Immaculate Conception!!!

A Blessed and Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception to everyone. This is truly a beautiful and holy day. I even learned something today as I was making communion rounds. The Church knows how to use numbers when it comes to feast days and they always make sense. For example, the Annunciation, which we hear in the gospel today, Luke 1:26-38, is celebrated on March 25. That means, nine months later we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord. However, there is an example that is right underneath my nose and I did not even think about it. The solemnity today celebrates Mary being immaculately conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, which means Mary would be born nine months later and she is on September 8, the day the Church celebrates the birth of Mary. I should have known that but guess it never registered until today. We are always learning about our faith and it does not matter how young or old we happen to be. What we learn on this solemnity is how to follow the will of God in our lives and to place our complete faith and trust in Him. Mary did that by responding to the angel's message with a resounding "YES." We need that same reaction as we live God's will in our own lives and faith. Mary, as the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States. Pray that our Blessed Mother will intercede for us and help us to alway have that same unwavering faith and trust that she models for us so well! Have a blessed day!!!

Saint Ambrose

The prayers for the Roman Missal, Third Edition are definitive and beautiful. I like how the Collect for Saint Ambrose is written, "O God, who made the Bishop Saint Ambrose a teacher of the Catholic faith and a model of apostolic courage..." That explains what we need to be doing in our lives. As I told our Catholic School students, one day you will be in our roles- as priest, teacher, administrator- passing on the Catholic faith to the next generation so we, who are in those roles now, need to be doing our part. Like one commentary says, "Saint Ambrose proclaimed the coming of Christ, the long-awaited Savior, in troubled times not so different from our own" (Magnificat, 99). When we look around we see how troubled our times are and how worse they might become. That is why we need to bring a message of faith, hope, comfort, and peace to our brothers and sisters. Saint Ambrose did that for the people of his time, we need to do this for our own time, and we need to instill that message in our young people so that when they get to our ages, they will be doing the same for those who will come after them. Always remember the words of our Lord, "Do not be afraid." Let us not be afraid to share our faith and live the Good News because these times need to hear it. Pray that Saint Ambrose will intercede for us in this time and in the generations to come! Bless You!!!

Saint Nicholas

Happy Feast day of Saint Nicholas. I always remember from the seminary that on the night before December 6 we would put a shoe outside the door and when we awoke the next morning fruit and candy would have been placed in it. A sign of the generosity of Saint Nicholas who was very giving of his time, talent and treasure. This is a beautiful example for all of us to follow. The gospel for today, Matthew 18:12-14 is a wonderful example of what it means to be a shepherd. The shepherd will leave the ninety nine sheep and go in search of the stray. We can imagine that Saint Nicholas would do the same thing. Just like the entrance antiphon states, "I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will appoint a shepherd to pasture them, and I, the Lord, will be their God" (Ez 34:11, 23-24). Jesus is the Good Shepherd and he calls shepherds to pasture the sheep and look after them. We thank God for the blessing of Saint Nicholas and for the example that he provided. We pray that during this time we can pattern our lives after Saint Nicholas so we can be loving and generous disciples and stewards of the Lord. Saint Nicholas, pray for us!!!

Don't Get Tied Down...

