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I’d like to talk a little about salt and light. 

       Let’s start with salt.

Our Lord says you are salt of the earth.  Great!  What does that mean?

       Salt was very important in the ancient world.  So much so that it was often used as currency. Roman soldiers were partly paid in salt. It is said to be from this that we get the word soldier – ‘sal dare’, meaning to give salt. From the same source we get the word salary, ‘salarium’.

       Salt was a scarce and expensive commodity and extremely valuable. To sit above or below the salt identified precedence in the seating arrangements at a feast, according to one’s rank. Not to be worth one’s salt was a great insult.

       Here we see that Jesus says to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.”

       Why was salt so valuable. 

       First, it was necessary for survival.  Ancient diets were mostly starchy and did not have a lot of sodium in them.  Thus the need for other sources of dietary salt needed to be found simply for good health. 

       Salt was used as a preservative, especially for meat and fish.  There were no refrigerators in the ancient world.  

       It had medicinal uses, especially in healing of battle wounds.

       Finally, as then as now, it tends to bring out the best flavors in most food.  Even caramel.  Yum!

So when Jesus is telling his disciples they are the salt of the earth, it is no small thing. 

       He is telling them that they are of untold value. 

       Also perhaps that they preserve the best of humanity, that they are agents of healing, bringing out the best in those around them. 

       To be the salt of the earth is to be something special, something essential. That’s how much our God thinks of us. 

What about light? 

    I don’t use props very often when I preach these days.  But back when I was Fr. Young Priest, I once preached on this very gospel passage using a Colman Lantern and a wicker bushel basket, just to see if the image that Jesus used held true. In prepping the homily, I learned that if I left the gas on for just a couple seconds longer than the instructions called for, the lamp made a nice loud “POOF!” sound when I hit the electronic ignition. Needless to say, it really got the peoples’ attention.

[Hey do you know anything about skydiving?

       No, do you know anything about Colman stoves?]

       Then I put the basket over the lantern.  Sure enough, that wicker basket effectively blocked out all the light from the lantern, rendering it useless as a source of illumination. I left the basket on there for some time. 

       As I continued with the homily, I could see people getting more and more nervous. Even though they couldn’t see it, they knew that that Coleman lantern was burning away inside that basket. They also knew that Coleman lanterns are a prodigious source of heat as well as light; and they knew the longer I left that basket on there, the more likely that basket was to burst into flames at any moment. 

       I removed the basket before that could happen, of course, but the point was well made. We are the light of the world because we are loved by God. When we open ourselves to that love, we can’t help but radiate the light of God’s love to others. It is a fire burning within us.  If we try to hide that light (or even if others try to do so), it will find a way out to burst out anyway.  It cannot be contained.  So powerful is the white-hot flame of God’s love. 

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish, YOU are the salt of Muldoon.  You are the light of Nunaka Valley. You are the heart and the arms and the hands of Christ in your neighborhood. 

As salt and light, our job as a parish family is to become so much a part of our neighborhoods, our schools, our community councils (which meets on the third Thursday of every month in the at 9131 Centennial Cir, that’s February 20^th for those of you who are interested); in short, anywhere where that God has put you in 99504; our job is to become so much a part of the local community in 99504 that they cannot imagine life without us. 

A thousand pardons, Blogosphere. One thing led to another and posts have been few and far between. So here are some quick posts to get you caught up to speed. For expediency’s sake, the texts are unedited. I’m sure you will get the idea nevertheless.

The Presentation of the Lord

Story: [I didn’t recognize you!]

    It is now forty days since Christmas. Often called “Candlemas”, it commemorates the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple at the end of the 40-day period of purification after the birth of a child. In bringing the infant Jesus to the Temple, Mary and Joseph were fulfilling the dictates of the Law of Moses regarding a firstborn male.

    Liturgically, we commemorate the Light of Christ entering the Temple with the blessing of the candles which will be used in the liturgies for the coming year.  Sometimes families will also bring candles used for prayer at home. If you missed the blessing, feel free to bring your prayer candles by during the week or even next weekend to have them blessed. 

    It may seem like a small gesture to bring Jesus to the Temple, but just think about what is going on at that moment. For the Jews, the Temple was the dwelling place of God, the sign that God was with them (“Emmanuel”). With this first entrance of the infant Christ into the Temple, the meaning of this belief is no longer just symbolic. God is truly and substantially present. The words of the prophet Malachi (and many others) are fulfilled.

