All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:66).

All “these things” were about the events surrounding the miraculous birth of John: Zechariah’s encounter with the angel and after their meeting not being able to speak, Elizabeth’s conception after years of being barren, and now the unique name, John, given to the child and the return of Zechariah’s voice.

Each of these events led many to wonder about the future of this child. Both his father and mother came from a long line of priests. This infant we now know as John the Baptist did not become a priest like his father or ancestors. He went into the wilderness to preach and offer a baptism of repentance. A ritual bath was not a practice unknown to the people of his time, the difference was that John’s baptizing was not done in the manner that was prescribed by the priests. 

As more came to him, to hear his words, to be baptized, it would have been easy for John to give in to the temptation of the limelight. He, like Mary and Joseph, could have made a different choice, but like Mary and Joseph, John remained faithful to the will of God. He did not grasp for himself what was not his. He said that he was not the messiah and said instead that he would decrease and the One for whom he was even unworthy to untie his sandals, would increase. 

John reflected the light that was to come as he recognized that he was not the light. He was preparing the way. There was no envy in John. From their first encounter with each other in the womb, John leapt for joy at the presence of his Lord. John pointed the way to Jesus even when two of his disciples were asking about him. One was Andrew who became one of the Twelve Apostles. John is pointing the way to Jesus for us as well this morning. 

What then will we be?

Most of us have not had miraculous births like John or Jesus. Yet, we are beloved children of God. He has called us to be his own. There is a mission he is preparing us for and a path that he his preparing us to walk. Are we willing to surrender our lives to Jesus as Mary, Joseph, and John did? Are we willing to be purified like gold and silver? Just as the impurities are burned out of these precious metals, are we willing to allow the purifying fire of the love of the Holy Spirit to purify the partial, that which is not true in us, so that all which is not of God will pass away? Are we willing to trust?

Each yes, each apparent or false truth, and inordinate attachment we let go of, the more of our fears, insecurities, and lies that we have been believing in that we renounce, will further clear the path for us to receive more of the love of Jesus. 

This is our Advent walk. Faithful by faithful step, let us trust in Jesus more so that our false selves will decrease and the truth of who we are and who God is calling us to be will increase! 

Photo: Evening Rosary walk around Lake Mary at Bethany Retreat Center, Lutz, FL.

Link for the Mass for Saturday, December 23, 2023

“And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:43).

Elizabeth speaks these inspired words to Mary when Mary first arrives after coming in haste to share the news that she like Elizabeth is celebrating a miraculous conception. John the Baptist leaped in her womb as Mary approached, just as David danced before the ark of the covenant when it was being brought back into Jerusalem.

As St. Ambrose wrote: “The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons.”

We can also share in the great joy of Mary, Elizabeth, and John for Mary, the mother of our Lord, comes to us. Mary has come in miraculous ways such as at Fatima, Lourdes and Tepeyac but she also comes to each one of us as well. 

She comes to lead us to the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus. He who has been born to save us can now be born in us. “A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the Word of God and acknowledges his works” (St. Ambrose). 

Then let us believe, conceive, and radiate the joy we receive from our growing relationship with Jesus. 

Photo: Starting to look a lot like Christmas at St. Peter Catholic Church, Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 21, 2023

The readings this week have been filled with messages from angels and in each account have been sharing the good news of new life. The word good news or gospel comes from the Greek euangelion. Eu means good and angelion means news. Angelos, deriving from the same source as angelion, means messenger. Angels are messengers of the gospel, the good news. They receive and are sent by God to deliver his good news.

In today’s gospel from Luke, the archangel Gabriel has come to bring incredible news and because Mary ascents with her, “Yes.” a savior has been born for us in space and time. The incarnation, the Son of God becoming man, is what we are preparing to remember and celebrate in five days! This good news that we hear each year is not only good news to celebrate but through receiving this truth we are invited to have our lives transformed.

The reality that the Son of God became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity is an incredible reality that we are invited to participate in. Each day we are invited like Mary was to receive Jesus, to receive his transforming light and infinite love, and like John the Baptist to become less so that Jesus can become more.

Strictly and metaphysically speaking, we are not angels. Angels are spiritual beings and not physical. We as human beings are spiritual and physical beings. Because Jesus became human, lived, suffered, died, conquered death, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven fully human and fully divine, we then who participate in his life, participate also in his divinity and so are higher than the angels. Good news that Lucifer the archangel did not receive well and so became Satan, the accuser, opposer, or adversary, and why he and those angels who followed him rebelled.

