January 31, 2012

How Strong Is My Trust In God?

Today's gospel recounts one miracle in process and a second happening while in the process.  Jesus is asked by Jairus to help his daughter, presumed to have died.  While on the journey to Jairus' home, Jesus is the cause of a second healing, the woman with unending menstrual bleeding.  In the first instance, the young girl is brought to life because her father had such strong faith in the power of Jesus.  In the second, the elderly woman was so convinced this young preacher could heal her simply if she could just touch the hem of his garment.  She believe healing powers could come even from the clothes Jesus wore.

We know that both efforts to gain the benefits of Jesus' care and healing power were successful.  What do we think about those events?  Are we at all stunned or in amazement at what Jesus could do or do we just take these stories as events we have heard repeated many times?  Familiarity with so much of Jesus' life and his actions does diminish the impact they have upon us today.  Yet today, it seems, we have even greater needs of God's healing in so many different ways in our personal lives as well as the communal lives we share.

Trusting in God:  how real is this reality in my day-to-day living?  In a society where the presence of God seems to be less and less each time we think about our God, we can ask ourselves what it is that I might be doing to strengthen my own trust in God ... in just the ordinary events or needs of living.

Do I truly trust in God?  Could I write in one or two sentences precisely what my trusting in God means?  Give it a try!

Weekend January 28-29, 2012

A Challenge to Religious Liberty

Some years ago, in the first half of the 20th century, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, was confronted with a major problem in the Catholic School System.  At that time the Catholic School students shared in the free milk program for all elementary (and secondary, I believe) schools.  The cost of a carton of milk at the time was between three and four cents.  The Archbishop received a letter as did all the heads of private schools that the State of Pennsylvania was about to mandate that the privilege of receiving free milk for lunch in the schools would soon be retracted from non-public schools.

At the time the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had well over 100,000 elementary and secondary school students enrolled in its many and large schools.  As late as the middle of the 20th century there were grammar schools with more than four and five thousand students!!!  One Catholic high school at the time had more than six thousand students.   So, for the Archbishop, Cardinal Dougherty, this was a serious issue because at the time the pastors paid the school tuition with parish funds.  The mandate, if enacted as expected, would mean disaster for many schools.

The Archbishop decided he would do what any sensible Ordinary would and should do:  he attempted to seek a negotiated settlement.  No success.  Being of "Fightin' Irishman" the Archbishop announced a policy that would impact many Catholic schools and public schools as well.  In a very simple letter the Archbishop notified the state's government officials of his intentions.  His plan was simple and could easily be put into place.  If the State of Pennsylvania promulgated the mandate, ALL of the Catholic schools would be closed and the students sent to the local public schools.  Within a very short time, the State of Pennsylvania retracted the mandate!

I tell this story because is speaks of the "fightin' spirit Roman Catholics must realize is necessary at this time in its history in this country.  that we are in a situation of similarity but with greater and more personal impact.  We should know well what the First Amendment to the Constitution stipulates, what rights it protects.  In essence, The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the passing or creation of any law which establishes a religious body and directly impedes an individual’s right to practice whichever religion they see fit. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the passing or creation of any law which establishes a religious body and directly impedes an individual’s right to practice whichever religion they see fit.

Recently the United States Department of Health and Human Services with the approval of President Barack Obama issues a new federal mandate making coverage of abortifacient drugs, sterilization and all FDA approved contraceptives OBLIGATORY for virtually all employers, including faith-based institutions.  Cardinal Wuerl wrote to the priests of the Archdiocese:  In upholding the Health and Human Services regulation, the administration has ignored the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and has denied Catholics the most fundamental freedom, religious liberty.  Despite the Church's appeal for a broader religious exemption, which was echoed by many other faiths, the administration refused to modify the regulation's current exemption that is limited to religious groups that hire and serve people primarily of their own faith."  Further the Cardinal noted that the editorial boards of The Washington Post and the New York Times "have stated the the government has no business forcing religious institutions to sponsor and pay for procedures and drugs which violate their beliefs."  And these two newspapers disagrees regularly with the Church's teaching on the sanctity of life.

In essence what the HHS regulation mandate will force "our schools, hospitals and charitable organizations" ... in(to) the untenable position of choosing between violating civil law and abandoning our religious beliefs.  For a more complete description of this situation you can visit www.usccb.org/conscience and www.mdcathcon.org.  At these sites Catholics who wish to support our most treasured right, religious freedom, will find one avenue to making our Catholic voice heard by our Congressional representative as well as members of the US Senate.  

I can only imagine what the staunch defender of this same liberty mentioned at the outset, His Eminence, Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia would be doing today to stand strong against a government action that denies religious freedom.  What makes this issue so important to the Catholic Church and other religious organizations is not the debate on birth control, abortion or other moral issues but the denial of religious liberty!  We have to stand strong against individual government actions that make the effort to inhibit various aspects of religious liberty for our Church as well as other religious bodies.

A friend offered this analogy.  If you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, the animal will jump out.  However, if you put a frog in tepid water, and gradually turn the heat up, natch by notch, the frog will be killed.  Religious liberty, religious freedom must be protected by the religious bodies for which the First Amendment was created by our forefathers.  Each specific denial is a turning up of the the heat, one notch at a time.

I offer these thoughts in response to Cardinal Wuerl's request to the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington:  "Please consider calling attention to this issue and all of these resources as soon as possible."  Amen!

The Conversion of St. Paul

(Check Google Images for Snow Covered Trees)

And Jesus said to Saul (Paul), "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  He replied, "Who are you?"  Jesus said, "I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting."  While this reading from the Acts of the Apostles was written almost 2000 years ago, are you willing to grant this:  Jesus would be repeating the same sentences today?

How many are the ways this might be happening today in our world, our nation, our communities and, yes, even in our families!  Consider how Christians are reacting to realities in our world today.  Consider how Catholic parents and siblings might be reacting to the lifestyles of children or siblings.

When we experience the next snow storm, look at the trees.  Their branches seem to be different from each other in the way the snow is blanketed on each tree.  Each is so very different.  However, each is a God -given gift to humanity.  How do you judge these trees?  Each has its own beauty recognized by some not by others.  But what beauty there is when this collection of snow covered trees is viewed across a afield.  Together these trees form a mosaic in whites, browns, greens and shades between.

