Pledging our Allegiance

172' Statue of Christ the King in Poland

Across this great land, families will gather on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a special day to be grateful to God for our many blessings—family, friends and colleagues, and freedoms and opportunities to pursue our dreams. Thanksgiving is all about enjoying one another’s company.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of Christ, the King of the Universe, to whom we pledge our ultimate allegiance, Jesus who is the image of the invisible God, and the Good Shepherd who guides us into eternal life.

In the aftermath of World War I, which saw four empires swept away, Pope Pius XI was convinced that new dictators were emerging who thought they were gods and would deny people their basic human rights. So, he wanted to point people to the one true God. That’s how we have today’s feast.

What, really, is the Feast of Christ the King all about? We recognize the end of the liturgical year when, to quote the letter of Paul to the Corinthians, “every human being and all that is will be subjected to Jesus Christ, who will deliver the Kingdom of God over to his heavenly Father.”

God became incarnate in Jesus to share God’s life and love and goodness with all creation by the power of the Spirit. Yes, all creation is alive with the goodness of God.

The book of Samuel takes us back to the anointing of David as king of the tribes of Israel. The people acknowledge their kinship with the king. He will be their watchful shepherd as well as their wise leader.

The letter of Paul to the Christian community at Colossae in Turkey highlights an early Christian hymn of thanksgiving to God and exaltation of Jesus. Christ before his birth is the image of the invisible God, the model or blueprint after which all things were fashioned. The second stanza describes Christ after his earthly life. He is the head of the Church, the people of God, through whose dying/rising we’re in relationship with God, moving from earth to heaven. The author proclaims that Christ alone is the ruler of the universe.

In the Gospel according to Luke, we reexperience the theme of “rise and downfall.” We remember how Simeon prophesized in Luke’s infancy narrative that the child in his arms was destined to be the downfall and rise of many. We meet two robbers at Calvary; one sees something transcendent in the bloody face of Jesus; the other doesn't. One rises (“This day you will be with me in Paradise”), and the other apparently meets his downfall.  In a certain sense, the good thief pulled off the greatest robbery ever: he stole heaven.

We as a community of faith profess our ultimate allegiance to Jesus Christ. Do we spend our time, our energy, our resources with Jesus in prayer and in service?

Jesus calls us to a God-centered, other-centered life. This Feast of Christ the King of the Universe asks us, how can we rededicate ourselves more single-mindedly to Jesus, who is our way, our truth, and our life.

Facing the Dazzling Light of Jesus Christ

Mosaic of Jesus  in Wash. DC Basilica

In Sunday's Gospel according to Luke, Jesus speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple. For Luke, the end of Jerusalem was the prelude to the end of this world. The author uses apocalyptic imagery: wars and earthquakes, famines and plagues, persecutions and betrayals. In the midst of it all, Jesus counsels us to persevere in our life/work of discipleship.

This word of God brings us toward the end of the liturgical calendar, which relives the story of our salvation. In Advent we re-experience the hope for a Messiah. We then have Christmas, the birth of the Messiah. Lent culminates in the dying and rising of Jesus at Easter, and finally, after Ordinary Time, Jesus Christ will come “in great power and glory.” Next Sunday we crown him king of the universe.

Yes, we celebrate the story that began in Genesis: “God created the heavens and the earth,” and that ends on the last page of Revelation: “Come, Lord Jesus.” God will transform this universe into a glorious kingdom in all its fullness. How, we don’t know.

But the question is not how. Rather the question is, are we ready to enter into the dazzling light of Jesus Christ, gloriously alive, when He does come to us in the mystery of our own dying.

You may have read Harold Kushner’s book Living a Life That Matters. As a clergyman, Kushner has cared for many people in their last moments. Those who had the most trouble with death were those who felt they had never done anything worthwhile.

Sunday’s word of God asks, are we ready to face Jesus Christ? What attitudes and behaviors do we have to change now? The key question is quality of life, not length of years. Ultimately, we each will have to stand before the awesome light of Jesus Christ where we will see who we really are, for better or worse.

Life is precious—and so “Be prepared” is an everyday Christian motto.

The beatitudes can be a good guide. Here’s one paraphrase: “If we strive to seek God in our everyday lives; if we spend time listening and consoling; if we heal wounds and build bridges; if others see in us goodness, joy, and serenity; if we can see the good in everyone and seek the good for everyone, blessed are you. You are the face of God in our midst.” Think of your own paraphrases of the beatitudes and live them.

The word of God invites us to be prepared now to stand in the awesome light of Jesus Christ gloriously alive. May that word of God inspire each one of us to value each day of our lives as a gift from God and to become the best version of ourselves today. Amen!

