Answering the Call

It was no surprise to anyone when Jane graduated first in her class at medical school. It was also no surprise when, after a stellar residency at the teaching hospital, she was offered a position there.

It was a surprise, however, when she decided to give it all up to pursue her dream of working in a clinic for the poor in sub-Saharan Africa.

For weeks, her friends and professors tried to talk her out of it. They tried to convince her that there would be plenty of time for her to go on missionary trips after she had established her own practice. However, Jane was adamant. Though her friends and family could not understand why she was willing to give up so much, she tried explaining to them that she felt called to such work. In her heart, she had always known that she had been set apart by God to use her knowledge and her skills to help the poor. It took her a while, but she finally found the courage to answer that call.

When we hear the word “calling” or “vocation” we tend to think of it primarily in terms of religious life. Nuns have a calling. Priests have a calling. Deacons and monks have a calling. However, vocations are not limited to just those called to religious life and service. Rather, everyone has a vocation. Each one of us is called to a certain lifestyle and a certain life’s work that only we can accomplish. Sometimes it manifests itself in dramatic fashion as Jane’s calling to work with the poor in Africa. However, most often it manifests itself in small hidden ways such as the couple who are called to adopt special needs children, the woman who is called to provide health care for the homebound, or the teenager who stands up for his classmates who are suffering from peer pressure and bullying. We can be called to perform one special work which only lasts a short time or we can be called to a path which takes up our whole lives such as marriage or religious life.

However it may manifest itself in our lives, each one of us has a calling, a special work or life’s work that only you and I can accomplish. It is our contribution in both big and small ways to God’s saving work.

Today’s readings speak to us in a beautiful way about the meaning of vocation in the Christian life.

The second reading is taken from the beginning of Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In his greeting to that church, he states that they are “called to be holy.” While some people are called to different work and different lifestyles in pursuing the Christian life, all followers of Christ are called to be holy. The Second Vatican Council called this principle, “the universal call to holiness.” Our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, echoed this when he recently said, “To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.”

How do we become holy? By letting God’s love shine through us in everything we do. Whatever work or lifestyle we are called to, we must do all things in love. God is love and His holiness is most clearly manifested in those who show His love to others.

It is not always easy, especially when we have been laboring under harsh conditions or dealing with difficult people. Stress and anxiety can distract us from being kind and gentle to others. Therefore, an essential element of holiness is prayer. God’s love takes root and grows in our hearts when we put ourselves in His presence, when we confess our failings and when we seek wisdom by reading His word in Sacred Scripture. Time in prayer both alone and with others is crucial to helping us discover our vocation and nurture it.

This call to be holy is not only a way for us to feel good about ourselves and build up our self-esteem. The gifts of holiness and love are not to be kept to ourselves. Rather, they are meant to be given away. A life of holiness and love naturally leads to the second element of vocation, giving witness.

In the first reading, God tells the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah that He has chosen them “to be a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”. In the second reading, Saint Paul talks about his calling to be an apostle, that is, one sent out by Christ to be a witness to His resurrection. And in the gospel, Saint John the Baptist describes his vocation as a witness to Jesus, “the Lamb of God.”

Every vocation, then, involves bearing witness to the love and power of God. No one who has experienced the presence of God has a right to keep it himself or herself. Rather, no matter what our state in life may be, we are all called to give witness in both our words and actions to Jesus, the Son of God. As a community of disciples, we cannot wait for people to come to us. Rather we go out and announce the good news to everyone we meet. As Pope Francis described it in his recent work, The Joy of the Gospel,: “The Church which ‘goes forth’ is a community of missionary disciples who...boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast.” Those who are filled with the love of God are like the psalmist who has to proclaim it to others: “I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.”

To sum it all up, each of us has a calling, a unique vocation. Though we live that calling out in different works and lifestyles, we are all called to pursue holiness and to give witness to the God of faithful love. Like Saint John the Baptist, at the heart of our vocation is the need to point out to others Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins and the Son of God who comes to establish the Kingdom of Heaven. It all comes from God through our baptism and flows back to Him through our lives of humble service and witness to His goodness. It flows from Him because only in the power of the Holy Spirit is it possible to give witness not only with our words but in our everyday choices. If we can find the courage to live for God alone, then it will be no surprise to anyone that it is Jesus at work in us reaching out to continue His work in our world.