Now consider the forests of people that populate the world today.  There are so many difference -- shapes, sizes, colors, nationalities, religious and so forth.  Some are Roman Catholics, some Jewish, others Muslims, some infected by HIV Positive, others by AIDS -- some of their won experiences, others the result of parental or spousal activities.  Some are parents, some are children who with their parents are  "illegals" in our land, some are "dirt poor," others are in the top .06% of wealthy individuals.  Some are men, some are women and some are children.  This paragraph could continue with many other categories of different types of people.  Sad to say, it is often by personal dislikes or mistrusts that you and I are both victim and perpetrator!  Today Jesus would grow exhausted, positing the same question:  "Why are you persecuting me?"  Can you answer Jesus if he asked you that same question today?  Once again, let me repeat what has been posted here past:  "... being a Christian is not for sissies!"

St Francis de Sales

Today's feast brings to us one of the extraordinary saints whose life spanned the end of the 16th century and the beginning years of the 17th century.  Wikipedia offers a concise picture of the man:

Francis de Sales (French: Saint François de Sales) (August 21, 1567 – December 28, 1622) was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly Introduction to the Devout Life, along with his Treatise on the Love of God. His writings on the perfections of the Heart of Mary as the model of love for God influenced Jean Eudes to develop the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.[1]

This Francis was known for his preaching skills.  Perhaps an early version of a man of our own times, Archbishop Fulton Sheen!  In the first reading today Paul speaks about his own God-given grace to be a preacher to the Gentiles.  Francis directed his preaching to bring back those who had turned to Calvinism.   Francis was especially successful in this mission.

In the gospel for today, St John's words are similar to what we hear so often today:  the primacy of love that is seated in the Christian faith because Jesus himself made it so very clear that the Father's love for himself is no different from the Father's love for each of us.  Jesus expands this scope of love between the Father and each of us:  we are to "Love one another as I love you."  This same love is to be the sign that distinguishes Christians.  Furthermore Jesus teaches what St John writes in his First Letter:  "Wherever there is love, there is God."

We are called to be signs or models of love and not simply love but unconditional love.  Maybe we should focus some moments considering what the implications of this adjective, "unconditional," might mean in each of our lives.  Just for starters imagine what our families, our communities, our culture might be were each person to take this call, this challenge to love one another with an unconditional love.  Francis deSales was a man a stature and significant rank in his community.  However, never was he a priest who did not demonstrate his efforts to love everyone, especially towards those who had needs.  Likewise his lifestyle, preaching and teaching are models for us of a human being who saw in the challenge of unconditional love a way to demonstrate one's commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to live a life that he puts before humanity.  This is the challenge for us today in our relationships with family, community and culture.  No easy task is it?

Among his writings the Introduction to the Devout Life is recognized as a classic in the field of spiritual direction. 

The Prodigal Son - Liz Lemon Swindle

In the gospel for today's Mass we encounter that frightening challenge:  the sin against the Holy Spirit.  So often, as a preacher, I am asked what is this sin and why is it so serious?  Perhaps there could not be a better day than today to consider this reality.

We must not overlook the reality that the Holy Spirit is the origin of the good, all the good in Jesus, in our brothers and sisters -- all of them -- and in our world.  It is through the Holy Spirit that the world, you and I, come to know God's presence in our lives and the lives of others ... especially those God has planned bringing into the world through parents.  So what is this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

Perhaps it is so simple we miss it!  It is to reuse with all deliberate intention the presence of God the Holy Spirit, his goodness in God's created world.  Those who refuse to see, to accept the power of God in all that Jesus did, all the God brings about in our world, these are those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit.  Clearly many who followed Jesus when he was preaching, teaching and healing, recognized this divine presence in his life and activities.

To refuse to see God present in one's life, that person has in effect closed mind and heart to God's desire to continue his presence in his/her life.  He/she has closed the doors of heart and soul to the divine Creator of all that is.  Nothing less that a personal reaching out to God with a truly sorrow-filled heart and a genuine desire for sincere repentance will earn God's mercy, his forgiveness.

Recall the Prodigal Son biblical vignette.  We believe that the young man, so distracted by wealth and earthly desires, only earned forgiveness when he walked the long road to the open arms of his loving father.  This was his genuine repentance.  It was recognizing his sin and his conviction to seek his father's forgiveness that the young man opened his heart and soul to God's loving mercy.

We should not overlook the reality that is easily lost in our society today:  love is only genuine when it is free!  God will never force his love upon us.  Always, always he stands before us with the opened arms of his Sacred Heart.

Today, here in Washington, we are witness once again to the reminder that God's presence is with us in each and every human being from the moment of conception until the moment that God chooses to call that life to himself.

Today we should pray for those who refuse to acknowledge God's presence in the newly conceived child.  We should pray that our prayers might break through the bolted doors of hardened hearts who believe it is a person's right to end the sacred presence of God in a newly conceived child through death by abortion.

Carefully look at Liz Lemon Swindle's artistic portrayal of the moment of forgiveness.  Study this painting.  Let it open your heart and soul to the voice of God speaking to you today through the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.  See the intensity of the father's grasp of his offspring.  Sense the pain the father senses that has so damaged his son.  Sense the father's eyes and expression as he imagines what his son has endured and now how he can use the healing balm of forgiveness.  This is the gift the Holy Spirit present in Ms. Swindle's magnificent rendition of a truly tender moment that every person must fell when he/she has the courage and the graces to seek God's loving forgiveness.

Third Sunday of Ordinary TIme

Here we are on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, the fourth Sunday of January.  It is interesting that on this Sunday as well as last Sunday our readings the theme of three readings for these two Sundays relates to Jesus calling disciples.  We are at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  John the Baptist has been arrested.  We have an opportunity to consider how those called have responded to Jesus’ invitation.

Four weeks ago we were hearing much about resolutions for the new year.  Perhaps the Church places these readings where they are for us to remember what “calling”  we may have received from the Holy Spirit for our lives in this new year. 

Most of us are settled in our vocation.  We have been engaged in it for some time.  The question we might be asking ourselves is rather simple:  Am I living up to the calling that God has entrusted to us.  It is a calling that continues to come to us each day and each year.  We might ask ourselves how we have taken the time to consider how we are living up to that calling.

When our calling has fallen into a need for updating or correction, we have to stop and address that issue.  In the gospel story today, the nets can be seen as those things or personal relationships that limit my being able to live my calling to the fullest.  Have I examined what nets might be tangling up my life .... things .... people .... self-centered ambitions?