Give Thanks to God for Newman's Life

Sketch of a Young St. John Henry Newman

Sunday's word of God takes us back in our imaginations to the ninth century before Jesus, to a man of God by the name of Elisha. And a foreigner, a Syrian army general, begs the prophet to heal him. To the general’s surprise, Elisha simply suggests that he bathe in the Jordan River. The Syrian does so, is cured, and this foreigner praises the God of Israel.

Paul, in his letter to Timothy, speaks about the hardships he has endured. Paul invites us to give thanks for the gift of God’s life, bestowed upon us in the waters of baptism, nurtured in this liturgy, and ours forever in a transformed heavenly life.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus heals ten people of leprosy. Only one, a foreigner, returns to give thanks to God.

Gratitude is a theme in today's word of God. I would like to highlight the grateful and faith-filled life of John Henry Newman, whom Pope Francis canonized in Rome today.

This nineteenth century Englishman spent the first half of his life as an Anglican (aka Episcopalian here) and the second half as a Roman Catholic. Newman influenced the so-called Oxford movement, an intellectual effort to return to the resources of our faith--the Bible, the sacraments, belief statements, authority in the Church and apostolic succession.

Newman's research eventually convinced him to join the Catholic Church. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest. Returning to England, Newman founded Oratory houses in Birmingham and London and then served as rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, which inspired his landmark book The Idea of a University. Newman wrote 40 books and 21,000 letters that survive.

The fullness of revelation, Newman emphasized, resides in the person of Jesus Christ. Belief statements try to capture, but never fully, the inexhaustible reality of the God-man. Hence, Christianity must develop over the centuries as we grow from childhood to adulthood. And there must be an authority on the truth or falsity of such developments.

Newman was a supporter of Christian unity at a time when Christianity was divided and religious bigotry commonplace.

In particular, he emphasized the active role of the laity: the “Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful as in a temple.” Newman's writings prefigured the spirit of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The Church is always reform-able, holy yet made of sinners.

Revelation is a person. In other words, God reveals himself to us in Jesus and we describe this revelation in belief statements. The Eucharist is the font from which all the Church’s power flows. From this we go forth to love and serve.

I highlight two awesome prayers by John Henry Newman: the first about purpose in life:
“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but...I shall do His work...Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever, wherever I am.… If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him...God knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”

The second prayer holds one of my favorite images of God: light. Newman’s poem “The Pillar of the Cloud,” written while he recovered from a severe illness, was made a hymn. Here is a very recognizable verse of the poem:
 “Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me...
So long Your power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on” into God's eternal light.
Amen!

The Gift of Salvation

"Strive to enter through the narrow door" 

The word of God today takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus. In a vision, the author of Isaiah sees all men and women, from all nations, Jews as well as non-Jews, going up to Jerusalem into the temple to worship together the one true God, Creator of us all. This invites us to recognize God’s likeness in all people.

The letter to the Hebrews alludes to the age-old question, why do bad things happen to good people? Of course, there’s no satisfactory answer to human suffering and natural disasters. Yet hardships can help us realize our true selves as sons and daughters of God our Father.  Inescapable suffering, accepted with trust in an all-good God and joined to the sufferings of Jesus, can be saving and healing for ourselves and others. And why do I say that?  Because the sufferings of Jesus were precisely that--saving and healing for all.

In the Gospel, disciples ask, “Will only a few people be saved?” Jesus indicates that many who think themselves respectable or high and mighty may not be first in line for the kingdom of God. And many who are considered down and out will be the first included. God's ways are not ours.

Salvation is ultimately a gift from God. Jesus says that we have to struggle to enter through the symbolic “narrow gate” into the kingdom of God. Many times in life, we can only go through by letting go of our fears and doubts, and by realizing that God is with us as we open these doors into an uncertain future.  Our faith in particular can sustain us, because it helps us overcome these fears and doubts, because it satisfies our basic needs. How is that?

Our faith fosters a healthy self-image . We are made in the image and likeness of God, and through baptism, God lives within us, and we live within God. And people with a positive, healthy self-image generally engage in constructive behavior.

Faith satisfies our longing for happiness. Within every human, being there is a subconscious quest for the ultimate, the all-good. St. Augustine wrote, “O God, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Our primary purpose is to live in a right relationship with God and one another. In heaven, we will see God face-to-face.

Third, our faith gives us a sense of belonging. We are a community of believers, linked by a common bond of faith, grace, and baptism. We gather regularly to offer God gratitude and worship. These encounters with the triune God are wrapped up in the mystery of the sacraments.

