the Trinity.

Should children be granted, no matter what the number of children, it is still a Trinitarian reflection:  father, mother, and children.

Our society fails to see the bind of this sacrament and often forgoes the sacrament to live together. We call it co-habiting; a nicer word than living in sin or “shacking up”.

Please see the dignity of your flesh, and that the sexual union between husband and wife, is the reflection of Christ to His Church. It is also an act of complete self-giving. Outside of marriage, neither party is ready or able to give themselves completely.

In the sacrament, the nuptial relationship is physical. The relationship between Christ and His Church is also a nuptial action but spiritual. Christ’s nuptial action is completely giving, all the time.

Marriage reflects the love of Christ for His Church and the reality of God in the fullness of the Trinity. Families reflect the same.

The divorce rate in America is not 52%. But if you get married in the Church, GO TO CHURCH, pray for AND WITH your spouse and family as well a practice NFP (which compels couples to communicate) the rate drops to around 7%.

However, we are human and those relationships can buckle and fall apart because none of us are God. It takes great work to be a family and it takes Christ in the family to keep it together. You are not worthless due to a failed marriage. God loves us all -all of the time

The dignity of flesh has its responsibilities. Don’t misuse them. God’s plan will always be the better choice.

Fr. Cyriac

On the last Sunday of the calendar year, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.  We offer all the members of our own families on the altar for God’s blessing. Today’s feast reminds us that Jesus chose to live in an ordinary human family in order to reveal God’s plan to make all people live as one “holy family” in His Church.

The first reading, taken from the First Book of Samuel, describes how Elkanah and Hannah presented their child Samuel in the Temple, consecrated him to the service of the Lord as a perpetual Nazarite, and left him in the Temple under the care of Eli the priest. This dedication took place at Shiloh where the ark of the covenant was housed until King David brought it to Jerusalem. The reading instructs us   that we are to live as God’s children, “chosen ones, holy, and beloved.” In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 128), the psalmist reminds us that happy homes are the fruit of our faithfulness to the Lord. 

In the second reading, John teaches us that, as children of God the Father, we are members of God’s own family, and, as such, we are expected to obey the greatest commandment of God, “Love one another,” so that we may remain united to God in the Holy Spirit. 

Today’s Gospel (Lk 2:41-52) describes how Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem at the age of twelve to make him “a son of the Law” so that He might take on the obligations of the Mosaic Law. After telling us how the boy Jesus disappeared on the journey home and was only found by His frantic parents three days later in the Temple, today’s Gospel explains how the Holy Family of Nazareth lived according to the will of God. They themselves obeyed all the Jewish laws and regulations and brought Jesus up in the same way, so that Jesus “grew in wisdom as well as in the favor of God and men.” Jesus’ obedience to earthly parents flows directly from obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father.

1) We need to learn lessons from the Holy Family: The Church encourages us to look to the Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph for inspiration, example and encouragement. They were a model family in which both parents worked hard, helped each other, understood and accepted each other, and took good care of their Child so that He might grow up not only in human knowledge but also as a Child of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule.  The home is well-suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery – the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the ‘material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones.'” The CCC adds: “Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children.” (CCC #2223).

2) Marriage is a Sacrament of holiness: The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that, as the basic unit of the universal Church, each family is called to holiness. In fact, Jesus Christ has instituted two Sacraments in His Church to make society holy – the Sacrament of priesthood and the Sacrament of marriage.  Through the Sacrament of priesthood, Jesus sanctifies the priest as well as his parish. Similarly, by the Sacrament of marriage, Jesus sanctifies not only the spouses but also the entire family. The husband and wife attain holiness when they discharge their duties faithfully, trusting in God, and drawing on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit through personal and family prayer.  Families become holy when Christ Jesus is present in them. Jesus becomes truly present in a family when all the members live in the Christian spirit of sacrifice. This happens when there is mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual loving respect.  There must be proper care and respect given by children to their parents and grandparents, even after the children have grown up, left home, and have families of their own.

3) Parents need to examine their consciences: On the Feast of the only perfect Family that ever lived on this earth, all parents might examine themselves to see how well they are fulfilling the grave responsibility which God has placed on them. As they heard during their marriage ceremony: “children are a gift from God to you” for whom their parents are accountable before God, as they must, in the end, return these, His children, to Him. Let us pray for the grace of caring for one another in our own families, for each member of our parish family, and for all families of the universal Church. May God bless all our families in the New Year!

