Gifts of the Spirit

Peace and Grace to you!

Last Sunday was the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the readings told the story of when Jesus was baptized by John at the Jordan.  We remember the biblical image parallels from the Exodus event and Jesus’ baptism: the column of cloud, the fire and the voice that led the people out of cruel slavery through the abode of the dead to the shores of a new life and relationship with God.  At Jesus’ baptism, the column of his pure body embraces our corrupt human nature as he descends beneath the waters of our death brought about by sin, when he rises from the water, he raises his mystical body the Church to life!  His body the column, his teaching the fire and light of our hearts and minds, his Spirit making our footsteps firm and guiding us in the path of faith to eternal life!  Now, we return to a related scene as John publicly testifies that Jesus is the Son of God and he baptizes with the Holy Spirit!

The gifts of the Spirit that we are given through Baptism and Confirmation equip us for doing good works and building up the Body of Christ.  The reading from Isaiah reminds us that we evangelize and demonstrate our discipleship through servant leadership.

Since the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the Church has stated that everyone, by their baptism, shares in the mission of Christ—to proclaim the good news to all people!  Every Catholic is an evangelist and disciple of Jesus.  There are new Catholics who wish to know more, there are those who want to be able to respond to questions from non-Catholics and there are adult Catholics who wish to have a deeper understanding of the faith.  All have been invited to “come and see.”  The study and understanding of the faith is not the special prerogative of priests and theologians.  It is the grace of revelation and conversion given by God.  Jesus did not give the mission solely to the religious and ordained so that they could fulfill the obligation for everyone else; all must work at it.  All of us should be engaged in some kind of ministry and activity because life in the Spirit requires it.  The greatest gift of ministry is not what we give to others but what happens in the exchange when they give to us.  We experience concretely the divine blessing of the Church and the communion we have in the life of Jesus.  All of us experience transformation, conversion, liberation and a deep sense of peace knowing that God is present and active.  Of course this changes the way we act and the way we are perceived by others.  We become one on whom the Spirit has come upon and remained.  God bless you always! +++  Fr. Peter

Reflect On Repentance!

Peace and grace to you!

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord in which God reveals Jesus as the beloved Son.  This event always calls us to reflect first upon John’s baptism of repentance (turning-to-God) and why Jesus was baptized by John.  Even John questioned it.  Jesus expressed his desire to fulfill righteousness, which means to fulfill God’s plan— to do God’s will.  Jesus entered creation and was born a man so that human beings could share divine life with God.

Today upon his baptism, we see something new: Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit!  In this event, Jesus makes the waters of baptism holy so that those who experience Christian baptism are reborn, cleansed from sin and re-created as children of God, united to God as members of Christ’s own body and sharing in the life of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians we are enabled to live and love as God’s beloved sons and daughters and we are empowered to carry on the saving mission of Jesus in the world.  We are called and sent to work for justice and peace and share the Gospel message so that other people may be free from error, darkness and sin.  For many of us who were baptized as infants, we have never fully understood or embraced the radical character of our baptism.  That is why Feasts like today’s and the renewal of our baptismal promises are so important.  They help us to understand more fully what baptism really means.  Such occasions also help us recommit ourselves to living more deeply the covenant of love as Jesus Christ taught us.  The baptism of Jesus was the starting point of his public ministry when he taught the people about God and the moral life.  He worked many miracles of healing to show that God’s power comes as love and mercy for the person who desires salvation.  This was Jesus’ mission and ours too.  Jesus still works miracles through those who do good works in his name.  I hope that many of us have a sense of renewal and a spring in our step knowing that we share in such a beautiful and important work.  May God bless all your efforts! +++ Fr. Peter

Share Christ’s Light!

May the Light of All Nations give you radiant hope!

