And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray (Mk 6:46). We often read in the Gospels that Jesus went off by himself to pray. I am sure this was not a practice that he began during his public ministry, but one that he learned and developed from Mary and Joseph. The Apostles themselves witnessed Jesus praying, and in the account of Luke 11:1, one of his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.

Pope Francis in a general audience in 2013 shared that, “the Church is apostolic because she is founded on the preaching and prayer of the apostles” (Francis 2014, 37). Jesus prayed, he taught his Apostles to pray, and we are at our best when we are people of prayer. We hear of prayer and that we need to pray, but what is prayer and how do we pray?

That we even desire to pray, that we even want to be closer to God is already a prayer. This is true because we are experiencing an invitation from God to draw close to him, to develop a relationship with him, to come to know the one who knows us better than we know our self. God is ever and always present.

Fr. William Barry in his book, God and You, describes how prayer is becoming consciously aware of our relationship with God. This helps to counter the idea that God is like a gumball machine in the sky, we just need to say the right types of prayers, be good, say them in the proper order and we will get what we want, we will be happy. “God is in relationship with each and every created thing in the universe and in relationship to the whole of it… whether that being is aware of the relationship or not.” The amazing thing about God is that “he will not force himself on us. He continually tries to arouse our awareness and interest in him” (Barry 1987, 12-13).

God reaches out to us in so many ways such as a majestic sunrise or sunset, the ebb and flow of the waves on a beach, and the brilliant radiance of a starlit sky. He can also do so through our trials of sickness, pain, others who are being hurt, or encountering injustice, he is also present through our every day relationships and experiences. The key is to be aware of what is being stirred up within us when we experience something and allow ourselves to “wonder about the experience and its meaning” (Barry, 13).

What is most important regarding becoming people of prayer is our awareness, our becoming conscious that we have a relationship with God. “This relationship is based on God’s actions to establish it and his desire that we become conscious of who he is and wants to be for us. Our consciousness depends on our willingness to pay attention to God’s actions, or at least to experiences what might be actions of God, and to let our desires for God be aroused” (Barry, 14).

Another question that Fr. Barry answers regarding prayer is that if God knows everything about us, why bother to pray at all? God is not just wanting information, he is inviting us to participate in a relationship. He wants to know whether we believe he cares how we feel and whether we are willing to let him in, to let him know what we feel and desire. We need to be honest in our dialogue of prayer and be willing to reveal something of ourselves, while at the same time, be open and willing to allow God to reveal what he seeks to reveal to us. This is how we build authentic relationships with God and each other (cf. Barry, 15).

Jesus, you invite us in so many small ways each day, though often, we allow our harried pace, distractions, diversions, temptations, and hard hearts to lead us astray or to block us from the gift of your presence. Please help us to slow down and rest in the wonder that your Father, though transcendent, is closer to us than we are to ourselves and help us to see how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives each and every day.

Please help us to recognize that we do not need to be perfect to come to you, to say the right words to be heard by you, nor to feel that we have to say any word at all, but that we can just rest in your loving gaze. Help us to be conscious and aware of the fact that God is interested in what each and every one of us feels, thinks, and experiences, and that he truly does care. Help us to remember that we are all called to be holy, to be saints, to be mystics because you call each and every one of us to participate in your life as the Son so as to come to know your Father and experience the love shared between you, the Holy Spirit.

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Photo: Turtles inviting me for some quiet time and stillness this past Sunday afternoon after returning home from Mass.

Barry, William A. S.J. God and You: Prayer as a Personal Relationship by William Barry SJ. New York: Paulist Press, 1987.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, January 5, 2022

We can observe two movements of Jesus going out to serve others in today’s Gospel. The first is evident in the beginning verse: “When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things” (Mk 6:34). Jesus witnessed their deeper, spiritual hunger. The crowd gathered around Jesus for they were hungry, yet they were not even aware of the depth of their hunger.

Surely, they heard the accounts of Jesus preaching with authority, his healings, and exorcisms. They wondered if he could be the Messiah, the one who had been promised, present now in their midst. Yet, for the vast number of them, if not all gathered, they sought a leader, that Jesus was not. He was not to be a mighty military leader, he would not train his followers in guerilla warfare, and Jesus would not conquer the Roman occupation with might.