    As happened so often in the life of Christ, the enormity of this event goes largely unnoticed, except by Simeon and Anna the Prophetess.  These two are worth contemplating. Like all of Israel, Simeon was awaiting emergence of the Anointed One of God. Personally, this was his vocation. Perhaps his were the only eyes that could see the full impact of how God’s plan was unfolding before him. Truly, he was “awaiting the blessed hope, and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.” 

    Anna is a most intriguing figure. While it was Simeon’s vocation to wait, her’s was to be in the Temple. Yet because of her relationship with God, she is able to recognize Christ as the savior. She even takes it a step further. While it was Simeon’s role to give the private revelation to Mary and Joseph, Anna goes and speaks about the child to “all who were awaiting the redemption of Israel.” She spreads the Good News. 

    I think we need a little of both Simeon and Anna in our spiritual lives. We need to contemplate the mysteries of salvation and then make them known to a the world around us. Having come to know Christ, let us make him known.

     Have you ever walked by something that you see all the time and one day you pass by and say, “Wait a minute! That’s doesn’t make sense at all!” There’s a bit of that in the Baptism of the Lord that we celebrate today. We’ve heard the story since childhood and sort of take it at face value. But really, if you think about it, why did Jesus get baptized?  Even John the Baptist thought it was a little out of sorts. At first glance, it doesn’t make sense for a couple of reasons.

       First, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. But Jesus was without sin. So why did he need to repent? It doesn’t make sense on that level.  Second, baptism as we understand it today involves the washing away of Original Sin and initiation into the Church. Again, Jesus was conceived without Original Sin and at that time, the Church had yet to be founded. It doesn’t make sense on that level either. 

       So how does the Baptism of the Lord make sense? Well, one of the amazing things about Jesus is that whatever he encounters, he transforms. For example, when he entered fully into human existence at the Incarnation, he not only restored all humanity to our original dignity, but raised us to a state even higher than the angels.  Imagine that. At the wedding at Cana, he took the jugs of water and transformed them into the best wine the head steward had ever tasted. At the Last Supper, he took the Passover and transformed it into the Eucharist. The list goes on and on. 

       In the same way, at the Jordan River, Jesus entered into the waters in the baptism and transformed them into the means of sanctifying grace. In baptism Christ encounters us, and we encounter Christ. Thus, when we enter the waters of baptism, we are forever changed. Our sins are washed away in the Blood of the Lamb and we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. As John the Evangelist says later, “See what favor the Father has bestowed on us by letting us be called children of God.” 

The baptism of the Lord inaugurates the public ministry of Jesus.

From here he will go into the desert for forty days to prepare himself and to be tested.

Then he will give the Sermon on the Mount. Then he will teach and preach and heal and exhort and suffer and die and be raised and ascend to the Father and send the Holy Spirit to found the Church.

The public life of Jesus began with his baptism.

So too the public life of every Christian begins with our baptism. 

What have you done, what will you do with the grace that has been given to you?  (For those of you who live in the marvel universe…will you use this power for good or for evil?)

May the grace given to each of us in baptism continue to grow and mature.  

       Because at the at the end of this life, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Almighty God, in the presence of all the saints and all the angels and all the heavenly host. 

       And what a marvelous thing it will be, should gaze upon you and say to the celestial multitude in that same voice that came from the heavens on the banks of the Jordan so very long ago:

“This is my beloved son

       This is my beloved

              With whom I am well pleased.” 

It’s important to have a standard in life by which to gauge your process in grace and in ministry.  Here is something I came across the other day that I found helpful.  I thought you might too. 

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The Perfect Pastor

The perfect pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes.

He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings.

He works from 8am until midnight and is also the church janitor.

The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car,

buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church.

He is 29 years old and has 40 years’ experience.

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There are many things that I have learned after 25 years of priesthood. 

        On of them is that I am NOT the perfect pastor.  Nor perhaps even a perfect Christian.

        But I hope, at the very least,  that I am a faithful one.

There are many things that I could speak about.

        But in order that we might get to the party sooner, I will simply share with you some lessons I have learned over the past 25 years.  Some are practical; some are spiritual.

I’ve learned

1)  Never answer the first question a person asks. 

