Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
As a child growing up, I remember that being obedient was more than just doing what my parents told me to do. It was an action that demonstrated my love, trust, and dependence on their guidance for me and my life. To disobey was to assert that I knew better than them what was best for me in a prideful and oppositional manner. I can still recall telling the priest in the confessional that I was sorry for my sins, but especially for the sin of disobedience. As a parent, I have experienced from the other side of the relationship the disappointment when my children have gone against my requests. Because I love my children so deeply, I believe that I know what is in their best interest (although as an imperfect parent I do not always know what is best!) I experience a sadness or loss when they choose to go against my will.
Second Sunday In Ordinary Time
The theme of God’s call is perhaps the most preached about theme. The reason is simple. Stories of God’s call to human beings occur quite frequently in the Scripture. There is the call of Abraham, the call of Moses, the call of Samuel in today’s first reading, the call of David, the call of Isaiah, the call of the Mary and the call of the Apostles in today’s gospel reading. And, if we compare these stories we realize that there are common threads that run through each of these stories.
Saturday of the First Week In Ordinary Time
It’s striking how different Levi and the crowd that Jesus eats with in today’s gospel are from Saul in today’s first reading.
Saul, we hear, was the most handsome man in Israel; he “stood head and shoulders above the people” and had a “a stalwart man” for a father. We know from the readings over the past week or so that the elders of Israel demanded that Samuel give them a king to rule over them, so that they might be like all of the other nations. Samuel asks God to grant their desire and God does, designating Saul as the first king. By the description of Saul and his family, no one would have been surprised at the choice of Saul. He seems almost the very definition of a righteous man.
Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
This weekend, we observe a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion of civil freedoms and martyr for that cause, and so this is a fitting time to think about what it means to be free. Today's scriptures help us reflect further on what it means to be free.
Freedom may seem, at first, like an obvious thing, but the more I think about it, the less obvious it is. For example, in our culture people often think of freedom as being able to do whatever they want, so long as they aren't impeding anyone else's freedom also to do whatever they want. Yet it turns out that what we think are "free" decisions have unintended, unfreeing, consequences. I think of some of my students, for example, who drink a lot and often. When I raise a question about that drinking, they might say "Don't spoil my fun! I am free to do what I want." And yet, I have been a professor long enough to know people who have seen some of the consequences of their drinking: they become addicted, to the point that alcohol is not free or fun, but rather ruins a life (or several).
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings remind me of a question one of my children asked me last year while sick with an awful stomach virus. The sickness shortened our visit with grandparents and thwarted our plans to see my sister and her family for fear of spreading it to them while we were traveling. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours, but it was a rough 24 hours for all three of our kids who got it (and not easy on the adults caring for them!). As I recall it, the question was, “Why do we have to get sick… Why does God let us get sick?” Kind of a big question and not one that I’m sure I have the right theological explanation for. But what I was inspired to tell her, and which seemed to make sense to her as I was sitting with her through the discomfort, was that I think God allows sickness because it reminds us of our need for God and for each other. It keeps us aware of our vulnerability as humans and the importance of our dependence on God. We are not invincible or superhuman, and we’re not meant to be.
Wednesday of the First Week In Ordinary Time
Ever looked at something for a longtime without seeing all that was there? Or have you ever heard a sound that you couldn’t figure out its source? Or have you ever been so paralyzed by a situation or illness where you just could not see a way forward? Recently I was struggling for days to trying to solve an issue at home. Finally an idea flashed in my head and I was able to figure out a solution. What struck me afterward was how I had stared at the solution and failed to see it. Often our faith journey is similar. God is repeated nudging us in a direction that demands we be more faithful to the Gospel, but the message we don’t see.
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
In life today we are bombarded by so many different messages on a daily basis. We see advertisements in magazines, newspapers, television, and on the internet. We see product placements in movies. We listen to commentators and pundits give their opinions and theories about politics and the world in general on talk radio and cable television. In our interaction with other people we are confronted with the opinions of friends and family on how to spend our time and money, and how to make sense of our lives. It is sometimes easy for the message of the gospel to get lost in this cacophony of voices. Nevertheless, as seen in the gospel reading for today, Jesus has a message that is clear and pure. Jesus’ fundamental message is that we need to turn towards God and to acknowledge God’s revelation of Godself in Jesus. It seems to me that paying attention to Jesus’ gospel message can help us to focus on what is truly important in our lives.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
When I was 18 years old, during my senior year of high school, my dad wrote me a letter. Possibly sensing my life, attitude, or demeanor shifting, he gave me some words of wisdom. Nearly the entire letter consisted of uplifting words of affirmation. He told me how proud he was of me. He told me how successful I had been in my studies, pointed out my accomplishments on the baseball field, and reminded me that if I continue to work hard that I would certainly be successful. Great letter, right? What more could I ask for? But my dad closed his letter with words that I would never forget. After his declaration of all of my present and future successes, the very last words of the letter were, “But, Ryan, never forget that if you lose your relationship with Jesus, you will be a failure. Sincerely, Your Dad.” That last sentence is the one that I hold close to my heart and the one that I will never forget. In one sentence my dad reminded me that whatever I had, I should consider it “a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (1 Phil. 3:8)
The Epiphany of the Lord
At least on two different occasions last year I had the opportunity to visit newborn babies in the hospital. To enter the room to visit either the mother and the baby or the parents and the baby is a very special experience. There is a sense of mystery and awe during such times. After nine months of wondering, waiting, expecting, hoping and longing, out comes the miracle of life. Every baby born is a sign that God still loves the world.
