Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Scripture Readings
Messengers and their messages are not always as straight forward as we would expect. Often the busyness of our day and the clutter of our lives can obscure profound messages. This seems more true in this season of preparation we call Advent. The to-do-list for Christmas often gets higher priority than Advent. The contrast is striking. On one level, we are shopping, decorating, cooking cleaning and preparing for the important celebration of Christmas. On another level we are being called to empty ourselves to make room for the Lord in our lives.
Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
Today’s readings continue the Advent theme of the coming of Christ, with a particular focus on His final coming at the end of history. The reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew as well as the first portion of the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah both tell of future judgment. We could go in many directions with the rich readings presented to us today, but I especially want to focus on the second half of the first reading from Zephaniah, in light of Jesus’ first coming.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
When I read scripture, I often wonder how much of the deeper meaning of the readings are lost to me because I do not live when these stories were written. Our world and culture are so far removed from these stories that at times I stop and wonder what truth is really trying to be shared.
Third Sunday of Advent
Perhaps because I left the US before Thanksgiving and returned at the peak of what the corporate America calls the “holiday season,” the contrast between Advent and pre-Christmas frenzy hit me harder this year. When I landed at the Dayton airport, the very first song I heard over the speakers was, “Fa la la…” There was a rebellion within. I wanted to scream that is not time to fa la la yet! The demands of Advent are serious. It demands examination of conscience, repentance and conversion. However, the mood outside the church does not help us pursue the demands of Advent. It is easy for us to skip the demands of Advent altogether.
Saturday of the Second Week in Advent
Have you ever had a wonderful evening with your spouse, children, or dear friends? Maybe it was more than an evening. It could have been a nearly perfect vacation or getaway. Or if you are like me, maybe you’ve had the perfectly made coffee, dinner, or glass of chocolate milk. In the midst of that experience a thought always zips through my mind, “Why can’t it always be like this?” That question exists in our spiritual life as well.
Friday of the Second Week in Advent
The second candle in the Advent wreath stands for peace. Peace, in the ways we tend to use the word in our culture, refers to the fact that we agree with each other, or at least, we "agree to disagree" (aka "Let's just never ever bring up this subject again..."). We use it to refer to having harmonious relationships with family members, friends, and politically, with other nations or between political parties.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On this, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the readings begin with the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 9-15, 20) and how they disobeyed God and sinned. It is a story about human weakness and sinfulness. Once they disobeyed God they became aware of their nakedness and were ashamed. They tried to hide themselves from God in their shame.
Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
“The day we stop learning is the day we die,” my father used to say. It took a long time before I really understood that he meant that on so many levels. He tried to teach me this in different settings but it did not sink in until after he had died. It is sad that only the that wake that I began to understand the depth and meaning of that loving message.
Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent
Today’s first reading depicts the prophet Isaiah proclaiming the coming of the Lord to Jerusalem and the fact that His coming will alleviate their suffering. Valleys will be filled in, mountains will be leveled, rugged land will be made plain… the list goes on. As I reflected upon this first reading I had a feeling of “ok, so do it!” (my way of saying “let this cup pass from me”). I’ll admit that the past few months have brought on their fair share of personal and professional stress. I don’t share this to focus on myself, act like I’m the only stressed person in the world, or even that my situation is even close to some of the challenges others in our world face. But my knee-jerk reaction to this reading was “great, take this stress away!” However, the prophet Isaiah may not have been promising the alleviation of their challenges but instead was helping those in Jerusalem to turn their gaze upon what is important and what will really help them weather those challenges – Jesus.