So today we might ask for the graces of the Holy Spirit to help us clarify our callings if we know or think we might have lost a keen insight into how we are to live out our calling.  Today we should pray that we hear clearly the call that God has given to us and the strength to go where He wants it to lead me!  Don’t forget this:  we have to answer before God ultimately.  So,  at this time in my life would God be please with me and the life I am living?

What Powers Do We Have?

Did you ever find yourself faced with a challenge which you felt was far beyond your physical or emotional strength?  Most people would have a sense of fear when a challenge seems to be overwhelming.  Let's assume you could not avoid or get around this challenge.  What resources do you begin to tap with the hope that you will conjure up the needed strength to prevail?

Today's first reading (I Samuel 17: 32-33, 37, 40-51) recalls what occurred in the life King David before Samuel anointed him kind for Yahweh.  For sure the young man, David, was physically smaller than Goliath.  Even the strongest and bravest opted never to entertain any contest with the great Philistine.

However, young David, from the tribe of Benjamin, told King Saul that he was not fearful of an encounter to subdue the annoying Goliath.  Of course King Saul reminded David that his youth enthusiasm, while noble, his size and lack of experience made him no challenge for the great taunter of the Israeli army's best soldiers.

David had a weapon that neither Saul nor Goliath would think of using to remove a constant threat to the Jewish King and his army.  David's weapon was neither sword nor spear.  He would not rely upon such weapons.  Rather he would use two means to bring down the giant.  The first in David's mind was the power of Yahweh.  He trusted that Yahweh would never fail him.  The second "weapon" would be the slingshot.   Members of the Tribe of Benjamin were noted for their skill in using the sling.  We know the "rest of the story."

So back to the beginning of this posting!  When faced with an overwhelming situation, do you employ the "Davidic Principle"?  Do you believe and trust that God will provide you the needed resources you might need?

Think again of the problems you confront.  Have you brought the power of God with you to face and overcome the challenge?

"I can do everything in Him who gives me strength."

The Will of God in Making Choices

How frightening it can be when in one's heart the spirit is moving the person to someone or something other than what the person thinks is best.  Like Samuel when he was receiving the vibes to appoint a new king!  Fear that Saul would kill him filled Samuel's heart when he realized he had to tell the king to step down.  Bring a heifer for sacrifice!   God spoke to Samuel:  Don't let appearances mislead.  Choose the new king!  Jesse brought in his sons and one by one Samuel rejected each one because none was God's choice.  Samuel asked Jess if he had another son.  The youngest son was then brought to the prophet from his work in the fields.  This one the young man who was chosen.  David by name.  And with the least experience.  Oh, how different are God's ways.

From this event we can learn that discernment in making a choice or decision can take time.  Patience is needed in seeking to know the will of God ... especially during trying moments.  How easily do we find God's will when loved one present heavy burdens and an answer is not quickly or easily found.  Trying to discern what God wants done:  a genuine challenge.  Consider Samuel having to endure many evaluations of potential kings to replace King Saul.  Where is comfort or peace in such a process?  

Imagine the cross parents carry when, try as earnestly as they can, a child just cannot choose the right path.  This is the challenge of learning God's will which may be next to impossible to discern quickly.  We must never quit the search.  We must continue to pray, pray, pray for the day when we hear words similar to the responsorial psalm:  "Have found David my servant" (Ps 88). 

God's Will In My Life

Monday, January 16, 2012

As we move through the peaks and valleys of our lives, a question that has to be confronted each day is this:  how significant is God's will for me?  Surely most followers of Jess would respond with the assurance that it is very important.   That reply leaves wiggle room, however, doesn't it?  And how many of us would have answered that there is nothing more important ?  Very few, no doubt!

Examine your day . just yesterday, Sunday.  "Did I really attempt to make God's will the most important intention in every thing I did?"  Was getting to church Saturday evening or Sunday enough?  Well, for sure, simply participating in the liturgy is pious practice which God commands of us.  And what about the rest of the day?  Life in the kingdom of God demands much more!

When someone complains about his/her current state of unhappiness or a loss of true inner peace, he/she should ask how attentive bas been the attention to God's will.

The first reading today, I Samuel 15:16-23 we consider the cost of Saul's (not the man Paul) kingship.  Saul did carry out Yahweh's will to a certain degree.  He did conquer the Israel's enemy, the Amalekites.  However, it was not God's will for the king and his army to play "winner takes all!"

An interesting reality is this pledge to be faithful to God's will in my/your life.  How do I respond?

Perfect Gospel Story for Today's World

Mark 1:40-45

Today we have another extraordinary opportunity to learn more about the man Jesus and his ministry in serving a segment of his society that were shunned by their communities because of the contagious disease of leprosy.  We look at the Son of Man showing not just his pity but his compassion.  Jesus makes clear that these victims of a terrible disease are also the victims of another disease imposed on them by their forced ostracism from the people they have known and perhaps have even brought into this world.  There was in the communities tremendous fear and contempt towards the victims of leprosy.

It has been noted that medicine was in a primitive stage of development when Jesus was preaching and teaching.  Some people were labeled as "unclean" simply by the lack of sound medical knowledge.  Unfortunately when that happens, as we witnessed in our own time when HIV/AIDS was discovered.  Fear and contempt branded these victims as "unclean" and as not safe to be with especially in restaurants and at home dinner tables.  We did not know enough about the disease when it was first named.  As a result many suffered a double or even triple dose of rejection in our communities.

Jesus was moved by the leper who came to him not with just a disease but with great faith and trust in Jesus and the words the leper must have heard.  We don't know exactly why because we never know exactly how the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and minds of others.  It is hard enough to discern the Spirit in our own lives at times.

Jesus did what only a minimal few might do:  he touched the man who asked for healing.  His compassion for the man was so genuine.  The very touch of Jesus must have been a healing moment for this trusting and hoping victim.  Once cured the man is given a charge by Jesus.  Go and tell the priests of your healing.  Show yourself to them.  This was vitally important in Jesus' society.  Why?  Because the priest was the one who was chosen to validate the renewed health of the victim and to assure the communities that it was not safe for the cured victim to associate within the community.

The wonderful part of this gospel event is that the man was so excited by his cure, as would anyone with such a terrible disease, that he could not keep the last charge Jesus gave him:  don't say anything about this.  How could the man contain his relief, his excitement, his happiness.  As one commentator on this gospel wrote: "It is often in our crosses that grace appears."

