Feast of St. Stephen

 Feast of St. Stephen Dec 26

Being First

Everyone loves being first.

First in line.

First to be chosen,

And First to choose.

Except when it comes to Martyrdom.

Very few people race to the front of the line to be stoned, crucified, or beheaded.

But Stephen did.

He is the first martyr.

The first to die for Christ.

As he was dragged outside of Jerusalem

And stoned.

We may not be called to lay down our lives,

But we can be martyrs of a different kind.

We can be the first to forgive.

The first to apologize.

The first not to gossip.

The first to lay down the phone or turn off the TV in order to pray.

These kind of firsts are not always easy.

But then again Martyrdom never is.

God Bless

 

Christmas

As I drove through the city I saw Christmas tree in homes.

There were trees in the homes of Democrats and Republicans.

Christmas trees in the homes of rich and poor.

Christmas trees in the homes of black and white and Hispanic

and every other race and nationality.

Christmas trees in the homes of young people and old.

Married and single.

For one brief moment in time

On Christmas Day

There is Peace on earth

And all divisions cease

Christmas is what we all want.

Christmas is family.

Christmas is Peace on earth.

Christmas is joy and love.

Christmas is giving to the poor and feeding the hungry.

Christmas is Believing!

If Christmas represents everything we want,

Then why do we forget it the day after

and go back to everything we don’t want?

The Magic of Christmas is living it all year round and not just for a day.

When things pile up in May or August;

When politics gets on your nerves.

When the family starts arguing.

When the news makes you depressed.

When it all just get to be too much.

I don’t care what time it is,

Or what month it is

Or who is around.

Put on your favorite Christmas songs.

And sit back and remember what really matters most.

Do it with your family;

Do it with your friends;

Do it in July!

In the backyard around a BBQ and a beer.

People may think you’re crazy.

But you will know that you really are the only sane one around.

Because while everyone else is waiting for the Spirit of Christmas once a year,

You can have it whenever you want!

God Bless

December 24

 

Christmas Eve

Tonight the Word will become flesh and dwell among us.

Tonight the Virgin Mary will give birth to a Son.

Tonight we are all innkeepers.

Will there be room in our hearts?

Tonight we are all angels.

Will we proclaim Peace on Earth and good will to all?

Tonight we are all shepherds,

Will we hasten to see the Lord?

Tonight we are all Wise Men,

Will we come to adore Him?

Tonight the Christ Child reminds us

That we are all children of God!

Will we see each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord?

God Bless

 

December 23

Zechariah had his doubts and because he did he was unable to speak. Doubts have a tendency to silence Hope and Joy and Faith.

So when they arise,

We should try to resist them.

Because they offer nothing that is good or of value.

When Zechariah resisted his doubts,

And acknowledged that John was to be the name of his son,

Who was to go before the Lord and prepare His way,

Zechariah’s tongue was loosed and he spoke God’s praises.

Those who resist their doubts always have something good to sing about!

God Bless

 

Blessed Jacopone da Todi

(d. 1306)

Jacomo, or James, was born a noble member of the Benedetti family in the northern Italian city of Todi. He became a successful lawyer and married a pious, generous lady named Vanna.

His young wife took it upon herself to do penance for the worldly excesses of her husband. One day Vanna, at the insistence of Jacomo, attended a public tournament. She was sitting in the stands with the other noble ladies when the stands collapsed. Vanna was killed. Her shaken husband was even more disturbed when he realized that the penitential girdle she wore was for his sinfulness. On the spot, he vowed to radically change his life.

He divided his possessions among the poor and entered the Secular Franciscan Order (once known as the Third Order). Often dressed in penitential rags, he was mocked as a fool and called Jacopone, or "Crazy Jim," by his former associates. The name became dear to him.

After 10 years of such humiliation, Jacopone asked to be a member of the Order of Friars Minor(First Order). Because of his reputation, his request was initially refused. He composed a beautiful poem on the vanities of the world, an act that eventually led to his admission into the Order in 1278. He continued to lead a life of strict penance, declining to be ordained a priest. Meanwhile he was writing popular hymns in the vernacular.