We are a community not only of heroes and heroines but also of sinners and scoundrels. But Jesus assures us that God’s mercy outweighs our failures. God gave us the sacraments of initiation, healing and service, grace and power to help us through these times.

Finally, our Catholic faith provides us with a guide in the Bible, with the best news ever: how God offers each one of us salvation through Jesus, who is the gate to eternal life. The risen Christ is present in these scriptures proclaimed in our liturgies.

Yes, as we go through life, our faith will sustain us so we may eventually enter safely that final gate into our eternal home with God.

Experiencing God

James Tissot's "He sent them two by two."

The sixth century before Jesus was a catastrophic time for ancient Israel. Yet the author of Isaiah speaks about a bright future. Jerusalem will prosper again. A miracle! Centuries later in Jerusalem, Jesus brought new purpose in life—another miracle! Yes, our citizenship is in heaven. The author of Isaiah may be asking whether our lifestyle and behavior reflect our citizenship.

Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, proclaims that the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb is our salvation, eternal life. Paul celebrates that God through the life-giving waters of baptism has transformed us into “new creatures,” living temples of God, alive with the breath or life of God in us.

Paul writes that the power of God enabled him to endure all kinds of hardships for the sake of the Gospel. That same power of God enables us to practice a life of virtue.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus sends forth disciples to continue his saving and healing work. They are to trust always in God's unconditional them for them. They reported back how they witnessed to the power of God with healings of the sick.

Now what does it mean to witness? I’m a witness not simply by seeing or saying something is true but if I actually experience it.

The disciples were witnesses to Jesus in that sense. They walked, talked, ate and prayed with him.
Peter, for example, reached out for Jesus’s hand in the Sea of Galilee. Doubting Thomas put his finger into Jesus’s side in the Jerusalem upper room.

We too are called to be witnesses. We testify to our core Christian beliefs: the triune God, the incarnation, the death/resurrection of Jesus, the dependable Spirit, the global community of disciples, life eternal. But what men and women look for, expect from us, is some visible sign that we have experienced what we believe.

We will evangelize effectively if we are a sort of sacrament, a symbol, an outward sign of God’s grace/presence in us. We must not simply know about God; we must experience God.

The heroes and heroines of Christianity knew/experienced God in their lives: Augustine, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Mother Teresa, and many more.

Faith from God empowers us to have a right relationship with the triune God as creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. Faith is richer and deeper than belief. Faith calls us to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, to follow Jesus who illuminates the darkness around us as we journey toward our heavenly home. Faith is about our relationship with God that we nurture, especially in the Eucharist.

Belief, on the other hand, is a statement about the essential truths of our faith that we proclaim e.g., in the fourth-century Nicene Creed.

From faith comes a confidence and purpose in life. We trust in a God who is always near to us. Successes convince us that it is possible to succeed. Our failures show us it is possible to survive and proceed.

We are in the hands of an all-good God. And with a can-do, faith-filled spirit, we can overcome the  challenges we face in life.  Why? Because God loves us unconditionally, because God is always near to us and because God ultimately will achieve His purpose for us and for this universe.  And to this divine providence, and to Jesus Christ, gloriously alive, our way, our truth and our life, we joyfully witness in our daily lives.

Holy Week Begins

Dali's Sacrament of the Last Supper

On Palm Sunday, some two billion Christians worldwide begin Holy Week, the chief week of the Liturgical Year.

We focus in particular upon the Paschal mystery: the journey of Jesus from this earthly life through the mystery of death into heavenly life. “Paschal” refers to the Passover: the passing of the angel of death over the homes of the Hebrews in ancient Egypt. In a larger sense, Passover refers to the exodus or liberation of the Hebrews; every year the Jewish community re-experiences this in the Seder – a word meaning order -- which they will celebrate April 20.

Today on Palm Sunday, we reflect upon a paradox of triumph and tragedy: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and on the other hand the Gospel proclamation of the passion and death of Jesus. And even in the tragedy of Good Friday there will be the triumph of Easter: Jesus, crucified, risen and in our midst.

The Word of God from Isaiah is a poem about a “servant” who suffers for us (the early Christian community saw Jesus in this servant).

Paul’s letter to the Christian community at Philippi quotes an early Christian hymn about God who became one of us.

And the Gospel according to Luke proclaims the passion and death of Jesus.

This coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday are known as the triduum (from a Latin word which means a period of three days).

On Thursday Christians will commemorate the Lord’s Supper: there is the washing of feet (a symbol of service); and then a sacrificial meal in which Jesus gives himself to us in the signs of bread and wine (a symbol of our oneness with God and with our fellow human beings).