As human beings, we too are given free will as are the angels. We may reject or accept the gospel. When we say, “Yes” that is only our first step. We too then are invited to evangelize like the angels, and like Mary in going in haste to Elizabeth, to share the good news of what Jesus is doing in our lives.

We are invited each day and throughout the day to breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God’s love. Then in our interactions with one another allow God to happen through us. A smile, an attentive ear, a shoulder to lean on, a willingness to be present, to be aware, and to offer to be of help, are simple ways that we can do little things with great love and so with Mary, the saints, and the angels, help to bring to earth what is practiced in heaven – the communion, unity, and love of God.

Painting: The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1899

Link to the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Both the wife of Manoah and Elizabeth have the same problem. They are barren. And for Elizabeth, she like Sarah, the wife of Abraham was in “advanced years.” Mary, was the opposite. She was very young, 13-15 years and still a virgin. In each of these cases, God would intercede and bring new life.

Each child to be born would have a special role in God’s plan of salvation history. Isaac would be the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise of God to Abraham that of his offspring he would make a great nation. Sampson, the son of Manoah and his wife would be one of the judges of God’s chosen people. John the Baptist, the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth would be the last in the line of the prophets and according to Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary,: “I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

In each situation, God brought new life where it seemed impossible and further implemented his plan to restore and bring humanity back into communion with him.

The Season of Advent is a time of anticipation and hope. We are preparing and waiting, watching and praying, for the coming of Jesus at the end of time, we are preparing to remember again and celebrate his first coming, all the while our day to day lives continue. We seek his presence in the here and now.

Our readings today and all of Scripture invite us to strike a healthy balance in our lives as we seek to encounter Jesus in our lives. When all is going well and we are experiencing times of consolation, we are to be humble and thankful. We are to offer God thanks for our blessings, knowing all that we have comes from him. In our humility, we are also to look ahead while we feel the closeness of God for those times when all will not be going well and life gets bumpy.

We are to prepare as Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah did. He stored up the surplus of grain for the time of famine that would come and so saved his people from starvation.

When we experience trials and tribulations, when we do not feel God close, when we slip into times of desolation, it is then we are to trust that God has not abandoned us but remains with us. We are also to trust that he also may be allowing these challenges to bring about a greater good, to strengthen us, and our trust in him. He will also provide what we need, empower, and lead us, even when all seems lost.

As we walk together through these final two weeks of Advent, may we open our hearts and minds to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and follow his lead and pursue a healthy balance of humility and thanksgiving when all is going well and trusting in times of challenge. May we continue to recognize that we are blessed and loved by God and his presence in our lives.

Let us be assured and confident that no matter what challenges or trials may lie in wait before us, those on our radar as well as those surprises that may arise, that we will face them with our loving God and Father at our side. Let us also know beyond any and all doubt, that as with those who have gone before us, we also have a part to play in God’s plan of salvation history and with him, all things are possible.

Photo: Sun shining brightly again Sunday! Even when the sun is blocked by the clouds as we experienced this past Thursday to Saturday, it is still there. It is the same with God. Trust he is present even when we may not be experiencing him. 

Link to the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 19, 2023

There are no recorded words of Joseph in any of the gospels and yet he has much to say to us about faith. Mary and Joseph were betrothed to one another, which is not the same as in our modern context of being engaged. Betrothal meant that there was already a binding contract between the man and woman and their families. The only distinction was that they had not yet moved into the same home as man and wife. There was no set time for a betrothal, but most lasted up to a year.

This is why, “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). They were married, and Joseph, not believing Mary’s account regarding the origin of her pregnancy, which must have been shocking news for him, decided not to stay with Mary. While at the same time, he did not want to make a public spectacle of her either.

Joseph made his decision but wisely waited before acting upon it. That is the only window of time that God and a weary and fallen world needed. God sent his angel to Joseph in a dream who confirmed what Mary had said. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

What may be two of the hardest things for us as human beings to do, is to resist reacting to unexpected and shocking news and once we have reacted and made a decision, to change course. Joseph didn’t believe Mary and reacted, but he also didn’t rush into putting his choice into action.