Christmas Weekday
As we continue to celebrate the great feast of Christmas, we hear in today’s gospel the very first miracle of Jesus’ public ministry—turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. How often do we think about miracles? Do they still happen? How do we know if was has happened? Oftentimes, the criterion for whether or not a miracle has occurred is scientific explanation. If an occurrence can be explained by science, the conversation goes, then it’s not a miracle. Alternatively, if it can be explained by scientific investigation, then it’s not miraculous, it’s not God’s work.
Christmas Weekday
On the heels of Christmas day and the celebration of God made flesh, the authors of this week's scripture readings have been doing all in their power to get us to see the truth of the gospel. Like us today, they knew that it was not an easy thing to believe that God had become man. Even if a person accepted that idea, it was a tough pill to swallow to learn that this God-man had died a humiliating death on the cross. Or further still, that when believers suggested this God-man had risen from the dead, this was no mere ghost, but the actual man himself.
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
It would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps the most complicated aspect of our life is relationships. Each of us is a complex being and we enter into numerous levels of relationships with other complex persons. Some of them are more complex than others. Some of these complex persons are related to us by blood, so that it is not that we can just isolate them and live as they do not exist. We are compelled to relate to them. In the process of managing these relationship we become capable of love, sacrifice, patience, forgiveness or anger, resentment, and even hatred. It is in this context that I would like to approach today’s readings.
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
When we are children, we often think in terms we might call black and white. As we grow older we are taught to think more broadly and it becomes more difficult to see the world in this way. This can be so true that we find black and white thinking offensive. Yet sometimes the contrast is precisely what we need in order to refocus our being.
Christmas Weekday
I don’t always feel comfortable calling myself a ‘child of God.’ It seems a little arrogant to say that; yet, that is exactly how the author of 1 John describes us Christians. The first reading states that God is righteous. And if Christians are called ‘children of God,’ this means that Christians are supposed to be like God. As the passage points out, it is hard to know what is ultimately in store for us if we live faithfully as Christians. It is not open to us to know exactly what it is possible for us to become. Yet we know that our goal is to be like God and that one day we shall be like him (1 John 3: 2). According the scripture writer then, the Christian life is training in righteousness—training us to be like God.
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Today’s Gospel reading relates the testimony of John the Baptist (Jn 1:19-28). John is asked by Jewish Pharisees, Levites, and priests to identify himself. John admits he is neither Elijah, nor the Prophet, nor the Messiah (Jn 1:20-21). He claims his identity as “the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord” (Is 40, Jn 1:23) and “I baptize with water” (Jn 1:26). Among the people he was addressing were some who would eventually put Jesus to death. John is forerunner, precursor to the Messiah. His baptism with water prepares people for the baptism in spirit and fire by the Messiah (Lk 3:16) who, John points out, is in their midst… “one among you whom you do not recognize”(Jn 2:26) and will eventually put to death.
The Lord Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Before you begin reading this homily I would like you to watch this YouTube clip:
The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Rejoice! Joy rings out in the words of today’s psalm, “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound;let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!” as our celebration of Christmas continues.
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
As someone who is Catholic but with evangelical Protestant friends and acquaintances, I have often been asked if Jesus is my personal Lord and savior. I am always a bit perplexed at the question. Of course I encounter Jesus personally; I think he has saved me - even me - and this is a source of great hope, joy and faith. I think many Catholics would say similarly. I suspect the question comes from a sense that Catholics seem just to be "going through the motions", saying the same words every Sunday, and that seems to lack the kind of specialness and singularity that my Protestant friends hope we all encounter in Christ. Christ came to earth and died, for me. I matter so much to God, and God loves me so much that this is the case. We cannot begin to fathom the great depth of God's love for us without that sense.
The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
The first reading (1 John 2: 3-11) makes a connection between two themes not related anywhere else in the scriptures – light/darkness and brotherly love/hatred. John is very logical as he lays out what he terms a “new commandment” (1 Jn 2:8). He begins by suggesting that relationship with God (John calls it ‘knowing’ God: 1 Jn 4-5) necessarily involves keeping the commandments/word. Then he proceeds to suggest that the commandment he is talking about is the commandment of love. Finally, he draws the connection between light/darkness and brotherly love/hatred. The seriousness of John’s final statement must not be missed: “Whoever hates his brother is in darkness” (1 Jn 2: 11a). The source of this darkness lies inside the human person – an internal blindness caused by a refusal to be obedient to the commandment of love (1 Jn 2: 11b) The bottom line is this – all hatred as darkness is incompatible with the light of Christian life.
Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
The Feast of the Nativity symbolizes the innocence of the incarnation as we celebrate the coming of Emmanuel. The powerful God of creation sent his only son to be a vulnerable child to dwell among us. Never mind what the infant mortality rate was two thousand years ago. Never mind that they did not have cars, heating or air conditioning. Never mind that there was no electricity, prenatal care, or birthing centers with sterile and somewhat comfortable birthing conditions. Jesus’ birth was at a disadvantage for all these reasons and one more. Today’s gospel reminds us that he was hated for who he was almost from the time of his birth. Yet, into this world, Christ was sent to bear witness to a loving God who wants to be one with us.