On Good Friday we meditate upon the passion and death of Jesus, and have a simple communion service.

And at the Easter vigil we reflect upon the passage of Jesus from this earthly life through death into a transformative heavenly life; the resurrection of Jesus is a pledge of our own liberation from death or nothingness into eternal life. The Vigil includes fire (a symbol of Jesus as the light who illuminates the darkness around us), the proclamation of the story of our salvation in the Scriptures, the renewal of our baptismal promises, and the Eucharist.

Easter proclaims that Jesus is risen; alive among us. I urge all of you to participate in these services as much as you can.

Throughout the 40 days of Lent we have been trying to steer our lives toward the light of Jesus Christ, trying to shake off darkness around us, and the burdens of our daily lives.

I pray that this Holy Week will inspire us to seek ever more enthusiastically the God who became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, and who by his death and resurrection opened up to all humankind a transformative eternal life beyond this earthly life.

Doing The Right Thing

A Quote from Adlai Stevenson

We’re approaching the holy season of Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday, March 6 this year.

Today’s word of God takes us back to the second century before Jesus.  The wisdom of Sirach is one of Israel's many spiritual guides. Here the author writes that our words, for better or worse, reveal who and what we are.

Do our words build people up or tear down?  Are we constructive or destructive?

St. Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth waxes eloquently about the resurrection. Yes, our faith proclaims that good ultimately will triumph over evil, light over darkness, life over death. Because Jesus Christ is risen. He lives and because He lives, we live.

Paul urges us to focus upon God and the things of God; live a godlike life.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus says: don't be too quick to point out the shortcomings in others while blind to your own shortcomings. Don't be hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another. Let your inner attitudes be in sync with your outward behaviors.

Yes, be men and women of integrity, of moral character, true to our inner selves.

One of my favorite quotes about moral character is from Norman Schwarzkopf, who led the allied coalition that drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf in 1990. Schwarzkopf said this:

“Leadership is a whole combination of different ingredients – but by far, by far, the single most important ingredient of leadership is your character. …  Integrity: that is the linchpin.”

So what is character?

First, there’s a difference between personality and character. Personality on the surface puts us in a category – e. g. cheerful, or moody, or excitable, etc. Character, by contrast, is singular and defines who we are, at the core of our inmost self.  It's what we do when no one else is looking.

Personality is emotional. Character is ethical. Personality is neither good nor bad. Character, by definition, is either good or bad. By character, one stands out. That takes courage.

A person of moral character will choose dignity, respect, a willingness to go the extra mile. A person of character will speak up for what is right and defend what is fair, will take a stand on principle and an informed conscience. A person of character will show courage, and not simply “get along by going along.”

A person of character, in short, will try to choose what is true and good and right in all decisions, small and great.

Each of us is called to this. And having found what is right and true and good: as the advertisement says, “just do it.”

Unconditional Love

Jesus on the Mount of Beatitudes

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus asks us to love our enemies. The Greek text of the Gospel shows the word for love is agape. Not a romantic or emotional love, but an unconditional love, wishing our fellow human beings only good.

Jesus makes some radical demands upon us: Love your enemies; if someone slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other; give to everyone who asks.

Now how can anyone practice all the teachings of Jesus? How understand them? Who can give to everyone who asks? Are these teachings simply another example of middle eastern hyperbole or exaggeration? A few people, for example, Francis of Assisi or Dorothy Day, have tried to live these literally. For most people, they’re not very practical. So, how understand these ethical teachings?

First, you don’t have to like someone to love them. The love that Jesus asks us to have means that, no matter how someone may wrong us, we will never let bitterness close our hearts to them nor will we wish them anything but good. Agape recognizes the humanity we share with all people who call God “Father” – and that unconditional love begins within our own households, workplaces and communities.

Second, the radical ethical teachings of Jesus are linked to the mission of Jesus, who proclaims that the kingdom of God is in our midst. Yes, the kingdom is here, but not completely or fully. You and I are living in-between the historical coming of Jesus centuries ago and the final coming of Jesus in glory. We live in the tension between.

Jesus indicates the goal or thrust of our behavior, but this goal may not always be achievable. "Giving to everyone who asks" is not always possible, yet it indicates the direction of our lives: be generous with what we have -- our time, talent and treasure.

Remember that Jesus connects our love of God with our love for one another. Matthew 25 says this loudly and clearly: when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, etc. We can’t say we love God and yet neglect our needy fellow human beings. To the person who strikes you on one side of the face, Jesus says, offer the other as well. Yet sometimes we must fight against evil. We may have to take someone’s life in self-defense.