Jacopone suddenly found himself a leader in a disturbing religious movement among the Franciscans. The Spirituals, as they were called, wanted a return to the strict poverty of Francis. They had on their side two cardinals of the Church and Pope Celestine V. These two cardinals, though, opposed Celestine’s successor, Boniface VIII. At the age of 68, Jacopone was excommunicated and imprisoned. Although he acknowledged his mistake, Jacopone was not absolved and released until Benedict XI became pope five years later. He had accepted his imprisonment as penance. He spent the final three years of his life more spiritual than ever, weeping "because Love is not loved." During this time he wrote the famous Latin hymn, Stabat Mater .

On Christmas Eve in 1306 Jacopone felt that his end was near. He was in a convent of the Poor Clares with his friend, Blessed John of La Verna. Like Francis, Jacopone welcomed "Sister Death" with one of his favorite songs. It is said that he finished the song and died as the priest intoned the Gloria from the midnight Mass at Christmas. From the time of his death, Brother Jacopone has been venerated as a saint.

“Crazy Jim,” his contemporaries called Jacopone. We might well echo their taunt, for what else can you say about a man who broke into song in the midst of all his troubles? We still sing Jacopone’s saddest song, the Stabat Mater , but we Christians claim another song as our own, even when the daily headlines resound with discordant notes. Jacopone’s whole life rang our song out: “Alleluia!” May he inspire us to keep singing.

God Bless

December 21

 

The Magnificat

After Mary conceived the Son of God,

She broke out into song, singing the Magnificat.

And how her soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

Do we ever break out into song praising God?

Do our lives proclaim the goodness and the greatness of God?

They should!

Because our God,

Has mercy on those who fear Him;He lifts up the lowly

And fills the hungry

And always remembers His Promise of mercy.

And this is something to sing about.

God Bless

December 19

 

The Birth of John The Baptist

The birth of John was unexpected.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were both advanced in years.

But God’s plans are not our plans,

And God is not limited to our way of thinking and understanding.

Zechariah doubted that God could do the impossible.

And so he was struck mute until John was born.

Then Zechariah sang God’s praises.

Must we wait for miracles before we sing God’s praises.

Every breath we take;

Every sun that rises;

Every bird that sings

And every flower that blooms,

Should be enough!

God Bless

December 17

 

The Tribe of Judah Gen. 49:2-10

There were originally 12 tribes of Israel that came from Egypt to the promised land.

10 tribes were lost when Assyria conquered them and led them off into exile.

Only Judah and the smallest tribe of all Benjamin remained.

And it was from the tribe of Judah

Of the House of David;

Of the city of Bethlehem.

That the Messiah would come.

And His name is Jesus.

God Bless

Wednesday Third Week of Advent

 

Are you the One?

Even the great John the Baptist had his doubts

As he was chained in prison awaiting his execution,

He sent his disciples to Jesus asking

If He was the One?

Everyone has doubts especially in times of darkness and suffering.

But what Jesus said to John the Baptist

He also says to us.

The blind see;

The lame walk;

Lepers are cleansed;

And the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.

Jesus is the One!

God Bless

Tuesday Third Week of Advent

 

A Change is gonna come Zeph. 3:1-13

In 1964 Sam Cooke wrote a song called,

“A Change is gonna Come”

Where he sings,

“It’s been a long time coming,

But I know a change is gonna come”

In 640 BC Zephaniah said the same thing.

For When the Messiah comes,

Sins will be forgiven,

No wrong will be done and

No lies will be told.

The proud will be removed.

And the humble and lowly will be exalted.

And they will find pasture for their flock

And nothing will disturb them.

It may seem like a long time in comin’

But a change is going to come.

God Bless

Monday Dec. 14

 Monday Dec. 14

St. John of the Cross

Many of the readings of Advent are about the second coming.

When Christ will come on the clouds in all of His glory

to judge the living and the dead.

At first thought that might seems rather scary.

We can fool others,

We can even fool ourselves,

But there is no fooling Christ!

He knows all and sees all.

And Judges not by appearance;

But by what is in the heart.

And His judgment is honest and just.

So how is one to prepare for such a fateful day?

St. John of the Cross says that on the Last Day,

We will be judged by how much we have loved.

The Day of Judgement therefore is only a fateful day,

For those who have not loved.

For those who have,

It will be a Day of Welcoming

By the King of Love.