        It’s never the one they want the answer to.

I learned to

2) Appreciate the thanks of the People of God, but not to create my ministry around it.

        Homily praise is good when you can get it, especially when you are Fr. Young Priest.  But there was a humbling moment, when I simply greeting people after Mass one day.  A fellow came up, vigorously shook my hand and said, “Wonderful homily, Father!  Great job!”  Despite the fact that I had not preached that weekend.

        While one’s our personal support comes from family, friends, and other priests, one cannot be a priest without the spiritual support comes from People of God who hold you in prayer.

I’ve learned that

3) As a priest, the divine plan of God doesn’t depend on me. 

    This is marvelously liberating.  I supposed God could probably save souls through a rock if he wanted to,

    [come to think of it, in one way he has…]

    But he doesn’t want to. 

        Instead, he chooses some of us to share in a very special way in his ministry.

 – to bring glad tidings to the poor.

 – to proclaim liberty to captives

 – to celebrate the sacred mysteries

 – to forgive sins.

 – to preach the Good News. 

Through it all, none of it depends on me.

As Isaiah said,

    See, I place my words in your mouth.

    Sometimes in a homily, on a whim, I’ll go off script and say a particular thing, and then after Mass someone will come up and say,    “You know, Father, that particular thing you said? That was exactly what I needed to hear today!”  

For a while, St. Andrew’s had a thrift store.  The woman who ran it was something special.  Behind the counter above the cash register there was a sign that simply read:

    “Owned by God, run by us.”   

I’ve learned that

4) the Church is best when it is personal, not institutional. 

    The Church needs a face.

    What do I mean? 

    We love to institutionalize everything in the Church.

    [Father, there’s a woman who lives next door to me…

        …the parish ought to buy a van.]

The prayer on the back of my Holy Card. 

    Lord, make me into the icon of your love

        Give me your eyes, that I may see as you see.

        Give you your ears that I may hear as you hear.

        Give me your heart, that I may love as you love.

        Give me your hands that I may embrace your people.

    Thus, having molded this weak clay into the image and       likeness of your Divine Self

        When they look at me, may they see you.

        When they listen to me, may they hear your Word.

        When they reach out to me,

                 may they be embraced by your love.  

In the end, it’s not about choosing the priesthood, it’s about being chosen BY Christ for the priesthood. 

    It is a marvelous life.  It really is.

    There is no greater challenge in the present age.

    There is no higher calling in any age. 

I will simply close with the thoughts of someone much smarter than I am.  This is a poem by the Jesuit Karl Rahner, whose theological investigations helped to shape the documents of the Second Vatican Council. 

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THE PRIEST by Karl Rahner, SJ.

The priest is not an angel

Sent from heaven

He is a man

Chosen from among men,

A member of the Church,

A Christian.

Remaining man and Christian,

He begins to speak of you

The Word of God.

The word is not his own.

No, he comes to you

Because God has told him

To proclaim God’s Word.

Perhaps he has not entirely

Understood it himself.

Perhaps he adulterates it.

But he believes,

And despite his fear

He knows he must communicate

God’s Word to you.

For must not some of us

Say something about God,

About eternal life;

About the majesty of grace

in our sanctified being?

Must not some one of us

Speak of sin,

The judgement and mercy of God?

So, my dear friends,

Pray for him,

Carry him,

So that he might be able

To sustain others by bringing to them

The mystery of God’s love

Revealed in Jesus Christ. — Karl Rahner S.J.

[Click on the little black arrow to listen to the homily.]

       When I was a kid, the Magi were not mere figurines. They were action figures!  Their journey began on the far side of the living room, far to the east of the nativity scene. Each day they would get a little closer to “Bethlehem”, climbing the Mount of Easy Chair and down into the depths of the Valley of the Coffee Table. Finally, on Epiphany, they would arrive at the manger to pay homage to the Baby Jesus. It was a fun way our parents used to teach a little bit about the Christmas story.

       I’ve grown a bit older, a bit more sophisticated in my appreciation of the Magi and the role they play, but the sense of wonder instilled early on remains. 

       I’ve learned three lessons from the Magi. 

Lesson #1:  Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.

Lesson # 2: if you find it and it’s not what you expect, roll with it.  God’s plan is better than yours.

Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.

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Lesson #1: See the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.