The Feast of the Epiphany is special to all of us who were never born Jewish because the promised Messiah came as the fulfillment of God’s love and mercy toward all people.  St. Paul assures the Ephesians that they too, non-Jewish people, are coheirs equal in dignity as members of the one body sharing in the one promise of Christ through the Gospel.  As I write this I have to admit that because I was born and raised Catholic, I really can’t imagine what it would be like to never have the Light of Christ; i.e., to never have known about Jesus or heard his teaching.  However, I do recognize the increasing importance of our faith in my own life’s journey.  Perhaps, like the story shows, the light of Christ increases with age and wisdom!  For many, the light of faith does not appear until later in life and once recognized, they follow it to discover God’s tender mercy, love and salvation.  I just read one such story.  Brother Joseph Dutton was born in 1843 and became a Union soldier in the Civil War while yet a teenager.  Most of his military career involved caring for the sick and burying the dead.  Joseph did fall in love and married but was divorced less than a year later.  For Joseph, the trauma of war and divorce took their toll and the darkness swallowed him as he turned to alcohol for the next ten years.  Eventually someone gave him a Bible and as he studied it, he recognized that he was wasting his life.  He decided to change.  In 1883, on his 40th birthday he was baptized Catholic and a short time later entered a Trappist monastery.  Joseph left the monastery and after reading an article about Fr. Damien’s work with the lepers of Kalaupapa he boarded a ship and sailed to Molokai.  Br. Joseph cared for Fr. Damien and the lepers until he himself died in 1931 (not from leprosy).  The point is Br. Joseph found Christ the true light and followed him.  In doing this, he became a light to those who knew him.  If people today are to find their way through the spiritual darkness of our world to the infant lying in the manger, it will be through the faith and example of God’s people, who busy themselves with living out the Gospel and bear Christ’s light!  The Wise Men followed a star, Jesus has made each of us more than a star; we are vessels of his very own light and as we follow Christ the true light, we show and share it with others!

May Christ’s light be manifest through you! +++ Fr. Peter

The Holy Family

Peace and Blessings to you!

God gives us the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that is entirely human as a gift to encourage us an provide an example of how our families can be holy.

The instructions we receive from Ben Sirach are words of wisdom.  Employing the principles of mutual respect and honor between children and parents preserves family unity for life-long love.  Listening, obeying, the Word of the Lord guides us in the way of peace.  The Letter to the Colossians elaborates principles for Christian living for all families and the Church community.  Imagine a family that gathers to pray, sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord!  Hmm, the Holy Spirit is going to dwell in them!  The Gospel shows how God is always watching over the family.  God is the ultimate protector, provider and guide for all families.  Jesus taught us to call God “Our Father.”

The Holy Family we honor today was not a family of wealth or privilege.  From the beginning, they were beset by problems.  Mary’s pregnancy was outside the law and she was not officially married, Joseph was uncertain about what to do while she faced a death penalty.  The birth of Jesus was traumatic by today’s standards, but they did find emergency shelter in a stable.  They had some surprise visitors and then they had to flee for their lives.  They lived in a foreign land as refugees not knowing the language or the customs of the people where they settled.  They had nothing.  We assume that Joseph found work, as a carpenter, and it was enough for them to live on.  The one thing they did well that kept them together was love.  They loved God and each other.

The story of the Holy Family is an inspiration and guide for our families.  The readings and instructions we are given today, plus the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph show us how our homes and families stay together.  We will always have problems in life but when we put God first and follow his instructions, when we commit ourselves to love, respect and honoring each other, we create a holy sphere where children learn to trust God and our families grow hardy and strong firmly rooted together in Christ.  God Bless you always! +++  Fr. Peter