This gospel story today of course directs our attention to those who suffer as lepers in our communities.  There are many.  Of course we live in an era of terribly physical and psychological kinds of leprosy.  Some of these diseases build walls of isolation around the victims where even families, friends and others in the community reject being present with them.

Consider the marginalized members of our communities around the world and in our nation:  drug addicts, poor single mothers, those who have lost their homes or who never could say I have had a roof over my head.  Think about the single Moms or single Dads who struggle in poverty with their one prized possession ... their child or children.  We have all know alcoholics who are so quickly rejected by others.

Our challenge today is this:  consider carefully and slowly the compassion and pity that Jesus teaches us.  Do you build such a wall around any person or persons you know or know about because society has judged them "unclean" or not fit to be a part of "their society"?  Take the often misused question and take it to heart:  "What would Jesus do in this circumstance?"

Who is this man?

Here in today's gospel reading we encounter Jesus at work in his primary works as the Son of God/Son of Man.  Jesus is no different than any Jew of his time.  It was not out of place for any Jew who wished to do so could stand a speak to the congregation when gathered in the Temple.  Jesus is confronted by an evil spirit in another person gathered in the Temple.  The Jewish people "interpreted" most illnesses as signs of an evil spirit that was or is in the life of the sick person.

There was shock and surprise when Jesus took on the evil spirit.

 

The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes....
Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another, 'What is this?
A new teaching with authority.' ( from Mk 1:14-21)

Who is this man?  What is this man?  For the next few months we will be asked to consider these questions as we read through the gospel of Saint Mark.  It is a good question.  It is what is on the mind of so many people already as our nation moves toward another presidential election.  It is the question being asked by people in New Hampshire today about each of the candidates.

As we begin Mark's account of Jesus' life, "Who is this man?" is a powerful question for each of us ... if we actually stop and consider what the question is asking about Jesus.  Too easily we can gloss over the question.  The challenge before is is a good one:  I should be taking the time to delve more deeply into the life of Jesus at it impacts me in this new year.  "Who is this man Jesus?  Am I willing to open my heart and mind to come to know him as never before?"

So here it is folks:  "Who do you say that I am?" might well be the question Jesus is asking you in these early days of January 2012.

The Baptism of Jesus

Today, as we recall Jesus' baptism by John, we should consider the significance of this event as it relates to our own lives.  We have celebrated once again Jesus' coming among us as man.  Today we are reminded that the Son of God is also to be known and understood as the Son of Man.  This is Mark's introduction to us of the Public Ministry of Jesus.  Now Jesus is actively teaching and preaching the message the Father sends to each of us.

Jesus is now identified with us as another human being.  He is also taking upon himself our human limitedness and our sin.  He takes on the consequences of our sins even to the point of his severely violent suffering and death on the cross.

His entrance into the waters of John's baptismal actions is a moment of change.  The waters of our life are changed into the water of new life, his life.  He gives to us the "springs of salvation" (Is 12).  This event reminds us that the ordinary is now more than just ordinary.  The daily grind of our lives is impacted by the presence of Jesus in our lives.

St John Neumann

at St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, PA

1811-1860

Today the Church in the USA celebrates another American citizen, John Neumann who was canonized in 1977.  This man was a Bishop who truly committed himself to the poor.  He was born in Bohemia and wanted to become a priest in his homeland but because there was an excessive number of priests already working in his home diocese, the local Bishop was not accept applications for the priesthood.  John made his way to New York City where he accepted into the seminary and ordained in 1836.  Six years later, discerning that God wanted him elsewhere, he was granted permission to enter the Redemptorist order of priests.  In 1847 Fr. John was elected Superior General of the Order and lived at "headquarters" in Baltimore.  In 1848 Fr. Neumann became an American citizen.  In 1852 he was consecrated the 4th Bishop of Philadelphia where he would live out the remainder of his life.

Bishop Neumann started the Diocesan School System and initiated a Diocesan-wide schedule for Forty Hours Devotions.  Likewise the "Little Bishop," as he was named by the people of Philly, initiated the building of many parishes and schools.  At one time there were as many as 340+ parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Bishop Neumann died on January 5, 1860 while returning from bringing the Sacraments of the Sick to a poor man, he fell victim to a heart attack.  He died on the front steps of a local row house in downtown Philadelphia.  At his personal request, he asked that whenever he died, his body would be buried in the crypt of the Redemptorist Father's parish, St. Peter's Parish, in North Philadelphia.  The photo above is the saint's final resting place in the lower church at St. Peter's Church.

John Neumann is the first American male to be canonized (1977) in the United States.  It was my privilege to work with the Philadelphia priest, Msgr. James McGrath, who was the Vice Postulator for John Neumann's case for canonization.  Monsignor McGrath, now deceased, worked diligently for a number of years while the people of Philadelphia daily came to St. Peter's to pray for their various needs.  Eventually, Msgr. McGrath learned of an incident which seemed to be a medical "miracle."  Visiting with the family and the person's doctors, Msgr. McGrath brought the information to the Archbishop of Philadelphia at the time, John Cardinal Krol, who encouraged Msgr. McGrath and helped bring the case to the proper Vatican offices to evaluate the case.  Pope Paul VI canonized Bishop Neumann in 1977.

Truly this "little" man was a spiritual giant.  He truly followed in the steps of the first Bishop of our Church, St. Peter.  He was teacher, preacher and a man dedicated to helping  the poor and to build the Catholic Church in the city of the Declaration of Independence.

Elizabeth Ann Seton

How often do you hear or say "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree"?  When those words are used, it is not really about the fruit.  These words are pointing to a person's thinking or actions which are usually either good or bad.  Good acts are a sign that a person is allowing God in his/her life.  It is God acting in a person's life.

It is by allow God's presence in one's life that sin is excluded.  God cannot share space with sin because they are mutually exclusive.

This offers us a challenge.  We need to strive to live with Jesus in our hearts.  We know that we have moment when we fail God.  Our efforts, then, must be directed to the effort to be closely affiliated with Jesus.  Once that happens, once we realize that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John announce the Good News, we are face to face with the teachings of the Son of God, we are dealing with the opposite of sin. An understanding of that special relationship will enable us to act and speak differently.  We live a true life of holiness.  That is our mission in life today.  This is how each person can become God's agent in the world.  Each person has the opportunity to become an active evangelizing agent in the Kingdom of God.  That mean YOU and it means ME.  