That Joseph was as open as he was to the angel also points to the fact that Joseph was a man of prayer. That Matthew calls him a righteous man, the term meaning rightly ordered with God and his will, would also support that. Joseph had faith and trusted in God’s plan even though it was hard for him to understand.

Before making any rash decisions, especially when we are still feeling emotional, it is good to step back from the situation and seek God’s guidance. Even when the situation, as one such as Joseph found himself in, seems impossible, it is important to seek the counsel of Joseph’s son, who he named Jesus, Yeshua, One who saves. It is important to trust God’s plan even if at first it does not seem to make any sense.

Jesus can save us from ourselves when we give ourselves some time to calm down, to slow down. He works best with us when we have already established a rhythm of daily prayer and deepened our relationship with him. We will choose best when we have firmly in place the point of discernment that says we are to make no changes while we are angry, distraught, or in a time of desolation. Let us ask for the intercession of  Joseph and Mary today and ask them to help us to trust in God’s plan for our lives, to seek the guidance of his Son, and embrace the love of the Holy Spirit.

Photo: Holy family outside Chapel of St. Mary, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link to the Mass readings for Monday, December 18, 2023

At the beginning of Mass, we lit the candles of our Advent wreath. Some of us may have our own Advent wreaths and family traditions that go with them. Some of us may not. But all of us have an Advent wreath with the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that has been placed within our souls with the purpose to burn brightly.

Just as we need to be attentive to actual candles, the same is true for the ones in our souls, if not the flames can dim and even go out. And where there is no light, there is darkness.

We are in the third week of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means rejoice, so the third candle which is rose in color stands for joy. During this time of year, we can easily slip into feeling overwhelmed, overtired, or overworked; anxious, frazzled, or stressed; sad, lonely, or regretful as well as many other emotions. Each of these can lead to experiences of feeling desolation and our flame of joy can begin to dim.

If we may be feeling any one or all of the above this morning, first we need to realize that in and of themselves, these emotions are not bad. They are actually helpful as long as we identify them, address the needs they are alerting us to, and then discern and decide how best to take care of them.

The first group of being overwhelmed can be the easiest to address if we are aware and willing to step back, take a break a get some rest. Just as a lumber jack needs to stop and sharpen their axe from time to time so as to work more efficiently, taking the time to stop and rest is just as important.

Feeling anxious and stressed as well as sad and lonely, can be a bit trickier to identify, but again when these feelings arise, stopping, breathing and praying about what is going on is a good first step. Talking to someone we trust can help us to get a better perspective.

Often the challenge is that our perception is off. The flame of our candle of joy weakens when we are looking at what we don’t have, what we can’t do, that we don’t measure up, and/or that we don’t think we can accomplish that which is before us. Ultimately, we are believing in lies that isolate us from the truth of who and whose we are.

If you remember, Peter walked on water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. Once he focused on the wind and the storm, he began to sink. Fortunately, he called out to Jesus and Jesus pulled him back up. When Peter was focused on Jesus and not his fear, he was on target.

This perspective is what Advent is all about. Pope Francis wrote in the opening lines of his encyclical, The Joy of the Gospel, that “THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness.”

When we make a firmer intent to watch and pray for the coming of Jesus in our lives, he will strengthen and transform us such that any doubt or depression will be replaced with hope, any anxiety with peace, any sadness with joy, and any indifference with love.

It is important to remember that when we acknowledge and recognize any doubt, stress, sadness, desolation, or indifference that this is not an invitation to get down on ourselves. This is the first step to countering and turning our gaze back to Jesus. Once we are aware, we can then make steps to identify what we are feeling, examine the source that may be causing it, and then decide that we want to change and ask Jesus for his help to do so. We need his help to do so.

Another practice that has helped me is to take time each day reading and praying with the Mass readings of the day. You can even just read the readings of Sunday starting on Monday in preparation for the following Sunday. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a short sentence or phrase as you read. When one comes to you, stop there, and begin to prayerfully memorize it. Return to it often during the day. Write it down on an index card or sticky note and carry it with you. Create a file in your Notes app on your iPhone and keep these verses there.

This practice helps our focus to stay on Jesus, and when any thoughts of anxiety, doubt, or stress, begin to arise, we can return to our verse. Be patient, like any practice this will take some time and discipline. But as Mary told me, and now I share with you. “Each time you show up, God will happen.”

