A more succinct version, outside of YouTube, here: http://1drv.ms/1goM88G
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Sunday, January 19, 2014
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A: Extraordinary Graces in Ordinary Things
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Last Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was the official beginning of the Season that we are now in: Ordinary Time. It had a special focus on how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan to save His people through water, a plan that still unfolds for us to this day, through the Sacrament of Baptism. This Sunday continues that theme but there is no special Feast Day; it is just a quote/unquote “normal Sunday.” But, what is special about Ordinary Time is that rather than focusing on a particular mystery in the life of Jesus or the saints, the focus is now on those day-to-day duties and responsibilities of a faithful Catholic. For example, remembering that every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation, not just the special holidays; returning to normal routines of prayer that can be disturbed by the busy-ness of the holidays; renewing those small acts of penance that make up the penitential lifestyle of the Catholic; and examining our conscience regularly to see how prepared we are to receive Holy Communion. These are not extraordinary acts, these are and should be the common, ordinary, practices of every-day Catholics. What is beautiful about Ordinary Time, is that it reminds us that through Ordinary things, Extraordinary things can happen.
The “Ordinary” in “Ordinary Time” is similar to the word “ordinal” which simply implies that the season is a numbered series of Sundays – as in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, etc. So, for us, “Ordinary” does not have to mean “mundane,” or “commonplace.” How many times, for example, have you heard me say the same words St. John the Baptist said today in our Gospel, as I hold the consecrated Host over the chalice, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world”? Every Sunday you’ve heard it, maybe even every day. Many of you have heard this thousands of times throughout your life. It could be easy to forget what it really means. But this phrase should never become mundane to us. It is an ordinary expression that has an extraordinary meaning.
“John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’” We can imagine him pointing to the Lord as he said it. What this means for us, is that we who are united by Baptism and strengthened in the Eucharist are also called to point others to Jesus, through our words and actions.[1] When the priest goes on to say, “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb,” we are pointed to the Book of Revelation, where God revealed to St. John the Apostle what the Mass in heaven will look like: “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb’” (Rev 19:9). In this prayer, the “Blessed” are not us per se, but those who have been found worthy to share in the heavenly Liturgy, the supper of the Lamb. We pray that one day, we may join them in the everlasting life of the Kingdom of God.[2]
I think it’s important to pause every now and then and reflect on what the different prayers and gestures of the Mass mean. When we understand it better, our experience of the Mass can be much more fruitful rather than simply boring or mundane. If you enjoyed Rome Sweet Home, I encourage you to pick up Scott Hahn’s, The Lamb’s Supper. He says, If we are calling Jesus the “Lamb of God” during our Mass, if John the Baptist called Him the “Lamb of God” as he walked on earth, and if the Book of Revelation calls him, as he reigns in heaven, the “Lamb of God” 28 times in the span of 22 chapters, then what does that tell us about the Mass!? It tells us that we are participating in something that is literally heaven on earth! It shows us that everlasting life in heaven is possible and that this earth is not all that we live for. For something that happens so ordinarily, this is quite extraordinary![3]
This phrase, “Behold the Lamb of God,” is also a challenge to us today. It is a challenge because the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, takes away the sins of the world. How does he take away the sins of my own world, of my life? He certainly doesn’t force Himself on us. We have to accept this for ourselves. The way that we do this is by receiving Communion but also by going to the sacrament of Reconciliation. In the Mass, the victory of the Lamb of God over sin is realized for our own time and place. In Confession, the Lamb of God takes away and forgives the sins of my world, of my life, through the absolution of the priest.
Going to confession should be as common as all of the other "ordinary" practices of Ordinary Time. Just like the prayers of the Mass, our personal prayers, acts of penance, and the examination of conscience, confession is also an ordinary thing that has extraordinary meaning. Saints and popes have consistently encouraged us to go to Confession eat least monthly. When we hear at Mass, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world” we should let that phrase be our reminder. When I hear that phrase I think about how he has taken away the sins of my own world and when the last time was that I let him into my world. After all, he was a friend to tax collectors and sinners and he ate with them. He forgave the woman caught in adultery with the simple words “Go and do not sin again”. In the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee he taught us to pray “God be merciful to me a sinner!” And in the parable of the prodigal son he shows us that we too have gone astray and so our Father comes to us and gives us what we need to come home to stay. Can we ever lose hope of being forgiven when it is Christ who forgives? Can we ever lose hope of receiving the graces we need to be saints when it is Christ who gives them to us? This assurance fills us with great peace and joy.[4]
In this current season, let’s call to mind again that there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time. Let us use this time to focus on the extraordinary graces offered to us every day through our ordinary prayer lives. Thank God that through the Mass and Reconciliation, by the power of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, graces as extraordinary as forgiveness and the very divine life of God are made ordinary parts of our lives.
[1] USCCB, Parish Guide to Implementing the Roman Missal Third Edition, Appendix D Bulletin Inserts, “Scripture and the Mass,” back.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Scott Hahn, The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth, p. 9
[4] Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol. 3, p. 42-43.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Baptism of the Lord–A Catechesis on the Sacrament of Baptism
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Last week when we celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany, we recalled that both Jews and non-Jews alike, the shepherds and the Magi, were drawn to behold the Lord. Because they were both Jews and non-Jews, they symbolize all people of all times who are called to be co-heirs of God’s blessings. This week our Lord reveals that Baptism is the way to claim this inheritance. This also gives me an opportunity to do a little bit of catechesis on the Sacrament of Baptism to help you understand and explain our faith.