The question then is this:  Does the apple of God's graces and wishes fall from from my life?  Am I an agent for God's presence in the world today?  Look at the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton whom we recall and petition on this her annual feast day.  A convert to Catholicism, wife, mother, teacher, religious sister and ultimately a recognized saint in our Church, Elizabeth surely allowed the presence of the Holy Spirit in her life become a beacon of hope and faith for so many individuals.

January 3, 2012

A Child of God

What does it mean to be a child of God?  How would you answer that question?  Think about it for a moment.  Can you provide two or three replies?  St. John, in the first reading for today's liturgy, suggests an answer:  to be a true child of God means to be ready "to break" away from sin.  Simple but monumentally challenging at times.  St. John always speaks to us with the reminder that there is no doubt to the fact that you, yes you, are truly a person God created and that you are the special object of his love.

If I think of myself as a child of God, I can only "ponder" (like Mary) about what my experience will be when the moment comes for my meeting face-to-face with the Son of God.  What must Mary have thought as she looked upon her newborn child?  Theologians and our Church have endeavored to teach us that at the moment of our meeting God "we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is."  We will be transformed and united with him.

Beyond this gift, God also has gifted our lives with the true sign of his unending and always forgiving love:  the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.  This is what makes us the true children of God.

So again as we consider our journey for 2012, we should reflect or ponder how we many remain true followers walking the path God wants us to follow.  This is the call to follow Jesus' way as the first apostles did.  And it is a summons answered by a personal effort to remain ever close to Jesus.

Mary, Mother of God

January 1, 2012

In the gospel account of the birth of Christ there lies a simple sentence that is a package of amazing treasure.  It is not about the shepherds who were at the stable.  It is about Mary, Mother of God, whom we honor on January 1st each year.

And Mary treasured all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Apparently Mary said very little on that sacred night.  Another translation is "Mary pondered these things in her heart."  Today and for the next few days each of us might ponder some of the message that Mary in her silence gives to us each January 1st.  Luke reports that the shepherds were there but seemingly left rather quickly to tell others of what they heard in the Bethlehem manger.  The news was such Good News that they could not keep the "news" to themselves.  But for Mary seeming silence was the better part of a response to what is a pivotal point for all Christianity.

Gift giving is another pivotal moment of Christmas.  There were no "Christmas trees" in the stable.  There were no ribboned gifts anywhere in the stable.  So, one might ask why St Luke notes that Mary reflected upon "all these things".  Surely we can only imagine what must have passed through her heart and mind as the child she had delivered was, as the angel Gabriel had told her, the Son of God.  Consider if you will, at this closing of the first day of the year, Mary's reflecting is her Christmas gift to us in addition to her divine Son.

Furthermore, consider this:  Child Jesus is giving each person a gift on the annual celebration of his birthday.  The gift is a personal gift that can be understood only when one does what Mary did:  ponder about the special gift that Jesus has given you for the year 2012.  You might be surprised by that thought.  However, unless there is time to ponder what "gift is Jesus offering me new year" during these early days of the year during which quiet and a genuine effort to be present to Jesus with an open heart are essential.

In the pondering quiet you may hear Jesus saying to you what God has in mind for you in the 12 months ahead.  He knows what you need most for yourself and he know what you need most to give to others.

Take the time and most importantly write down for yourself what you believe Jesus' gift for you is and how you will use it for yourself and others.  There are very few people who receive gifts and leave them unopened.  Your writing to yourself what you believe the gift is only to be found by pondering and recording for yourself what "messages" come to your heart.

May the year 2012 be for you and your loved ones a time that is abundant with good health and even some financial assistance but most specially a year when you set aside time to learn more about your faith.

The Feast of the Holy Family

This is the feast that almost every year falls on the Sunday between the feast of the Nativity and the Feast of the Mother of God, (New Year's Day).  However, it does not fall that way this year or any year when Christmas is celebrated on a Sunday.

Perhaps the absence of this feast from the weekend liturgy many not be recognized by many.  But for those who have the opportunity and time to attend a daily liturgy today, there will be the time to consider that the Church puts this family before all of us because each of us is from a particular family whether we eventually are married with a family or single and stand as a member of a family of origin or of another community that might well be considered a family.

When we consider this family, we know it is unlike any other family that has or will ever exist on this earth of ours.  The mother of this family is so different from other mothers but, hopefully, she gives comforts to other mothers especially during maternal moments of pain and frustration.  Likewise, Joseph is not exactly like other fathers or foster fathers.  Imagine being told you are caring for and teaching a manly life to the Son of God!  That might lead some thinking fathers to stop, look, and listen.  Each parent, whether father or mother, knows that each child he/she brings into this world is unlike any other.  Not quite like Jesus, of course, but perhaps at times considered by doting parents almost equal to the Son of God!

So, today, whether single or married, widow or widower, priest or father, religious sister or mother, we have an opportunity to look to this family for insights that may not have entered one's mind.  Queen Elizabeth, as you may have heard on newscasts spoke to the British Commonwealth this Christmas emphasizing the significance of the family in today world.  As a priest, neither married nor a parent, I wonder what a mother or father must think not just at the time of a child's birth but throughout the life of an offspring.  Parents carry no light burden in this 21st century if they have children.  Recently taking a "child" into my own life, a 12 week old puppy, has taught me to think about parenthood and family life more personally than ever before even though I have had older dogs in my life or when I was too young to know what a worry a dog pet could be.  Getting up in the middle of the night because the puppy was crying ... missing his first family ... feeling hunger pangs ... and, of course, always worrying about the condition of the carpets in the house.  Did the Holy Family every have a dog pet?  Let's leave that until the kingdom of heaven to learn.

So, the human family has much to be thankful for in the reality of the Holy Family.  Mary, Joseph and Jesus are teachers, too.  What can we learn?  Hopefully more than what a puppy can teach!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

 

There have been very few men or women I have met who make the effort to "walk in the light."  Surely the majority of believers struggle to live a life that is motivated by the light of Christ Jesus and the Commandments. Jesus taught throughout his public life that a first priority in following him is to love God and one another.

To love God is much more than an intellectual exercise.  To study God is a process of learning about God and his presence in the world.  So how do we come to "love God."  Perhaps it is easy to say "Of course I love God.  That's why I go to church."  But we can always ask ourselves it is truly love that is the fiber our our relationship with God.  Consider for a moment:  how does a child come to know the love of a parent?  Isn't it the acts of a parent for the child?  And doesn't the child in mind and heart learn what love is as the years pass?  A deeper awareness of the sacrifices that a parent makes for the child brings about an awareness of what true love is or should be.  Countless moments of caring, nurturing, protecting, guiding are a parent's gift to his/her child.  It is these instances that are the teaching moments of what true love is.  Hopefully the maturing child comes to recognize that genuine love is so often more experienced in the giving than in the receiving.