The readings of Advent are a good place to start. Each of them is leading to the coming of Jesus into the world his first time. When we spend time reading and praying with these accounts each day through the year, our relationship with him grows so that our flames will be stronger no matter what wind of circumstance comes to blow them out.

Here are three simple but powerful phrases from today’s readings that can be helpful to start with.

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me” (Isaiah 61:1).

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord (Luke 1:46).

“Rejoice always.” (I Thessalonians 5:16)

Let that first verse sink in. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me.” Receive that word from God, know that you are a beloved daughter or son as you are right now. Know that he loves you more than you can imagine. Any thought that arises from the contrary is a lie.

I invite you to receive one of these gifts today, rest with one of these verses, or revisit the readings and choose one of your own and see what Jesus may be inviting you to experience. Just as healthy food nourishes our bodies, the words of Scripture nourish our souls. When we meditate upon the word of God and consistently bring a word or phrase to mind often, we are inviting God to dwell with us and to transform us. In the beginning, you may not feel or experience anything, it may be enough just to try to remember a few words to carry with you. If you stay with the practice, you will experience times of consolation and the light from your candle of joy will shine brightly. We can’t force God’s consolation and joy to well up within us, but we can place ourselves in a posture and disposition to receive his grace.

Another powerful way to receive the joy of the Lord and to encounter Jesus is to receive his Body and Blood in the gift of the Eucharist we are about to receive. If there is a particular emotion that has been dimming your flame, bring it to the altar and surrender it to Jesus as you receive him or his blessing. Invite him to begin to transform you with his gentle and loving embrace.

Step by step this Advent, let us raise our candles high and shine the light of Christ in the way we interact with one another. As we receive and grow in his hope, peace, and joy, may we prepare next week to breathe, rest, abide in and share his love. The love of Jesus is the best gift we can receive and give to one another this Christmas.

Photo: Chapel at Bethany Retreat Center, Lutz, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, December 17, 2023

It is interesting that woven into this year’s black Friday that just passed and cyber-Monday that is gathering momentum as the sun rises, is the Gospel account from Luke of the Widow’s might today. The extravagance of getting and grasping is tempered by a poor widow coming to the Temple treasury to give two small copper coins, which does not seem like anything but as Jesus points out to his disciples, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood” (see Luke 21:1-4).

As the final week of the liturgical year draws to a close and we are about to begin the Advent Season and a new liturgical year this Sunday, we may want to give ourselves some time to meditate on this passage and this woman’s generosity. For she, destitute herself, was giving all she had to the poor.

She was not grasping or seeking to get, but to give as Mother Teresa taught, “until it hurts.” For the gospel call is not to give out of our abundance, our “surplus wealth”. Implicit in this teaching and invitation is our reliance and trust on God. If we give all we have, what then will we do? How will we eat, pay our bills, get medical treatment? All valid questions. Do we trust that as we give, God will reply in kind?

The answer to how much we give, will come from each of our own personal dialogues and openness to Jesus. As we pray and open our hearts, what are the causes that move us?

JoAnn was moved by other’s sufferings, especially children. One cause she would give to was St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital because they provided care and hope for children with cancer and their families. After JoAnn died, I felt moved to give them a recurring monthly gift instead of the bi-annual gift we used to give. This decision did not happen overnight, but once I made it, I have continued, even when I was accepted into the seminary and gave up my teaching salary.

I continued to trust God and he has more than provided. Jesus is inviting us to give to those who are in need. Who that is will be different for each of us. There is so much need, the Holy Spirit will touch each of us uniquely as to where we can help. Giving of our time, talent, and treasure is always a good model to follow.

Maybe this week and as we enter Advent this year, we can spend some time sitting next to Jesus in this scene from today’s Gospel and ask him how much and to whom we can give. Maybe as the widow walks away, we can join her and walk beside her. She who was moved by her heart to give all, would be an excellent guide to lead us on how best to give.

Painting: The Widow’s Might by James Christensen

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 27, 2023

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. Jesus is our king. Yet a king like no other. He is a shepherd king, a servant king, a king that loved us so much that he was willing to leave his heavenly throne and not only become one of us in our humanity, he was willing to die for each and every one of us. Every one of us, past, present, and future. Not in some abstract way, but in a very concrete, personal, and intimate way. Jesus died for you and for me.