Jesus submitted to St. John’s Baptism not because he was in need of purification, but as a act of humility and in order to bring to fulfillment what was done for the Israelites long ago. Our Lord himself said to John, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” At the time of the Exodus, when Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea, God’s People were saved through water from slavery to Egypt in order to pursue the Promised Land. By passing through the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus leads a new exodus from slavery to sin and for the promised land of heaven.
In our modern day, this dynamic still unfolds for the People of God. But why does this happen through infant baptism in the Catholic Church when most Protestant communities practice adult or adolescent baptism? Let me take a few more minutes to explain.
The Church’s practice of baptizing infants comes primarily from our belief in original sin and in the necessity of baptism for salvation. We believe that Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendents and us a human nature wounded by their own first sin; a human nature deprived of its original holiness; this deprivation is called original sin. As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened; subject to ignorance, suffering, and death; and inclined to sin (CCC 416-418). It is this sin, contracted not committed, that is washed away when an infant is baptized. Our belief that Baptism is necessary for salvation comes from Christ himself, who said in John’s Gospel, “Amen, amen I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5). [see the CDF’s “Instruction on Infant Baptism,” October 20, 1980]
The practice of infant baptism is also well established in Sacred Tradition. St. Augustine considered it a “tradition received from the Apostles.” When the first direct evidence of infant Baptism appears in the second century, it is never presented as an innovation. St. Irenaeus, in particular, considers it a matter of course that the baptized should include "infants and small children" as well as adolescents, young adults and older people. The oldest known ritual from the start of the third century contains the following rule: "First baptize the children. Those of them who can speak for themselves should do so. The parents or someone of their family should speak for the others." The Magisterium, popes, and councils from the earliest centuries affirmed this practice, from the Council of Carthage in 418 to Pope Paul VI in modern times.
Why then is the practice of infant baptism in decline in recent years? In other parishes I have been in, I have heard parents say, “Well we want to wait to have our child baptized until she is old enough to choose it for herself.” Why do parents say this? Perhaps they’re influenced by the example of the adults who were baptized in the New Testament. These adults after being converted to the Christian Faith by the preaching of the Apostles were then baptized. We may ask, “How can infants be baptized if they have no faith to profess beforehand?” But, we must remember that Baptism is not simply a sign of faith already present, as many of our Protestant brothers and sisters believe, but it is also a cause of faith. Through Baptism the child is given the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love. Furthermore, the child is made a son or daughter of God and brought into the sacramental life of the Church as a co-heir with Christ of all of God’s blessings. How could we delay or refuse a child’s reception of these gifts until some older age of choosing?
Some parents may want to wait until the child is older so as not to restrict his freedom to choose. They may think that it is unjust to impose on him future obligations that he may not want. As nice as it sounds, this attitude is simply an illusion. There is no such thing as freedom completely immune from any kind of influence. Parents make all sorts of decisions for the good of their child’s natural life before he can choose them himself, like the house he will grow up in, the food he will eat, or the school he will attend; why not decide for the good of his supernatural life? Having a so-called neutral attitude toward the child’s religious life is in fact not a neutral, but a negative choice to deprive the child of the gifts and graces of Baptism.
Besides, the New Testament presents entry into the Christian life not as an imposition or constraint, but as admittance to a truer, more ennobled freedom. “If a [S]on frees you,” John’s Gospel says, “then you will truly be free” (Jn 8:36). When the child grows up, he will still be able to reject his baptismal faith, a sad reality attested to by many parents and grandparents today. But, if this happens, we should not underestimate the power of the seeds of faith sown in the soul in infant baptism to one day spring to life again, aided by the parents’ patience, love, prayers, and authentic witness.
Jesus today, by entering the River Jordan, sanctified the waters of Baptism, making them a fountain of healing, freedom, new birth, and everlasting life. Let’s work together to ensure that our current and future children that have not been baptized will be baptized with proper preparation and without delay. The Church is the visible sacrament of Christ in the world, with the mission of extending to everyone the sacramental link between the Church and her glorified Savior. Accordingly, the Church cannot fail to wish to give to everyone, children no less than adults, the first and basic sacrament of Baptism, the sacrament of our salvation.
Text:
Last week when we celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany, we recalled that both Jews and non-Jews alike, the shepherds and the Magi, were drawn to behold the Lord. Because they were both Jews and non-Jews, they symbolize all people of all times who are called to be co-heirs of God’s blessings. This week our Lord reveals that Baptism is the way to claim this inheritance. This also gives me an opportunity to do a little bit of catechesis on the Sacrament of Baptism to help you understand and explain our faith.
Jesus submitted to St. John’s Baptism not because he was in need of purification, but as a act of humility and in order to bring to fulfillment what was done for the Israelites long ago. Our Lord himself said to John, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” At the time of the Exodus, when Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea, God’s People were saved through water from slavery to Egypt in order to pursue the Promised Land. By passing through the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus leads a new exodus from slavery to sin and for the promised land of heaven.