December 25 - Christmas

Fr. Cyriac

Merry Christmas. And may the light of Christ shine upon you and your families. May he bring his peace on earth and joy to all the world.

Christmas is the Feast of Jesus as the Light of the World.  “I am the Light of the World. He who walks with me will never stumble in the darkness.” December is the darkest month of the year. It’s a time when we appreciate the value of light. For Christians, Christmas means the coming of God’s light into the darkness of our world. This night is made radiant by the light of Christ, our Lord. Our songs and prayers, especially tonight, are filled with references to light and to the glory of God. Someone once described Christmas as a pool of light in the darkness of winter.

The teaching of Jesus was, and still is, truly a source of life to all who accept him. But it was above all through his deeds and encounters with everyday people in every circumstance of life, showering his love upon the world, that made his shining goodness most manifest. Countless people down through the ages have come to him in darkness and went away bathed in his light.

The light of Christ was not lit in Bethlehem once and then extinguished. Unlike the sun, Christ’s light knows no setting. It continues to shine for all who believe in him and follow him. The light of Christ is a persistent light and has the power to draw people to its shining. It shines in the midst of devastation, disaster and upheaval.

Christmas is the Feast of God’s sending us a Savior: God undertook the Incarnation of Jesus as True God and true man to save us from the bondage of sin. The Hindus believe in ten incarnations of God. The purpose of these incarnations is stated in their Holy Scripture, Bagavath Geetha or Song of God. “God incarnates to restore righteousness in the world whenever there is a large-scale erosion of moral values.”  But the Christian Scriptures teach only one Incarnation, and its purpose is given in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”.  We call our celebration of the Incarnation of God in a Baby today “Good News” because our Divine Savior has been born. As our Savior, Jesus liberated us from slavery to sin and atoned for our sins by his suffering, death and Resurrection. So, every Christmas reminds us that we need a Savior every day, to free us from our evil addictions and unjust, impure and uncharitable tendencies. Christmas 2024 also challenges us to accept Jesus in the manger as our saving God and personal Savior and to surrender our lives to him, allowing him to rule our hearts and lives every day in 2025, the coming New Year.

Christmas is the Feast of God’s sharing His love with us: Jesus, as our Savior, brought the “Good News” that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful, rewarding God and not a judgmental, cruel, punishing God. He demonstrated by his life and teaching how God our Heavenly Father loves us, forgives us, provides for us, and rewards us. All his miracles were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’ final demonstration of God’s love for us was his death on the cross to atone for our sins and to make us children of God. Each Christmas reminds us that sharing love with others is our Christian privilege and duty, and every time we do that, Jesus is reborn in our lives. Let us humbly admit the truth with the German mystic Angelus Silesius: “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.”  Hence, let us allow Jesus to be reborn in our hearts and lives, not only during Christmas, but every day, so that he may radiate the Light of his presence from within us as sharing, selfless love, expressed through compassionate words and deeds, unconditional forgiveness, the spirit of humble service, and overflowing generosity.

Christmas is the Feast of the Emmanuel (God living with us and within us): Christmas is the feast of the Emmanuel because God in the New Testament is a God Who continues to live with us in all the events of our lives as the “Emmanuel” announced by the angel to Mary. As Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the Sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist), in the Bible, in the praying community, and in each believer as the Holy Spirit, residing in us, makes us His “Temples.” Christmas reminds us that we are bearers of God with the missionary privilege and duty of conveying Jesus to those around us by loving them as Jesus did, through sacrificial, humble, committed service. Sharing with others Jesus, the Emmanuel living within us, is the best Christmas gift we can give, or receive, today.

December 22 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Fr. Cyriac

Today’s readings prepare us for the upcoming feast of Christmas by bringing together the major themes of the first three Sundays of Advent, namely, promise, repentance, and joyful transformation. They remind us that the mystery of the Incarnation comes to ordinary people living ordinary lives, who have the openness to do God’s will and the willingness to respond to God’s call. Today’s readings suggest that we should not celebrate Christmas as just an occasion for nice feelings. Instead, commemorating Jesus’ birth should inspire us to carry out God’s word as Mary and Jesus did, in perfect, loving obedience to His will, with the cheerful kindness and unselfish generosity that will help make us true disciples.