       First of all, what were the Magi?

       Magi were mysterious astrologers from the Persia. Court officials of great learning. Perhaps even sent by their own kings as ambassadors to the newborn king of the Jews.  They did not become kings until John Hopkins wrote Christmas Carol designating them as such in the mid-19^th century.        They were the kind of guys who would have been looking to the stars for signs and portents.

So what did they see, exactly. Well, we really don’t know.  It could have been Haley’s Comet, that made an appearance about time. It could have been a supernova documented by Chinese astrologers about that time.

       Or was it something less obvious?  One intriguing theory was gained by reversing the path of the stars in a planetarium to see what the night sky would have looked like at the time of the birth of Christ. If you do that, you see that Jupiter, the star representing kings, moved into Aries, the constellation that represented Judah. The logical interpretation would have been that a new king was born in Judah. It’s puzzling to note that Herod was looking at the same sky and did not see what they saw.

Why?  He was not seeking the true or the good. He missed it.  Even worse, when he learned of what it may have meant from the Magi, he saw it as a threat.

Lesson #1:   Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.

       Remember, for us the truth is not a something, but a someONE.

       He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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Lesson #2: if you find the truth and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.

What the Magi found must have confused them. 

       Reading the sacred text, they even seem a little confused, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  

       They went to the logical first place, the palace.  Why?  Because that’s where new kings are usually born.

Thus the encounter with Herod, must have been very confusing.

       But they persevere and what do they find?

       No palace.  No finery. Just a simple family of modest means.  

       THIS is the newborn King?!

       Well, fair enough.  They were looking for the Truth, and God led them to exactly where they were supposed to be.

       What did they see in him, that made them lay their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh?

       (Interesting side note on the gifts, they are each richly symbolic and very revealing about Jesus.  I have studies this at great length and I know what they mean…and I’m not going to tell you.  You can look it up on your own.)  

       So, Lesson #2: if you find the truth and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.

       Remember God, has three ways of answering your prayer:

       1.  Yes

       2. Not yet, and  

       3. I have something better in mind for you. 

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Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.

       Or even worse, like Herod, to see all change as a threat.

       One of the things that still fascinates me about the Magi is King Herod’s reaction when they mention the newborn “King of the Jews.” One can understand why he was greatly troubled. As far as Herod knew, HE was the King of the Jews. So who was this newborn usurper of his power?! 

     It helps to remember that Herod was a horrific tyrant who clung to every shred of earthly power that the Romans gave him with every fiber of his being. This was a man who had his two eldest sons executed two days before his own death because he thought they were trying to take his crown.

       The great irony is that Herod had nothing to fear from Jesus in that regard. The Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was/is so far removed from any earthly kingdom as to make the comparison laughable. 

       But the irony of Herod is the same irony that plagues the Gospel message today. Those who can only perceive the world in terms of power and influence will never be able to receive the message of the Good News of the Kingdom through the forgiveness of sins. 

       We don’t really know what the Magi were looking for as they followed the star, perhaps they didn’t even know themselves.  We do know that despite his humble accommodations, they recognized in the child Jesus something of inestimable worth, while Herod did not.

Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.

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Three lessons I have learned from the Magi:

 Lesson #1:  Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.

Lesson # 2: if you find it and it’s not what you expect, roll with it.  God’s plan is better than yours.

Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.

I pray that like the Magi, we may have the of tenacity intellect, the humility of faith, and the wisdom of experience shown to us by the three Magi, that we too may pay him homage and reveal him to the nations. 

Happy, New Year! And Merry Christmas, Day 8!

Some people are asking me if it will be a good year. Well, I know that it is my optometrist’s favorite year. And really, as to whether or not it will be a good year, I don’t know, I don’t have 2020 foresight.

So we are celebrating the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. I’m going to reflect on it from a theological, historical, and pastoral perspective.

The title of Our Lady as Mother of God was defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431.  The Council fathers did two things; they affirmed the teachings of Nicea about the humanity and divinity of Christ; and rejected the Nestorian heresy which held that Mary was not Mother of God, but merely Mother of Christ.  “No,” the Council said, “Jesus Christ is truly human and truly divine. Therefore, Mary is rightly called Theotokos, the God-bearer.” In the West, this gets rendered the Mother of God.