In our modern day, this dynamic still unfolds for the People of God. But why does this happen through infant baptism in the Catholic Church when most Protestant communities practice adult or adolescent baptism? Let me take a few more minutes to explain.
The Church’s practice of baptizing infants comes primarily from our belief in original sin and in the necessity of baptism for salvation. We believe that Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendents and us a human nature wounded by their own first sin; a human nature deprived of its original holiness; this deprivation is called original sin. As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened; subject to ignorance, suffering, and death; and inclined to sin (CCC 416-418). It is this sin, contracted not committed, that is washed away when an infant is baptized. Our belief that Baptism is necessary for salvation comes from Christ himself, who said in John’s Gospel, “Amen, amen I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5). [see the CDF’s “Instruction on Infant Baptism,” October 20, 1980]
The practice of infant baptism is also well established in Sacred Tradition. St. Augustine considered it a “tradition received from the Apostles.” When the first direct evidence of infant Baptism appears in the second century, it is never presented as an innovation. St. Irenaeus, in particular, considers it a matter of course that the baptized should include "infants and small children" as well as adolescents, young adults and older people. The oldest known ritual from the start of the third century contains the following rule: "First baptize the children. Those of them who can speak for themselves should do so. The parents or someone of their family should speak for the others." The Magisterium, popes, and councils from the earliest centuries affirmed this practice, from the Council of Carthage in 418 to Pope Paul VI in modern times.
Why then is the practice of infant baptism in decline in recent years? In other parishes I have been in, I have heard parents say, “Well we want to wait to have our child baptized until she is old enough to choose it for herself.” Why do parents say this? Perhaps they’re influenced by the example of the adults who were baptized in the New Testament. These adults after being converted to the Christian Faith by the preaching of the Apostles were then baptized. We may ask, “How can infants be baptized if they have no faith to profess beforehand?” But, we must remember that Baptism is not simply a sign of faith already present, as many of our Protestant brothers and sisters believe, but it is also a cause of faith. Through Baptism the child is given the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love. Furthermore, the child is made a son or daughter of God and brought into the sacramental life of the Church as a co-heir with Christ of all of God’s blessings. How could we delay or refuse a child’s reception of these gifts until some older age of choosing?
Some parents may want to wait until the child is older so as not to restrict his freedom to choose. They may think that it is unjust to impose on him future obligations that he may not want. As nice as it sounds, this attitude is simply an illusion. There is no such thing as freedom completely immune from any kind of influence. Parents make all sorts of decisions for the good of their child’s natural life before he can choose them himself, like the house he will grow up in, the food he will eat, or the school he will attend; why not decide for the good of his supernatural life? Having a so-called neutral attitude toward the child’s religious life is in fact not a neutral, but a negative choice to deprive the child of the gifts and graces of Baptism.
Besides, the New Testament presents entry into the Christian life not as an imposition or constraint, but as admittance to a truer, more ennobled freedom. “If a [S]on frees you,” John’s Gospel says, “then you will truly be free” (Jn 8:36). When the child grows up, he will still be able to reject his baptismal faith, a sad reality attested to by many parents and grandparents today. But, if this happens, we should not underestimate the power of the seeds of faith sown in the soul in infant baptism to one day spring to life again, aided by the parents’ patience, love, prayers, and authentic witness.
Jesus today, by entering the River Jordan, sanctified the waters of Baptism, making them a fountain of healing, freedom, new birth, and everlasting life. Let’s work together to ensure that our current and future children that have not been baptized will be baptized with proper preparation and without delay. The Church is the visible sacrament of Christ in the world, with the mission of extending to everyone the sacramental link between the Church and her glorified Savior. Accordingly, the Church cannot fail to wish to give to everyone, children no less than adults, the first and basic sacrament of Baptism, the sacrament of our salvation.
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Epiphany Year A, 2014: Come, Let Us Adore Him
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The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is a mystery that can be difficult to grasp at first. “Epiphany” is a familiar term, like the “Immaculate Conception,” but also like the Immaculate Conception, we have to pause a moment to remember what exactly it refers too or we could misunderstand it.
The word “Epiphany” means “manifestation.” Our Lord manifested himself and the glory of his divinity in several ways throughout the Gospels. He showed his divinity to his closest apostles on Mt. Tabor at his Transfiguration. He performed his first public miracle by turning water into wine at the Wedding Feast at Cana. God the Father announced Jesus as his Beloved Son at his Baptism in the Jordan River. These were all manifestations, all epiphanies, but today’s celebration focuses on the Son of God being made known to the three wise men from the East. It can be confusing sometimes to understand what all of our feast days mean. But, there is indeed a clear message to all of us today.
First and foremost, we should know that our Gospel reading today does not merely describe a pious legend or some astronomical alignment, as some who try to rationalize the account would say. The story of the wise men from the East following a star to Bethlehem and Jesus is a narrative of fact. It was a miracle and it was real![1] The reality of the account, though fixed at a certain time in history, provides a wealth of inspiration and meaning for all mankind of all times.
Actually it is these three kings – or scientists of the stars, as they came to be known – who themselves represent all mankind. It was too these three non-Jews that Jesus, born to a faithful Jewish family, made himself known. And their journey is typical of all of those throughout history who have searched for Jesus to adore him. This is a source of great hope for us. To those of us who may not feel particularly close to Jesus – today is a new day. We can find hope in the fact that these three kings also made the journey and they have shown us how to make it.