God Bless

 

Third Sunday of Advent

When the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem in 587 BC

No one could enter or leave the city.

Soon they were left to eating weeds and grass,

As all food was gone.

Those who were not slain by the sword,

Died of famine;

The city was leveled and the Temple was destroyed.

Before the King of Israel had his eyes plucked out,

They made him watch the slaughter of his sons.

And then 10,000 Hebrews were exiled into Babylon for 70 years.

And we think we have it bad!

To all of this, Isaiah offers glad tidings to the poor.

He says the broken-hearted will be healed.

And prisoners will be set free

For the Day of the Lord will come. Is. 61:1-2

Soon after Jesus ascended into Heaven,

The persecution of Christians began.

They were hunted, imprisoned and killed.

And we think we have it bad.

To all of this St. Paul says,

Rejoice always. 1 Thes. 5:16

In all circumstances give thanks to God.

In the midst of their suffering,

Isaiah and St. Paul told the Jews and the Christians to rejoice!

And they remind us to do the same in our suffering.

But This Virus in particular

and suffering and sorrow in general causes us to forget to rejoice.

But Mother Teresa reminds us that,

“We should never be filled with such sorrow

that we forget the joy of Christ Risen.”

Christ is risen,

Meaning that there is an end to suffering, sorrow and death.

And when the Risen Lord returns,

He will bring glad tidings to the poor;

The broken-hearted will be healed;

Prisoners will be set free.

And all of the sorrow and suffering we have ever experienced in our lives will not even be a memory.

Our joy will be so full, filled to overflowing

That we will be incapable of ever remembering

Any pain or any suffering or any brokenness we have ever experienced.

Now is the time to Take off the rags of sorrow,

And Put on the robe of salvation.

Rejoice even now

For we are Christians;

Nothing can stop us or defeat us.

For we turn all of our Good Fridays,

Into Easter Sundays.

God Bless

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

The Message of Our Lady.

Hear me and understand well, my little child, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything

God Bless

Friday 2nd Week of Advent

 

Full of Fruit

Whenever Israel obeyed the Lord,

They bore abundant fruit.

Their prosperity was like a flowing river;

Their descendants like the sand of the sea;

But when they disobeyed,

They became like a parched land;

And empty and lifeless desert

Bearing no fruit.

The fruit we bear in our lives,

Often is determined,

By how much we listen to the Lord

And obey His commands.

God Bless

Thursday 2nd Week of Advent

 

Our Lady of Loretto

Legend has it that angels took the house where Mary lived in the Holy Land and carried it to Loretto in Italy.

This may seem hard to believe,

But St. Joseph of Cupertino a Conventual Franciscan

Would look out of his window,

And he would see angels going up and down from heaven

Where the shrine was.

If Mary is in our hearts,

Then there will be angels surrounding us

And going up and down from heaven,

For Mary is the Queen of Angels,

And wherever she is,

Angels are always found.

God Bless

Wednesday 2nd Week of Advent

 

St. Juan Diego

The Blessed Mother one day appeared to Juan Diego and told him to pick some roses and carry them in his cloak to the bishop.

When he opened up his cloak and the roses fell to the ground,

On his cloak was the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The image of the Blessed mother may not be on our coats or our clothes.

But that is okay,

Because it is far better to have her image on our hearts!

So that our hearts reflect her to all we meet

And bring others to believe in Jesus.

God Bless

 

The Immaculate Conception

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception teaches us that through the Redeeming Death and Resurrection of Jesus,

Mary was conceived in the womb of St. Anne her mother without Original Sin;

That Mary never committed any personal sin;

And that she is full of grace.

What a wonderful blessing for Mary.

But how can we relate to someone who is so holy?

What does the Immaculate Conception mean for us

We Who were conceived in Original Sin;

We Who struggle with our own personal sins everyday of our lives

And we who do not feel or appear to be full of grace;

In Baptism we were washed clean of OS

In Confession our personal sins are forgiven.

And in communion, we receive the fullness of grace in the Eucharist.

So through the Sacraments

We are washed clean of Original Sin;

Our personal sins are forgiven;

And we become full of grace.

So through the Sacraments, we can become like Mary.

We can begin to become Immaculately conceived in this world

And reach its fullness in the Kingdom of Heaven where we too like Mary will be without sin and full of grace in the eyes of God.