In the first reading, the prophet Micah insists that God chooses what is humanly insignificant and unpromising to bring about His own loving purposes.  Micah assures the Jews that God is faithful to His promises, and that from the unimportant village of Bethlehem He will send them the long-expected ruler. He will restore order and harmony in the world by practicing and teaching submission to the will of God. “God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.”  Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 80) is a prayer for God’s blessing on the Davidic king. In the light of the first reading, this may be said to refer appropriately to Jesus Christ.  Thus, we put ourselves in the position of ancient Israel waiting for the coming of the Messiah as we wait for the celebration of His coming at Christmas.

The second reading, taken from Letter to the Hebrews, reminds us that the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ, has offered the perfect sacrifice of loving obedience that liberates mankind from sin. The reading portrays the Son of God as accepting a human body, the true Christmas theme.  It also gives the profound reason Jesus came into the world: “Behold, I come to do Your will.”  By willing, loving eagerness to do God’s will, Christ offered Himself to the Father, replacing all the other ritual sacrifices and becoming the sole means of mankind’s sanctification. This reading reminds us that God, like any loving parent, wants us to do His will –- for our good, not His! 

In the Gospel, Luke tells us how two seemingly insignificant women met to celebrate the kindness and fidelity of God. We see how sensitive Mary was to the needs of Elizabeth, her older cousin, who had miraculously become pregnant in her old age.  For Luke, discipleship consists in listening to God’s word and then carrying it out, and Mary does both, to become the most perfect disciple.

1) We need to carry Jesus to others as Mary did. Christmas is the ideal time for us to be filled with the Spirit of Christ, through Whom Christ is reborn in us and thus enables us to share His love with all whom we encounter. We do so by offering each of them humble and committed service, unconditional forgiveness and compassionate, caring love. Is there anyone we know who is lonely, in a nursing home, ill, or bedridden? Can we help him or her with a brief visit? Let us take the time to visit them this Christmas, to bring some inspiration into their lives, and hopefully to bring them closer to God. Let us share with them the Spirit of God, the Spirit of consolation, of courage, of peace, and of joy, just as Mary did. During the Christmas Season, God calls us into action as He did Mary.

2) We need to bless and encourage the younger generation. Elizabeth demonstrates the responsibility of the older generation to inspire the younger generation. We need others to recognize our gifts, to honor our true being, and to pronounce “the goodness of God upon us.”   We who are grandparents, parents, teachers, and leaders are responsible for encouraging those around us by saying, “You are an important person, valuable to God and to me.”  During this Christmas week, we older people might convey a blessing to others, especially the young. Complimenting and encouraging one’s spouse, children, grandchildren and friends, let us make them know how valuable they are to us and to God.

3) We need to recognize the real presence of the Emmanuel (God Is With Us) and say “yes” to Him:  The Visitation of Mary reminds us that Christ continues to be present among his people.  Christ “dwells among us,” exercising His Holy Ministry through our Ministerial Priests and Deacons, the Bible, the Sacraments, and in each of us in the praying community. The hill country of Judea is right here in our sanctuary.  The same Jesus who dwelt in Mary’s womb and caused John to leap in Elizabeth’s womb now dwells among us in our liturgy and in the Holy Eucharist.  Jesus has come! He lives with us and in us and through us, as we live through, with, and in Him, by the Holy Spirit. What is expected of us during this Christmas week is the readiness to say “Yes!” to the Father, “Yes!” to Jesus, “Yes!” to the Holy Spirit (by accepting everything that we will experience in the coming year as His Gift and grace), and “Yes!” to every call that God makes on us.

Fr. Jerry

The Annunciation of Mary is in the North; flat land and meadows. Upon hearing of her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary, in her own pregnancy, leaves the easily traveled countryside of the North, to go to the hill country in haste. (When born, her son will have His own uphill climb to the cross.) Speculation is that Mary will share her good news and check out what the angel told her about Elizabeth, and a desire to serve Elizabeth in her time of pregnancy. Elizabeth is barren and old. At this time, all pregnancies held the threat of a safe delivery, but in her later years, Elizabeth’s pregnancy will be especially difficult and Mary will be there to help.