Their journey was long, no doubt, and how do we suppose they explained it to their family and friends? I’m sure they were met with doubt and dismissal, maybe even ridicule. They had studied the stars; they knew how to follow this brightest star of them all. But it was by a special grace from God that they interpreted it as a sign of the presence of the long-awaited Messiah whom they had heard about from their Hebrew neighbors. Inspired by this grace they sought him out in order to do him homage and adore him. It is just as the prophet Isaiah foretold, “Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar” (In Conversation with God, vol. 1, 320).
Often we too, by a special grace from God, yearn to be close to Jesus Christ and to adore him but it can sometimes seem like we are only coming “from afar.” Let us learn from the magi and be brave. Let us put the same certainty in our knowledge of heavenly things and in our faith that they did. Let us make the long journey with confidence that we will indeed find Jesus, and let us cast aside our love for approval or for material things that get in the way.
Upon finding Him, Isaiah said, “Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow.” Indeed, St. Matthew tells us, the magi “were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house [when] they saw the child with Mary his mother.” This joy is ours too. Many of you are doing well in your spiritual lives and remain close to Jesus. For you, this could be a day in which you take another step to be even closer to him or invite those who aren’t on the journey to take the first step.
With bravery and with the guidance of the Church and her ministers, we make our way to Jesus and when we find him we are filled with joy and we discover that all of the confusion we may have started with is replaced with simplicity and clarity. St. Matthew tells us that when the magi “saw the child with Mary his mother [t]hey prostrated themselves and did him homage.” They simply humbled themselves, lying flat before him, in adoration. All of the confusion of their long journey, following the star despite difficulties, seeking and following advice, and enduring Herod’s conniving demands gave way to simple adoration of our God-Made-Man.
As we grow closer to Jesus, one helpful reflection could be to examine ourselves to see how/if we adore him. Today’s solemnity challenges us to see ourselves in place of the Magi. Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament is the same Jesus the wise men found in Mary’s arms. When the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle or displayed in the monstrance every Monday for adoration, do we even realize he is there, like the magi did? How can we grow in that awareness? Many Catholics maintain their awareness by making the Sign of the Cross whenever they drive by a Catholic Church – acknowledging His Presence in the tabernacle there. Or they genuflect slowly and deliberately, with their eyes on the tabernacle, when they enter or exit their pew. Or by spending an hour, or just 15 minutes to pray to Him during Adoration on Mondays. Actions such as these help us to remain prostrate before the Lord in our hearts, right beside the magi. How sad it would be to live life unaware of his presence or to pursue him only “from afar.”
Finally, let us not forget Mary. “The three Kings had their star [to lead them to Jesus]. We have Mary… [who was called by the early Church Fathers] Stella Maris, Stella Orientis, Star of the Sea, Star of the East” (ibid. 333).
[1] Drum, Walter. "Magi." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09527a.htm.
Friday, January 03, 2014
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God–Our Guide, Our Teacher, and Our Help
Happy New Year – my blessing to you for the new year is the text of the First Reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”
It is because of today’s Solemnity that Mary has all of her other titles and graces: Her Assumption, Immaculate Conception, Immaculate Heart, and Most Holy Name; her own Nativity; her appearances at Fatima, Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Mt. Carmel; her Sorrows, her Rosary, her Presentation, and Queenship; and her Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth all depend on her unique, natural and supernatural relationship with God.
St. Paul’s verse in the Second Reading, “God sent his Son, born of a woman,” encapsulates the whole day. The Eternal Son of the Father, the Eternal Word, the Second Person of the Trinity assumed human flesh, taking the body and blood of his mother Mary at his conception; he truly became man. From that point he is forever fully God and fully man. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the son of a woman. He is OF God and OF Mary. The mother of Jesus is the Mother of God. This great gift of divine Motherhood is not a gift for her alone, but for us all.
The meaning and purpose of Mary being the Mother of God are profound mysteries. Who she is, her relation to her Son, what the shepherds told her about all Glory being due to Jesus Christ, that He is Savior, Christ, and Lord – all of these things, the Gospel said, Mary “reflected on” in her heart. This means that she continually “pieced together” in her heart the meaning of these mysteries. As she raised our Savior and watched him grow, the mystery of his life and purpose expanded more and more in her faith and understanding. When we turn to her and remain close to her Immaculate Heart; when we place ourselves under her mantle, she pieces these mysteries together for us too. She helps us to see how she is our Mother too, that Christ is our brother, and that God is our Father.
By the Holy Spirit of our Baptism we enjoy adoption as sons of the Father, sharing in the Sonship of Christ, so that we can proclaim “Abba!” - “Father!” – an intimate, personal way of addressing God. Mary helps us to see ourselves in such an intimate relationship with God. She brings us close to God and helps us approach Him. She is the short and easy way to Him. Going to God through her is also the more humble way to approach Him. True, Christ is our sole mediator with God. But Mary participates in this mediatorship, humbly and lovingly drawing us close to Him.
St. Bernard explains that: “She consoles us in our distress, enlivens our faith, strengthens our hope, gets rid of our fears, and invigorates our timidity.” She also teaches us like a mother should – parents being the primary formators in the faith of children. She teaches us by her example how to say Yes to God’s will, how to receive Christ deeply in our very being, how to generously give him to the world.