The Christmas Season

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Christmas season has officially begun!  For a lot of people, Christmas season seems to have begun much sooner.  I noticed this year that decorations, advertisements and Christmas theme items began to appear the day after Halloween instead of the day after Thanksgiving.  I guess there are a couple of different ways to view that but it seems to me that our world longs for the Christmas season because we long for more of Jesus in our lives.  Although we may complain about commercialism and a loss of the sense of the sacred in our society, to believers it is truly Christmas that we prepare to celebrate!  I have a special attraction to Advent and to Christmas so I don’t mind the extra hype.  To me, it all serves to extend the reminder of Christ’s special presence among us and God’s incomparable gift of redemption, forgiveness bringing peace, reconciliation, joy and salvation to the whole world: That is truly worth some hype and celebration!  In one of the traditional popular songs, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” it mentions that a special gift was received on each day of the Christmas season, which continues to the Baptism of the Lord.  The song reminds me that one way of making Christmas Season special may be to space out our opening of gifts and gift giving through the season.  As you know, the song mentions that the gifts received came from “my true love.”  We offer tokens of love and esteem to each other in the form of presents and this is important because the love we have for each other flows from and points to God who is the source of love within us.  We also know that our most true and lasting gifts are God’s love and mercy!  The Christmas season is interspersed with special feasts: Saint Steven, The Holy Innocents and The Holy Family.  Each of these feast days offers a particular window from which to view the mystery of Christ and his mission to save us.  Let us ponder with Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and kings the gift of Christ our true love! Christmas Blessings of peace and joy to you all! +++ Fr Peter

Recognize Jesus!

May the nearness of the savior fill you with joy!

There were probably many different ideas of what things would be like when the Messiah would come.  It is probable that Jesus didn’t fulfill the expectations that many people had of the Messiah.  For one thing, the Kingdom that Jesus came to establish was not of this world; it wasn’t focused on power and domination, it wasn’t centered on money and luxury, it wasn’t a display of wealth and finery.  However, his kingdom did become evident in the fields, hillsides and little towns around Galilee.  Many of the people did not recognize the Messiah when he came.  John the Baptist, his herald, even had to ask.  I think it would be good for all of us to be as direct as John and ask ourselves the same question “will I recognize him when he comes?”  “What will the signs be that he is truly the one?”  Jesus’ response to John’s question indicates the fulfillment of the prophet’s words – the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the mute sing, the ransomed are filled with joy and gladness.  The king was clad in a carpenter’s clothes with worn sandals.  The riches of the Prince of Peace were not in stocks and bonds and safe in a treasury.  They were freely deposited in the hearts and minds of those who came to believe in him.  This Sunday is referred to as Gaudete Sunday, which means “Rejoice.”  We are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.  Jesus has ransomed us from sin and death and many of us experience being freed from our sins through our communal penance service.  We know and believe that Jesus reaches out to us and it is our joy when we reach out to others.  Jesus entered our world of hate to give us the power to build a world of love. We believe that Jesus understands us, even when we don’t understand ourselves.  We believe that God is always with us, even when we aren’t always with God.  God is our Father because he has treated us as his children in Christ and for this, we do have reason to rejoice!  After all, each one of us is considered greater than John the Baptist!  Share the joy of Christ’s presence in your life with others! +++ Fr. Peter

Say Yes Like Mary!

May the light of Christ fill your hearts and minds!

The Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of joy-filled hope for all people! Mary was conceived without sin!  This reverses the fall of Eve.  Mary is the New Eve born free from sin and Christ is the New Adam!  We remember both of these events at this time of year so as to really understand and enter into the full meaning and joy of Mary’s “yes” to God’s plan of salvation and the birth of Jesus Our Savior!

The first reading from Genesis recalls the sin of Adam and Eve and the results of sin: shame, guilt, disharmony, enmity, and the various forms and degrees of disorder that bring darkness and corruption into the world.  This original sin of not listening to God, took away the true original freedom from all human nature.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a hymn expressing joy, gratitude, and hope for our salvation that we have in Jesus.  Although our human nature is still impeded and burdened by sin, in Jesus we find freedom from the darkness of sin!  We recognize this freedom as God’s plan for us from the beginning of time!

True freedom means being unimpeded and completely open to God’s Word and completely willing to follow God’s plan!