As we grow older, we must rely on our own experiences of the loves others have given to us to be able to be open to God's love for us.  For us today:  do I allow my heart to be open to the many ways that God teaches us about his bountiful love?

CHRISTMAS 2011

Merry Christmas everyone!  It is wonderful that we are gathered together on this feast day of unbridled celebration.  It is a feast day of new life as we celebrate once again the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is my genuine prayer for all of you that you will be well-gifted by your families and friends.  Most especially I pray during the Masses of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that the gift you will recognize and accept the gift we celebrate together:  Jesus Christ.

What truly happened in that shed is so simple that we rarely think of it this way:  God’s plan for humankind is now out in the open.  It should be obvious and so very clear.  What is before us at the moment itself but also again today is that the Son of God is come to this earth and is before us.  This is not something new.  From the days of the Old Testament God has been giving humanity advanced notice that a Messiah was coming.  On Christmas we celebrate that God is speaking to us through his Son.  “The Word became flesh and lived among us.”  The words from the Bible could not be any more direct or to the point.  As you think about the manger scene, you know that this baby Jesus is touchable, a very human yet divine God.  And we know again from the Old Testament prophets and from what we have learned from the New Testament testimony of Jesus himself and his followers that he has come to show each one of us the way of love is to be the way of life.  Please catch that final clause in the last sentence:  “that he has come to show each one of us the way of love is to be the way of life.”  So what might we see as the God-gift to each of us on the Christmas feast day, 2011?  Let me suggest for you a particular gift God might be giving you and me this year.

First, at a time when we know or know about so many men and women who are carrying the cross of Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia, should we not continue to think about the gift of memory.  It is frightening to think about losing one’s memories.  Some years ago, after having made two cross-country flights and then three north-south flights, I was driving on one of the many non-descript parkways just north of New York City.  I was exhausted from all the travel but had one more appointment before taking a few days off.  Suddenly as I thought about where I was, I could not remember where I was going,   I did not recall what highway I was on.  It was, as I said, frightening.  Only a passing train that had Metropolitan New York Transit painted on the side, did I recall where I was and what I was supposed to be doing.

So Christmas brings with it many memories.  Of course those memories of mixed with joy as well as sadness:  a family broken by tragedy; a ruptured friendship; the pain of the loss of a loved one; the joy of marriages or new births in a family.  God invites us on this special feast day to recall our failures and His graces to us.  Christmas has always been one feast that, like a magnet, draws us ever closer to God through the Christmas hymns we here these days.

Perhaps God is giving you the gift of making a new memory by receiving from him the gift of a new beginning, of seeing life itself in a new way --even though it may be broken-- because the Child Jesus offers each of us a new beginning with him each year as we gather around the Bethlehem stable.

A second gift  God might be offering us this year is the gift of glory.   Of course we celebrate Christmas as a feast of glory, the glory of God, the majesty of God.  Glory comes especially in the gift of the miracle of Bethlehem ... God comes among us as one of us.  The Bethlehem night on Christmas was echoed the sounds of angels singing Glory To God in the Highest.  Our hearts today and every day will be filled with the joy of glory is we try our best to avoid what is negative around us and if we do not worry so much about what we cannot control.  Children teach us so much about this gift.   Life for them is so free, so free of self-imposed boundaries.  They are rarely afraid of taking risks.  They constantly ask questions about what is around them:  people, how things work and why things happen as they do.  They are so fascinated by what we adults might call the mundane.  Yes, each Christmas is an invitation to experience glory as God wants us to grasp this unique gift to us.

Lastly, but surely not the last of the many gifts of Christmas from Jesus Christ to us, is the gift of presence, not presents, but presence.  Your presence today at this liturgy can be an experience of presence if you are free enough to open your heart to it.  The people we love deeply the most, those who each day are touch-ably close and warmly near to us are so often the people who get the least of the gift of presence from us.

Each of these gifts is an invitation to newness that can make your lives so much fresher, so much happier if you are willing to accept the gift the Jesus Christ gives to you from his simple stable in Bethlehem.

I am grateful to Graceworks Publishers for some of the expressions and thought processes for this special day of gift giving.

The first reading of today's liturgy from the writings of the prophet Malachi truly is worthy of a second or third reading.  Reflect on these words in particular:

For he is like the refiner's fire ...

and will purify the sons of Levi.

The Messiah, the long-awaited Savior, will come and make the people of Israel free to offer sacrifices that will again be please to Yahweh.

So, in our day, in our personal search for the sacred, what do the prophet's words mean to you, to me?  Actually we might ask ourselves today "Who is the Malichi in my life today?  Each day for sure there are God-sent messengers to each of us.  These heralds come into our lives to awaken our souls.  In particular, what message(s) is God sending you way as you make ready to celebrate the reality of our redemption?  Jesus was born years ago but today his coming reminds us that we are indeed a blessed people, a gifted people, a people given abundance of graces ... if we take the time to discover the message that is born in our hearts today and each day of our lives.

**********

By the way "Happy Birthday" to a loyal reader who

celebrated her 80th birthday yesterday!

Many blessings be yours, Mary!

And What Is This Kingdom?

Continuing our way through Cardinal Wuerl's Seek First the Kingdom ....  One of the realities about this kingdom of God is just what is it as Jesus established it on earth for us.  Unfortunately for us, this kingdom is not, like our societies throughout the world, composed of Angels, Archangels, Dominions, Powers etc.  Clay feet!  The kingdom of God as Jesus founded it is built on clay feet!  The clay feet of the Twelve, the clay feet of their successors, the clay feet of the different levels of the clergy and religious, the clay feet of all the people of God.  What I am saying is this:  the kingdom of God as we see  it in our world is not perfect.  Scandals have marred the kingdom's appearance and spirit throughout the centuries.  When you hear the genealogy of the House of David on Christmas Eve, please, don't think that all those names are ideals for us to follow.