She also helps us with our images of the Father. Often our images of God come from the experiences of our natural fathers. If our natural father was harsh, she helps us to know God’s mercy. If our natural father was absent, she helps us to know God’s presence. If our natural father was distant, she brings us close to Him. When our natural fathers do well, she helps us to see how this points to our heavenly Father. When our natural fathers are merciful, present, and close to us she helps us to attribute these values to God.
In this new year, our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, is challenging us to say Yes to Him. Today we take time to consider how it is that Mary is truly our Mother; what kind of son or daughter we have been to her; how we can allow her to be our mother; and each of us to be her son or daughter. This could be a new year of a renewed relationship with Mary, our Mother. Perhaps we could strengthen or pick up a Marian devotion that has fallen away, like the rosary. Our we could take up some spiritual reading to learn more about her. Scott Hahn’s book, Hail Holy Queen, or Fulton Sheen’s book, The World’s First Love, are excellent places to start. Any time we give honor, veneration, or prayer to Mary, she always redirects these to her Son, she never keeps them for herself. Know that as we grow in our relationship with the Mother of God, we can be assured of growing close to her Divine Son.
Feast of the Holy Family–Raising Children Well
For the past few weeks, we have been so intensely focused on the coming of Jesus Christ, that today the Church invites us to take a step back and look at a larger picture: The Holy Family. The Son of God, in His Divinity, could have come to us full grown and alone or as a child under the protection of some royal court. Instead, he chose to come to us in the midst of the most fundamental dynamic in human life: the family.
The first thing Jesus sanctified by his presence was a family home – the poor cave Mary prepared for Joseph and their newborn Son. The first instrument he uses to draw men to himself is the family. The Holy Family immediately attracted the wise men and the shepherds to come and adore the Infant Jesus, because Jesus was at the center of their life. Does the joint witness and holiness of your family draw others to you and to Jesus Christ? Is He the center of your family life? A little examination of conscience for our family is important to do today as we reflect on the Holy Family.
Sometimes when we think about the struggles our own families are going through, we can think that the Holy Family is too good to be true or an unrealistic example for us to follow. But, by showing their poor means, their suffering, their long journeys, their devotion, and their many years in obscurity, Matthew highlights the ordinariness of this family despite its extraordinary members. This is a family we can and should see ourselves in. This is a family we can and should relate too.
In reality, most of our families are in relative obscurity. We don’t make the front page very often or have our own reality show. Our families work hard, try to make a living, pray together, raise their kids well, and try to do the best they can. Our families are most like the Holy Family when they are humble and simple like this. But, today’s celebration of the Holy Family calls us to continual, ongoing conversion.
First, to all the children here this evening: Are you like Jesus was when he was a child? Jesus is fully God, but he is also fully man. This means that he also had to learn things, like carpentry, through experience like all people do. Are you putting your best effort into your homework? Are you reading good books, not just because they are popular or fun, but also to develop your mind and heart? Do you listen to your parents and teachers, remember their advice, and learn from them? Jesus was filled with grace and this grace showed itself more and more. You received much grace at your Baptism and continue to receive grace when you go to Communion and to Confession. Does this grace show itself in your way of life? Are you doing what you can to stay healthy and strong? Are you kind to your siblings and friends and polite toward adults? Are you reverent and well behaved at Mass?
And here is my last point to the children: The whole universe is subject to Jesus yet he still chose to be subject to his earthly parents and be protected by them. Remember that the first reading said that if you honor your father you will be heard by God when you pray. And if you honor your mother God will bless you richly. Do you obey your parents and teachers the first time they ask you to do something? Do you talk to God often, and pray with your brothers and sisters? If you can do your best in these things then you can be like the child Jesus in the Holy Family.
To the parents and grandparents here today, I’d like to share a story from my own childhood. One of my fondest memories is of my dad teaching my three brothers and me how to pray each night before we went to sleep. My mom had a role in this too. When dad would come home dog-tired after 12 hours or more at McDonald’s, all he would feel like doing is kicking his feet up for a while. But my mom would always encourage him night after night to go into our rooms and pray with us. She was a Catholic elementary school teacher so she did much to teach us the faith. But on those precious evenings she worked behind the scenes as the gentle inspiration my dad needed to be the spiritual leader of our family.
I share this story with you not to imply that I had the perfect family, but to convince you not to take for granted your role as spiritual mothers and fathers of our Catholic faith. Our children have a natural capacity for awe and wonder and mystery. Their souls can be uninhibited fonts of faith, hope, and love. As a spiritual father myself I implore us all to continue to work together to cultivate and nurture the budding Catholicism of our children. They are looking to us to validate and share the faith that they are being taught at home or in school. For example, we should encourage the children we have or know to participate at Mass or to serve it; to involve them in the life of their parish; and devote whatever time and effort we can to their spiritual development. Grandparents can offer this help to their grown children. Aunts and uncles can offer this help to their nieces and nephews.