After his teaching, the time grew late and he and his disciples were aware of the physical hunger of the crowd. The disciples only saw the five loaves and two fish that were present, barely enough to feed the Twelve, let alone the vast multitude. Their first instinct was to send them on their way such that they could fend for themselves. Jesus, who knew the Father, knew there were no limitations to his providential care. Jesus: Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all (Mk 6:41).

Jesus shepherded and provided nourishment for five thousand men, so if that number was not including women and children, the number could have been easily doubled, and all ate and were satisfied (Mk 6:42). Jesus was aware of their deepest needs and provided for them. Jesus knew their spiritual hunger as well as their physical hunger, better than those who came to listen to him.

Are we so different today? We think we know what we need, but how many times are they really wants, apparent goods, and/or substitutes for what we truly hunger for deep down? We continually strive to be autonomous, self-sufficient, able to control and govern our own affairs. We witness this when the disciples wanted to send off the people to get their own food, and they would deal with the meager amount they had. Yet, this is counter to who we have been created to be.

Jesus showed his disciples time and again the way of God was not self-sufficiency, but self-surrender. They were and we are to place our complete trust in and reliance on God. We are to allow ourselves to be loved by God and so love others in return. This is not an emotion or mere sentiment but an act of the will, of being aware of another in their time of need. We are to expand beyond ourselves, be present, and allow God to happen through us. “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). May we turn our hearts and minds to God daily so as to receive and savor God’s love, so to be moved with compassion, to love and to serve one another in turn.

Photo: “Grief only exists where love lived first.” – Franchesca Cox

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, January 4, 2022

In yesterday’s Gospel reading we celebrated the Epiphany, in which the three magi encountered Jesus. They left changed, no longer following a star to find a king, but bearing the light of Christ from their encounter. Next Sunday we will recall the Baptism of Jesus by John. Today the daily readings jump ahead to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptist has been arrested. He must decrease as Jesus increases.

Jesus inaugurates his ministry echoing the words of John’s ministry: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). John prepared the way for the Kingdom to come, Jesus himself in his person is the Kingdom of heaven. Heaven is not so much a place but a state of communion with God, and who better to embody the reality of heaven than the Son of God in our midst. He who remained fully divine, in communion with his Father, while at the same time becoming human and living among us.

Jesus proclaimed his promise of the Kingdom to his people who were suffering. He was the one who has been promised. Jesus is the fulfillment of their greatest hope. Matthew summarized the ministry of Jesus thus: “He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people” (Mt 4:23).

Jesus provided hope and healing to those who were losing hope, struggling, and in pain. Jesus taught the way, the truth and the life with authority, providing light in the midst their darkness. He did so through not only being the Kingdom in their midst, not only being their light to guide their way, but also being the way, the truth, and the life embodied. He empowered and freed them from their slavery to the sin that kept them bound. He helped them to see that they could not be enslaved by anyone or anything. Jesus helped the people to see that what kept them bound was their separation from God.

Jesus did not only come to the people of Galilee two thousand years ago. His message and person is meant for everyone. Jesus proclaims his truth again to us today, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). There is no better new year’s resolution to begin with than this! Jesus is still present to us, providing hope and healing, providing his presence of love and mercy, providing his teaching which shines a light into our darkness. He is empowering us to receive his gift so that we too can rise up freed from our slavery to our own selfishness and sin. May we decrease so as to allow Jesus to increase. In this way, we too will bear Christ and empower others as we provide the same presence of his love, mercy, and forgiveness with those in our midst.

Photo: Making some time for an evening walk just before sunset is a good way to let go and let God.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, January 3, 2022

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage” (Mt 2:1-2).

At some point as they approached Jerusalem, the magi lost track of the star, did it become cloudy, did they close in on the city during the day, or did they believe it was the proper protocol that in entering the city they ought to check in with Herod first before proceeding? We do not know. Somehow, these magi were led by a star with the belief that they were to pay homage to the king of the Jews in a distant land.

What drew them from their home miles away? What inspired them to leave the comfort of their everyday routine? This was no easy journey, and it was a risky adventure. Yet something or someone inspired them, invited them to come. They said yes. And though they were misdirected for a time, when they left the audience of King Herod and resumed their pilgrimage, they again saw the star and were “overjoyed” (Mt 2:10).

That joy must have multiplied when they prostrated themselves before the baby king, the one for whom they risked all and sought for. In reality, their journey had only begun. Their lives would be forever changed and they would go back a different way than they came. The magi would not return to Herod, nor would they return to their home quite the same. They would not return from this journey and just go back to business as usual. The magi carried within them their encounter with the Christ; the light that drew them, they now carried inside of them.