God Bless

Monday 2nd Week of Advent

 

Abundant Flowers

When Isaiah prophesies that

The Desert and the parched land will exult;

The stepped will bloom with flowers. Is. 35:1-2

He is really referring to hearts that are dry and parched.

From suffering, loneliness and sorrow.

With each day of Advent,

Look out the window;

Watch for the Lord;

Long for Him in your hearts.

For when He come sorrow and mourning will flee. Is. 35:10

God Bless

Second Sunday of Advent

 

Comfort in the Desert

This is going to end!

This Virus that has exiled us from one another is going to end.

The Quarantine and Lockdowns are going to end.

We are going to come out of our houses and into the streets once again.

The doors of our churches and our restaurants are going to open

And the smell of incense and burgers and pasta will fill the air.

The masks will come off

And smiles will be bright.

Handshakes and hugs will be the order of the day.

Do not lose heart,

Because this is going to end.

We know this because

Good Friday ended with Easter Sunday.

There is no cross we cannot carry,

No grave we won’t climb out of.

Because we have Jesus!

It is time to shake off the dust of Pandemic Fatigue

And put on the armor of Faith.

That can defeat any enemy.

It is time to stir into Flame the Fire of Love

A love that burns for the concerns of each other,

And not just for ourselves.

It is time to Hope again,

And to silence the the voices of despair;

Because this is going to end.

We come to Church,

To beat this Virus

Not just with a Vaccine,

For our bodies;

But to stir up our Faith,

Deepen our Love,

And hold Firm to Hope

Because this Virus,

Wants not only our bodies

But also our souls.

But it can’t have them!

For we know that No Virus, no quarantine, no lockdown,

Can ever separate us from the Love of God

Because we believe that all things,

Not just some things,

work out for the Good,

For those who love God. Rom. 8:28

God Bless

Saturday 1st Week of Advent

Waiting in Hope

Isaiah tells us to “Wait in Hope”

For one day,

There will be Bread for the hungry and water for the thirsty.

Rain for the seed

And abundant Wheat.

The wounded will be healed

The darkness that covers the world and the hearts of men,

will be no more.Is. 30:19-26.

And we wait in Hope,

Because we know Jesus.

We know what Jesus has done for us in our own lives,

And we now wait in Hope,

For Jesus to do it for the whole world,

When He returns.

God Bless

Friday 1st Week of Advent

 The Coming of the Messiah

Jesus went around,

Healing the sick,

Giving sight to the blind

Lifting up the poor

And feeding the hungry.

He did this because when the Messiah comes,

The deaf will hear and the blind will see;

The Poor will rejoice and the tyrant will be no more;

And the evil will be cut off. Is. 29:17

Jesus was showing the people by His actions that He was the Messiah.

And Only in Jesus will everyone find what they are missing and what they are looking.

God Bless

Thursday 1st Week of Advent

 

Doing God’s Will

It is very hard to preach.

Because sometimes a priest’s words don’t always measure up to his actions.

But the same goes for everyone.

Nowadays everyone has an opinion,

But do one’s actions always measure up to one’s opinion?

This is why Jesus warns us about the way the pray.

Just saying “Lord! Lord!” Mt. 7:21

Is not enough.

If we want God to hear our prayer,

Then our actions must speak louder than our words!

God Bless

Wednesday 1st Week of Advent

 The Supper of the Lamb Is. 25:6-10

The Messianic banquet or the Supper of the Lamb

Will be a time of feasting.

Not for the body but for the soul.

For on that day,

God will wipe away all of our tears.

All injustice, sorrow, division and death

Will come to an end.

And all the Faithful will gather around the Supper of the Lamb

And be filled with Peace and Joy and Harmony.

And at every Mass and only at Mass,

we get a foretaste of the fullness of the Supper of the Lamb.

God Bless

Tuesday 1st. Week of Advent

 

Stumps and Roots Is. 11:1-10

Most people dig up stumps and roots.

Because they do not appear to have any fruit or future.

But not the Lord.

From the stump of Jesse a shoot shall sprout.

And from his root a bud shall blossom.

The Lord always takes the littlest and the least

And makes them bear abundant fruit.

God Bless