THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH

29 DECEMBER 2019

          When Saint Paul writes to the Church of Colossae, he calls them God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.  God had chosen them to enter into an intimate relationship with his son.  Already beloved because they had been created in the divine image, they became holy when they were baptized.  Having emerged from the waters of Baptism, they were clothed in a white garment, signifying their unique union with Christ.

            Saint Paul challenges the Colossians to wear that garment well.  He speaks not about a physical garment, but the clothing of holiness:  heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Clothed in Christ, they must bear with one another and forgive one another.  He knows that members of a family can develop a grievance against one another.  He reminds those clothed in Christ to forgive one another, precisely because God forgives them. 

Saint Paul speaks this same message to us.  We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.  We have passed through the waters of Baptism.  Once we emerged from those saving waters, we were clothed with a white garment, signifying our union with Christ.  Saint Paul challenges us to respond to God’s heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience by wearing those same garments ourselves.  Those garments represent our outward actions toward one another, especially in our willingness to forgive as Christ as forgiven us.  But they also represent our inner dispositions, expressing our trust that the Lord Jesus can transform us.

            Saint Matthew gives us a model for holiness:  the holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  At first glance, we might get discouraged.  How can we compete with a family like this?  The son is God himself, the mother is a virgin who never sinned, and the father is a quiet man who responds immediately to the angel’s messages to him in dreams without uttering a single word!  However, we can understand that their marks of holiness can become ours.  The Scriptures tell us very little about this family.  But we they observed religious traditions.  They communicated, especially when their child was lost in the Temple.  This family is bound together by love, the bond of perfection.  Faced with the danger posed by Herod, the parents trust the Father and take the risk of fleeing to Egypt to protect the child.  As a toddler, Jesus probably took his first steps as an immigrant in a foreign land.  The parents continue to trust the Father when the angel tells Joseph in a dream to return to Nazareth.  Saint Matthew gives this detail to express the reality that God had always been with his people.  God had been with the brothers of Joseph when they went to Egypt to escape famine.  God had been with his people when Moses led them through the desert to the Promised Land.  God continues to be with this particular family in their dangers.

            We celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family during the Octave of Christmas.  We continue to reflect on the Incarnation, on the Mystery of God dwelling in our midst through Jesus Christ.  We are called to be holy, to wear the garments of our baptism, as a parish family.  We evangelize best with humility and trust when we wear those garments.  The same is true of the individual human families in our parish. When Saint Paul wrote to the Colossians, he used the family structure of his day, urging wives to be submissive to their husbands.  But he also departed in a radical way from the way the culture expected men to behave.  He insisted that husbands love their wives as Christ loved his bride the Church:  dying for them.  He speaks to us today, no matter what our individual families may look like. Our families may conform themselves to the patterns of holiness in our culture.  But they can be radically transformed by taking Paul’s advice and clothing themselves in Christ. Wear those garments proudly.  They define who we are.

CHRISTMAS     

25 DECEMBER 2019

          Christmas teaches us how God chooses to be present to us.  The Word could have taken flesh in a politically stable environment.  Instead, the Incarnation happened in a troubled little kingdom dominated by Roman occupation.  Jesus could have been born in a comfortable palace.    Instead, he was born in a smelly stable full of animals.  His parents could have had supportive family around to help them.  Instead, the birth occurred far from home in a crowded village.  Local dignitaries could have been the first to welcome the child.  Instead his first visitors were nomadic peasants who moved around with their flocks and could not be trusted by the locals. 

            As we gather to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation, no one has to tell us that we live in a messy world.  In both our culture and our Church, we are polarized and deeply divided.  We may not live in stables.  But we all have our share of messes that smell.  Some are separated from families and supportive friends at this time of the year and feel very lonely.  Some of us find ourselves mourning the loss of loved ones.

            Into our messy world, Christ enters and wants to dwell with us.  Christmas is not a one-time event that happened a long time ago in Bethlehem.  The Christmas miracle happens every time we open our hearts to trust in God and let him take flesh through the work of our hands.  The Christmas miracle happens when we listen attentively to the Word of God, like Mary did, and allow the Lord’s will to take place in our lives.  The Christmas miracle happens when we ask Saint Joseph to help us respond to others with compassion in the midst of doubt and despair.  The Christmas miracle happens when we become angels of peace to bring radiant hope into a lonely person’s darkness through words of encouragement.  The Christmas miracle happens when we make haste to seek Christ in the poor, the lowly, the rejected, and the outcast.  

            It is not a coincidence that we celebrate the Christmas miracle at the darkest time of the year.  We can identify with darkness, because we live with the darkness of war, hatred, prejudice, disease, and the devastating results of bad choices that we all make.  The Christmas miracle reminds us that the Lord is truly the light of the world.  That light shines in the darkness of our fragile and broken world.  That light reminds us that the Lord can dwell in our midst, if we are only open to his coming to us.