But Jesus indicates the thrust or direction of our lives, that is, we must try to be peacemakers, healers, bridge builders, reconcilers. So, these teachings of Jesus create tension between the present and final stages of the kingdom of God.

The genuine disciple of Jesus lives in this tension by seizing the many opportunities to do good today. To quote John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” Amen.

Christ As Our Model

Jesus Calling His Disciples

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus went into the deep waters of the Sea of Galilee with Peter and the other fishermen. Peter, while skeptical about fishing again after catching nothing all night, recognized something special in Jesus. So, at Jesus’s bidding, Peter cast the nets again and made a sensational catch. Peter experienced the awesome presence of God in Jesus. He cried out, “Lord.” Jesus calmed the fishermen, saying “Do not be afraid,” and called them into discipleship.
They left everything they had and followed Jesus.

Jesus, the master, accomplished much because he loved much: with an intense love of God and a compassionate love of fellow human beings, with a message of hope about the future.

Jesus has called us to discipleship through the life-giving waters of baptism. Baptism is God’s gift to you and me. And our basic response to God’s gift is gratitude.

Baptism defines us, transforms us at the very core of our being. Baptism, in other words, plunges us into the mystery of Jesus Christ. Paul captured this magnificently when he wrote to the Christian community in Galatia: “Christ lives in me.”

Yes, God has made us “new creatures.” The living Christ is our exemplar or blueprint. In fact, the universe reflects the presence of God in myriad forms. And baptized and confirmed in the Spirit, we celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at the table of the Lord. This celebration sends us out among others to live a Godlike life, to treat all God’s creatures with respect—for humans are made in the image of God.

What precisely does “sent out to others” mean?

Each one of us has gifts or talents. Football’s Tom Brady, or celebrities like Denzel Washington or Lady Gaga, are not the only people with talents. You and I have special gifts and talents, by virtue of baptism. Within our common Christian life, there are many splendid callings.

I love the image of “a thousand points of light.” God can shine through us with transcendent brilliance. And those who ask for the grace to draw closer to God glow with that radiance. They become a point of light. You have a specific vocation/calling to fire up people with God’s grace so that they will choose their better selves, share with others, and stand for what is right by being an example.

Let us rejoice as the Virgin Mary rejoiced, for God has done great things for us. Yes, always look for the good in ourselves, in others, and in the situations in life.

In the end, the purpose of our baptismal calling is to matter, to make a difference for the better by giving the best we have in service to one another! And then we will realize with God’s grace our authentic selves.

What's Life All About

It’s Super Bowl Sunday again! Who is rooting for the Patriots? How about the Rams? I especially enjoy those $5.5 million ads.

Today’s word of God takes us back in our imaginations over six centuries before Jesus, traumatic times for ancient Israel. In this passage, God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, to speak on God’s behalf. Jeremiah describes how the Hebrews were unfaithful to their promises in the covenant; and then he proclaims a new covenant and urges the Hebrews not to fight against the ancient Babylonians.

Jesus in the Synagogue

How unpatriotic and outrageous of Jeremiah to say this, many Hebrews said. Yet, because Jeremiah believed God was with him, he continued to speak God’s message courageously. The author may asking whether we stand up for what’s right, or do we simply go along to get along.

Paul, in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth, poetically describes the many facets of love. Love, Paul wrote, is not showy. It is not envious or rude or irritable. Nor does love insist on its own way. No, love is like a prism that reflects the myriad characteristics of love:  patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, forgiveness, compassion, self-discipline, peace, joy. Above all, love never ceases because God is love.

Paul may be asking whether we reflect these characteristics of love in our everyday attitudes and behaviors.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus pursued his mission uncompromisingly. He proclaimed that the kingdom of God was breaking into our midst, and that all people can share in this kingdom by living a life of discipleship, of virtue.

That God would include all people – even non-Jews -- shocked and outraged many in the synagogue. Jesus encountered opposition even from his own townspeople. And yet, because God was with him, Jesus continued his mission in life.

Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus had one passion in life: to speak God's message. That message fired them up.

The question for us is, what energizes us? Where do we find purpose in our lives? Some argue convincingly that we find meaning in a mix of what we do, what we experience, and our attitude toward our own inescapable suffering and dying.

Life indeed is worth living to the end. This raises the question, what are human beings meant for? What is our life all about?

Most of our finest thinkers hold that we are meant for something greater than merely existing. Something far beyond mere animal instincts, beyond acquiring and spending, beyond the economic feats and engineering marvels of this world.

What is that “something?” The answer points to something transcendent, beyond ourselves: the human spirit. Always open to a relationship with an awesome God and to one another.

