A HIDDEN LIFE OF STRENGTH, WISDOM, GRACE
The Holy Family is the model for a Christian family. It was in this simple home that Jesus, our Savior, grew into the man who would save the world. It was in the humble surroundings of his home life that this great man spent most of his life on earth.
The Greatest Mystery
During these last few days of Advent, we are invited into the heart of the Christian faith, a profound and challenging mystery so simple in its outward manifestation that it is easily overlooked and so unfathomable in its depths that it cannot be comprehended by the rational mind.
In Need of a Savior
If the Messiah has come for the broken, the poor, the oppressed, the captive, the ones in need of vindication, do we see with clarity our deep need for a Savior? Are we utterly convinced of our own poverty of spirit, imprisonment by sin and desires of this world, and brokenness of heart?
How Do You Prepare the Way?
Advent is God’s gift to us, our time for preparation. Christmas is not merely a reminder and a celebration of Jesus’ first coming as an infant to Mary in Bethlehem but a reminder that he will come again.
Stay Awake! The Best Is Yet to Come!
It is difficult to stay focused and alert when we are tired. When out in public, one can almost hear a constant hum of anxiety. It’s always there. People are scared. Yet, this new brightly shining liturgical year bids us to stand erect, stay awake and watch!
The Good News of the Reign of Christ
When we limit the focus of this feast to the kingship of Christ, we risk losing the broader view of what we are really celebrating today: our citizenship in the Kingdom of God. We have been claimed by and for Christ in our baptism and our true home is in the Reign of Christ.
Appraising Our Greatest Valuables
What treasure has been entrusted us and how we can multiply it for the glory of God? Perhaps, the treasure is that which all of us have and which we can often take for granted, like valuable antiques gathering dust in our attics — our family.
The Light and the Dark
When the cravings of the five senses are tempered, the soul is more apt to perceive the deeper realities of the sacred mysteries. How can we learn to temper our five senses, then, in order to help our souls be more attentive to the arrival of the Bridegroom?
Living As A Witness
The world will always let us down eventually because we are not made for this world. The Solemnity and readings this weekend help us remember this truth by surrounding us with faithful witnesses who we can look up to and emulate.
Growing in Love of God and Neighbor
What presently has your heart? What occupies your mind? And what are you trying to gain at perhaps the cost of your soul? How can you love God with all you have? How can we love God with all our heart surrounded by so many others whom we love?
Feet in Two Worlds
We have to keep our feet in two places. While we are of this world, we also are members of another. It is challenging to attend to our civil obligations and duties while remaining loyal to the greater truth that God is God and there is no other.
Invited to the Feast
What’s at stake in this Sunday’s Gospel are the same themes of the end of time and judgment that we found in last week’s Gospel. Jesus is pulling the rug from beneath our feet. Remember, this isn’t just a nice story. Parables are intended to throw us off balance.