Mary had to give a response when the Angel Gabriel came and revealed God’s word to her.  We see from her disposition and response that she was somewhat surprised at the encounter with the angel and that she didn’t fully understand what was going to happen.  We also see that she did demonstrate complete openness and total freedom when she recognized that it was truly God’s word and God’s plan!  When Mary declared herself  “the handmaid of the Lord,” she defeated human pride, selfishness and anything that could ever impede the true freedom that God wants us to have.  Mary’s “yes” embraced God’s plan to save human nature by uniting it with God in Jesus who is human and divine.

There were times of sorrow and struggle for Mary but she said “yes” at every moment.  We are invited to be with Mary, to say “yes” when we discern God’s desires for us, desire for our freedom from sin and the sadness and burdens that take away our joy.  One of Mary’s titles in her Litany is “Cause of Our Joy.”  Mary shows the way that we can have the joy of salvation when we say “yes” to God by our words and actions in the little things we do each day in the home, at work, at school and everywhere.  Let everyone bless God by the goodness and joy they see in you! +++ Fr. Peter

Christ Is Coming!

May the hope of Christ’s light fill your hearts and minds!

The readings and the Advent season focus on the coming of Christ into the world.  Our ancestors awaited a Messiah with great longing and hope.  They looked for the coming of a Messiah who would free them from the forces of oppression, fear, injustice, poverty, hunger and hardship.  For them, he would be a great, wise and just ruler who would establish peace.  Their hope was based upon promises of the past, the stresses of the present and an enduring faith that in the future God, seeing the longing of their hearts, would fulfill the promises that had been made.  We have the same hopes today!  But what did they do in the mean-time?  They lived just like we do now –with a day to day routine but they watched for God’s activity and signs of his arrival!

Today, it seems like our lives are busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Constant activity with irregular hours can cause problems of fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress.  Even those who have regular schedules frequently get over-extended with activities.  Where are such people going to find a space of peace and rest to be refreshed from weariness so they can seek and find God?

For many, Advent is the busiest time of the year.  There is always something to plan, cards to send, gifts to buy, parties to attend, visiting family, friends and neighbors.  For some, it is the most painful time of year due to loss of loved ones, broken relationships, empty promises, and disappointments.  Where do they find a remedy?

In Advent, the Church invites all of us to make a personal interior shift so that we can experience the coming of Christ and his peace that we all long for.  I know that the activities of the season are important, in fact, even life-saving because we do experience Christ’s love through each other.  But it’s also easy to get off track and forget what is really important.  We need to feel freedom from shame, guilt, fear, doubt, sadness, loneliness and longing or any other burdens we may have.  Turning to God with our hearts is the key!  The parish Reconciliation Service provides deliverance from burdens!  Jesus comes to free us; not to judge or condemn us!  Try to set aside some personal time with Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  Invite them into your home with a prayer and candles.  Spend time with them in prayer each day and make them feel appreciated and honored as your guests.  If you take the time to truly watch, you will see that God is present and actively coming into your life!  God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

Christ the King

Peace and Grace to all!

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King.  It is an appropriate finale to the end of the liturgical year and it reminds us of the principality of Christ and his universal power and authority over all that is: both visible and invisible.  This celebration should have some personal significance for each of us in our relationship with Jesus, who is King of Mercy.

As we celebrate this feast, I recall my visit to the monument known as “Cristo Rey” in Guanajuato, Mexico.  I travelled with some companions to the shrine to pray for special needs and to offer praise and thanks for the many blessings that I had received from God.  I wasn’t expecting anything but the chance to see the 70 foot statue of Jesus, which resembles that of the famous statue overlooking Rio de Janiero, Brazil.  The statue in Guanajuato was erected as part of the reconstruction of this site following the communist persecution and destruction in the 1930’s.  Many Christians were martyred defending the faith as well as this shrine during this period in Mexico.  The recent movie For Greater Glory presents many of the atrocities committed against the Church’s priests, religious and faithful while focusing on a few key historical figures.

