When the crowd gets hungry, Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish that his disciples offer to Him and uses these to feed everybody. Now if Jesus had wanted to, He could have used just one loaf and one fish. Or, He could have transformed a single piece of bread into more loaves, more fish, or whatever He chose. In fact, Jesus could have forgone the bread and fish business entirely and created a meal from absolutely nothing (ex nihilo) if He had wished. Yet, Jesus takes everything that the disciples offer to Him, blesses it, and uses it to a greater effect than any of them could imagine. Let us remember this when we consider offering our gifts to God.
Multiplying Our Gifts — Tuesday After Epiphany
January 5, 2011God’s Icon, The Family — Feast of the Holy Family
January 5, 2011
Our Catholic Faith is full of mysteries, but what is a “mystery?” In the world, or in a novel, a mystery can be completely solved once important clues are found. “It was Cornel Mustard, in the Library, with the Candle Stick”–case closed. But in the Church, a mystery is something rather different. Is not something that one more clue could solve, nor something so dark and impenitrable that we can know nothing for certain about it. We can know many things with certainty about Christian mysteries, but they are parts of our Faith which are so rich that we will never completely exhaust them. The Trinity is perhaps the greatest of these mysteries, but by God’s revelation (through words and deeds and created things) truths about the Trinity have been revealed to us. Invisible realities can be known through the things that God has made. One great window into the mystery of the Trinity is the human family.
In the beginning, the Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, took out one of his ribs, and built it into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” The two came together, and brought forth new life.
In the Trinity, the Son is of the Father; “God from God, light from light, true God from true God.” The Son is “begotten, not made,” He is a person from a person; not a lesser, created thing. From the everlasting, mutual self-gift of love shared between the Father and the Son, God the Holy Spirit proceeds.
The human family is an icon of the Trinity, like the icon of Mary and Jesus on our Marian altar. An icon can teach us about, and actually connect us to, the events and holy people they depict; however, it is also possible to misunderstand their metaphor. Gazing and meditating upon the Holy Mother and Child can help us to know them and relate to them better, but it would be foolish to think that they are made of wood and paint like the icon. Not everything found in a human family applies equally to the Trinity, but the family is perhaps the greatest icon of the Trinity, sharing many of its realities.
The Trinity is one; three persons sharing the same divine nature. Jesus said, “The Father and I are one,” and, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Likewise, in the family, husband and wife are one flesh and their children are their very flesh and blood. No matter what, your biological parents and siblings will be related forever, for there is a special oneness to your nature.
There is equality in the Trinity. Jesus accepted peoples’ worship, something only God can justly receive, and the Holy Spirit does the same: “With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified.” Likewise, there is equality (or at least there should be) between husband and wife in marriage. Though there are natural differences between them, the two are equal in dignity.
Though there is equality among the persons of the Trinity, there is also an order among them. Jesus said, “I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me…. The Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.” Though equal in dignity, the Son follows the Father’s lead.
Notice in the Gospel how three angelic messages come to Joseph in three separate dreams: first, to flee to Egypt; second, to return to Israel; and third, to settle in Nazareth. Now God could have chosen to send His angel to Mary. He had done it before, Mary would have certainly obeyed God’s command, and Joseph (following her miraculous pregnancy) would have believed her, but that’s not what God did. God wanted Joseph to lead his family, and when Joseph woke his wife up in the middle of the night and said, “Mary, I had a dream–we need to leave, right now.” Mary said, “Ok,” because she knew that he loved her and trusted him. As Mary was to be the heart of their home, Joseph was to be the head of their family.
Mothers and fathers, in sometimes different but complementary ways, reflect the divine attributes of God. Our moms and dads were distant likenesses of God, but through them we first came to conceptualize about God. Through them we first experience beauty and strength, the firmness of justice and the tenderness of mercy, the immanent love that braces what we are and the transcendent love that calls us to be more. Parents are icons of God. That is why bad parents can be such a scandal to a life of faith. If our own parents were poor, let us recognize that it is the ideal they failed to live up to, not their behavior, which is the actual likeness of God.