They would proclaim him in the East. The magi did what they were called to do, to encounter Jesus and bring his light to the world. They and those who followed the same invitation are why we are still able to hear this same message today.

Today is the feast of Epiphany, and it is on this day that we celebrate that the King of the Jews, Jesus the Christ, has brought the invitation of salvation to the whole world. The manifestation of God’s glory came to the Jews first as the chosen people of God and then to all the Nations. The Son of God has become one of us and one with us so that all people are given the offer to be saved and deified in our participation in the life of Jesus.

We too are invited. We like the magi are called to put the light of Christ first in our life. Let us seek each day to encounter him and his plan. Distractions, diversions, and temptations, anxieties and anticipations as well as many appealing and apparent goods will attempt to lead us astray, yet to put Jesus first will help all other priorities to fall into their proper order and place.

Bishop Robert Barron in his book, To Light a Fire on Earth, writes about becoming part of God’s “Theodrama”, using the Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar’s term. God is directing all of creation, all of the cosmos, and each of us to play our part. “The key”, Bishop Barron writes, “is to find the role that God has designed for us, even if it looks like a bit part… When, through faith, we see every moment and every creature as an ingredient in the divine plan, when we know that there is a gracious providence at work in the universe, we live in joyful surrender and with a great sense of wonder.”

This is what the Epiphany is about. Jesus manifesting his light to us so that we can finally come to see that we are not the center of the universe, but he is. “When we decenter the ego, and live in exciting and unpredictable relationship to God, we realize very clearly that our lives are not about us. And that’s a liberating discovery” (Barron 2017, 164-165).

May we follow the lead of the magi, and prostrate ourselves before our Lord and Savior. Let us lay face down and surrender to him our ego and self-centered ways of life. Let us acknowledge and let go of those things that prevent us from deepening our relationship with God and one another. When ready, we will rise again forever changed, heading forth in a different way to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord!

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Photo: The Magi following the star accessed from http://www.free-hdwallpapers.com/wallpapers.com

Barron, Robert and John L. Allen Jr. To Light a Fire on the Earth. New York: Image, 2017.

Link for today’s reading of the Mass for Sunday, January 2, 2022

Mary offers us a wonderful gift today as we begin the new year together. “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). Gabriel shares with Mary that she will conceive a child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Her relative Elizabeth, who is past childbearing years, is six months pregnant when Mary and Elizabeth meet. In their encounter, John leaps in the womb of Elizabeth. The shepherds convey the message they received from the angels that Mary’s baby is the long-awaited Messiah. Simeon and Anna offer prophetic confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah.

These are events to ponder, not to just take at face value and move on. The Church at her best has followed the model of Mary’s reflection, pondering, and meditating on what these words mean and has come to call this day the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. This title says more about Jesus than it does about Mary. This is the teaching that the Church Fathers confirmed during the council of Ephesus in 431 AD:

Mary is the Mother of God, in Greek – Theotokos – the God-bearer.

The fullness of divinity, the Son of God, was present at the conception of Jesus. Jesus remained fully divine as the second Person of the Trinity and was not diminished in any way as he developed as a human being in the womb and was born of Mary. This is the Mystery of the hypostatic union: Jesus is one divine person subsisting in two natures the human and divine.

Theological insights such as Mary being the Mother of God, the hypostatic union of Jesus, are easily missed or worse dismissed if we conform ourselves to the present age of instant gratification, instant access, surfing, swiping, taking in sound bytes from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, as well as others, and amassing information overload. All of these technological avenues can be wonderful if we stop, slow down, and as Mary did, ponder what they offer.

If we still read books, do we do so with pencil and highlighter in hand, take notes and go back to those points underlined, highlighted, and or annotated and ponder the insights we have received, and then put them into practice? Or do we just have a moment of pause and say hmm, interesting, and then move on to the next factoid?

May today, the first day of the new year, be a day to take a few deep breaths, slow down, and commit to a practice of daily pondering. We can reflect on a word, a phrase, or a short statement that we write down and return to it often. The phrase could be as simple as a paraphrase from today’s reading: Mary pondered on these things in her heart. Let us reflect on where God has been calling us to stop and take a deeper look at our lives. It could be one word: Theotokos, expressing that Mary is the God-bearer, the Mother of God, and what that means to us in our lives. We can meditate on a picture like the one I posted with this reflection.