Ever since the term has been used extensively in the Sacred Liturgy and in prayerful devotion in the Church.  The scriptural half of the Hail Mary is complemented by the dogmatic part where we say, “…Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

Historically in the West, it was in 1750 when King Joseph Manuel of Portugal petitioned the Holy Father to grant the celebration of a feast of the

‘Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The Holy Father granted the petition on the 22^nd of January 1751.  Originally, it was assigned to the first Sunday in May, the month of Our Lady.

In 1969, with the Revision of the Liturgical Calendar, the Feast was moved to the 8^th Day of the Octave of Christmas, January 1^st in order to emphasize Mary’s role as mother in the Incarnation.

Here’s a fun fact. The feast is celebrated with an octave in the Church of St. Augustine in Rome.  This is due mainly to the presence of the the miraculous statue of the Madonna del Parto by Jacopo Sansovino. For centuries, people of Rome and its environs have invoked the intercession of the Madonna before this statue asking for safe deliveries and healthy babies. Even today, the statue is laden with thanksgiving offerings and always surrounded by offerings of flowers and candles, and often photographs of smiling infants and toddlers. It’s really something to see. 

But if you really want to know what it is all about, you can’t do better than reading the landmark encyclical that Pope St. Paul VI wrote in 1974.  It’s called Marialis Cultus, “FOR THE RIGHT ORDERING AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.”

The Blessed Virgin’s role as Mother leads the People of God to turn with filial confidence to her who is ever ready to listen with a mother’s affection and efficacious assistance. Thus the People of God have learned to call on her as the Consoler of the afflicted, the Health of the sick, and the Refuge of sinners, that they may find comfort in tribulation, relief in sickness and liberating strength in guilt. For she, who is free from sin, leads her children to combat sin with energy and resoluteness. This liberation from sin and evil (cf. Mt. 6:13)-it must be repeated-is the necessary premise for any renewal of Christian living.

The world is a harsh place.  Modern society is not at all sympathetic to people of faith, especially Christians and even less so Catholics like you and me.

How very good it is, therefore in such times to have the aid of the Blessed Virgin Mary in our pilgrimage of faith on this earth.  As Pope St. Paul tells us, it is not just in the interior struggle against sin that she comes to our aid, but also in the public square in confronting a culture which values neither faith nor life itself.  In the midst of confusing and hostile times, she stands as exemplar and advocate, a pillar of strength to weary hearts and courage in an antagonistic age.

Therefore, in such times let us turn to the Mother of God, our Blessed Mother. Like her, let us ponder these sacred things in our hearts and act with a courage born of faith – keeping in mind that the last words of Our Lady ever recorded in Scripture:

“Do whatever he tells you.”  (John 2:5)   

I always like to hear Deacon Mick Fornelli preach. To listen to his thoughts on the Solemnity of the Holy Family, click on the little black arrow below. My column on “How to Raise a Holy Family” is below.

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HOW TO RAISE A HOLY FAMILY – Fr. Leo

               Merry Christmas…Day 5! 

     One of the great things about being Catholic is that for us, Christmas is not just a day, but a whole season. This year Christmas lasts until the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord on January 12th.  That’s actually 19 days of Christmas.  So don’t take that tree down yet!

     This week, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. A central focus of the feast is the family as the first expression of the Church. Indeed, it’s vitally important for us to remember that Church exists first at home. If it does not, then what we do here on the weekends will have limited impact.

So how you have raise Catholic household?  How can each of us be a “holy family?”  Simple.  In the Church we sanctify (set aside for God) three things: 1) People, 2) Places, and 3) Time.  So start with the basics:

1. Sanctify the members of the family. In the Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers there are lots and lots of blessings that parents can impart at certain times of the year. I particularly like the blessing of children as they leave for school each day.  There are also blessings for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, and just about anything else you can think of. 

2.  Set aside a special place in the house that is dedicated to family prayer. You have a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to watch TV.  Where in the house will you make a place to pray? As a child, I remember kneeling around our parents’ bed to pray the Rosary. Make sure there is a crucifix prominently displayed in the main part of the house. Does every bedroom have a crucifix above the bed or the doorway.  Have a depiction of the Last Supper in your dining room.