We are all called to marriage, either natural or spiritual. We are all called to raise up biological or spiritual children for God. We are all called to be icons of God. Let us pray for the grace for our own married and parental love to be a worthy icon of the Trinity. That may seem intimidating, but don’t be afraid. You were made for this.
Recognizing God’s Child — Monday Before Epiphany
January 3, 2011
If you saw Jesus clean-shaven, in slacks and a shirt, would you recognize Him? Probably not — John the Baptist only knew Him as God’s Son after he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him at His Baptism. The world did not recognize Jesus as God’s Son, nor does it recognize us as God’s children, yet so we are! Sometimes we treat others as if they were obstacles, distractions, or not even there. Instead, let us think of how Jesus would treat us if He anonymously encountered you or I, and then follow His example.
Seen and Unseen — December 28 — St. John the Evangelist
December 27, 2010
Today’s Gospel says that when John the Apostle went into the tomb on Easter morning “he saw and believed.” What did he see that led him to believe? Was it how the burial cloth which had wrapped Jesus’ body wasn’t taken away or tossed in a mess on the floor, but left behind (perhaps deflated) in its place? Or was the cloth which had covered the Lord’s head rolled up in a familiar way, such that John recognized Jesus’ hand behind it. Or perhaps, if the Shroud of Turin is truly the burial shroud of Christ, John believed through beholding its testimony to the resurrection.
On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t something John saw that led him to believe, but something he didn’t see. Perhaps it was from the fact that Jesus wasn’t there that he infered the truth. “Dead bodies don’t just disappear for no reason at all. I didn’t do this. None of us did this. And what motive would our enemies have to take Him? This is the work of God.”
Just as John may have inferred the resurrection of Jesus from the empty tomb, so we can infer the truth of God from the presence of the universe: “Things don’t just appear for no reason at all. I didn’t make this. None of us made this. And how could an enemy have to create beauty, life, and love? This is the work of God.”
Tradition says that after Jesus entrusted the care of His mother into the care of John the Apostle, they went to live in what is modern-day Turkey. What if we had gone to visit them in their home at Ephesus and asked them how someone can believe in the God of the universe, or the Lord Jesus Christ, when their reality can sometimes seem so distant.
I can imagine Mary or John replying, “Beloved, the One who was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, whom we looked upon and touched with our hands, the Word of God, the Word of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ——we have seen Him, and testify to Him, and proclaim to you His eternal life.” The Christian faith is firmly founded, upon the unseen things we can infer and the things which we have seen.
Their First Christmas — Christmas Mass at Midnight
December 27, 2010
Christmas can be a hard time of year for a lot of people. Despite the pious, peaceful, and nostalgic scenes we see on the Christmas cards (like the one on the right,) many peoples’ Christmases are less than picture perfect. Today I would like to tell you the true story of two friends of mine, newlyweds whose first Christmas together was far from idyllic. (I’ll call them Chuck and Sue, though that’s not their real names.)
In fact, Chuck and Sue’s first year together had been a rocky road. Chuck has always been a good and faithful man, but at one point in the beginning, he seriously thought about getting a divorce. He says that it was only by the grace of God that the serious tensions and misunderstandings between them were resolved and their marriage was saved.
After they tied the knot, the two picked-up and moved away from their closest family and friends to a small town down south where they had some distant relatives. Chuck worked hard as a blue-collar laborer, but after this transition, he found himself unemployed. And unfortunately, all of those distant relatives proved too distant to care about helping-out a struggling young couple in need. Their first Christmas together, Chuck and Sue were out of work, pregnant, and homeless.
How do you think Sue must have felt? Do you think she felt concerned about their circumstances and their family’s future? And how do you think Chuck must have felt when through no fault of his own he wasn’t able to provide better for his wife and child on the way? Had it not been for their deep faith in God and the consolation of their prayers, they would have been overcome by darkness, resentment, fear, and despair. But instead, their first Christmas together was the brightest and most joyful in history. You know Chuck and Sue’s story well, for theirs is the Christmas story. Chuck’s real name is Joseph and Sue’s real name is Mary.