If we seek to live a life of joy and fulfillment in 2022, we would do well to follow the model of Mary. That would entail assuming a posture of pondering and a willingness to slow down and reflect on life, on what is important, what has value, where we are putting our time and effort, and recognizing where we do not welcome God and where we do welcome God in our life. Otherwise, we may just float along through another year indecisively or stagnantly with indifference or cynicism, merely reacting to situations that arise, or just plodding along in survival mode or merely bored and listless. Being still can be scary because as we do so, our fears, our past hurts, our losses, and our loneliness can arise.

When we are willing to slow down and even come to a complete stop, the Holy Spirit can lead us with his love to experience the emotions that are just under the surface, so we can begin to heal and transform beyond merely existing, so as to set a course of fully living. Hand in hand with Jesus and Mary, we can face and embrace our anxieties, fears, heal from our wounds, grieve and mourn.

As we do so we will be better engaged in our lives which will lead to more meaning and purpose. Conformed to the life and love of Jesus, we will realize that we are not alone and build more authentic and intimate relationships. We can face our challenges head on, act more decisively and with greater clarity, and experience more fully what we are here for, to bring a little more tenderness, mercy, understanding, forgiveness, and love to the many others around us who are also wounded.

May 2022 be a wonderful new year of meaning, joy, and fulfillment, as we, like Mary, come to experience God’s presence in the silence of our hearts, so to be a people of faith, hope, and love in contemplation and action. Mary Mother of God, pray for us.

Happy New Year! Peace and all God’s good. Take good care of yourselves and those around you.

Icon painted by Brian Matthew Whirledge in St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, Goshen, IN

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, January 1, 2022

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The Logos, the Word, the second person of the Holy Trinity, dwelt or another translation, “tabernacled” among us. The Son of God pitched his tent in our midst. This is a reference to the tabernacle or tent of meeting which was erected whenever Moses and those who had escaped slavery in Egypt camped. Within the tent of meeting was placed the Ark of the Covenant. This was done to follow the will of God who wanted to be present with his people. “They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8).

The Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle housing it was portable and would move with the people, such that God was always present in their midst. The basic structure would later become the foundation for Solomon’s temple, then Herod’s Temple. The Holy of Holies was believed to be the very seat of God in Jerusalem. In the fullness of time, Jesus was born to us, and he became the living temple, Emmanuel, God with us. As he predicted,“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19).

And why did Jesus come? So that the glory of God could be revealed not just to the temple priest, but to all of us, “and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). Jesus came to be one with us in our humanity while remaining fully divine to reveal the glory of his Father to us, the same glory that filled the tabernacle. Jesus came to be present, to accompany us, in our very midst as God did in the tabernacle and then the Temple.

The Son of God became human to restore the ancient covenant that God has been making with his people throughout the ages. Jesus invites us to share in the infinite, faithful love that he shares and has shared and always will share with his Father. This free, generous act of love is a pure gift. Jesus, in becoming human, in living among us, in teaching, healing, and casting out demons, built a bridge leading to a relationship with God. He shines his light, a light that is not overcome by the darkness of pride, hatred, prejudice, and violence so that we can see the truth: God is our Father and we are all brothers and sisters.

The Incarnation, the reality that the Son of God became fully human while remaining fully divine, reveals to us that none of us are worthless. In becoming one with us so that we can become one with him, Jesus reminds each of us that by our very existence God granted us human dignity because we are created in his image and likeness.

Each and every human being is a part of God’s family. This includes all people no matter race, ethnicity, political party, or creed, male or female, the unborn, the hungry, the homeless, the stranger, the sick, those without access to water or adequate health care, widows, orphans, refugees, migrants, the LGBT person, the person in jail or on death row, or at the end of life, and as Fr. James Martin, SJ wrote, “so many others who feel forgotten, excluded or marginalized. All are members of God’s family.”

The significance of this wonderful gift of the love of God poured out for each and every one of us is not only to be pondered upon and embraced but also shared with all we encounter each day of the new year we are about to begin. Even in the darkness of division and polarization, Jesus calls us to be advocates of understanding, reconciliation, hope, and bearers of his light and love.