3. Make sacred family time.  Make the Church calendar, your family’s calendar. The parish calendars that we hand out can help in this regard. Celebrate all the liturgical seasons at home. Decorate with the liturgical colors.  Advent calendars and Advent wreathes are great for preparing for Christmas. Leave the Nativity Scene and other Christmas decorations up until the Baptism of the Lord (some will even do so until Candlemas on February 2nd.) Set aside a certain time each day for simple family prayer. 

4. Learn your faith and have resources on hand for quick reference.  Here are five essential Catholic books in every household: 1) New American Study Bible (Revised Edition), 2) Catechism of the Catholic Church 3) Catholic Book of Household Blessings and Prayers. 4) Flannery’s Documents of Vatican II, Volume I. 4) Butler’s Lives of the Saints (Revised). 5) The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom by John Hardon, S.J.

  Raising a holy Catholic family is not rocket science, but it does take some planning and resolve. The traditions established in the home now will pay dividends for generations.             – Fr. Leo

Merry Christmas to you! Many blessings this Holy Day.

I’m told that good things come in threes. Below are the recordings of homilies for the Vigil Mass of Christmas, the Mass at Midnight (Mass at Night) and the Mass During the Day.

Vigil Mass Homily – God Is With Us, (With Apologies to Edward Schillebeeckx)

Midnight Mass Homily – What’s It Mean to Be Redeemed?

Mass During the Day – The Word Became Flesh

One of the interesting things about being in Alaska is that the sun does not come up until around 10:30. So the Mass at Dawn and Mass During the Day can happen at the same time, if you want. To avoid confusion, we just choose one of them. The text below is my column from the parish bulletin. There are elements of all three homilies in it. The homilies are rather Spirit-driven and so there is no text. Merry Christmas!

Here’s the Bulletin Text:

Things have changed a lot in a generation or two. In the “good ol’ days” folks might go to four Masses on Christmas, the Vigil, Midnight Mass, Mass at Dawn, and Mass During the Day.  Each has their own proper readings and prayers. Folks enjoyed it because one can actually go to communion at each one. Nowadays, most people tend to go to only one Mass for Christmas. Given the momentum of the culture, it’s understandable, I guess. Still, I wish that most folks could experience the progression of the narrative as we move through each of the Christmas liturgies. Should you take the opportunity to do so, one of the first things you notice is how God’s plan unfolds very deliberately as God moves intentionally through human history.

To be Catholic is to be a sacramental people. Simply put, this means that we believe that God is truly present and active in our human reality. We are not deists, who believe that God set up the world, wound it up like a toy, flipped the switch, set it in motion and then walked away to another project. No, God is very interested in what we are doing. He is truly present.  He is “Emmanuel”, which means, “God is with us.” 

In one sense, this is what Christmas is all about. Jesus is not just a nice guy who taught us about God.  Jesus is truly divine, God incarnate. In celebrating the birth of Jesus, we celebrate God’s true presence to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. In Christ, God was truly present. But wait a minute.  Jesus suffered, died, rose and ascended.  How is Christ truly present to the world today?  

There was a Dutch Theologian named Edward Schillebeeckx who wrote a book not too long ago called Christ, the Sacrament of the Encounter with God. He had a nice way of putting it. Greatly simplified, his thought ran like this—Sacraments are all about true presence.  So, in a very real sense, Jesus Christ, as the true presence of God in the world, was the sacrament of God, the Father. But as I pointed out, Christ has ascended to the Father. So how is Christ truly present to the world today? The answer is pretty simple: through His Church. The Church is the true presence of Christ in the world today.  Thus, the Church is the ‘sacrament of Christ.’ And within in the life of the Church there are those seven sacramental moments which manifest His presence truly and substantially, especially, for example, in the Eucharist. 

     What does that mean for you and me today?  Well, we are the Church, you and I. Thus, as the true presence of Christ, we have a special mission to this little part of the world where we find ourselves.  By our presence will those we meet know that God is with them? St. Teresa of Avila said it very well. 

“Christ has no body on earth now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on the world; yours are the feet with which he walks to do good; yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”

Christmas is about God’s true presence in the world through Christ and through us. May we each manifest the true presence of Christ through lives of faithful witness that Christ is born and lives on through each of us. Merry Christmas!

[To listen to the homily, click on the little black arrow below.]

       For the past two weeks, we have been talking about John the Baptist. This Fourth Week of Advent, our attention is drawn to the figure of Joseph, Husband of Mary, an amazingly faithful man. Nowhere is his faithfulness more apparent than in our gospel reading today. 