A Voice In The Wilderness

 Over the past month, we have heard quite a bit from John the Baptist.

During the four weeks of Advent leading up to our celebration of Jesus’ birth, we heard his proclamation to us that we prepare the way for the Lord through penance and good works.

Last week, as we celebrated the baptism of the Lord, he witnessed the Spirit come down upon the waters in the form of a dove, the heavens open up and the voice of God proclaim that Jesus is the Beloved Son.

And, as we begin a new year, we hear from him once again. This time he is pointing Jesus out as the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world.

John the Baptist is an important figure in the gospels because he announces the coming of the Messiah. Many of Jesus’ earliest followers were disciples of John. The Church puts the message and example of John before us each year because he still has much to teach us, especially as we begin a new year. In particular, there are three points that we should take away from the gospel proclamation about John the Baptist - that we need to repent of our sins, that we must witness to the truth, and that we must put Jesus at the center of everything we do.

First of all, we need to give up our sinful ways. When John appeared along the banks of the Jordan River, he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He made it clear to all who approached him that, once baptized, they could not return to their former way of life. They needed to make a real and lasting change.

The message is the same for us two thousand years later. All of us have areas of our lives that do not reflect the love of Christ. Whether it be in our families, our schools or workplace, we fail to respect others, to show concern for those in need or to put the interests of others before our own. We all need to examine our consciences daily, to review our actions and to commit ourselves to doing better with the grace of God. Our faith is only real if it is making a difference in the way we speak and live. John the Baptist teaches us that we must make a real effort everyday to change our sinful behavior so that our lives can reflect the love of our Savior who came to die for us.

Secondly, John the Baptist teaches us that we must always speak the truth. Just as we struggle to avoid sin in our own lives, we must point out the ways in which our society fails to uphold the dignity of the person. Every day in our world, the rights of the poor are being trampled on, innocent people are killed and the powerful take advantage of the weak. As people of faith, we cannot stand idly by or keep silent. Otherwise, we will be condoning injustice. We must speak up to defend the innocent and the downtrodden because they are our sisters and brothers.

John the Baptist did this unceasingly during his life. He died because he dared to criticize King Herod for living with his brother’s wife. He spoke up because he recognized the importance of marriage and family life. Like John, we must never fail to defend the sanctity of marriage both by living good and holy family lives ourselves and by speaking out against the threats our society poses to marriage such as divorce and pornography. Our society needs people of faith with the courage to speak the truth or else more innocent lives will be lost and more damage will be done to the poor and needy.

Thirdly, Jesus must be at the center of all we do. John the Baptist understood that the reason he was sent was to give witness to the Messiah. His mission was not to gather disciples for himself but to lead others to Jesus. So, when Jesus did finally appear, he never failed to point him out to people and encourage them to follow him. When he was asked whether it distressed him that his disciples were leaving him to listen to Jesus, he replied “He must increase, and I must decrease.” John’s whole life was centered around preparing the way for Jesus so that, when he finally did appear, he was happy to fade into the background.

As individuals and as a parish community, we must ask ourselves daily the question: Is everything we are doing centered on Jesus or on ourselves? Are we more concerned about what people think of us or what Jesus would think of us? Are we more concerned about pleasing others or pleasing Jesus? It is very easy in the midst of all life’s little details to forget why we exist. It is easy to lose focus when our days are filled with so many activities. We must take time everyday to remind ourselves of what is most important - that we know, love and serve our Savior, Jesus. When we put Jesus at the center of our lives, everything else falls into place.

It is for good reason that John the Baptist is such a prominent figure in all the gospels and that the Church places his message before us so often during the year. At the beginning of a new year it is especially important to reflect on these three key elements of his message - that we repent of our sins, that we speak the truth with love and that we keep Jesus at the center of all we do. It is an unfailing formula for growing in holiness as individuals and for drawing others to Christ as a parish community.

So that we can have strength to live up to this challenge, we turn to the Lamb of God. He will come to us in the form of bread and wine at this table to nourish our souls. He is with us as we struggle to root out sin in our lives, speak the truth and keep our lives centered on him. We can trust that he will give us the grace and courage necessary to live up to our calling as his followers.

The Wisdom In The Creche

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is beloved by so many people around the world because of his simplicity and humility. He has a gift for teaching the faith in a way that even children can understand. People of all faiths admire him because he lives the teachings of Jesus in such an authentic way.