Photo: Christmas Eve 2021 getting ready to set up before midnight Mass.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, December 31, 2021

We have no evidence of what Anna, Simeon, the Magi, or the shepherds did after their encounter with the baby Jesus. We can surmise though that one thing that happened as with Luke’s account of Anna today is that they told the story of their encounter. They, like Anna, shared what they experienced with anyone who would listen.

At the end of today’s account from Luke, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus “returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Lk 2:39-40). No ticker-tape parade, no giving the key to the city, and no gala ball awaited the Holy Family when they entered Nazareth. They went on to live very simple lives.

The pattern of how God works, how his kingdom begins is like a mustard seed, like the seed that is sown, or like yeast. It starts small, quietly, simply, and unnoticed by the majority. God works through the everyday events of our lives, often unseen. We so often look for the mighty, majestic, and grandiose. We often believe we need to do great things, and often do nothing. St Mother Teresa directs us to follow what she learned from the Little Flower, St Therese of Lisieux, to do little things with great love.

As the Christmas Season continues, we are experiencing that life has already or has begun to shift; families and friends have come and gone or are readying to go, vacation days are coming to an end. We can choose not to allow the celebration and remembrance of Jesus’ birth, as well as our coming together with family and friends to just fade away, to be absorbed by the busyness of life again. Instead, we can appreciate the gift we have been given in the Incarnation. We can spend time each day in stillness with Jesus. Life can be hard because it is so fragile. It can change in an instant or the blink of an eye. We would do well not to take any moment for granted.

As the Holy Family begins their journey to Nazareth, and we begin to return to our regular course of daily living, may we be a little more open this year to paying some more attention to the quiet and gentle ways that God is working in our lives. God has yet again planted his seeds in us this Christmas Season. They have been sown such that we might see his creation as a gift of wonder to protect and to be good stewards of. As we ponder and gaze in wonder upon the gift of the Incarnation, we might experience the gift of seeing each other as brothers and sisters again and be more willing to support and care for one another, to be aware and reach out to those in need, as well as to be open to expressing our need for help and allowing others to assist us.

When we do so, we will start to recognize the simplicity of divinity operating within the midst of our humanity. We will see that the Holy Spirit is offering us nourishment in revealing to us our interconnectedness with God, each other, and all of creation. Tilling our soil through watchfulness, meditation, prayer, worship, fellowship, and cooperating with him in loving service will allow for our growth and transformation and to bear the fruit of his love in this new year.

Photo: Christmas Eve 2015, St Augustine Parish, Los Angeles.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 30, 2021

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32).

As Simeon receives Jesus to be consecrated to the Lord, he recognizes through the gift of the Holy Spirit that this child, is the one he and Israel had been waiting for. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets as well as be a light to the Gentiles and to all the Nations.

These verses, called the Canticle of Simeon, recorded by Luke are recited each night by those of us who pray the Divine Office or the Liturgy of the Hours. They are prayed during Compline or Night Prayer, the last prayers before going to sleep. The gift of reading a Gospel passage again and again is that when we are open God can speak to us in deeper ways or help us to see something we have not seen before. We too can celebrate the birth of Jesus who is our savior, our fulfillment and our light also.

We are all invited to meditate with this same passage. We can enter the scene and, like Simeon, receive this child in our arms from Mary and Joseph. We too are invited to see the salvation that is offered us, the invitation given to us. May we not run from the light of his truth, but may we embrace it so as to be transformed. Let us glory in the joy of knowing that Jesus came to share his forgiveness, love, mercy, and grace, with us. He is the promise of healing that we all need to realize and actualize in our lives.

Jesus invites but does not impose. This Christmas can be just another few days in a cycle of days that pass with no change, or we can immerse ourselves in this Octave of Christmas so as to take seriously the fact that Jesus is who he said he is, who the Apostles claimed that he is, who the Church still announces that he is today. Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. Do we also believe this truth?

I invite you to return to the meditation we started above and to hold  the baby Jesus, our savior, in your arms as Simeon did. As you hold him look into his face, see his smile, the glint in his eye, and allow that exchange to melt away any sin of pride, lust, greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, prejudice, and/or wrath. Experience the warmth of his love radiate up from the depths of your soul to be filled with his joy to overflowing.

As we go forth and our gaze falls upon others we meet, may we share that same smile we have received and so radiate the love of Christ with those we encounter today and each day going forward.

Painting: Het loflied van Simeon – the Song of praise from Simeon, by Arent de Gelder, ca. 1700-1710

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 29, 2021

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you” (Mt 2:13).