Jesus, as Paul points out in our second reading, conquered the last enemy, death. In his willingness to die, he was not defeated by but destroyed death for each of us and for all time, so that now “God can be all in all.”

The imagery of our readings shows not only the wonder of who Jesus is for us but who and whose we are and our responsibility as not only his subjects, but his brothers and sisters, for we are all children of God. The God of Jesus Christ, who is his and our Father.

The prophet, Ezekiel, in the first reading, compares God to a shepherd who pastures and tends his flock, gives them rest, will seek them out and bring back the stray, he will bind up the injured and heal the sick, and he will judge between the sheep and the goats.

Jesus makes clear that just as God cares for us, we are to care for each other. In the Gospel of Matthew, he builds on the image of Ezekiel in that not only God cares, be we are to do so as well for one another. We are to provide food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, welcome for the stranger, clothing for the naked, and care for those who are ill and in prison. What we do for each other we do also for Jesus. The opposite is also true (See Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus is making this point clear in the context regarding how we will be judged. We will be judged on how we treat one another. We are to love one another as Jesus loves us. Just as subjects follow their king, so we are to follow Jesus, the king of the universe.

Jesus wants us to live a life of meaning, fulfillment, and love.

Each and every one of us have been created in the image and likeness of God and have dignity and worth by that very fact and reality. We are loved just as we are by God because we are his beloved children. This is an important truth that we need to ponder and savor and take in. As we do so, and start to really believe that, we will start to realize and live as children of God and be moved to treat each other as brothers and sisters.

This is why when we pray the Our Father together in Mass or even alone, we say Our Father. God is our Father. This is a reminder to all of us who and whose we are. We are his sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, we are the Body of Christ. What we do or do not do, we do to each other and we do to Jesus.

We are interconnected, we are one, whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not. We are at our best as Catholics, as human beings, when we strive to love as we have been loved. We are unique and special. There has never nor will ever be again someone like you or me. We need to receive the message of that truth and share it. Once we believe it and really start living it, our lives will change. We will be transformed by his love. Our insecurities will begin to heal, we will begin to trust more, and be able to breathe because we know we are loved and that we belong.

It is this truth that has made the saints. When experienced and realized God’s love for them, opened their hearts and minds and whole being to, received, and abided in God’s love they would never be the same. They then did the only thing they could do which was to express the love they received in their time and place in their own unique ways.

St. Mother Teresa called Jesus’ teaching from Matthew her five-finger gospel. She would hold out her hand, point to each finger and say, “You did it to me.” That is how she lived her life. Her call was to help the poorest of the poor.

Each of us have our own unique call to help and to be of service to one another in this time, in our place, right where we are. We too are called to be holy, to be saints. Which means to be open and willing to follow the inspiration and lead of the Holy Spirit. The best place to begin is to respect the dignity of each person we encounter and start there. Be open and allow God to touch our hearts and to be moved with compassion. Jesus will let us know what we are to do and how we are to do it. Resist the temptation of looking to do big things. Again, Mother Teresa, guides us here: “Do little things with great love.”

We can start with our present relationships, family members, friends, co-workers, classmates, fellow parishioners, the cashier, waiter or waitress, or the homeless person asking for money on the off-ramp. A few days ago, I gave a gentleman a few dollars and asked his name. He told me it was Luke. Turns out he was confirmed at St. Peter Catholic Church my home parish. He shook my hand and moved on as the light changed. It would have been nice to have a little more time with him.

JoAnn used to make time to get to know the people at Publix, the cashier, people in the deli, bakery, those stocking the shelves. She would simply take a few minutes each time to say hello and get to know them, about their lives and their families.

These small interactions are like pebbles tossed into the pond and the ripples of kindness and caring go out. They counter the madness we see going on all over the world. They matter because that is how we can change our little corner of the world by encountering Jesus in those we meet, and he becomes more realized in our lives.

When we attend Mass, we are given a special gift in that Jesus, the King of the Universe is made present to us again. As we receive him, in the word proclaimed, in the Eucharist, as well as in our times of personal prayer in and outside of Mass, let us open our hearts and minds to allow him to love us in that moment of encounter, and let us ask him how he would like us to share his love today and with whom. This is how we can help to bring God’s kingdom to earth, prayer by prayer and person to person.

As Thomas Merton wrote: “For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.”

Photo: Rosary walk, St. Peter Catholic Church, Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, November 26, 2023