       It helps to remember how Semitic marriage customs worked in the first century. There were four phases to the process. The first was the pounding out of the marriage contract between the fathers of the two families. This could happen as early as when the future bride and groom were children, but usually early adolescence.

       Second was the Betrothal. Not unlike engagement parties of today, this was usually a nice semi-religious party with a blessing from an official of the synagogue which made the contract public.

       The third phase was the transfer of the bride from her own village to the household of the groom. This was always done with a lot of pomp and circumstance. The groom would set out with great fanfare. It could be hours or it could be days before he returned. The whole town eagerly anticipated his advent. He would return with his bride and her family and companions. Of course, she was dressed as fine as her family could afford.

       The fourth was the Wedding Feast.  The young girls of the town would meet the caravan at the city gates and accompany the caravan to the groom’s household where the wedding feast would take place as well as the other attendant details that followed, including the consummation of the marriage.  

       So, when Mary is found with child after the betrothal but before he takes her into his home, it is a problem. It’s hard for us today to appreciate how much of a problem it is. The part of the Law which typically gets cited is Deuteronomy 22:21, which states that if proof of virginity is not found:

       they shall bring the young woman to the entrance of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death…Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.*

[*It’s actually a rather facile reference since it is unlikely the Roman occupational authorities would have allowed for a public stoning at that time.]

       Joseph, however, opts for a more discrete and charitable solution allowed for in the Law by intending to her divorce her quietly.

        So, when the Angel Gabriel comes to him in a dream and tells him to take Mary into his home, it is no small thing.

       I marvel at the faith of Joseph. No doubt, from the time of the betrothal, he was anticipating a completely different life with Mary as his wife. But then he is confronted with the shock of her unexpected pregnancy. He changes his plans.  THEN, there is the message of the Angel. Joseph, the faithful and just man, believes the angel and does what his faith tells him. Joseph changes his plans.  

       I want the faith of Joseph. I want the serenity of a faith that can change its plans to match God’s plans. I want the grace to truly pray “THY will be done.”  Not “MY will be done.” 

       God did well in choosing Joseph as the husband of Mary and protector of the Holy Family. I also believe that God has done well in choosing each one of us for our own role in the building of the Kingdom and the proclamation of the Good News.  May we have the grace to discern God’s will and carry it out with a faith like that of St. Joseph. 

[Click on the little arrow to listen to the homily!]

       It is Gaudete Sunday!  We light the ROSE colored candle and wear ROSE colored vestments.  (NOT pink!)

     You guys don’t need a long homily this week.  This one is only 439 more words.

     Last week, I spoke about John the Baptist in his role as prophet calling people back to fidelity to the covenant.  In that role, he reminds us of our need to repent and make way for the Lord in our hearts. This is especially apt for us in Advent since it is a season of penitential preparation. The best way is for us to avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The Kingdom of God is at hand!

     This week, I will concentrate on John’s role as Herald of the Messiah.  In ancient and medieval times, a herald had a very specific role in the life of the kingdom. Unlike today, where all we have to do is turn on our TV to see the leaders of government, in ancient and medieval times, the King traveled around the kingdom so people could physically see him and interact with him. Often people would only see their king once in their lifetime. The herald arrived several weeks ahead of time to prepare the people and the town to receive the king. He would announce the king’s coming, instruct them in questions of etiquette, and help them clean up and decorate the town. Travel being what it was in those days, the exact time of arrival was somewhat flexible. Thus, the people had to be ready at a moment’s notice for the king’s arrival. John is very much the herald of the Christ, preparing the people to receive him when he manifested himself. 

     In a similar way, we need to prepare our hearts and our homes for the coming of the Lord. There are some very practical ways to do this. Clutter is bad! Get rid of stuff you don’t need. Is there a coat or other article of clothing you haven’t worn in a while?  Give it to the clothing drive!    

     What about spiritual clutter? Get rid of your sins in Confession. Clear some time in your schedule for prayer, perhaps in the One Percent Challenge! 

    As prophet, John’s example exhorts us to turn from our sins and return to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As herald, John reminds us that Christ will come in glory at the end of the age. Let us prepare ourselves well as we await the coming of the Lord.  Let us make a highway to our hearts for the coming of our God.