            All of us are in different places as we gather on this Christmas.  Some of us have the good fortune of celebrating Christmas surrounded by positive and supportive family members.  If life is good, we need to thank the newborn Christ for this gift and not take it for granted.  Others are in more difficult situations.  We can trust that the Lord Jesus can take flesh in your life, just as surely as he took flesh in the messy situations of his birth in his own day.  Christmas reminds us to open our hearts to the incredible love God has shown by dwelling in our midst.

            When we walk away from this Christmas, we return to the same messy world that may not appear fundamentally changed by the Mystery we celebrate.  However, this Mystery has the power to change us.  God shared in our humanity so that we can share in his divinity.  When we truly believe that this is true, then we can make a difference.  We can evangelize.  Saint Bernard of Clairvaux said it best:  “let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that we, made in your image, may conform ourselves to it.  In our own strength, we cannot imagine your majesty, power and wonder; nor is it fitting for us to try.  But your mercy reaches from the heavens, through the clouds, to the earth below.  You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of your eternal love.  Caress us with your tiny hands, embrace us with your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.” 

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

22 DECEMBER 2019

          Saint Matthew tells us that Joseph is betrothed to Mary.  Unlike an engagement today, betrothal was the final stage in an arranged marriage between the families of Joseph and Mary.  They are bound for each other, but not living together.  When Joseph finds out that Mary is with child, he must have been absolutely devastated.  Filled with hurt, betrayal, and disappointment, he could have reacted to the news about Mary’s pregnancy by doing what the Law of Moses allowed.  He could have had her stoned for infidelity.  However, he is a righteous man and chooses to show compassion instead of justice.  He will divorce her quietly, step aside, and allow the father of the child to come forward and claim Mary and the child as his own.

            However, an angel tells him the truth in a dream.  Mary has conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary into his home.  As a member of the house of King David, he is to name the child.  Joseph does exactly what the angel told him to do.  In caring for Mary and the child, Joseph will allow Jesus to mature and realize his status as the Son of God and the son of David.  Jesus probably learned from Joseph not be afraid to choose compassion over justice.  Time and time again in his public ministry, Jesus shows compassion to public sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and those caught in adultery.  At the end of his life on the cross, he gives compassion to those who had betrayed and abandoned him.

            Centuries earlier, another descendant of David received a message from the Lord.  Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke to King Ahaz.  The kingdom of Judah was in a tough situation, and Ahab was weighing his options.  Should he go to war against Assyria or join with Assyria in waging war against neighboring countries?  Isaiah told him to trust in God and do nothing.  He even offered to give the king a sign.  But King Ahaz piously rejected the sign, because he had already made up his mind that waging war was his only choice.  Chiding him that he was wearying both God and everyone else, Isaiah gave him the sign anyway.  In his own time, his son Hezekiah would be for his people Emmanuel, or “God is with us.”

            In just a couple of days, we will celebrate the fulfillment of that prophecy in ways that no one could ever have imagined.  A virgin has conceived and born a son.  He is Emmanuel, not just a good man sent to God’s people.  He is God himself, who has taken flesh and dwells among us.  As we prepare to celebrate this remarkable mystery, all of us face our own issues when we gather with our families for Christmas.  There may not be tax collectors at the dinner table.  However, there will be those who have different political views than we do.  Adulterers and prostitutes may not join us.  But some will have made choices and lifestyles that offend us.  Family members may not have nailed us to any cross.  But they may have betrayed us or spread rumors about us.           We have a choice as we gather for Christmas.  We can dig in our heels like King Ahaz and demand justice, causing further alienation and injury.  Or, we can let go of our fears and choose compassion, as Joseph did when he dealt with his wife’s apparent infidelity.  Joseph trusted that his compassion would bear fruit, and that fruit far exceeded anything he could have expected.  The same is true for us, not only when we gather for Christmas, but when we continue to navigate ourselves through life.  Joseph’s compassion allowed the Lord to work an incredible miracle at the Incarnation.  We ask the intercession of Saint Joseph today.  Through his intercession, we can let go of our fears and increase our trust in the Lord’s will for us.  We can recognize our own sins and failings and take the risk of allowing the Lord to be more present as a result of our willingness to be more compassionate.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

15 DECEMBER 2019

          Saint John the Baptist had leapt in his mother’s womb when her cousin Mary entered the house with the Messiah in her womb.  He had pointed to the Messiah at the banks of the Jordan River and baptized him, even though he declared that he was not worthy to carry his sandals.  He heard the voice from heaven declaring that Jesus is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased.