Yes, our purpose in life, no matter what our profession or how old we are, is to be in relationship with God and one another forever. Something to think about and do in light of the word of God.

Seeking Unity in Diversity

Praying for Unity within Diversity: January 18-25

Today we begin Catholic Schools Week.  And we salute our teachers/staff who educate our youngsters for life: excellence in academics and virtue in character.

The word of God takes us back to the fifth century before Jesus. The Jews who returned to the ruins of Jerusalem were rebuilding their lives, much like many of our ancestors did in the aftermath of the 1840s Irish potato famine, the 1870s German kulturkampf, or the two World Wars.

Ezra gathered people together to renew the covenant God had made with them centuries before—a covenant summed up in a moving phrase: “You are my people; and I am your God.” The people who heard Ezra cried out, “Amen. Amen” -- So be it. They will not only be hearers of God’s word but also doers of that word.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece, addressed many problems: squabbles, moral misconduct, personality conflicts, cliques. Paul’s metaphor of the human body describes how different parts—eye, ear, voice, hands, feet—have different functions, yet they all work for the good of the whole body.

Paul championed unity within diversity. We are one with God our Father. God abides in us, and we abide in God within a grace-filled community.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus began his public ministry. He went back to his hometown and walked into the local synagogue on the Sabbath, and from the parchment of scripture—in particular, the book of the prophet Isaiah—he read from the magnificent passage:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … he has sent me to bring glad tidings ….”

Concluding, Jesus said, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” This was a bold and shocking statement. In a real sense, this was the “inaugural speech” of Jesus, proclaiming freedom from what enslaves us, vision from what blinds us, and healing from what breaks relationships.

Jesus then set about giving hope and purpose to those who had found little or no meaning in life.
And Jesus prayed that his disciples “may all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you.”

In the week of prayer for Christian unity (January 18-25), we pray that the Spirit will make all of us one, for together we profess that there is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther's call for reform spread like a divisive contagion. Until the 20th century, when Angelo Roncalli was elected Pope John XXIII, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants generally emphasized what divided them. Good Pope John XXIII realized that for people to discuss division, they have to get to know one another. He moved Christians from diatribe to dialog.

The 1964 “Decree on Ecumenism” encourages conversations about what unites us, what divides us, and how we can cooperate as a “united”people with common goals. That courageous task remains for us today.

Living a God-centered, Other-centered Life

Pope Francis Baptizing a Child in the Sistine Chapel

Baptism is a transformative experience. God lives in us and we live in God. That’s our indelible identity. God empowers us, by his grace and favor, to live godlike lives, as sons and daughters of God our Father and co-heirs to the promise of eternal life.

And in this celebratory event, we are invited to renew our baptismal promises so that we can live ever more transparently, trying as best we can to do the right thing.

The beginning of the new year is a perfect time to do this. We may have already reflected on all that happened in 2018, for example: What am I thankful for? Or perhaps, we might sigh with relief, good riddance.  In any case, what do I look forward to in 2019? What will I do differently? Let's look to the word of God as a guide.

The word of God takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus, to the Hebrew exile in ancient Babylonia (known today as Iraq). The passage is a poem, a song, about a “servant” who will be a light, a doer of justice, a liberator, a faithful keeper of God’s covenant. The early Christians saw in this Hebrew “servant” Jesus, who proclaimed a transcendent purpose for us: eternal life with God by living a god-like life here and now.

In the Book of Acts of the Apostles, the author describes Peter, fired up by the grace of God, proclaiming Jesus as God’s anointed One, the Messiah. And you and I should be fired up by the grace of God, trying to live a life of virtue.

In the Gospel according to Luke, John baptizes Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River. And the power of God overwhelms Jesus and he begins his public ministry, proclaiming a new purpose for us.

John the Baptist’s calling was clearly to point to Jesus as the Messiah. And what is John doing? He is baptizing. He’s inviting people to turn their lives around, to live a God-centered, other-centered life. We might ask whether we reflect Jesus Christ in our relationships.

To understand baptism, we first have to understand who we are in relationship to God. The Book of Genesis captures this. In the beginning, man and woman walked with God; they had friendship with God and friendship with one another. But in spite of knowing what God wanted, they lost that friendship. They hid from God, each blaming others. Sometimes, we play the blame game, don’t we.
Ever since, the human family has cried out for God’s friendship again.

So God became flesh. God, through Jesus Christ and with the power of the Spirit, re-establishes our friendship.

Thus, baptism initiates us into a new community of fellowship, of grace. This makes very straight-forward demands and freedoms. Put very simply, our God is all-mighty and all-present, a God of love; and our response to God’s love is gratitude.