Monday of the Second Week in Advent
Accepting the call from Jesus and following through is a step by step process. We who take our call seriously will readily attest to this through experiential knowledge. We trudge in hope, exert our will to develop our faithfulness, and try our level best to grow into the intimacy with God necessary to live out our personal call. That is not to say all is weary, gray, and toilsome. Every moment granted by God can be accepted as an invitation to joy, an occasion to advance peace, and an opportunity to reveal the truth of salvation. Advent reminds us of these things in a uniquely refreshing way. But not one of us can deny that life is chock-full of struggle. And we all appreciate frequent reminders of the ultimate purpose of the struggles we face. When we consciously place our focus on Jesus it is possible to stay engaged, push forward, and emerge on the other side of struggle with a more vibrant faith, a renewed hope, and a deeper sense of peace.
Second Sunday of Advent
Whether we formally call it a “vision” or not, each one of us has a vision. For example, when a couple gets married, they imagine life to go a certain way. They have a vision. When a child is born, parents imagine how they would like the child to grow up. They have a vision. When someone gets a new job, they imagine how the new role brings meaning and purpose to life. In very simple terms, a vision is how we think something should go long-term, and the effort we put to make it happen. Vision allows us to have a plan and then put our effort into making the vision a reality. Without a vision, we have nothing to look forward to.
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest
This is hard to admit but here it is. The second most common lie I tell (the most common is the "I have read and understand the terms and conditions" box) is "I'll pray for you" or some variation of that sentence. I make the promise and then something hinders me. Maybe it is my own forgetfulness or my time for prayer gets rushed, etc. Why I fail to follow through is irrelevant. The reality is, my follow through in this regard does not match that of Jesus' in today's gospel.
Friday of the First Week in Advent
Thursday of the First Week in Advent
Today's gospel is one that many of us are familiar with - a house built on sand will crumble and fall, but a house built on a strong foundation of rock will be able to withstand the storms of this world.
Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
One of the most difficult things I have had to do this year is watch my son move out a go to college. For those who know me there are fewer people I am close to in the world than my son. He is at the University of Dayton and not far from home, still following his dream meant leaving home. It also meant leaving the safety of home and everything he has known to begin walking on a new journey.
Monday of the First Week in Advent
The readings today are a source of great hope for me particularly in the midst of our divided country filled with anger and fear. God invites all people to be a part of His kingdom. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to bring others to be a part of this community of disciples. It is through lives filled with deep faith that we attract others to come and follow Jesus.
First Sunday of Advent
I want to introduce you to what I would like to call, the theology of juxtaposition. We understand juxtaposition – placing two opposite side by side in order to highlight their difference. Life, as opposed to, death: Juxtaposition – placing two opposite side by side. Heaven and hell: Juxtaposition – it is an important tool to teach important lessons.
Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
A while ago I found a great reflection from Bishop Robert Barron on the Seven Deadly Sins. I know that is a cheery start to this reflection stay with me. I want to draw our attention to sloth in particular. He mentioned that people can run around, busy with all sorts of things, but still be slothful. He described that as being spiritually slothful. He warned that being lethargic about our faith can be slothfulness.
Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
I know that the popular take on scriptures like the ones for today's reading is the movie "Apocalypse," earthquakes, tsunamis and terrifying end-of-the-world events. Thinking about the end of time can be scary, partly because it makes us reflect on how much we don't know about our future. But when I meditated on it for this week, all I could think was, "This is just so true - this is the way life is." Life changes quickly - perhaps even moreso in these days of lots of technology. The world changes so fast - healthy people get sick suddenly; economic fortunes come and go; jobs and policies and procedures change. In our day-to-day life, unexpected things happen and we realize, over and over, just how little control we have over our lives and how little we really know about our future.
Thanksgiving Day
We see in today’s readings scriptural expressions of thanks. They are all through the Bible, because God has always been so good to His people. It is surprising that we sometimes forget to give thanks. Everything we have is a gift from God’s generous heart. In the first reading we have a beautiful reminder of how amazingly God formed us in our mother’s womb. Since we have such a giving God, it is only realistic to expect joy of heart and peace to come from our Lord as well. Have you made an opportunity lately to thank God and your mother for the gift of life? If you are a mother, take time now to thank God for this gift.