January 6, 2019 — The Epiphany of the Lord

IS 60: 1-6, PS 72:1-2,7-8, 10-13; EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6; MT 2:1-12

As we continue our celebration of the Christmas season, today we observe the great Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “epiphany” means “manifestation,” and throughout the Christmas readings, we have seen that the newborn King is eager to reveal Himself to all those willing to accept His presence in their lives.

From poor and humble shepherds, to the international group of magi featured in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus makes it clear that He offers Himself as a gift to everyone.

We also see throughout the scriptures that God uses what is familiar to us to draw us to Himself. He calls to fisherman using boats and nets and a great haul of fish. When speaking to farmers, He uses images of seeds and soil. In the case of the magi — or, astrologers — He uses a star. Our Lord continues to speak to each one of us today.

But we must be alert to “hear” and “see” Him in our daily lives.

How can we become better attuned to the ways God is speaking to us? We must strengthen our spiritual senses by spending time with the Lord in prayer every single day. In the same way that we set professional goals or exercise goals, we can set spiritual goals to ensure that we are taking the time to listen intentionally to God daily. This could be through 10 minutes of early morning Gospel reflection before the rest of the family is up for the day; it could be few moments at your desk at work before grabbing lunch; it could be a daily Rosary after dinner.

When we establish a regular and intentional time for prayer, we will find the Lord continues to speak to us throughout the day. We will more easily recognize the “stars” He places before us to draw us into closer relationship with Him. We will begin to see that He is indeed present in our lives at every moment.

Once we recognize His loving presence in our lives, we can take inspiration from the magi. Recognizing Jesus as King, they fell prostrate before Him in worship and awe. We, too, should be awestruck at the greatness of our God who has given us all that we have and whose love sustains our very existence. And, like the magi, we should offer Him gifts in gratitude for such great love. Rather than gold, frankincense and myrrh, the gifts that are most pleasing to the Lord from us are the gifts of our time (through prayer), our talents, and a trusting return of the material gifts with which He has blessed us.

In this next week as so many people around us are making New Year’s resolutions, let us make a spiritual resolution — to be more intentional about our prayer lives. The more time we spend with our Lord, the more we will become aware of His presence in our lives. We will find that our daily lives are filled with “epiphanies” of His love and, in addition to our time, we will gladly offer our talents and treasure to Him in grateful response.

December 30, 2018 — Feast of the Holy Family

SIR 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 SM 1: 20,22, 24-28; PS 128: 1-5 or PS 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10; COL 3:12-21 or COL 3: 12-17; or 1 JN 3:1-2, 21-24; LK 2:41-52

Today’s Gospel reading on this Feast of the Holy Family gives us a glimpse into the childhood of Jesus with his Mother, Mary, and his foster father, Joseph. This is a family like no other — consisting of the very Son of God, Mary, Queen of all Saints, and St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church. Yet as we see in today’s Scripture passage, they led a life typical of the families of their day. They experienced many of the same joys and trials that all parents and children experience even today. And so we can look to this Family for help in our own family lives and see in them a model of Stewardship in family life.

The Gospel passage, from Luke, starts by telling us something about Jesus’ parents: “Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.” In other words, this Family took seriously the Stewardship of their Time. The “Holy Couple” carefully observed the traditions and practice of their Jewish faith and brought up their Son to do the same. They worshiped as a family and with their faith community. And they did so faithfully.

We can take their example to heart by making Sunday Mass attendance a priority for our families, by making prayer with our family a priority every day, by making sure that we regularly celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, and by observing in our family life the feasts and fasts appropriate to the liturgical calendar. When we, as families, prioritize our Time with God and worship of Him we will be imitating the Holy Family.

And when we are faced with the inevitable challenges that come with family life, we will be far better equipped to handle them, just as the Holy Family did. We read just a few verses later in our scripture passage, that Mary and Joseph faced every parents’ worst nightmare — they can’t find Jesus! What parent cannot relate to this awful moment or at least the fear of such a moment. Perhaps a little child wanders off in the store and is physically missing as young Jesus was. Or perhaps an older child, though physically present, is spiritually or emotionally “missing” through addiction or loss of faith. In these times, too, we can look to the Holy Family for guidance. Mary’s very human initial reaction upon finding Jesus — “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety” — comforts us in our own suffering as we realize that our Blessed Mother has been through difficult times in family life, too. The Holy Couple didn’t always understand their Divine Son. But they loved Him deeply and gave Him the best of themselves as parents. The Divine Son, though God, obeyed His parents, giving witness to the value of parents and family life.

On this Feast of the Holy Family, let us reclaim the beauty and importance of family life. Let’s commit to steward our families well in 2019, making time spent with God and practicing our faith the most important appointments on our family calendars. Let’s make 2019 a year in our parish like never before. Happy Feast Day, parish family!

December 23, 2018 — Fourth Sunday of Advent

MI 5:1-4A; PS 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19; HEB 10: 5-10; LK 1: 39-45

Our Blessed Mother takes center stage on this fourth Sunday of Advent, and fittingly so as we draw near to the celebration of her Son’s birth. After our Lord Himself, Mary is our model and guide to a stewardship way of life. We see her steward’s response in every passage of Scripture that relates to her, from her “yes” at the Annunciation, to her faithfulness at the foot of the Cross.

Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel in our “Alleluia” today captures her stewardship spirit: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38).” At the moment of the Annunciation, Mary recognized God’s gift to her and made a generous and trusting return to Him, offering her very self to God as His servant. This reply to such an overwhelming request — made by an angel, no less — shows us how extraordinary our Blessed Mother is. She is indeed “full of grace.”

But her response also displays the depth with which she possessed of two of the pillars of stewardship, Formation and Prayer. Because of her formation (in her own Jewish faith) she knew that a Messiah had long been prophesied and promised to her people. Because of her intimacy with God in prayer, she was ready to offer her “yes” to Him when asked to be mother of this Messiah.

Today’s Gospel passage, also from Luke, goes on to describe Mary’s actions immediately after her “yes” to the angel Gabriel’s message. We read that “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah… and greeted Elizabeth.” Mary immediately begins to think of others before herself, setting out quickly to be with her cousin, modeling two other of the pillars of stewardship, Hospitality and Service. What warmth and humility the Mother of our Savior shows, traveling to Elizabeth to spend time with her, rejoicing with Elizabeth over her own incredible pregnancy, and assisting her in a time of need. And what joy this hospitality and service brings to Elizabeth who exclaims, “how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”

How beautifully our Blessed Mother models the mind and heart of a steward. It is an example that we, her children, can follow in our own lives 2,000 years later. With all the gifts God gives us — our time, our talents, our material possessions — we, too, can offer ourselves to God by using all these gifts to serve and glorify Him. In so doing, we will effectively to spread the Good News of the Gospel to the world around us today. We will be stewards after our Mother’s own heart.

December 16, 2018 — Third Sunday of Advent

ZEP 3:14-18A; IS 12:2-6; PHIL 4:4-7; LK3:10-18

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I shall say it again: rejoice!”

We have arrived at Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice”) this Third Week of Advent, and the Scriptures take on a joyful tone as we continue our preparations for the feast of our Savior’s birth and ultimately for His Second Coming.

Our First Reading, from Zephaniah, certainly gives us cause to rejoice. “Fear not… be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior.” Even more cause for joy, this Savior delights in us — “He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in His love, He will sing joyfully because of you.” How can we not be moved by a God who pursues us, who comes to us as Savior, and who actually sings for joy over us!

Our Second Reading gives still more cause for joy as St. Paul reminds us, “The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all.” Then he gives us a prescription for maintaining this peace: “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s instructions for obtaining peace come as an early Christmas gift. They remind us that we can and should go to God with all our needs and present them to Him along with our thanks. This guidance calls to mind aa vital aspect of a stewardship way of life: gratitude to God in response to His great love and countless gifts to us.

The Gospel passage, from Luke, shows us how to live out this thanks, making our lives a “Christmas gift” to Christ in joyful response to His love for us. When the crowds hear John the Baptist’s message that their Savior is coming, they ask him what they should do to prepare. He responds, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do the same.” He tells tax collectors to stop collecting more than is prescribed and soldiers, to be satisfied with their wages. In other words, he tells them to be good and generous stewards of all God’s gifts to them!

As the great feast of Christmas draws near, let us rejoice in Christ’s extravagant love. Let’s avail ourselves of the peace He longs to give us. And let’s look carefully at our lives to make sure we are indeed making of them a gift fitting for Him. When we get this “gift” right, all the other gifts and to-do’s on our Christmas list will fall into their proper place.

December 9, 2018 — Second Sunday of Advent

BAR 5:1-9; PS 126: 1-6; PHIL 1: 4-6, 8-11; LK 3: 1-6

The readings for the Second Week of Advent offer both encouragement and challenge during this brief but important season of the liturgical year. Recall from last week that the purpose of this season is reflection on and preparation for the two “comings” of Christ — His coming as a baby on the great feast of Christmas, and the anticipation of His second coming at the end of time.

Our First Reading, from Baruch, is a wonderful reminder of that God has already triumphed over sin and death and that we, His faithful disciples, will live in the light of His glory one day. “Up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God… For God has commanded that every loft mountain be made low…that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God… for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.”

Until He comes again, we must remain faithful to Him as true disciples and good stewards of all the gifts He has given us. While it can be tempting to give in to the materialism and calls for self-indulgence that surround us, (ironically more than ever at this time of year), this reading calls us back to the spiritual reality that this life is passing and that we are made for eternal life with God. We are called to prepare for eternal life by the way that we use our time, our talents and our treasure now.

In the Second Reading, the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, Paul gives us a pep talk as we make our stewardship journey, and we modern-day disciples can take heart in his words. He tells us, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul reminds us of two important realities that should greatly encourage us. First, that the stewardship way of life is very much a journey. We don’t have to have every aspect of our life perfectly nailed down; we are all “works in progress”’ called simply to take one step at a time closer to Christ. Second, it is God who started this good work in us — on the day of our Baptism — He cares deeply about this journey of ours and He will give us all the grace and strength we need to stay faithful to Him and continue growing in love and imitation of Christ.

The Gospel reading from Luke shows us how personal and detailed is God’s love for humanity as He prepared the way for Christ’s coming among us. We are told the precise time, place and person, John the Baptist, He appointed to announce the arrival of our Savior. Through John, we are told how to celebrate to the fullest this first “coming” on the feast of Christmas and how to prepare for the second coming — through repentance.

This Advent let’s turn away from any bad habits or sin that may have crept in to our lives and turn our hearts and minds back to Christ. This is what the stewardship way of life is all about —moving ever closer in relationship with Christ and imitation of Him, ready to celebrate His birth, with eyes fixed on eternal life with Him.