This planet of ours, and the people on it, reflect the image of God. And everything God has created – God’s people especially -- is worthy of reverence.

Family: Always There for Us

Murillo's Holy Family

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Cherish the precious gems you have in your family: siblings, spouse and sons/daughters; recognize the gems in your parents. Notice the gems all around you in your neighborhood and parish community.

We become like God, here and now, by striving to reflect godlike attitudes and behaviors in our relationships with one another.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph made a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. On their way back, Mary and Joseph suddenly realized Jesus was missing. But their anxiety turned into joy: young Jesus was astonishing the rabbis with his wisdom.

This close-knit holy family went back home to Nazareth, where Jesus grew in wisdom and age. For twenty-some years, this family clung together. They fled to Egypt together. They lived in a backwater village and worked at ordinary tasks. Joseph, tradition says, kept his loved ones in daily bread with the skill of his hands. Mary baked and spun, carried water, and taught Jesus to pray. And Mary eventually waved goodbye to Jesus as he set off for his life’s mission. She experienced the empty nest!

What sustained the holy family in Nazareth? What sustains ours? I would like to suggest three virtues: faithfulness, courage, and prudence.

Faithfulness builds trust. Parents need to be faithful to each other and to their children. Children trust that parents will always be there. We all need to know that someone loves us and will always be there for us, especially when we hit a rough patch in life. We need the anchor of faithfulness in our ever-changing world.

Second, families need courage. Courage is about moral character. It defines who we are at the core of our innermost selves. It is an attitude that challenges us, despite our fears, to stand up for what is right and true and good. Many of us would include Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mother Teresa in our list of courageous people. And we probably would include our parents. Parenting, sustaining life, requires courage, always trying to do the right thing even when we’re not sure it’s right.

And the third virtue for families is prudence. It doesn’t mean caution. Rather prudence is the instinct to seek the right thing to do among our many choices, whereas courage is the instinct to do the right thing despite our fears. Prudence and courage go hand in hand. Often decisions are not either/or but both/and. It’s only by making decisions daily that parents become experienced decision makers. Prudence requires continually reflecting on decisions and learning from them.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived as a family, a holy family. May God on this Feast of the Holy Family anchor our own families and community in faithfulness, courage, and prudence.

Merry Christmas

Rembrandt's Adoration of the Shepherds

Every year we relive the wonderful Christmas story. The Gospel according to John summed up this magnificent story in a single line: The Word became flesh.

That takes us back in our imaginations to the beginnings of the human family, in Genesis: when man and woman walked with God, had friendship with God and one another. But somehow man and woman lost that friendship, they fell from grace: they hid from God.

But in the midst of ancient Israel’s fidelities and infidelities to the covenant, God never reneged on his promises. And so the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

The Word of God for the Christmas liturgies is like a prism through which is refracted the multiple facets of this great mystery of the Incarnation.

Isaiah proclaims glad tidings: the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Paul writes that the grace of God appeared in Jesus Christ who made us “heirs” to the promise of eternal life. In the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke, the Virgin Mary gave birth to her son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.And the Gospel of John sums up the meaning of Christmas: the Word became flesh. That is God’s greatest gift to us.

Some gifts really transform the lives the people: gifts of teaching, of listening and supporting, of sharing time and experiences, of compassion and forgiveness and affirmation. This begins in our own families and workplaces and communities: enduring gifts that we can always give to one another.

The Word became flesh. That single line changed our destiny. Christmas means not simply God in Bethlehem centuries ago, but God within us. We carry within ourselves Emmanuel, God with us. How? By virtue of the life-giving waters of baptism.We gather to proclaim the awesome Word of God, to celebrate the presence of the living Christ.

That great truth of our faith, God within us, challenges us always to look for the good in ourselves, in other people and in all situations in life.

And who is the ultimate good-finder? God so loved us that he became one of us. Yes, Jesus had a unique relationship. He was God-man. A healer, a teacher, a peacemaker. Think of all the people in the Gospels that Jesus met: the blind, the leper, the lame, the sinner, the forgotten. And Jesus found goodness in all of them where many didn’t.

The promised Messiah has come, He is in our midst mystically in the word proclaimed and the sacrament celebrated, and He will come again in power and glory at the end-time. In the meantime, pray this Christmas season that the Lord will help those who doubt to find faith; those who despair to find hope; those who are weak to find courage; those who are sick to find health; those who are sad to find joy; and those who have died to find eternal life in God.