At the beginning of Advent, just over a month ago, Pope Francis’ humility and simplicity were evident when he visited the town of Greccio where his namesake, Saint Francis, created the first nativity scene. Pope Francis used the occasion to deliver a letter to all God’s people on how the mangers we set up in our homes every Christmas can help us to understand the mystery of Jesus’ birth.

The letter he wrote is known by its Latin title, Admirabile Signum, and can be found online. It is short enough to read in one sitting, so I encourage you, when you go home, to take some time to read it prayerfully. Like all Pope Francis’ writings, it is packed with wisdom and practical advice. I would also encourage all of us, during this week, to spend time before a manger scene and reflect on the love of God who became man to save us in Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis’ words, in particular, give us some insight into the feast we are celebrating today - The Epiphany of the Lord. On this day, we celebrate the Magi who visited Jesus bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Three Kings, as they are often referred to, are prominent figures in every manger scene and an important part of the Christmas story. Let’s take some time today to reflect with Pope Francis on what these wise men have to teach us about our lives as Christians.

The first lesson we learn from the Magi is that God comes to save all people. Often the wise men are depicted as people of different races. This reminds us that they were not Jews, but men of learning from the East who learned about the newborn King of the Jews by studying the course of the stars. At the heart of today’s feast of the Epiphany is the reality that Jesus came to save all people. He is not only King of the Jews but the Savior of the World.

That means that no one is outside God’s saving power. He desires that all people be saved and know the truth about His love. Everyone we meet along our journey in life is beloved by our Heavenly Father. No matter how different from us they may be, they are our brothers and sisters. We have a responsibility to treat them with kindness and charity, especially when they are poor and vulnerable.

The Magi are certainly wealthy men, but they are not so proud that they cannot enter a stable and kneel down on the dirt floor to worship God. They are humble enough to join poor shepherds in giving honor to Jesus. And so they teach us that God is to be found among the poor and humble people of this world. By serving them, we serve Jesus.

The next lesson that the Magi teach us is that “people can come to Christ by a very long route”. Many of us are blessed to have been Christians all our lives. By God’s grace, we have believed and lived our faith since our youth. However, like the Magi, many have not been raised in the faith but came to Christ later in life. Or, they may have been brought up in loving Catholic homes but left the Church when they became adults.

The wise men stand for all those people who came to Jesus only after a long journey. They also give us hope for those who are looking for love and fulfillment in other places. We pray that eventually they will find their way to the only one who can give them true meaning in life - Jesus Christ. The Magi also give hope to us when we lose our way. We can always come back and be assured that we are welcome. There is room for everyone at the stable in Bethlehem.

Finally, the wise men teach us that it is not enough to worship Jesus, we must also bring Him to others. Pope Francis says, “As we contemplate this aspect of the nativity scene, we are called to reflect on the responsibility of every Christian to spread the Gospel. Each of us is called to bear glad tidings to all, testifying by our practical works of mercy to the joy of knowing Jesus and his love.”

Once they returned home, the Magi no doubt told everyone about their journey and what they had seen in Bethlehem. They did so because they were caught up in the joy and wonder of what they had experienced. The same is true for us. When we have a life-changing encounter with God, we will want to share it with others. We will want to tell them all that Jesus has done for us. And we will do it not because we are obligated to but because we are filled with joy at what we have experienced. Talking about Jesus to others should be as natural for us as telling our friends about a movie we really liked or a book we’re enjoying reading. If we allow ourselves to be caught up in the joy and wonder of God who becomes a child to save us, then we will want to share that joy and wonder with others.

Pope Francis says: “The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture. As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him.” Jesus was born so that we could be His friends. On this day when we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, we reflect on the scene at Bethlehem and the Magi who visited Him from afar. They teach us that Jesus came to save all people, that many of those people came to Him only after a long journey, and that we all have a responsibility to help each other on the way to Bethlehem where Jesus is waiting for us.

Scientists Who Believe

Are faith and science in conflict? To be a good scientist, would I have to deny my faith? And to be a person of faith, would I have to ignore or even be hostile to science?

As Christians, we would emphatically answer “no” to these questions. Since it is the same God who both created the world with all its wonders and who reveals Himself through Jesus Christ, there should be no conflict between the truths we discover through the scientific method and the truths we discover through investigating God’s word. Nothing we discover in the world which God created should contradict what He has revealed through Jesus Christ. And nothing which Jesus Christ reveals should contradict what we can discover in the natural world.