But on the other side of the coin, Jesus entrusted certain powers to the community we call Church.  In some of its members we find genuine saints ... even before these folks finish their life on earth.  We must not forget that Jesus commanded the disciples to carry the news of the kingdom not just in homilies and conversations.  They were to use the powers entrusted to them to perform wondrous deeds.  That power continues to exist among not just the clergy in our Church but among laity as well.  Just recently I encountered a hurting soul who had recently come to a new life in the spirit ... all because of a friend who brought her to a prayer group meeting.   It was an experience for the woman that opened her heart and spiritual eyes of faith.  When she walked her walk for those at the meeting, she found that others had had to climb over similar rocks on their journey.  Through their encouragement the hurting soul became a new person.  In truth she had found that life in the Church is life in the kingdom of God.  She had to trust someone to lead her there.  Furthermore that "there" had to be an experience of God's grace, God's healing ministry shared by laity as well as clergy.

As a society, we contemporaries have been very critical men and women.  I know for me, as a priest, Christmas parties become a genuine opportunity to atone for some of my sins!  Why?  Listening to the unhappiness that exists in parish life for many people.  Listening to the pain that some in our community we call Church inflict upon on another is truly one heavy hors d'ouvers!  But, friends, it is the real world that we live in.  Unfortunately it is a kingdom on earth that is both spiritual and temporal.  Yet, the challenge we have is to see beyond the chinks in the armor.  Are we any better than Jesus who had to encounter those who did not trust him, those who feared him, those whose set ways were challenged by him?

One of the greatest blessings that God has given either me or you is that each of us has the opportunity to be like John the Baptist.  Through our dedication to our faith, we can help make straight the crooked ways we encounter.  Perhaps the most demanding characteristic of our Church, the kingdom of God on this earth, is HOPE.  We cannot abandon the gifts God has given us simply because we find a faulty light bulb!  Parents on occasion find themselves disappointed, frustrated even angry at times with their offspring.  Yet how rare it is to find a parent who gives up hope that a confused and hurting offspring will turn around and become truly a pride and joy.

In our kingdom of God it is no different.  Adults will be kids at times.  We must always hope.  It is the nature of the kingdom of God on this earth to work its way through painful moments ... because we have been promised a kingdom beyond belief ... because we can hope for what is better, what has been promised to us.

My Father's Kingdom

We draw closer to the celebration of Jesus' birth.  Once he has finished his own personal "formation" with Mary and Joseph, he will begin his ministry ... preaching the Kingdom of God, aka the Kingdom of Heaven.  As mentioned in a prior posting, the phrase "kingdom of God" are New Testament terms.  Only once in the Old Testament, in the Book of Wisdom, chapter 10, verse 10 can you find this phrase.

As Jesus began his days of preaching and teaching, the people of Yahweh were longing for this new kingdom.  They were no different from their ancestors.  As Cardinal Wuerl writes in Seek First the Kingdom of God, little did the people have any notion of what this kingdom would be like.  An interesting side reading is a history of the kings of the Jewish people.  Google, of course, can be somewhat helpful here.

The prophet Samuel, recognized as a holy man, close in his prayer with Yahweh, became for the people of Yahweh after "Adam's reign ended rather badly" (Wuerl, p 25), a means to seeking divine assistance in securing a king.  Unfortunately the kind of king the people wanted was what we would call the warrior king.  This man was to be a ruler over nations.  Power and prestige were to be this king's brand.  Samuel acceded to their requests and ultimately "anointed" several kings because power and greed brought down the kingdom of Israel.

Eventually the House of David came into being.  David was consider by the people to be the longed-for messiah.  In fact, David "provided a prototype" for  later generations of the faithful in Israel.  A study of the history of the Jewish people puts forward an interesting reality:  hope is a major character trait of the Israel people despite the periods of pain and exile endured over the years.  It was the words of the Prophets describing the hoped for kingdom that encouraged the Jewish people.

Once preaching, Jesus taught (Luke 7:22) the people about the wonders of the kingdom of God, his Father.  To clarify for the people what his words meant, one Sabbath day Jesus spoke out about himself and how God had anointed him to be the person who would bring about the realization of the kingdom.   Cardinal Wuerl refers to Jesus' words in Luke 4:18-21 as his "inaugurating the kingdom of the Messiah (p.26).

As we many did follow Jesus but there were those who could not accept his teachings.  Jesus told them of his messiahship in words and events not easily accepted.  No one had raised anyone from the dead before!  The people continued in their desire for the warrior king.  This kingdom of God Jesus was teaching was a new and unheard of power.  It was in his ministry that he daily taught about the new kingdom would surpass any of their dreams.  Why?  Because it would be a spiritual, supernatural power that Jesus was giving to them.  Again, it would be only understood with the "eyes of faith."

So as you look at creche scenes in these days of Christmas celebration, think about this kingdom that Jesus was bringing to the people, to us even today.  It is a very different power that God has offered you and me for our lives.  It is a kingdom where weapons are traded for acts of kindness and love.  It is a kingdom where the King is more concerned about the subjects than about himself.  This is the Kingdom of God.  This is the kingdom that is offered to you and me each day of our lives.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

As surely as we think of Christmas, thoughts of Santa Claus are soon to follow.  Likewise, when we think of the birth of Jesus, thoughts of Mary come to mind.  Petition the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind, your very soul, to strengthen your understanding of the various implications that this young girl's "fiat" (let it be done unto me) will have in her life and what impacts it has had on your life.  Furthermore let this prayerful reflection on Mary's role open for you an insight into how your baptism and reception of the Holy Eucharist are significant moments in our lives with a Christmas relationship.  These are ultimately the call to respond to God's call for our own "fiat" to his will that we give birth go Jesus in our lives and in our world.

The angel's bidding, "Hail, (you who are) full of grace" must have been both puzzling and frightening to such a young woman.  Surely Mary realized the greeting indicated that she was being specially bless by Yahweh.  When you were baptized (in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit) those words were for you the proclamation that you, too, were being specially graced by God with a singular mission.  When you were first given the Eucharist, the words "The Body of Christ," were yet another proclamation of your being particularly bless by God to give birth to Jesus not only in your body and soul but also to proclaim it to your world.