What we don’t want to do is give them mixed signals. For example, what message do we send our children when we teach them how to pray at Church or at school but then do not pray with them at home? Or when we prepare them for their First Confession but then never go to Confession ourselves or fail to bring them to Confession? The longstanding tradition of grandparents taking grandchildren to Confession is a beautiful one that should be revived. Lastly, what are we saying when we prepare our children for their First Communion but then miss Sunday Mass and Holy Days occasionally? Our children are open vessels; when they experience the graces of our faith they want it all. Vatican II taught us that the home is a domestic church and parents by their words and actions are the first heralds of the faith. Let’s embrace this responsibility with generosity and with joy, supporting each other in this mission.
On this feast of the Holy Family, St. Francis de Sales, has some helpful advice: “Raising a house, that is, a family, does not consist in building a splendid residence and storing up vast worldly possessions but in training children well in the fear of God and in virtue. No trouble or labor should be spared to do this,” he says, “for children are their father’s and mother’s crown” (Introduction to the Devout Life).
Each of us can do something, according to our state in life or our circumstances – especially prayer – to help the children we have or know to grow up well. Keep this challenge of St. Francis de Sales in mind whether you have children of your own or not. Do what you can through prayer and work to make your family, the domestic church, distinctive for its Catholic identity. It is possible for us to have holy families of our own. Our families, aided by the intercession of The Holy Family and centered on Jesus Christ, can – and must – be a means of our salvation.
Christmas Mass During the Day: St. Joseph and the Shepherds
My homily from YouTube as it was delivered for the Christmas Mass during the Day, Year A, 2013. This was the same homily I gave at the Christmas Mass at Dawn. The latter was very similar to the homily I gave at the Christmas Mass at Night except for an added note about the meaning of the shepherds going "in haste" to find the Infant. I'm indebted to Pope-Emeritus Benedict's book: Jesus of Nazareth - The Infancy Narratives
Christmas Mass at Dawn–St. Joseph and the Shepherds
To those this with us this morning who are new to Holy Trinity/Holy Rosary, friends and family of parishioners, I welcome you to The Burg/Manton and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas! I hope that you will find our Church and our parishioners to be warm and inviting and feel welcome to pray with us any time. We are available to you and want to help you maintain and grow in your faith. We also want to help you get reacquainted with your faith if you haven’t been to Mass in a while. Let us try our hand at helping you answer a question or solve a problem that may have been an obstacle to you. We have a parish with prayerful and resourceful people with many helpful gifts and talents all at your service… starting with this very Mass, the greatest help of all.
One of the most helpful parts of our Gospel reading this morning is the strong example of St. Joseph that is almost taken for granted. He is mentioned almost in passing as being in Bethlehem with Mary and the infant Jesus But remember that it is Joseph who took Mary, pregnant with the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, to Bethlehem in order to register in the census; it is Joseph who, in doing this, fulfilled the prophecy of Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; it is Joseph who worked to provide for and protect his family by finding shelter in a nearby cave when there was no room in the inn (Navarre Lk 1:1-2:23). St. Bernadine of Siena explains that it was Joseph, our Holy Patriarch, who was “a father to our Lord Jesus Christ and a faithful spouse to the Queen of the Universe, our Lady of the Angels. The eternal Father chose Joseph to be the guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, his Son and his Spouse, and Joseph fulfilled his calling with perfect fidelity. If the Church is indebted to the Blessed Virgin for having given Christ to us, then, after Mary, great gratitude and veneration is also owed to St. Joseph.” (ibid)
Sometimes we can forget to turn to St. Joseph for help in our own lives. He has such a humble witness in Scripture, but his role in the early life of Jesus Christ and his closeness to Him, makes him a powerful intercessor for us. We should turn to him and ask him for his prayers any time we are in need.
One of the lessons that St. Joseph teaches us, is how to properly line up our priorities. Let us not treat him as all the others who neglected him. Our Lord’s poverty at his birth rings throughout the Scriptures. Remember, Mary laid him in a manger, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” John’s Gospel opens with the words, “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not.” Matthew’s gospel reminds us that “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Benedict XVI, Infancy Narratives, p. 66)
This stark reality should cause us to reexamine the priorities we live by. Joseph knew that his highest priority was tending to his Holy Family. From the moment of Jesus’ birth, Jesus is outside of what is important and powerful in the eyes of the world. Yet he will prove to be the truly powerful one. Part of what it means to be Christian is to leave behind what everyone else thinks and wants, the prevailing standards, in order to know Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (p. 67)
There are many other inspiring details from our Gospel that can provide much fruit for prayer this Christmas Season. Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, in his book on Jesus’ infancy, highlights for example the fact that the shepherds went “in haste” and found Mary, Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. Mary had done the same thing on receiving the angel’s message about her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy. She went “with haste” to the town in Judea where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. The shepherds made haste, partly from human curiosity, in order to see this great thing that had been announced to them. But surely too, they were driven by their joy on hearing that now truly, the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord had been born, the one so long awaited – and they would be the first to see him. How many Christians make haste today, where the things of God are concerned? Surely if anything merits haste then it is the things of God (p. 79).
The Holy Father also describes a beautiful insight into the manger from St. Augustine. The manger is the place where animals find their food. But now, lying in the manger, is he who called himself the true bead come down from heaven., the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves. This is the food that gives us true life, eternal life. Thus the manger becomes a reference to the table of God, to which we are invited so as to receive the bread of God. (p. 68)
Finally, the shepherds themselves, the first ones to receive the message of the newborn King, carry great meaning and purpose. Being outside of the city, Jesus was born close to their fields. They were physically close to him and so they teach us to be inwardly close to him too. And they were poor, showing us the great love God has for the poor and challenging us to resist being tied down by too many things so that we can be freed by the profound mysteries that only those who are humble have access to (71).