Throughout history, we find scientists who were also men of devout Christian faith.

One example is Nicolaus Copernicus. Before Copernicus, it was widely accepted that the earth was the center of the universe. However, through his understanding of math and observations of the sky, he made the argument that the earth rotated around the sun. There were some who found his theories hard to accept and others who claimed that it contradicted the Bible. However, when Copernicus’ theories were explained to Pope Clement VII, it was said that he was thrilled by the discovery.

Besides being a man of science, Copernicus was a man of devout Christian faith. He was raised by his uncle who was a bishop. Though there is no record of his ever being ordained, it is assumed that he must have been a priest because he was at one time nominated to be a bishop. At his death, he was buried in the cathedral of Frombork in modern day Poland.

Another great scientist who was also a man of faith was Gregor Mendel. By working in his garden, he discovered how living things pass on genetic traits from one generation to another. Because of his research, he is considered the father of modern genetics. Besides being an eminent scientist, he was also a man of devout Christian faith who served as an Augustinian friar and abbot of Saint Thomas Abbey in the modern day Czech Republic.

Finally, a more recent example of a man of faith who was also a great scientist, is Fr. Georges Lemaitre. He was a Belgian priest who developed the theory that is now called “The Big Bang Theory” that the universe began from one primeval atom which exploded leading to the expansion of the universe over time. He dedicated his life not only to science but to the service of God through the priesthood.

None of these men saw any contradiction between the truths which could be understood through science and those which could be understood through faith. In fact, it could be argued that their faith inspired them to pursue truth even more vigorously and to manifest the glory of God through the wonders of the created world.

We see this truth in today’s gospel. Who are the Magi if not early scientists? They certainly did not understand the universe as we do today and did not have all the instruments for observing it that modern scientist do, but they were committed to learning the truth about the world by studying the stars. They were first and foremost men devoted to the truth. Because of that, they were not content to simply study the stars. Rather, they were willing to follow that star all the way to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. And it was there, sitting on the lap of Mary, that they discovered the fullness of truth - Jesus Christ.

As Creator of all things, God is the fullness of truth. And that truth is fully revealed through Jesus Christ. If we are truly committed to knowing the truth then we have to be truly committed to Jesus Christ. Unless He is part of the equation, our knowledge will always be partial and incomplete. Because He is the Creator of all that is, we can only discover the truth fully when we discover Him.

Science is one way to discover truth. It seeks to understand reality by observing the natural world. There is no doubt that our world is a much better place because of the contributions of science. However, for all its successes, science cannot tell us everything there is to know. There are dimensions of reality that cannot be placed in a test tube or observed under a microscope. Not everything we experience can be understood by boiling it down to its basic parts. Science cannot tell us what the purpose of life is, why there is something rather than nothing or how we should live. Ultimately, without faith, those questions can never be answered. And, it can be argued that until those questions are answered fully we cannot put the discoveries of science to their best use.

Today, we gather to celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord - the day that Jesus Christ was revealed to pagan scientists from the East. Today, He is revealed to the whole world as the source and summit of all truth. All those who are truly committed to the truth - whether they seek that truth through science or religion - will ultimately find Christ. Therefore, if our pursuit of science is taking us away from God, then there is something wrong with our methods or our understanding of who God is. Likewise, if our pursuit of God is making us skeptical of or hostile to science, then there is something wrong with our method of seeking God or our understanding of who He is.

Either way, we are invited today to discover the fullness of truth in Jesus Christ and to commit ourselves to not only knowing Him but following Him

God's Presence Among Us Revealed

To many of those who had gathered for services at a Taylorsville, Utah Mormon church, the sight of Dave Musselman was unusual and unsettling.

His hair and beard overgrown, he sat on a bench wrapped in a blanket staring at his feet and mumbling to himself. When he walked in, many of the congregants turned their heads not wanting to make eye contact with him or engage him in any way. Though a few people welcomed him and even slipped some money into his hand when he wished them a “Happy Thanksgiving,” most treated him politely but with suspicion. In this well off suburb of Salt Lake City, most people had never seen a homeless person and were feeling conflicted between their desire to welcome the stranger and their instinct to protect themselves.

The level of tension rose dramatically in the congregation when the time for the sermon came and the homeless man got up from his seat and stood at the pulpit. Some of the men got up thinking they would need to escort him out. Instead they looked on in shock as Dave took off his wig, pulled off the fake beard that had been glued to his cheeks, cleared his voice and announced that he was their bishop.