As Mary enters the home of her relative, she is met immediately with Elizabeth’s greeting; a greeting welling up from the influence of the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth exclaims in a loud cry., “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth provides a blessing for the Christ child, but also for His mother, Mary. 

In humility, Elizabeth asks, “how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  In the original Greek, Elizabeth uses the name Kyrios for Jesus. Kyrios is the Greek word for God. In Luke’s Gospel, he utilizes the word Kyrios in the manner of a title of a king, but not just any king, but the King of the world; the one, true God. Generally, older cousins do not greet the younger cousins in this manner; an older cousin would have seniority. Mary is not honoring Elizabeth but the reverse, since Mary is the Mother of God, and it is Elizabeth’s honor to be visited by the Messiah and His mother. 

Why do we give so much honor to Mary? Are we taking away from Jesus by honoring her? Not according to the Bible. The Holy Spirit inspires Elizabeth to acknowledge Mary’s Motherhood. It doesn’t detract from Jesus’ greatness to honor His mom. At the end of the reading Elizabeth even offers another blessing for Mary, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Mary is not just blessed because she is Jesus’ mother, but blessed is she because of her faith. In His public ministry, Jesus will hear a woman in a crowd say, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” To which Jesus will reply, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Who heard the word of God first, believed and said yes in a more honored and deliberate way than Mary?

Then, not because of proximity, but rather because of the voice of Elizabeth exclaiming the arrival of Mary and the Kyrios, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. At this time, Jesus, could not make the trip on His own, Mary assists Jesus and takes Him on His first evangelical mission. The Good News is brought to John, in the womb.  Mary is the intermediary between John and Jesus.  Mary has said yes to God and has become the new tabernacle carrying the Messiah within her.

And in the account of the Visitation, we find the ultimate argument against abortion. John is 6 months in the womb and Jesus is just beginning. At either age, if either of the children were aborted, think of the loss, most especially, Mary’s loss; our loss.

Another point to ponder is that John didn’t see Jesus in order to be moved by His message. Are there things that we never see yet believe in? The sun at night? The stars during the mid-day? Air? God is not present to us visually; an argument against the reality of God in the world for some. But like John, we don’t have to see to be moved. We don’t have to see to be affected by the Messiah. Love, itself has come among us and we can all be saved by His work. Even though we do not see Jesus, like John we all can leap for joy with Jesus. 

 

December 15 - Third Sunday of Advent

Fr. Jerry

Like John the Baptist, all of us are commissioned to be heralds of the Lord.  By our Baptism, all of us are to proclaim the Good News.  All of us are compelled, in our own personal ways, to show others about Jesus.  

I have previously said it is good to live the Gospel and open your mouth when necessary. I’ve changed my mind with time and study. We need to not be afraid to speak of Christ and His promise to all. 

The world is broken and needs a lot of help. If you had the cure for cancer, you would not keep silent. We have the cure for hopelessness and the promise of life forever. Look for opportunities to speak to others at work, play, and rest.

The world moves in a different way than a Christian. Countries, civilizations, groups are often conquered with threats, fear and intimidation. And we see every civilization pass by the way. Genghis Khan, Macedonia, Greece, Roman, and on into our time of wars and conflicts. The strongest wins. Fear keeps people in line.

We are in that time of Advent to prepare for the coming of Christ. Jesus taught us that love is the ultimate bond. He loved us to death. Love everyone; your enemies, your detractors. The longest relationships are held together with love. Not competition, threats or anger.

Every one of us faces anger in our lives. How do we handle that? We can’t stop our emotions, but we can tailor our response. It is not sinful to be angry but it is sinful to hurt others. The response to hatred is love.  The response to anger is love. And don’t forget that we should love ourselves through our own personal moments of failure in loving others. Again, we don’t have to like everything a person does, but Jesus compels us to love another. But even with this, there are those we see as “unlovable.”  Sometimes it is difficult to say “I love you.” Think of Jesus.  It was difficult for Him to die for us and show us His love. 

The action is not superficial.  It’s a concrete alternative. 