We receive then, this morning, a great gift and a great challenge. For Christ to not only be born at a specific time and place in human history but also in each of our hearts, we need the help that our faith gives us; we cannot receive such a precious gift by our own power. We turn to St. Joseph as the patron saint of those seeking to re-align our priorities around Jesus Christ. With the aid of Joseph’s prayers we can see that Jesus’ whole life, from beginning to end, is offered for our salvation. We can see that allowing him generously into our lives is not simply a challenge but a great gift. He is still giving his entire Life to us. With the humility and poverty of the shepherds, we can allow Jesus to enrich us with his blessings.
Christmas Midnight Mass–St. Joseph and our Spiritual Lives
To those this with us this evening who are new to Holy Trinity/Holy Rosary, friends and family of parishioners, I welcome you to The Burg/Manton and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas! I hope that you will find our Church and our parishioners to be warm and inviting and feel welcome to pray with us any time. We are available to you and want to help you maintain and grow in your faith. We also want to help you get reacquainted with your faith if you haven’t been to Mass in a while. Let us try our hand at helping you answer a question or solve a problem that may have been an obstacle to you. We have a parish with prayerful and resourceful people with many helpful gifts and talents all at your service… starting with this very Mass, the greatest help of all.
One of the most helpful parts of our Gospel reading tonight is the strong example of St. Joseph. It is Joseph who took Mary, pregnant with the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, to Bethlehem in order to register in the census; it is Joseph who, in doing this, fulfilled the prophecy of Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; it is Joseph who worked to provide for and protect his family by finding shelter in a nearby cave when there was no room in the inn (Navarre Lk 1:1-2:23). St. Bernadine of Siena explains that it was Joseph, our Holy Patriarch, who was “a father to our Lord Jesus Christ and a faithful spouse to the Queen of the Universe, our Lady of the Angels. The eternal Father chose Joseph to be the guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, his Son and his Spouse, and Joseph fulfilled his calling with perfect fidelity. If the Church is indebted to the Blessed Virgin for having given Christ to us, then, after Mary, great gratitude and veneration is also owed to St. Joseph.” (ibid)
Sometimes we can forget to turn to St. Joseph for help in our own lives. He has such a humble witness in Scripture, but his role in the early life of Jesus Christ and his closeness to Him, makes him a powerful intercessor for us. We should turn to him and ask him for his prayers any time we are in need.
One of the lessons that St. Joseph teaches us, is how to properly line up our priorities around Jesus. Let us not treat him as all the others who neglected him. Our Lord’s poverty at his birth rings throughout the Scriptures. Mary laid him in a manger, our Gospel tonight said, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” John’s Gospel opens with the words, “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not.” Matthew’s gospel reminds us that “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Benedict XVI, Infancy Narratives, p. 66)
This stark reality should cause us to reexamine the priorities we live by. Joseph knew that his highest priority was tending to his Holy Family. From the moment of his birth, Jesus is outside of what is important and powerful in the eyes of the world. Yet he will prove to be the truly powerful one. Part of what it means to be Christian is to leave behind what everyone else thinks and wants, the prevailing standards, in order to know Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (p. 67)
There are many other inspiring details from our Gospel that can provide much fruit for prayer. The fact that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes, the equivalent of bandages, calls to mind his death. From the outset then, he is the sacrificial victim and the manger could be seen as a kind of altar. (p. 68)
Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, in his book on Jesus’ infancy, describes a beautiful insight into the manger from St. Augustine. The manger is the place where animals find their food. But now, lying in the manger, is he who called himself the true bead come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves. This is the food that gives us true life, eternal life. Thus the manger becomes a reference to the table of God, to which we are invited so as to receive the bread of God. (p. 68)
Finally, there are the shepherds who are the first ones to receive the message of the newborn King. Being outside of the city, Jesus was born close to their fields. They were physically close to him and so they teach us to be inwardly close to him too. And they were poor, showing us the great love God has for the poor and challenging us to resist being tied down by too many things so that we can be freed by the profound mysteries that only those who are humble have access too. (p. 71)
We receive then, tonight, a great gift and a great challenge. For Christ to not only be born at a specific time and place in human history but also in each of our hearts, we need the help that our faith gives us; we cannot receive such a precious gift by our own power. We turn to St. Joseph as the patron saint of those seeking to re-align our priorities around Jesus Christ. With the aid of Joseph’s prayers we can see that Jesus’ whole life, from beginning to end, is offered for our salvation. We can see that allowing him generously into our lives is not simply a challenge but a great gift. He is still giving his entire Life to us. With the humility and poverty of the shepherds, we allow Jesus to enrich us with his blessings.