Recalling the incident to the local newspaper, the bishop said, “It had a shock value that I did not anticipate. I really did not have any idea that the members of my ward would gasp as big as they did.”

One of the congregants told the same newspaper about her reaction when she learned it was her bishop, “I started feeling ashamed because I didn’t say hello to this man... He was dirty. He was crippled. He was old. He was mumbling to himself.”

During the sermon, the bishop explained to the congregation that his intention was not to embarrass or make them feel ashamed. Rather he wanted to call their attention to the presence of Christ in our midst in the most unlikely of circumstances and the most unlikely of people. Jesus is always near. Most likely he is hiding where we least expect to find Him.

The lesson that this congregation in Salt Lake City learned is the same lesson that we are reminded of throughout the Christmas season but especially on this feast of the Epiphany. Jesus Christ has come to live among us. Though we cannot see Him, He is still among us. However, as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, He is hiding in the distressing disguise of the poor and needy.

The word “epiphany” means “revelation”. It describes what happens when a truth finally “dawns” on us. Suddenly our eyes are open to an idea or concept which previously made no sense to us. For instance, when the bishop took off his wig and fake beard, it was an epiphany to the congregation who he really was.

When Jesus was born, it was an epiphany of God’s love. It taught us how far He would go to show us His personal love for each of us. It revealed His willingness to share our human condition with all its poverty and weakness. It also revealed that this love is destined for all people whether it be the lowly shepherds huddling in the cold or the cultured and sophisticated Magi from the East. It is a love that is destined for all peoples of every nation. It is a love that especially goes out to the poorest and neediest among us.

Unfortunately, it is a love that is too often rejected. Jesus suffered rejection from the first years of His life when King Herod chose not to welcome Him but to kill Him. Jesus continues to suffer rejection and persecution whenever the hungry are denied food, the poor are denied decent wages and immigrants are denied a warm welcome. In His life, Jesus experienced hunger and poverty and lived the first years of His life as a refugee in Egypt. He told us that He identifies most closely with the needy in our midst and warned us that we would be judged on how we served them. If we call ourselves Christians, then we must be willing to recognize and adore Jesus who chooses to reveal Himself in ways that make us uncomfortable and which may even frighten us.

This is a challenging message. All of us have to admit that we have fallen short. Because we want to protect ourselves and our families, we have been too cautious when dealing with the needy. It could also be that we are influenced by prejudices that blame the poor for their adversity because we think that  they are too lazy to find work. However, if just one time we take the risk of saying “hello” to a homeless person, shaking her hand or offering her some money, then we will see that she is a person just like us, a person with dreams and hopes but who has experienced more tragedies and difficulties than we can imagine.

We will make another surprising discovery as well. We will find love welling up in our hearts, love that we might not have found possible before. It will be a love that changes us because we will never again be able to experience comfort knowing that our brothers and sisters have no home. We will never again be able to enjoy a warm meal knowing that so many others are going hungry. Though this love will not allow us to rest, it will at the same time leave us with abiding peace because we have finally learned how to recognize Jesus, the Lord whom our hearts were created to seek out and adore.

On this feast of the Epiphany we celebrate a God whose love is revealed for all the world to see in the person of Jesus Christ. This love pours itself out in a special way for the poor and needy as we heard proclaimed in today’s Responsorial Psalm - “For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out....the lives of the poor he shall save.” To be able to receive such a wondrous love, we have to recognize our own poverty. If we have enough money, enough food and enough comforts, it is very likely that we do not have enough faith, hope or love. If that is the case, then we have to serve the poor around us. In that way God’s love will be revealed in and through us for all the world to see.

We Three Kings

On Christmas day, we celebrate the fact that Jesus was born.

Today, the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the meaning of his birth.

The word “epiphany” means a “revelation”.  The star that guides the wise men is a revelation that Jesus is the Savior of every nation and of all the world. God was revealing to all peoples - even to those from far away who had never heard the prophecies of a coming Messiah - that his salvation was coming to earth. It was not only to be for one people or one nation, but it was meant to spread to every land.