Remember, the Christmas story is not a fairy tale from far, far away. It’s a real story in the real world, and for the real world. Our lives still have difficulties, but Jesus Christ has come, and that makes all the difference in the world. No matter what we’re going through, because of Christmas, we all have good reason to be merry.
And in closing, let me say one final word: I’m always pleased by how full the church is at Christmas. Please come back. Jesus Christ calls you back. He knows our world well and He knows how much you and those you love need His grace to get through it. The shepherds were called to find Jesus in a feed trough. Jesus invites you to find Him here.
History Ryhmes — Solemnity of Christ the King—Year C
December 22, 2010As Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” Throughout the story of our salvation, we see history rhyming time and again.
In the beginning, when God created the first man He saw that it would be good for him to have a partner, a mate, a bride. So the Lord put the man into a deep sleep, removed his rib (perhaps because it was the bone closest to his heart,) and fashioned from it the first woman. When Adam awoke and saw, he happily exclaimed, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” 
In our first reading today, the people of Israel come to David and declare, “Here we are, your bone and your flesh. [Be our king!]” Here we see God’s people, Israel the bride, coming in joy to greet her husband, the king.
In days past, Saul had been Israel’s king, the one anointed by God’s prophet Samuel. But as time passed, King Saul became proud and loved himself to the contempt of God. After many transgressions, Samuel announced to Saul God’s judgment, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” Saul rightly guessed that his replacement would be the young man, David, and he set about to have him killed. When David wisely fled for his life, Saul gathered a posse to hunt him down.
One night, David and his right-hand man, Abishai, snuck into the camp of Saul and his men. They came right up to where Saul laid, but the men “remained asleep, because the Lord had put them into a deep slumber.” Abishai begged in hushed tones, “Let me nail him to the ground with one 
thrust of the spear; I will not need a second thrust!” David replied, “the Lord forbid that I touch his anointed!” David would not thrusting a spear through the side of God’s anointed. Instead, David took the spear and water jug which lay at Saul’s head and went to a remote hilltop. From there, David cried out: “Why does my lord pursue his servant? What have I done? What evil do I plan? [I could have killed you!] Here is the king’s spear! Let an attendant come over to get it!” After that Saul acknowledged that he had betrayed David’s innocent blood and went away. Later, Saul committed suicide in a battle lost to the Philistines and God’s people came to David to ask him to be their king. David had refused to take the kingship by force, and God graciously bestowed the kingdom upon him.
About 1,000 years later, another Christ or Messiah came, the true Anointed One of God. Like David, Jesus also refused to slay his opponents and take His kingdom by force. This confused and disturbed many who believed in Him. Some speculate that Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of the Jewish leaders so that Jesus, His back pinned to the wall, would be forced to show his power. When Judas realized that he had betrayed innocent blood he did not seek out Jesus’ forgiveness, but despaired and killed himself.
As Jesus hung on His cross, making it the new tree of life, He was the New Adam, naked without shame. Jesus was surrounded there by all sorts of people. Some of them where disciples who had believed in Him, but they stood there fearful of their allegiance becoming known. Scribes, Pharisees, and religious rulers stood there who should have acknowledged Jesus as their Christ, but they disregarded His words. The Roman soldiers there were doing their duty, and perhaps didn’t feel much about Jesus one way or the other. However, one person there on Calvary was unafraid to speak out in truth and faith. He was a condemned man crucified beside Jesus. This man said, “We have been condemned justly… but this man has done nothing criminal. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” We call this man “the good thief,” and indeed he was, for in the last hours of his life he managed to steal Heaven.
What would we have done if we had been there? What sort of witness would we have given? It is impossible for us to go back to that time—history doesn’t repeat itself, yet our present does rhyme with the past. A senior at Columbus recently told me that he always tries to get other students to come to Mr. Kitzhaber’s youth events because, in his words, “they’re really fun!” But most students decline, replying “that’s a Jesus thing.” Are we ashamed or afraid to be identified as Christ’s followers? How many people today are like the scribes and Pharisees of the past by ignoring Christ teachings as they are taught through his bride, the Church? And how many Catholics fulfill their duty, by saying their prayers and going to Mass, but do it without much joy? What would we make of a bride who appeared indifferent and bored with her groom on their wedding day?