The confrontation between Jesus and Pilate in the Gospel depicts worldly power and how it is usually corrupted by selfish interests is paralleled by the characters in the movie.  The heavenly kingdom reaches far beyond the here and now of the worldly view.  It is stronger and more beautiful for it values mercy, truth, justice and peace more than temporal life.  Like the characters in the Gospel and the movie, we must contend with the same forces in our own lives.  We can sink into selfishness, greed, lust, envy, or any other worldly allurement.  Many try to compromise only to find themselves succumbing to corruption—like Pilate.  For Jesus and the characters in the movie, there was no compromising.  Like them, we are called to rise above worldly forces and stand for something far greater and far more glorious.  We are called to take a stand for the heavenly kingdom with its eternal values and rewards with what we say, think and do which is still heroic.  What a great choice to make!

When my companions and I rounded a bend and stood before the statue at the summit of the hill, I was compelled within to kneel, while my eyes began to swell with tears—I can’t explain why.  Before my companions and I stood the large figure of Jesus standing upon the globe with his arms outstretched as if he were calming the sea.  I had the sensation that Jesus wanted me to feel his power and peace calming my soul.  As I glanced at my companions, I realized from the tears in their eyes that Jesus was giving them the same gift of this experience.  After some moments passed, we smiled at each other through tears in acknowledgement of the experience we each had.  At such times, words are of no use so we remained silent, kneeling in awe and gratitude before Jesus, our true King!  As Christians, we can be so glad and proud that we know God as a loving, merciful and tender ruler!  Although we journey in a world torn with sin and chaos, Jesus preserves our hearts in peace.  May God bless you all! +++ Fr Peter

Focus on Jesus

May the peace of Christ preserve you from all fear!

In this weekend’s readings we hear about things that will happen before Christ returns in glory.  In the first reading the prophet warns that those who do evil will be like dry stubble and consumed by fire, while the just will have reason to rejoice in their deliverance.  St. Paul encourages the community at Thessalonica to focus on implementing Gospel values in their personal daily lives as a means to avoid becoming vexed about what others are doing.  In the Gospel, Jesus gives the disciples a glimpse of the future and what to expect: wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, disease and signs in the sky.  Jesus also tells them not to worry for he will be present to help and save those who persevere.

In just a brief perusal of the news headlines, one can easily identify all the elements enumerated by Jesus.  There have been over 10, 436 earthquakes in the world so far in 2019, 48 occurred in one day: October 17.  The people of the areas where the largest earthquakes occurred are experiencing the ravages of the aftermath: struggles for clean water, medical supplies, rebuilding sewer, water, gas and electric supply lines and restoring stable communications.  Meanwhile war-torn areas in the Middle East are still trying to rise from the rubble of war and civil revolt.  ISIS, though subdued by US and international efforts, is expected to rise again through the current Turkish invasion of Northern Syria. ISIS’ previous murderous rampage displaced millions and killed thousands resulting in over 40 million refugees in the world.  To us who live in the Western World, it doesn’t seem that there will ever be a just and stable government in those areas.  There are a host of other violent hot spots around the globe, not to mention the continuing concern over nuclear developments in North Korea and Iran.  Here in the United States, it looks like we are anything but united.  The predominant news we get is filled with personal attacks and vicious battling over party-line agendas.  Too much drama.

There are those who would like to have us all believe that these are definite signs that Jesus is about to return but no one knows the day or the hour.  It would be easy to get caught up in that kind of fear if you didn’t have faith and a prayer life.  Fear can distort our outlook on the world, it can become like a prison that disables us from the freedom to act with love.  Fear can prevent us from focusing on what’s really important: a daily life filled with light, love and meaning.  As Christian believers, our focus and efforts are always the same: we strive to bring the Good News into the world.  Google “Medical Miracles” and be amazed at all the entries of miracles going on around us.  The blind see, the deaf hear, the dead rise to new life, the lame walk.  God is always present and working in our midst!  We just have to look!    If we focus on Jesus and trust him, we can avoid sinking into fear filled living.  In living each day in faith, we can be confident that we will be ready whenever he comes, because he is already here!

May God bless you with peace and good health! +++ Fr Peter