Again, it is an act of the will to forgive, but we humans can’t forget what others have done. If we hold onto the anger, we feel like we haven’t forgiven. Forgive by your will and give the anger to Jesus; He will take it. Holding on to anger hurts you, not the other person.

It seems to me that the best response to someone who aggravates me is to impart three words to whomever I am facing.  Those words are, “I love you. “Think of it, if someone is arguing with you, it’s difficult to follow “I love you.” If someone is trying to bully you, it’s difficult to follow, “I love you.” If before you responded to anger, if you could think in your mind, “I love you”, would it make a difference? Even if the other person will not listen, it will help you.

Jesus preached this over and over.  Not just with what He said, but in how He lived.  When people were at their worst, Jesus was at His best.  Even dying on a cross, He prayed for those who were mistreating him. 

Jesus taught that love is more than just words, it is a powerful reality that can overcome our difficulties in life.  If we need further proof; we have other examples of love in the world.  Gandhi turned the entire country of India around and removed British domination and colonialism with the weapon of non-violent love.  Dr. Martin Luther King, made giant strides for personal freedom, with non-violent love. 

If you’ve broken your mother’s best china.  It’s hard for her to get too mad, if you remind her that you didn’t mean to break anything, and that you love her. If you have said something embarrassing about your spouse…… “I love you.” If you’ve been too harsh on your children…. “I love you.”

At Mass, we bring all of our brokenness… and Jesus’ response is, “I love you.”  

I hope you realize how very difficult it is for me, for all those who are aware of their own shortcomings, to preach about love, when all of us fall short in loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. I realize that I fall way short of being a loving person to someone most of the time.

We are in the third week of Advent, and we are preparing to recall the first coming of Jesus. Secondarily, we are thoughtful to prepare for the third coming of Jesus at the end of the world. What about the second coming of Jesus, when He comes specifically into my heart? What will he find?

The answer to most of the world’s problems is love and St. John tells us that God is Love. Do not be afraid to show love and talk about God whenever you have the chance. A voice cries out in the wilderness, and the voice speaks to every one as it says, “I love you.” Each one of us is a voice in the world.

Fr. Cyriac

This Sunday is called “Gaudete” Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the Entrance Antiphon, “Gaudete in Domino semper” (“Rejoice in the Lord always”). Today we light the rose candle of the Advent wreath, and the priest and deacon may wear rose-colored vestments, to express our communal joy in the coming of Jesus, as our Savior.  The theme of the third Sunday of Advent is rejoicing in hope.  Advent is a time for joy, not only because we are anticipating the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, but also because God is already in our midst.  Christian joy does not come from the absence of sorrow, pain, or trouble, but from an awareness of the presence of Christ within our souls through it all.

In today’s first reading, the prophet Zephaniah says, “Shout for joy, O Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel.” Zephaniah made this prophetic proclamation at the height of the Jewish exile when things appeared hopeless and unbearable. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Is 12:6), the prophet Isaiah gives the same instruction: “Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” St. Paul echoes the same message of joy in the second reading, taken from his letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again, rejoice…”  Paul was imprisoned when he made this appeal for rejoicing! 

In the Gospel today, John the Baptist explains the secret of Christian joy as a wholehearted commitment to God’s Way lived out by doing His will.   A sad Christian is a contradiction in terms.  According to the Baptizer, happiness comes from doing our duties faithfully, doing good for others, and sharing our blessings with those in need. John challenges people to develop generosity and a sense of fairness, and to use these to give others reason to rejoice. John’s call to repentance is a call to joy and restoration.  Repentance means a change in the purpose and direction of our lives. 

Filled with joyful expectation that the Messiah is coming near, the people ask John, “What should we do?”  He tells them to act with justice, charity, and honesty, letting their lives reflect their transformation.  For us, that transformation occurs when we recognize that Christ has already entered our lives at Baptism, and that His Presence is to be reflected in our living in the ways Jesus teaches and John suggests. In other words, John reminds us that membership in the Church, knowing the teaching of the Church and the Bible, being baptized and going to Mass on Sundays, are not enough. We must care for others and share our blessings with others if we are to live out our Faith.