History doesn’t repeat itself, but salvation history does rhyme. In our day, will we resemble the timid disciples, Jesus’ religious opponents, the indifferent guards, or the faithful and courageous, good thief? Without fear, let acknowledge Jesus as our God. With obedience, let us heed the words our King speaks to us through His Church. With joy, let us approach Christ as our Bridegroom, like a bride on her wedding day.
Three Unexpectedly Expectant Mothers
December 22, 2010
Today’s readings feature three women who all wonderously conceived: Hannah, Mary, and Elizabeth. There are many parallels between them. Together they teach us these lessons, among others:
- With God, you can be more fruitful than you’d imagine.
- You have great reason to rejoice today.
- You keep forever what you give to God.
Of A Great Lineage — Friday, 3rd Week of Advent
December 17, 2010
Among the four Gospels, three of them contain genealogies of Jesus Christ. Matthew traces His origin from Abraham, for salvation is from the Jews. Luke traces His origin back to Adam, for Jesus is the savior of all. And John traces His origin from the Eternal Father, for Jesus is the Son of God.
In today’s gospel, we heard the names of all sorts of Old Testament people who became ancestors to Jesus Christ. They were all connected to each other, by faith and by blood, yet they little understood the amazing plan that God was accomplishing through them; namely, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. I believe that Jesus is accomplishing great things with all of us. We might not see it now, but in Heaven we will see what great things He is doing through us.
A Teenage Examination of Conscience
December 16, 2010Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.”
Since my last confession…
- Have I neglected daily prayer?
- Have I stubbornly doubted God’s existence, goodness, or love?
- Have I denied Jesus Christ or my Catholic Faith?
- Have I dabbled in occult things, like spiritualism or magic?
- Have I frivolously said, “I swear to God”?
- Have I used holy names as if they were profanities?
- Have I failed to keep Fridays as a day of penance?
- Have I failed to keep Sundays as a day of rest?
- Have I skipped Sunday Mass?
- Have I been irreverent or inattentive at church or towards Jesus in the Eucharist?
- Have I neglected to confess serious sins?
- Have I favored my own comfort and entertainments over God’s will?
- Have I refused to trust that God will take care of me?
God said, “Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.”
- Have I disobeyed my parents?
- Have I disrespected them to their faces or behind their backs?
- Have I lied to them?
- Have I manipulated them to get what I want?
- Have I seldom shown them love or gratitude?
- Have I neglected my duties at home?
- Have I failed to put forth my best effort at school?
- Have I lied to, disobeyed, or disrespected a teacher?
- Have I cheated on tests, plagiarized papers, or copied answers?
Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Have I quarreled with anyone?
- Have I bullied, insulted, or mocked anyone?
- Have I intentionally harmed anyone?
- Have I wished for bad things to happen to anyone?
- Have I embraced hated for anyone?
- Have I had an abortion or encouraged anyone to get one?
- Have I told gossip or unflattering stories about anyone?
- Have I told any lies?
- Have I betrayed any friends?
- Have I broken any promises?
- Have I wrongly revealed any secrets?
- Have I been a poor friend?
- Have I coveted, been envious or greedy of anyone’s possessions?
- Have I stolen or vandalized what belongs to another?
- Have I simply stood by while another did wrong?
- Have I dressed, spoken, or behaved immodestly?
- Have I been unchaste with anyone?
- Have I been selfish or insincere in a relationship with anyone?
- Have I manipulated anyone to get something I wanted?
- Have I been impatient, jealous, unkind, or unmerciful toward anyone?
St. Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit… and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.”
- Have I gotten intoxicated using alcohol or other drugs?
- Have I used illegal-performance enhancing drugs?
- Have I malnourished myself or ‘binged and purged’?
- Have I intentionally harmed my own body?
- Have I plotted or attempted suicide?
- Have I lusted using movies, TV, the internet, romance novels, magazines, or music?
- Have I engaged in unchaste acts of imagination or with myself?
- Have I used media or entertainments in obsessive, self-isolating ways?
An Act of Contrition
Oh My God, I am sorry for my sins. In choosing to sin and failing to do good, I have sinned against you and your church. I firmly intend, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to love as I ought. Amen.