            Given this close relationship, it seems strange that John would send his disciples to ask Jesus the question:  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  Does he ask that question because he is in a very dark space, locked in prison awaiting execution?  Or does he ask that question because Jesus is not living up to his expectations of the job description of the Messiah?  If you recall, last weekend John had contrasted his baptism of water with Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Instead of talking about unquenchable fire and warning people that they would be chaff burned in that fire, Jesus is preaching mercy and forgiveness.  Instead of separating the good from the bad, he is hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors.

            Saint Matthew does not give the reason for John’s question.  Instead, he gives the answer of Jesus.  Jesus instructs John’s disciples to listen and hear what is happening.  In Jesus, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.  He cures the blind.  He enables the lame to walk.  He touches lepers and restores them to their families.  He allows the deaf to hear.  He restores a dead son to the widow of Nain, breathes life into the dead daughter of Jairus, gives life to the centurion’s servant, and brings Lazarus back from the dead.  He assures the poor that they are not forgotten.  Jesus is clearly fulfilling the job description given by the Prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading.  He does not come as a Messiah who will restore Israel to its greatness through military action.  He comes as a humble servant initiating the Kingdom of heaven through dying and rising.

            As we light this third candle on the Advent Wreath, we open our ears to hear these words of Jesus.  Like the Baptist, we might be in some dark place.  We might be mourning the loss of a loved one or struggling with a breakup in the family or walking away from a close relationship.  We might wonder why the Messiah had been able to heal so many people, but does not heal the person closest to me suffering from terminal cancer.  On this Gaudete Sunday, the Lord invites us to peer beyond whatever darkness might be enveloping us to see evidence that his Kingdom is in our midst.  The Lord is near.  We can catch glimpses of that presence in the cards we open at this time of the year from people who are distant.  We can be surprised by the kindness shown by others in unexpected ways.  We might be struck by the beauty of the rising sun on a clear day.

            Saint James tells us to be patient as we wait for the Lord’s coming.  He gives the example of the farmer, who does all the preparatory work of tilling the field, planting the seed, and weeding the crops.  That work will produce fruit once it receives the rains sent by God.  In a similar way, we need to do the preparatory work of giving ourselves in humble service and opening ourselves to loving and trusting relationships.  In these ways, we express a loving faith that is content to discover God’s gift in the manner and in the moment God reveals them. 

            There is a wonderful way to hear and see what the Lord is doing in our lives at this time.  Come to the Penance Service on Tuesday evening.  Together, we hear the Word of God.  Together, we examine our consciences.  Individually, we confess our sins to one of the 18 priests.  Through that Sacrament, the Lord opens the eyes of blind sinners.  He allows those who are estranged to walk toward one another.  He gives the alienated back to the community.  He opens the ears of those who have failed to hear.  He restores those who have been dead in sin.  And he proclaims to each of us the Good News of mercy and reconciliation.

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

8 DECEMBER 2019

          In writing to the Christians in Rome, Saint Paul knew that he was writing to a divided community.  Some members had grown up as fellow Jews like Paul himself.  But unlike Paul, they had trouble letting go of their customs.  As the first people to receive the promises made to the Patriarchs, they regarded themselves as better than the rest.  They regarded eating with Gentiles as defilement, making communal meals impossible.  The other members had grown up as pagans, knowing nothing of Jewish laws and customs.  They had no use for any dietary laws.  They made no effort to be sensitive to their dietary restrictions.  There was a great divide, and it weakened the witness of the community in the hostile environment of the city of Rome.

            Saint Paul directly addresses this lack of harmony.  He confirms that the Jewish Christians have received the promises made to the ancient patriarchs.  But he also insists that these promises have been fulfilled so that the Gentiles might glorify God.  He urges both Jewish and Gentile Christians to welcome one another, precisely in the way that Christ had welcomed them.  Christ had welcomed them when they entered into the waters of baptism and emerged completely united with him and with each other.

In this new liturgical year, we will hear from the Gospel of Saint Matthew on most Sundays.  He will recount the message of Jesus, the Messiah.  Jesus offers the gift of salvation first to his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters.  Then he offers that gift to the Gentiles, the rest of humanity.  When we celebrate the Epiphany during the Christmas Season, Matthew will remind us that the first visitors to the newly born child are not fellow Jews.  They are the Magi, pagan visitors from the east who bring gifts that identify the child:  gold for the king, frankincense for the Son of God, and myrrh for the Suffering Servant.  At the end of the Gospel, which we will hear during the Easter Season, the risen Christ commissions the Apostles to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the ends of the earth, to the entire human family.  Jesus had called these Apostles from a group of people who had little in common with one another.  Matthew was a tax collector, and Simon was a Zealot.  They should have been enemies.  But they decided to lay aside their past and their politics to work together for the common good.