1) We are called to a change of life. First, we should examine our relationships with others. We need to mend ruptures, ease or relieve frictions, face family responsibilities, work honestly, and treat employees and employers justly. Our domestic and social lives must be put in order. We must abandon our selfish thirst for consumption and, instead, be filled with the expectation of Jesus’ coming.

2) We need to remember that we, like John the Baptist, are Christ’s precursors: Parents, teachers, and public servants act as Christ’s precursors by repenting of their sins, reforming their lives, and bringing Christ into the lives of those entrusted to their care. Parents are expected to instill in their children a true Christian spirit and an appreciation for Christian values by their own lives and behavior. All public servants need to remember that they are God’s instruments and that they are to lead the people they serve to the feet of Jesus, so that they, too, may know him personally and accept him as their Savior, Lord and Brother.

3) We need to apply John’s message of caring and sharing: In the light of John the Baptist’s advice, we might consider what we can share with others this Christmas. John does not ask us to give everything we have but only to share — to adopt an abandoned baby, perhaps, or to offer a meal to a hungry person, or to visit a sick neighbor, or to share in the funeral expenses of a poor neighbor — to practice active love and compassion, and to exercise social awareness.

4) What should we do in preparation for Christmas?  This is the same question the Jews asked John.  His answer, to them and to us, is the same: “Repent and reform your lives,” and prayerfully wait for the Messiah.  Let us remember that the Mass is the most powerful of prayers.  We must be a Eucharistic people, living and experiencing the presence of Jesus in our hearts and adoring Him in His Tabernacle. Let us remember that conversion is an ongoing process effected by our daily cooperation with Jesus, Whom we encounter in the Sacraments.  Regular monthly Confession makes us strong and enables us to receive more grace in the Eucharist.  Let us spend some time every week in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  Let us forgive those who offend us and pray for them.  Finally, let us share our love with others in selfless and humble service.  “Do small things but with great love” (St. Teresa of Calcutta, “Mother Teresa”).

Deacon Tim

Kathy and I have been married for 46 years. I’m in love with her and she “says” she still loves me. Today, we are best friends but that was not always the case.

Seven years into our marriage, I came home one day to something that got my attention; a 3-page letter, citing all the reasons why I should move out! In the years of counseling that followed, I learned that the reason why the letter was written was because for 7 years, I had all of the right answers but none of the right questions! As I began to ask the right questions, I also learned don’t ask the question unless you’re willing to hear the answer, because the answers can be painful, but it’s like the bitter medicine you must swallow to bring healing. 

In the gospel story, we hear how important it is to have the right questions about spiritual life. Those kinds of questions are much more likely to come from people who know they are sinners, than from those who like the Pharisees, because they were steeped in theology and religion, and think they’ve already arrived. The mark of the “know it all” is that they never ask a question that they don’t already have the answer to. Such were the Pharisees.

The people in our gospel, who asked John for his counsel, were like many of us today, who already have faith and have already been baptized. But sensing that something more was needed, the people asked: “What shall I do?”. Yes, we are saved by grace, but grace is a two-sided coin. On God’s side, he initiates and inspires our faith. On our side, our actions must display that we have it. James said: “Show me your faith without works and I’ll show you my faith by my works.”.

Three groups of people in our story ask John how to follow Jesus. These groups represented the whole gamut of human sin, from the lesser, to the most severe; from the hated thievery of the tax collector, who betrayed his own people for personal profit, to the brutality of the Roman soldier, who by their methods of torture and delivering death, terrorized the population. God is seeking to reconcile all sinners to Himself. My sin is not better than your sin and your sin is not better than mine.

Do not let the devil steal your confidence by suggesting that the seriousness, the frequency or long-standing nature of your sin puts you beyond God’s forgiveness. Satan cares nothing about the nature of your sin. His only goal is to divide you from Christ. Don’t yield to the temptation to despair. Keep coming to confession, keep coming to Mass, keep taking action. Don’t you ever give up!

If you’re already asking God’s direction for your life and it seems a mystery, try asking yourself the question: “What are all the things I already know I should do, but I am not doing?”. Today, start doing them one at a time, little by little and little by little, more light will come to you. 

Baptism is the beginning, not the end. RCIA is an initiation, not a graduation. With God, there is always the next thing. The greatest among us must ask the question, through all phases of life: “Lord, what must I do?”. What is that next thing God has for you?