Close At Hand — 3rd Sunday of Advent—Year A
December 14, 2010
Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we light the pink or rose-colored candle because today is Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” means “rejoice” in Latin and we hear this call in the opening antiphon: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” Now that we are about halfway through this purple, penitential season, the Church is reminding us that Advent is also a time for joy. Though we await Him, “the Lord is near.”
This Guadete Sunday, we have extra cause for joy. As you may have heard, this week, a shrine in Champion, Wisconsin, 10 miles northeast of Green Bay, is now our country’s first Church-approved Marian apparition site. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, this happy news was announced by Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay:
“I declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.”
151 years ago, a lady clothed in dazzling white, with a yellow sash around her waist and a crown of stars around her head appeared to a 28-year-old lay woman named Adele. Adele asked the lady who she was and what she wanted, and the lady answered, “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation….”
That was the core of Mary’s message: the need for sinners to be converted and for children to be taught the faith. But Adele hesitated, and asked Mary how she was to teach the young when she knew so little herself. Mary replied, “Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.” After that encounter, Adele’s father built a small chapel on the site and Adele went about fulfilling her mission from Mary for the rest of her life.
The Bride of Christ, the Church, teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children. This means that even if your children go to Catholic or public school, you are their first and foremost teacher in the important lessons of life. But how often do our parents talk to their children about Jesus or Mary, or teach their children about what they should know for salvation? I suspect that many parents are intimidated because, like Adele Brise, they feel like they know too little. But Mary reassures us that we can all teach our children simple but important lessons in the faith that will remain with them and bless them forever.
Like Mary said, teach them the sign of the cross and how to approach the sacraments. At Mass, whisper in their ears, “Look, Father is holding up Jesus,” and on the way home in the car, ask them what they learned from the homily. Have interesting conversations with your children about the faith. Ask them, for example, if they think that Jesus likes sports, ask them what they think Mary’s favorite prayer is, or ask them what they think Heaven is like, and then share your answers with each other. And, perhaps most importantly, teach your children how to pray, by praying with them daily.
Though you know enough already to teach your children a great deal, you must always keep learning yourself. As your children mature in age, you must also mature in your understanding of the faith. Explore why we as Catholics do what we do, and learn why the Bride of Christ, our Mother, teaches as she does. For example, why do we make the sign of the cross? We do it at the open and close of our prayers and you’ve done it since you were little, but now consider more deeply what it means.
Its words and gestures encapsulate our faith’s most central mysteries. It confesses the Trinity and trances our redemption through the cross of Jesus Christ. We pray not “in the names,” but the “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” for God is three persons who are one in nature. [†] From the Father descends the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the love between them. Tracing the cross on ourselves, [†] we recall how the Father sent the Son to save us, and how the Holy Spirit now acts through our lives with power.
To pray this prayer, for it is a prayer, calls upon God to be powerfully with us. It is to say: “Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I ask you to be near me, here and now.” In the face of temptation or evil, this sign declares, “I belong to neither to the Devil nor the world, I belong to Jesus Christ.” So much is contained in this simple prayer and gesture. It can be taught to a child, yet meditated upon for a lifetime. And this is just one element of our faith. There is always more to explore.
Let us rejoice today, for the apparition of Our Lady of Champion reminds us, that even in Wisconsin, the Lord is near, and [†] we can call upon Him at any time. Let us teach the faith to our children, so that they will remain near to Him and call upon His name.
Our Lady, Our Champion
December 8, 2010What do Lourdes, France; Fatima, Portugal; and Champion, Wisconsin all have in common? As of today, they are all Church approved Marian apparition sites!
As his Excellency, David Ricken, bishop of Green Bay, pronounced today: “I declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.” 
St. Mary told this young Belgian immigrant, “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation… Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.” The 151-year old Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin is now the first and only Church approved Marian apparition site in the United States.
The New Eve — December 8 — Immaculate Conception
December 8, 2010
In the beginning, when our first parents fell, they lost a great deal, but they were not deprived of hope, for God spoke in their hearing a prophesy to the deceiving serpent, the devil. God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” Who is this offspring, who strikes back at the devil? He is Jesus the Christ, the New Adam, the Son of God. And who is this woman, who is Satan’s enemy? She is Mary of Nazareth, the New Eve, the Immaculate Conception.