For the homily that I gave this past weekend, I came out with a microphone cord as a prop. Whenever props are used, people wonder how this is going to fit into the readings that we just listened to. I told the story of a priest who was preaching a fine homily one Sunday morning and he was really into it. The Holy Spirit was truly at work but what the priest did not realize is that each time he moved around he was getting tangled in the microphone cord. Eventually he realized that he was tied down and started to kick and throw his arms about so he could get free. During the outburst, a little girl in the front pew said to her mother, "Mommy, if he gets loose we are all in trouble." The priest made it out, no one got hurt, and the homily went on. I think about that preaching story as John the Baptist appeared in the desert on the Second Sunday of Advent. An early evangelizer, John the Baptist was preparing the people of his day for the coming of the Messiah. He came preaching a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Even though times have changed, the message is still the same as we await the second coming of our Lord. We need to prepare ourselves for his coming! We need to repent of our sinfulness and turn back to God and receive His forgiveness. There is always that sense of urgency because we do not know the day nor the hour so we need to be ready, now!!! Advent is a wonderful time for us to renew our lives and our faith. Don't get tied down with the voices of the world because there is one voice that is loud and clear, the voice of our Lord. Listen to the words of Jesus Christ in the gospels! Listen to those who preach the Good News! These are the words that will lead to eternal life. Let us continue to make the most of this Advent Time as we continue our preparation for the Lord's coming, not just at Christmas, but in glory! God Bless You!!!

Second Sunday of Advent

This is the weekend where we meet John the Baptist- the herald, the forerunner of the Messiah. In fact the first reading, Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11 and the gospel, Mark 1:1-8 go hand in hand. Mark even writes the passage from Isaiah to reinforce the role of John the Baptist. The prophet Isaiah writes, "A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!" Here is Mark's version, "Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." There is a little more added on to Mark's version but it says the same thing. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. His message was also one of repentance and being forgiven of our sins. That is a wonderful call for us during this Advent Time. We need to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord, at the end of time, and receive the forgiveness of our sins that comes from God. John the Baptist is a tremendous example of the new evangelization. He came to prepare the highway for the Messiah, the first coming, and it is our task to help our brothers and sisters prepare for the second coming. As we heard our Lord say, "Only the Father knows the day and the hour." As we gather around the table of God's Word and Eucharist this weekend, let us heed the call to prepare and evangelize because in our present day we are still making straight a highway for the Lord. Have a blessed weekend!!!

Advent Sight!

In Matthew 9:27-31, Jesus heals two blind men. When the mean approached Jesus, he asked them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." Their eyes were opened and they were able to see. Of course, Jesus tells the men at the conclusion of the gospel not to tell anyone about what happened and what did they do? They went and spread the word about him. An early form of evangelization, which we are all called to do. We need to proclaim the Good News about Jesus and help others, as we prepare ourselves, for his second coming in glory. We can also think about the miracle that occured in the gospel. We know there is physical blindness but there is also spiritual blindness. The eyes of faith go dim or they lose sight altogether. This is a beautiful time for us to regain our sight when it comes to the eyes of faith. During Advent, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ and we do so with the gifts that we recently heard about from Blessed John Paul II, "Vigilance, Prayer and Conversion." God gives us the grace that we need to live our lives and our faith. What do you want Jesus to do for you? Do we have the faith to be accepting of the gifts that we receive? Allow the Lord to touch our minds, hearts, and eyes so that we can be open to the gift of Advent sight! Blessings to you!!!

Advent Time

This is a beautiful time of the year, especially as we are preparing ourselves to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord. We know that our Lord has come once and we look for him to come again. What makes Advent a special time? I think this quote from Blessed John Paul II, "Advent is a time of vigilance, prayer and conversion." That truly says it all because that is what we are to be doing during this holy time. However, our time of vigilance, prayer and conversion is not confined to Advent but needs to be every day of our lives. Conversion, as I learned in my Foundational Theology course in the seminary, is a life-long process. It can be said that vigilance and prayer is the same. God gives us each day to live our lives and our faith. Many times we take those gifts for granted. We have the hope each day that we will rise from sleep, but we don't know, so we are thankful each time that we can wake up. We are thankful that God has given us another day to live the gift of faith and to share His love with one another. Don't think that I don't have to do this because someone else will. No, we are responsible for our lives and our faith and we need to do what we can to grow in both. We don't know how long our life-long process will be, but we do know this, today is the day to make all things new and right because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. Thank God for the time that we have been given, especially Advent, and do your part to make vigilance, prayer and conversion an important part of your daily life and spirituality! God Bless You!!!