In the Old Testament writings we encounter "the house of David."  King David understood God's request that he build a house that would dignify God's presence among his people.  King David responded the way most would.  He must have said to himself "I will see to it that a worthy temple is built for the Ark of the Covenant.  This would replace the tent that had been used for many years.  Even in Jesus lifetime there was the on-going construction of the sacred space.  If God himself or an emissary came to you today and asked that a suitable "house" be built for him, surely most would immediately begin thinking of architects, bank loans, real estate agents and so forth.  We humans are the same whether in Old or New Testament days, even in our very modern world.  Yet this was not Yahweh's intention.  His "house" was not to be of wood, stone or massive steel columns.  Rather the words "The Lord will make you a House" are meant to be understood differently.  God wanted lineage for his Son when he would be born on this earth.  Mary was asked to carry on the lineage of the House of King David and his descendants.  This is somewhat similar to the British Empire's House of Windsor.  So Mary's "fiat" resulted in her providing "physical space" within her womb for the Son of God, for a continuation of the House of David.

As you remember Mary during these closing days of the Advent season, let your heart reflect upon God's invitation to you, asking you to provide a dwelling place in your heart and soul for his Son.  Christmas is that time of year when God repeats his invitation to give birth to Jesus in your temple.  We are called again to make the same "Yes" that Mary once made.  We know it is no different.  Like Mary, there will be for challenges to that commitment.  It is easy to say "Yes."  It is much more challenging to live out your "Yeses."  The Eucharist, however,  will be for you the same strength that Mary had within her body as she nurtured the Son of God for his birth, his entrance into a new world.

This week leading to Christmas Day can be an extraordinary time for each of us.  Open your heart!  Fiat!  Fiat! 

What is A Parable?

We hear the word "parable" frequently, especially in the gospel stories used for our Masses of obligation on the weekends.  It may be one of those scripture words we hear so often that we might say to ourselves, "Oh, yeah, another parable story."  However, if asked what the meaning of the word is, most would reply simply "One of the stories Jesus told one group or another."  This answer might be graded poorly.  Why?  It misses the purpose of the story.  A parable is a comparison story.

Remember a previous reference to asking young people to define words that do not fully or exactly comprehend because of a lack of vocabulary.  But they know it is "like" this or that.  We adults are really not so different.  So, Jesus, in teaching about the kingdom, turns to the favorite word of youth:  "like."  Jesus says in 6 specific teaching moments that the kingdom is "like" something our hearts and minds can grasp.  We know we just do not have the  spiritual capabilities to comprehend the totality of God's kingdom.  Jesus recognizes that inability.  He teaches that the kingdom is "like" something from individual's personal experience.  Cardinal Wuerl cites 6 instances where Jesus says what the kingdom is like.  The kingdom is like (a) a valuable pearl (Mt 13:45-46); (b) a field where treasure has been buried (Mt 13:44); (c) a seed growing in the ground (Luke 8:5-15); (d) yeast that causes dough to rise; (e) field of grain infiltrated by weeds (Mt 13:24-30); and (e) a fishing net that produces a successful catch but at the same time junk (Mt 13:47)

The noteworthy reality about the kingdom as Jesus taught it is that it "works powerfully, but quietly, gradually and invisibly, like seed and like yeast" (p23).  Likewise the kingdom is not an exclusive country club.  There are weeds and junk.  God does not want anyone to have missed the opportunity to make his/her way into the kingdom.  What a comfort this can be to those who struggle with various weaknesses that separate a true follower from Jesus.  Lastly, however, from these comparisons we have the opportunity to learn what obligations we carry, living in the kingdom.  If we nurture prayer and reach out to others in need, we become the recipients of abundance -- God's abundant graces will strengthen us.

Where is the Kingdom of God?

(NASA Photo)

Just what is this "Kingdom of God"?  It must be different from the kingdoms that continue to service in different parts of the world.  How can you even attempt to describe it?  At its root, notes Cardinal Wuerl, "... the kingdom of God is the presence of God."

We claim that we are among those who follow Jesus.  Many of us do.  For us knowledge and some understanding of the kingdom is important.  To his first disciples Jesus said "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you" (Mk 4:10).  But to us who endeavor to know and to see the kingdom of God, we have been blessed with "eyes of faith".  However, we must know where to look for these eyes to work.  Most people will focus upon the word "eyes."  More important however are the words "of faith".  This is important to understand in itself because we are dealing not with the materialistic world but, rather, the spiritual realms.  For us spiritual "things" or realities are much like the wisp's of burning logs on a fireplace somewhere nearby which we cannot see but which our nose tells us are out of sight but nonetheless very real.

But how do we come to get at least some notion of the world of the spiritual?  Listen to young people who lack the vocabulary to describe adequately something that is far from tangible for them.  How many times in the description will you hear the word "like"?  Countless!  Adults, although with more information in their minds, are much like the younger set.  Jesus knew that!  His means of helping us understand the spiritual world can be found in the parables!

So, the kingdom might be very difficult to describe -- again it is invisible, spiritual -- but God has given us walkers, canes, crutches to help us begin to understand something about the kingdom.  We surely need all of these aides especially if we believe the presence of God is everywhere.

Let the Light of Your Faith Shine

Let's continue with the gospel appointed for today's liturgy and Chapter One --We Look for a Kingdom-- of Cardinal Wuerl's new publication.  Surely a significant difficulty for Roman Catholics as well as other mainline creeds is the world "kingdom."  Nothing could be further from our experience.  Kingdom?  We don't deal with "kingdom" in a democracy!  Perhaps our lack of familiarity with both the word and its meaning has somewhat diluted the theological importance of the word in what is a most treasured prayer: the Our Father ... thy kingdom come!"  Even Blessed John Paul II developed a fourth category of mysteries for reflection while saying the Rosary one of which is the Proclamation of the Kingdom.

When Jesus inaugurated his public ministry much of his teaching was related to the Kingdom of God.  Likewise the major new Testament writers, the Cardinal points out, are captivated by Jesus' preaching about the kingdom.  So, what is it Christians, especially we of the Roman Catholic community, seem to have lost the significance of the kingdom.

We know from our reading and our hearing read Jesus' words about the kingdom, how important a part of his message it was and continues to be.  So strong were Jesus' words that worldly leaders were on the alert when Jesus would preach about God's kingdom.  Cardinal Wuerl is strong as well:  "God's kingdom is serious business.  It still is."

Perhaps our reticence springs from our lack of familiarity with the topic.  Again, this Advent might be the moment God is calling you and/or me not to back away from challenge to our faith.  This means personal renewal or simply personal learning.

Again we are called to speak out for our faith ... now is the time.  The Gospels call each of us to recognize that "the kingdom of God is important in our lives."  This is a part of our mission in the world today.  The question might be:  how do I reflect the light of Christ among those who know me?