January 1st

Mary Mother of God

Mary had just conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

She had just carried the Son of God in her womb. 

She had just given birth to the Savior of the world. 

She had just welcomed shepherds and kings. 

After all that what was there left to do?

Contemplate it all in her heart!

There is so much we do not understand 

That all we can do is carry the mystery in our hearts

And contemplate them. 

For some things cannot be rushed. 

New Year’s Eve

 Only in the Eucharist

It is New Year's Eve. 

Do you want to look back or forward?

It all depends. 

Where have you been and where are you going?

On New Year's Eve we straddle the past and the future. 

Memories become mixed with dreams. 

Tears with Hope. 

Laughter with Sighs. 

The faces of those we have known come to mind while we wait to meet those yet to come. 

And as the years go by and time moves on we look back tonight. 

 We see the mistakes we have made, the wounds we have caused and the hearts that We have broken. 

We see The people we have overlooked and failed to reach out to. 

We see friends with whom we grew up,  people We have met.  

We see the people who have loved us and whom We have loved

We see all of these people and many are here but most are gone, moved on and 

somewhere else in life or no longer in this world. 

How can we go back and say we are sorry?

How can we show how grateful we are? 

How can we say we love them? 

How do we let them know?

Only In the Eucharist!

Only in the Eucharist can we go back. 

For In the Eucharist there is no time or space. 

The past and the present and the future are all here together in one heavenly moment!

Only in the Eucharist can we go back and say we are sorry for the things we have 

done and the people we have hurt.

Only in the Eucharist can we reach out to those we overlooked and did not notice who 

were hungry and lonely and lost. 

Only in the Eucharist can we say I love you to all those who are no longer around or 

have gone before us. 

 For only the Eucharist can bring together all those whom time and distance and the 

years have separated. 

Only in the Eucharist can we reach out and go back and make peace and share love 

with all those people whom we have embraced, touched, rubbed elbows, cried and hurt and loved.

And only in the Eucharist can we go forward with Hope for a better year. 

With Hope that Love is stronger than death and that it is truly Love and Love alone that causes the human heart to beat.  

For in the Eucharist Hope, Love, Peace, and Forgiveness becomes flesh and dwells among us. 

It is only in the Eucharist that the past can be healed, we can live in peace today 

 and have hope for tomorrow. 

Dec. 30. Anna the Prophetess

 Lk.  2:36-40

Anna never left the Temple, 

but stayed there worshipping day and night, fasting and praying. 

And because she did;

She was there when Mary and Joseph Presented Jesus in the Temple. 

Every parish needs an Anna. 

Someone who is always in Church;

Keeping the doors unlocked. 

Praying day and night. 

Keeping the Flame of Faith burning. 

For they are the living Flame of Faith

Like the Tabernacle Candle 

Always present before the Lord. 

Feast of the Holy Family

Shades of Home Alone!

Mary and Joseph  went three days without noticing that Jesus was gone.

And then they ran around frantically looking for Him.

Exasperated, they finally found Jesus in the Temple. 

And when they asked Him where have you been?

Jesus replied, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

How many days, months even years do people go without noticing that God is not there in their life. 

And then when they do,

they run around frantically looking for God and do not know where to find Him. 

They search on the beach, the sunset and the mountainside. 

In physical pleasure and material things. 

Until one day they darken the doors of a church. 

And then when they find God, they blame God for being gone.

Just like Mary and Joseph, 

They question where God has been. 

God however has not been hiding, and God is not lost.

He is here!

Here in the Scriptures speaking to us. 

Here on this altar in His Body and Blood.

Here in the Tabernacle everyday waiting for someone to come and find him. 

The search is over 

He has been here all along;

In His Father’s House;

Just as He told us!

The Holy Innocents

 

Toyland is a very special place

Filled with magic and wonder and imagination. 

But once you cross its borders you can ne’er return again. 

It is the same with innocence. 

As a child we are innocent. 

And the world is a place of magic and wonder and imagination. 

But one day we wake up and it is all gone.  

Our dreams are replaced with cynicism and all of the other other “isms”

That compete for our attention, our vote and our time. 

Like Herod who killed the Holy Innocents;

The world seeks to kill our Innocence 

And only the Innocence of the Christ child,

Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger,

Can save us and bring us back to our Innocence. 

And this is why we are drawn to Christmas;

Not only to see a Child lying in a manger;

But hoping to find our Innocence once again.  

Dec. 27. St. John the Evangelist

 1 John 1:1-4

What makes Christianity different from all other religions 

Is the Incarnation. 

God becoming flesh. 

Judaism, Islam and Buddhism do not believe this. 

But as Christians we believe that the Son of God became flesh. 

That He has eyes and ears and hands just like us. 

This is why St. John writes about what he has

Heard with his ears

Seen with his eyes

And touched with with hands. 

Because he heard and saw and touched the Son of God. 

How glorious that must have been. 

If only we could do that. 

Well we can. 

Because of the Incarnation 

God has eyes and ears and hands just like us. 

So if God is like us,

Then we are like God. 

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. 

Christmas

 Christmas 2024

There was no big band playing

No red carpet rolled out

No ticker tape parade 

No dignitaries or media to greet him. 

This the way we treat celebrities and world leaders. 

But it is not the way of God. 

God does not need all of that. 

God knows Who He is. 

And does not need our Adoration or Praise. 

Instead of the Eternal City of Rome,

God chose a chose the small back water town of Bethlehem. 

Instead of a palace, God chose a stable. 

Instead of royal robes God chose swaddling clothes. 

And instead of a crib covered in satin

God chose a manger covered in straw. 

God does things differently. 

And this is why we sometimes have trouble figuring God out. 

Because God thinks and acts differently than we do. 

This is why we have trouble finding God,

Because we search for Him on all the wrong places. 

If we want to find God,

Then look In the simplest and lowliest places. 

Because God is the simplest and lowliest of ALL!

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?

December 23 O Emmanuel, Come!

 

O Come, O come Emmanuel 

And ransom captive Israel.

That mourns in lonely exile,

Until the Son of God appears. 

From slavery in Egypt to Exile in Babylon. 

Israel always seemed to be wandering;

Trying to find its way to the Promised Land

Or back to it. 

We are all Prodigal children. 

Who think they I know what they want and where they are going

Only to be disappointed and disillusioned in the end. 

Trying to find our way back home. 

Held captive by our passions and desires. 

Only when the Son of God can ransom us from sin and death

By His cross;

And only when the Son of God appears again in all of His glory,

Will we find our way home,

4th Sunday of Advent

The Visit Before Christmas Lk. 1:39-45

‘Twas the Visit Before Christmas,

When all through the house

not a cross word was spoken,

by husband or spouse. 

For after the Angel’s greeting

Mary desired a meeting;

Rather than tweeting;

Beaming with joy her cousin to see. 

So She who was graced;

ran with haste;

for there was no time to waste. 

Her cousin to embrace.

She travelled without stressing 

to receive a blessing;

From Elizabeth confessing;

The Mother of the Lord to be.

For within her womb 

was the baby boy,

Leaping and dancing,

all for joy. 

Among all women 

Mary was blessed;

For soon the Son of God,

would be nursing at her breast. 

Into the world,

He would be born and bloom;

Only to be rejected 

and laid in a tomb. 

But this was a time of rejoicing;

With Angels soon to be voicing;

For by Faith she conceived;

She who Believed;

All the angel promised 

would be achieved. 

So Christmas is a time 

not to be stressing,

But to give a blessing. 

To shepherds and kings.

For a woman meek and mild,

Is now with child. 

Giving birth to a boy,

It is time to sing for joy!