After their Fall, when Adam and Eve heard God approaching in the garden, they became afraid, they fled and hid, so God called out, “Where are you?” When God drew near to Mary, she also was afraid, but she did not hide or flee. She declared, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” And, because she did, her Holy Offspring could go on to say in His garden of testing, “Father… not my will but yours be done.”
The first man, Adam, called the first woman Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. Now, Mary is the New and Second Eve, for she is the mother of all the living, and she loves each one of us personally as her very own children.
She is the icon of the Church, and as she is, we are called to be: holy and without blemish before God, as the second reading from Ephesians says. But how can we do this? Unlike Mary, at times we have been allies of Satan by our sins. To cleanse us, God gives us the sacrament of reconciliation, and to strengthen us He gives us the fruit from the new tree of life; that tree is the cross, and its fruit is the Eucharistic Christ.
If it has been a long time since you have been to confession, come that you may be purified as pure as Mary. And if you receive our Lord in the Eucharist tonight, consider that the Son of God Incarnate has come to dwell in you, just as truly as He dwelt in Mary.
Finding Your Gospel
December 7, 2010
Want to read the Gospels more but don’t know where to start?
Take this short test to answer the question “Which Gospel is Best for You?“
Let Advent Be Advent — 2nd Sunday of Advent—Year A
December 5, 2010John the Baptist was living quite differently compared to people in his day. What he wore was different, what he ate was different, and what came from his lips was also different. Yet, John shared something in common with us today. Like Christians in this season of Advent, John knew that the Christ, or Messiah, had already been born, years before in the past. Like us, what John was preparing for was the coming of Christ anew.
That’s the reason why in Advent, in this season of awaiting the Messiah’s arrival, John the Baptist is so prominently featured in our Sunday Gospel readings, like today’s. By looking at John we can learn how to prepare ourselves for Christ’s arrival. As I mentioned before, John was rather different from his neighbors in his day. Today I suggest that we in the Church need to be a bit more different from everybody else if we want to prepare better for Christ’s coming this year.
What did John do with all that time alone in the desert, when he wasn’t out preaching or baptizing? Surely, John was praying, asking for grace and contemplating the one who was coming. The desert is a quiet place, free of distractions, and conducive to prayer. The world can make this month before Christmas a very stressful time. This Advent, you must find a desert, a quiet place, free from distractions, where you can pray each day. Create a daily desert space for your own family as well and prayer together as one. You cannot prepare well for Christ’s coming without daily prayer and the peace it gives.
What did John eat in the desert? He ate locusts, or grasshoppers, and wild honey. The wild honey may sound pretty sweet, until you realize that it was guarded by wild bees. John ate simply. Our meals in Advent should be simple too. You know how it is at Easter, when you enjoy what you gave up for Lent again for the first time? You find yourself enjoying what you denied yourself more than ever before. Then just think of how much greater your Christmas feasting will be if you eat more simply in Advent. (Besides, if you fast or diet now, there will less pounds to lose next year.)
John dressed differently than other people in his day. He wore a garment made of camel’s hair and tied a leather belt around his waist. He dressed like the Old Testament prophet Elijah because he wanted people to know that these were special days. You can also dress in ways that witness to the world that these are special days. One way to do this is to dress liturgically. As you can see, the main color of Advent is purple. If you have purple outfits or ties, now is their season.
By the way, this Wednesday, December 8th, is a holy day of obligation and Christ is asking you to attend the worldwide feast in honor of His immaculately conceived mother. On such a day, intentionally wearing blue or white would honor her. Try dressing liturgically and you’ll find that it reminds you and others of what makes these days special.
What came from the lips of John was different, and despite the large crowds, whatever he spoke was not for himself but for Christ. This year, wish people “merry Christmas” instead of “seasons greetings,” and instead of “happy holidays,” say “happy holy days,” for by this you give witness to the true reason for the season.