If we resist glossing over the scene of the nativity because we have heard it many times before, we will realize anew that it is not a romantic one. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable or a cave. This setting was not the most hygienic of situations as this is where animals were kept. After the shepherds and kings come to pay the baby homage the situation does not get much better. For as we read in today’s Gospel from Matthew, Joseph is urged by an angel to flee because Herod had ordered the death of all male children under two years of age.

With the words of the angel and their forced relocation to Egypt, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph became refugees fleeing persecution. So many families today are unfortunately in a similar situation, fleeing to save their lives because their countries are torn by war, violence, terrorism, and/or the threat of persecution.

So many are escaping the horrors of the Syrian civil war, the instability, and violence in other areas of the Middle East and northern Africa, as well as in our hemisphere, especially in the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. These countries, as well as too many others, are part of the tragic reality that has resulted in the largest number of families fleeing their countries since World War II.

The Son of God could have easily been born in a palace, among a family with power and stability, yet he chose to be born among the poor and displaced. His earliest days were ones marked by instability and danger.

“Jesus wanted to belong to a family who experienced these hardships so that no one would feel excluded from the loving closeness of God. The flight into Egypt caused by Herod’s threat shows us that God is present where man is in danger, where man is suffering, where he is fleeing, where he experiences rejection and abandonment; but God is also present where man dreams, where he hopes to return in freedom to his homeland and plans and chooses life for his family and dignity for himself and his loved ones” (Pope Francis homily, 12-29-13).

It is no wonder that Jesus teaches clearly later in the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 that we will be judged on how we treat the least of his brothers and sisters. For how we treat those in need is how we treat him. Not only does Jesus invite us to open our hearts and minds to those exiled from their homes and seeking refuge, but we are also to reach out to those individuals and families in need in our own communities.

To do so, we need to be aware and willing to be of help, to provide welcome, hospitality, hope, promise, and what support we can give. Jesus entered our human condition so he understands our trials, he is present to be of support for those of us in need as well as those in positions to help. May we pray for those families in need as well as be open to how God may be moving us to be more aware and seek concrete ways to help or provide support to those ministries and organizations that do so.

Photo: “La Sagrada Familia” by Kelly Latimore.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Jesus Christ is born for us. Jesus Christ dies for us. Jesus Christ conquers death and rises again for us. Because of our place in time, December 27, 2021 AD – Anno Domini, In the year of our Lord, we are capable of experiencing the Paschal Mystery of Jesus: his life, suffering, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven. The important question we need to answer is, “Does this new fact, this new reality in human history make a real difference in our lives today?”

Christmas did not end two days ago. We are still in the Octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates two octaves in the Church liturgical calendars, Christmas and Easter. These eight days are celebrated as such to impress on us the solemnity of the event of remembrance. From the vigil celebration of Christmas Eve on December 24 to January 1, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, we celebrate the significant event of the Incarnation, the Son of God becoming one with us in human history. The Masses celebrated within the Octave of Christmas, as well as the readings of Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, reflect the celebration of Christmas Day each day for the eight days. It is like having a week-long birthday party.

If we are solely focused on gifts, the returning of gifts, and celebration apart from the celebration of Jesus’ birth, if we are removed from the liturgical cycle and rhythm of the Church, it is easy to fall into the post-Christmas blues because it does feel like everything is done but the returning of gifts and getting a good after Christmas deal. We hear Christmas music coming through many radio channels for weeks before Christmas, but at some point on Christmas Day and definitely the following day, they stop. This is when the music of Christmas ought to begin!

A cure for the post-Christmas blues is to be thankful and rejoice in the Gospel, the Good News, that Jesus changed human history and we are a part of that human history of transformation. In today’s Gospel reading from John, Mary Magdalene shared that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Peter and John ran to see, John arrived first, and then Peter. Peter went in and saw an empty tomb except for the burial clothes. When John entered after Peter, “he saw and believed” (Jn 20:8).

Do we see? Do we believe? The Apostle John came to realize and embrace the gift of the Paschal Mystery: Jesus has been born for us, he suffered, died, rose again and conquered death for us. His, Mary, and Peter’s lives were transformed and ours can be too. This is something to celebrate, not just two days ago, or just today, but for eight days, each and every day! “O Come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O Come let us adore him, Christ, the Lord!”

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Photo: Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter 2018.

Link for today’s reading for Wednesday, December 27, 2019