Tidings of Courage and Joy

Rembrandt's John the  Baptist

The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” is a Latin verb which translates as “rejoice”: because Jesus is about to be born. Joyful songs will be heard.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Catholics in England could not practice their faith openly. So someone, the legend goes, wrote “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with two levels of meaning:
The Partridge in a pear tree symbolizes Jesus Christ.
The two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments.
The three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.
Four calling birds are the four Gospels.
Five golden rings are the Torah: the first books of the Hebrew Bible. Etc.

When you hear “The Twelve Days of Christmas” practice your religious education!

The word of God today takes us back to the seventh century before Jesus. The author of Zephaniah proclaims "shout for joy, sing, be glad," because “God is in your midst.”

Paul, in his letter, urges an early Christian community to be joyful and generous, to pray confidently, and not to be anxious.

In the Gospel according to Luke, what caught my attention was the courage of John the Baptizer to preach the good news of the coming of Jesus. John empowered people to help each other. King Herod then imprisoned him.  John the Baptist had the courage to speak truth to power, and he paid with his life. He wasn’t afraid to do the right thing.

A common phrase in the Bible is “Do not be afraid.” Or “Be not afraid.” Between the Old and New Testaments, the phrases appear more than a thousand times. It appears God is trying to get a message across to us.

Psychologists often argue that fear is a dominant emotion. Think about it. We're afraid of failure, of certain parts of town, of criticism. Fear stops more people from doing something extraordinary than lack of ability.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the acquired ability to move beyond fear. Look through history and identify people you admire. Much can be accomplished in one moment of courage. Much can be lost in one moment of fear. 

Courage is an acquired virtue. You learn to ride a bicycle by riding one. You acquire courage by practicing it. Virtues are like muscles—when you exercise them, they become stronger.

Starting a new venture, making a sacramental commitment like confirmation or marriage, coming humbly before God in prayer: they all require courage. It animates us and makes so many things possible. 

We are not alone. God has given us the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the end, a life lived in accordance with an informed conscience and grounded in courage leaves us at peace within oneself: in harmony with God and with our own inner best self.

So, always seek what is right as John the Baptizer did: not what is fashionable, not what is expected by others, not what is merely acceptable, but what is right and good. And having found what is right and good: “just do it.”

Letting Faith in God Illuminate our Lives

Murillo's Holy Family

The Advent season is about waiting. We do plenty of waiting, don’t we? So did the ancient Hebrews.They often waited for the Messiah to rescue them. Yet the Messiah often seemed hidden.

We often pray for God to rescue us from a crisis of one kind or another, to appear and make things right. Some would say that is everyone’s story.

God seems silent sometimes. But our faith proclaims loudly that God is indeed among us. He is closer than we are to ourselves. Do not be afraid, Jesus proclaims; I am with you always.

The word of God gives us Baruch, in the sixth century before Jesus. Times were catastrophic for the Jews; everything they thought would endure suddenly disappeared. Yet, Baruch spoke of hope: a faithful people who will reflect the glory of God.

Paul, in his letter to the Christian community prayed that we will possess true wisdom, to distinguish what matters in life from what doesn’t, so that we will always do the right thing.

In the Gospel according to Luke, John the Baptizer proclaims repentance: prepare our hearts for the Lord. Yes, ask God to help us to hear the word of God in our hearts and turn toward a God-centered, other-centered life.

During Advent the word of God focuses on three biblical personalities: Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary. Each delivered a special message.
Isaiah spoke about a future Messiah, a liberator, a redeemer, a savior for us.
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, who through his own death and resurrection creates a future for us.
The Virgin Mary is the living temple of God, the ark of the covenant. She carried within herself the Word made flesh, a child, Emmanuel, God with us.

The word of God in Advent also briefly references Joseph, who had a dream in which the angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”

I ponder couples’ dreams when they learn that they will be parents. Their first dreams are usually for a safe birth, a healthy child. Then they may dream that their son or daughter will excel. Along the way, things may change very quickly. Parents may pray for their child to pass courses, or recover from an illness or a serious accident, or overcome an addiction.

As Joseph learned, the most important things we can dream for those we love are these: that they always will know that we love them dearly, we accept them unconditionally for who they are, we are ready to forgive them their so-called peccadilloes, and that we are always praying that God will grace them.

All these are manifestations of faith. As I view the beautiful windows in our church, and value the light illuminating them, I think of a quote President Bush read at the National Cathedral:
...without faith, we are but stained-glass windows in the dark.

But with the light of our faith, we illuminate the same splendid multi-colored stain-glass window into a "work of art" for all to see. May the light of our faith make our lives a "work of art" for all to see Jesus as our way, our truth and our life.