John knew that he must decrease and that Christ must increase, for John himself was not the light but had come to give testimony to the light. In the world, the Christmas songs have already begun on the radio and the Christmas trees are all up and lit in the malls, but the day after Christmas their songs will stop and their decorations will be taken down. But as the world is packing Christ away for another year, the Church is just beginning its celebration. You know the “twelve days of Christmas?” On Christmas day, the twelve day begin, not end. Like Easter, the Church celebrates not just one day, but for weeks after.
This year, let Advent be Advent, and save Christmas for Christmas. Sing Advent songs for Advent, and (as much as possible) save Christmas carols for their time. I suggest leaving your Christmas lights, on your tree and on your house, unlit during Advent. Then, when you plug-in at last on Christmas Eve, you shall enjoy a joyful sign that the light of the world has come.
St. John the Baptist calls to you through the Scriptures. I encourage you here, before you. And I hope the Holy Spirit is now prompting you, in your hearts and minds, to keep Advent as Advent this year, and to prayerfully prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas more profoundly than you ever have before.
7 Superpowers — Tuesday, 1st Week of Advent
November 30, 2010
Back when I was in seminary, we would sometimes joke around with a game we called Superpower/Super-weakness. One of us would imagine a superpower for himself, and then we would try to come up with a super-weakness, or vulnerability, to go with it.
So let’s say that you’re able to fly; then, your super-weakness is that you can only fly to Iowa. Imagine you have the ability to change anything into food; however, that food is always celery and you don’t have any teeth. Or perhaps you can talk with animals, but they only want to talk to you about lawnmowers, trees, and how things smell.
Today, I have a challenge for you. I am going to describe to you seven superpowers, seven more-than-human abilities, though none of these will have built-in drawbacks. Your challenge is to choose which superpower you want for yourself. Here we go:
The first is the power to always recognize what is truly important. With this power, you always keep the big picture in mind. With this power, trifles never distract you and you always spend your time and money well. Let’s call this, Wisdom.
Or, would you rather have the ability to power to penetrate deeply into any topic and grasp it thoroughly. With this power, you could become an expert in any chosen field. If you were to study the dynamics of the stock market, or the weather, or even your female classmates, you would soon understand them thoroughly. Let’s call this power, Understanding.
Or, would you prefer the power to sense the best course of action to take in the middle of any situation? With this power, you would always get reliable hunches in uncertain moments. Let’s call this power, Counsel. (Possessing superhuman intuition would be useful, but even if you always knew the best choice to make, you wouldn’t necessarily always have the strength or courage to follow it through.)
Would you rather have the power to be free from all unreasonable fears and to be able to ignore any sufferings? With this ability, you are be perfectly brave and an overwhelming force. Let’s call this power, Fortitude.
Or, would you want the ability to detect when someone is speaking truth or a falsehood? With this power, you are more than a human lie-detector, you are able to see through subtle and false arguments which other people accept as true. Let’s call this power, Knowledge.
Or, would you prefer to have the innate ability that you would always intensely desire to do what you know to be right? People often know the right thing to do but they still don’t do it. With this power, you are irresistibly drawn to do what’s good. Let’s call this power, Piety.
Or, lastly, would you rather have total protection from ever doing anything stupid? With this ability, you are spared from making the mistakes and errors which are committed by many other people. Let’s call this power, Holy Fear.
So, how many here would choose Wisdom; the ability to always recognize what is truly important and to keep first things first in life?
Who here would choose Understanding; to penetrate deeply into great mysteries?
How many would choose Counsel; an uncanny intuition for choosing the best course of action?
How many here would choose Fortitude; the power to be freed from fears and endure all sufferings?
Who would choose Knowledge; the ability to recognize truth or falsehood whenever you hear it?
How many would choose Piety; the ability to intensely desire to do whatever you know to be right?
And how many would choose Holy Fear, or the Fear of the Lord, to be protected from doing foolish things?
These seven superpowers, these seven more-than-human abilities, are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their names come from today’s first reading, Isaiah 11:1-10. The good news for us is that God freely gives these gifts to the childlike who ask Him for them, and He does not limit us to just one. At this Mass, pray for all seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, but especially for the power which you desire the most.