Christmas Vigil Mass–A Beautiful List of Begats
To those this with us this evening who are new to Holy Trinity/HolyRosary, friends and family of parishioners, I welcome you to The Burg/Manton and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas! I hope that you will find our Church and our parishioners to be warm and inviting and feel welcome to pray with us any time. We are available to you and want to help you maintain and grow in your faith. We also want to help you get reacquainted with your faith if you haven’t been to Mass in a while. Let us try our hand at helping you answer a question or solve a problem that may have been an obstacle to you. We have a parish with prayerful and resourceful people with many helpful gifts and talents all at your service… starting with this very Mass, the greatest help of all.
It may not seem at first that tonight’s Gospel is of much help. What use are all of those hard-to-pronounce names in Jesus’ genealogy? I can remember when I was a kid I just couldn’t wait for the list to end! “When is Father gonna stop with the names!?” But if we can take into account what our Catholic tradition has revealed about this seemingly boring list, we can discover that this is more than just a list of names. It sets the stage for the Holy Family. And each member of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, has an inspiring message for us.
First, Jesus. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy, like a Christmas tree, climbs from the beginnings – from the root – to the present, to the top of the “tree.” It starts with Abraham which takes us all the way back to the earliest of Old Testament times. Abraham is a wonderer, walking forward into the uncertain future, towards the promised land, filled with trust in God’s promises to him. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. The Letter to the Hebrews describes Abraham as a man who “looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He shows us that God is trustworthy. (BXVI, Infancy Narratives, 5)
The genealogy then rises from Abraham to King David. God made a promise to King David too; that he would have an everlasting kingdom – “Your throne shall be established for ever.” King David shows us that God wishes to lead his people through a kingdom, in a consistent and reassuring way, to enlighten our path, to guard, to rule, to guide us.
The genealogy then descends from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity and rises again to Jesus. So, Jesus’ inspiring message from Matthew’s genealogy is this: He is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to mankind, from the Old Testament times to today. His kingdom is the one promised to Abraham. He is the king who will never be deposed, who will lead his people forever. This list of names is its own little gospel that gives the good news that Christ is King. He shows us that we have a Father who keeps his promises. He shows us that his kingdom, budding forth in the Church on earth, is the firm foundation that will not let us down. When the empty promises of the world – promises that you and I have each bought into along the way – when these disappoint us, we can look to Jesus Christ and know that he will lead us in a way that will not disappoint.
The second inspiring message that this list of names gives us is from Mary, our Blessed Mother. Throughout the generations of the genealogy, the formula, “So-n-so was the father of So-n-so” is used. Or you may remember how the King James Bible said, “So-no-so begat So-n-so.” But at the end of the list it is different. In Jesus’ case there is no reference to his father, it doesn’t say, “Joseph the father of Jesus.” Instead it says, “Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” In the account of Jesus’ birth that follows immediately afterward, Matthew tells us that Joseph is not Jesus’ true father. An angel told him in a dream, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”
So Mary marks a new beginning. Her child does not originate from any man, but is a new creation, conceived through the Holy Spirit (p. 7) It is our own human history that Mary marked with a new beginning. She shows us that each one of us, by our common humanity and our brotherhood with Christ, is capable of a new beginning too. For those who are steadfast in faith, a new beginning could mean a deeper level of friendship with Christ; a deeper insight into his love and mercy; or a further step on the road of holiness. For those who have had difficulty with faith; who have encountered suffering along the way; or who feel they have been driven away from the Church, a new beginning means a renewed search for truth and peace.
Finally, the genealogy gives us to each of us tonight, the inspiring message of St. Joseph. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and called him, “son of David.” He is Jesus’ true and legitimate link to the promises made to Abraham and David. Despite this royal lineage, when Joseph discovered that Mary had conceived a child, he decided to divorce her quietly. But, he wanted to do this not because he was suspicious of her – he no doubt knew her character was beyond reproach – but precisely because he is what Matthew calls him, “a righteous man.” St. Bernard explains it this way: “Joseph considered himself to be an unworthy sinner, unworthy to live with the woman who had astounded him with the greatness of her dignity. Fearful, he saw the unmistakable sign of the divine presence in her, and because he could not understand the mystery, he decided to draw away quietly from her… He marveled at the greatness of the miracle and the depth of the mystery.” (Navarre, Lk 1:18-25)
St. Joseph, introduced to us by the genealogy, shows us that God has beautiful and marvelous gifts in store for us. God shares these gifts with us through the sacraments and the ongoing life of the Church. But sometimes we feel unworthy of them. We feel too ashamed of what we’ve done to go to confession. We feel too humiliated to receive Communion.
We feel too embarrassed to ask to be anointed. We feel too nervous to explain our faith to our family or coworkers. I have felt these things before. It is true, none of us are worthy of the gifts God wants to give us. Neither was Joseph. But he shows us that we are called to receive them nonetheless out of God’s great love for us and it is our very reception of God’s great gifts that increases us in worthiness until we are brought into the perfection of everlasting life.
These inspiring messages of Good News are given to us subtly by the genealogy if we are willing to accept the challenge to go a little deeper. That is what our faith is all about. The link from Abraham to David to Jesus; the ending in Mary; and the hinge on Joseph are the keys that unlocked the genealogy’s inspiring words. Who knew that the Holy Family was speaking to us in such a meaningful way!? Who knew that Jesus’ message of being a firm foundation and a faithful king; that Mary’s message of hope for a new beginning; and that Joseph’s message of humble acceptance of God’s gifts were enshrined in such a beautiful list of “begats”?
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