            Through the living Word of God, Saint Paul speaks to us.  We live in a deeply polarized world of sharp divisions.  We tend to identify those who disagree with us as enemies.  We have familiar labels for the “other” side, and we hold them at arm’s length.  This is true both in our society and in our Church.  Saint Paul challenges us to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us.  Like Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, we need to reach out, say a kind word, and sit down and talk with one another.  When challenged about our beliefs, need to spend time to study and pray about our beliefs.  We need to speak the truth with love and respect.

            During this Advent Season, we prepare to celebrate the first coming of the Lord at Christmas.  He came as a tiny child and was crucified as an adult.  We also prepare for his second coming in glory and majesty.  Between those two comings, we are called to recognize the hidden ways in which he comes to us now.  Hidden in the forms of bread and wine, he feeds us.  Hidden in the words of Absolution, he frees us from our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  John the Baptist speaks directly to us and demands that we repent from our sinful ways and turn more completely toward the Lord.  If we take time to examine our consciences and acknowledge the hardness of our hearts, perhaps we can more readily find Christ, hidden in those we consider enemies or polar opposites.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

1 DECEMBER 2019

          The Season of Advent prepares us to celebrate the first coming of the Lord at Christmas.  Advent invites us to prepare for his second coming at the end of time or at the end of our lives.  But Advent also makes us more aware of the ways in which the Lord comes to us now.  He comes to us in the Sacramental life of the Church, most especially in this Eucharist.  Sending us forth from this Mass, he remains with us in his risen presence throughout our daily lives, if only we open ourselves to that presence.

            The prophet Isaiah says that the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.  We see that prophecy fulfilled in the Mystery of the first coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas and culminating in the Mystery of his death and resurrection at Easter.  He wants to establish his house as the highest mountain of our hearts.  Advent invites us to take a closer look at all the mountains of our hearts, all of those realities that are important to us.  Those mountains include our desire to ensure that we have adequate possessions, good jobs, good reputations, and that we provide for our families, among many other goods.  However, if we want the swords of our lives (cutting things apart) turned into plowshares and the spears (poking us at every side) turned into pruning hooks, then the highest mountain must be the presence of the risen Christ in our daily lives.  In preparing for him to come again, his presence cannot be one of many mountains that we acknowledge only on Sunday.  His presence must ultimately be the highest and most important in our lives.

            That is why the persistent pattern of prayer is so important.  People sometimes think that stewardship is about raising funds.  Because stewardship involves living as committed disciples, spending time in prayer is the first of the other two legs of stewardship:  service and sacrificial giving.  Please read the materials on the stewardship of prayer which we sent home (or pick up your packet in the Parish Life Center).  Be sure to join us on the next three Tuesday evenings for our communal Advent prayers.  Take one of the booklets at all of the doors to help with personal prayer.  Allow Advent to assist in renewing a persistent pattern of prayer.  If you don’t believe me, please listen to Stephanie Rucano as she explains how this has happened in her life.

                                                       The Stewardship of My Prayer

Thank you, Father Bill, for inviting me to share a little bit of my prayer journey.

I am happily married to wonderful man named Tony and have an amazing daughter named Camille.

Today, my relationship with our Heavenly Father is very intimate, but it was not always that way.

Prior to now, I was that lost sheep. I was a struggling mom trying to juggle life and do everything. So, it was rare that I’d attend mass or the sacraments. I was just too busy to go! My prayer life consisted of saying a prayer now and then if I needed answers immediately or before meals when I didn’t forget.

Shame and guilt were both weighing me down. I felt a nudge to go to confession, so I did. Then, I looked at the priest as I confessed my sins and saw the most amazing thing. It was Jesus Christ sitting before me. He said, “Your sins are forgiven, and you will be fine in your life-now go in Peace.” The moment I walked out I felt the weights lifted and my relationship with the Lord has been growing ever since.

I start and end my days with our Lord. Whether I’m driving somewhere, going to the gym, or attending daily mass I need to hear the Living Words. There seems to ALWAYS be a message for me that I need to hear to help balance my day.

As a Eucharistic minister during communion, I see Jesus in each one of your faces. After I’m done, I go back to my seat, kneel and pray for each one of you as my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Recently, I was showing a non-Catholic visitor around and we walked before the chapel and saw Jesus was displayed in adoration. I told her, “that is my Best Friend and he knows everything about me. It’s where I go and have a conversation with Him, and we are All invited.” I turned to look at her at that moment and she had tears rolling down her face. She said she could feel Him in her heart.

With a parish this size I have responded to his call to be with families as they grieve the loss of a loved one. The connection with these individual’s is truly a path I was intended to take guided by the Holy Spirit.

With the opportunities here at St Pius I ask you to accept the invitation, to help your prayer life grow and draw you closer to our Heavenly Father.

Looking up at the Good Shepherd, know that you will never be lost.

Take the path that was created for you, accepting all the Graces and Blessings along the way.

Thank you and God Bless.