In our day, we may take it for granted that Jesus is Savior of the whole world. However, two thousand years ago, this would have been a revolutionary idea. Religion in the ancient world was limited to whatever tribe or nation one belonged to. The Romans had their gods as did the Greeks, Egyptians and Babylonians. It would make no sense to have a Roman worshiping Greek gods or an Egyptian worshiping Babylonian gods. It also would have made no sense for Greeks to tell Romans that they should worship Greek gods. Religion was one of the factors that separated people as did nationality and language.

With the Jews, however, things began to change. They understood that there could only be one God. And if that God created the world, he must be God over every nation and peoples. However, they still understood that the coming Messiah would be a King first of all for the Jewish people. The nations would benefit from the wisdom, justice and peace that their Savior King would bring, but he would be “King of the Jews”.

We get a glimpse of this in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah. It depicts God’s light shining on the people of Israel. The rest of the world is covered in darkness, but the radiance of God is beaming from the holy city of Jerusalem. All the nations of the world are drawn to that light and come from far off to witness it, as the wise men do. However, the light stays over Israel. It does not spread out to cover the rest of the world.

With the birth of Jesus, however, and throughout his life, we see that God has a bigger plan in mind. Not only would Jesus be King of the Jews, but he would also be Savior of the World. Not only would angels announce Jesus’ birth to Jewish shepherds but a star would proclaim it to wise men from distant lands. Not only would Jesus bring the good news to Jewish fishermen, but he would announce it to a Samaritan woman at a well and to a Roman soldier whose servant was ill. Jesus came to save every person no matter what their nationality, race or ethnicity might be. With the birth of Jesus, religion and faith are now no longer another factor separating people. Rather faith in Jesus Christ now is a means to gather people of every race and language together.

We see this beautifully displayed in our Catholic Church. The word “catholic” means “universal”. We are a universal church because we do not exclude anyone because of race or nationality. There are Catholic parishes in every country which recognizes freedom of religion. And in those countries where Christianity is still outlawed or persecuted, Catholics risk their lives to gather every Sunday for worship in hidden locations. The light of Christ has spread throughout the world and all people are gathered together in one faith worshiping one Lord.

Of course, we still have a long way to go to realize the vision of a world united in peace under our Savior Jesus Christ. There are still many people in the world who do not believe. There are still many who seek power and pleasure over peace and justice. There are still many living in poverty who have not experienced the love and generosity of people of faith. Just as the star drew the wise men to Bethlehem, we have to be the light drawing others to Christ. The light has to shine forth in our lives through our love, faith and good deeds so that the meaning of Jesus’ birth may become clear to everyone we meet.

Jesus came to save all people without distinction. He came to save the young and the old. He came to save the rich and the poor. He came to save the homeless and home builder. He came to save the sinner and the saint. There is no category of people we could imagine that would be excluded from the love of God. Whether it be race, nationality, sexual orientation or profession, all are called to the manger in Bethlehem to worship the Messiah.

We are called here today, as unworthy as we may be. We are gathered here to worship our Savior and dedicate our lives to knowing, loving and serving him. We will witness his love for us once again as the gifts we bring - bread and wine - are transformed into his Body and Blood. And we will be sent forth to bring the light of Christ from this place to all peoples.

Our Lady Of Perpetual Help

No woman has been depicted in art as frequently as the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the earliest centuries of Christianity, artists have painted her in all her beauty, strength and purity holding the Christ Child either in her arms or on her lap. In every Catholic church throughout the world, we find an image of her inviting us to worship and adore her Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

One of the most beautiful and popular of such images of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an icon entitled “Our Lady of Perpetual Help”, also known as “Our Lady of Perpetual Succour”.

The original icon is believed to be around seven hundred years old and currently hangs in the Church of Saint Alphonsus in Rome. Many miraculous healings have been associated with the veneration of this image. Over the centuries, faithful Catholics have sought Mary’s intercession under her title as Our Lady of Perpetual Help to assist them with overcoming temptation, persevering through illness and dealing with the other challenges of life.

This striking image portrays Our Lady dressed in blue robes against a gold background. She is holding the child Jesus with the archangels Gabriel and Michael on either side of them. According to tradition, the icon depicts the moments after the child Jesus has a dream of His crucifixion and death. Frightened by the nightmare, Jesus runs into the arms of His mother for comfort. He clutches her thumbs with both hands, looking up at Saint Gabriel who is holding the cross and the nails. While comforting Jesus, Mary is also looking out at us, holding out her Son to us as the source of our salvation. In her loving gaze, we know that, like Jesus, we can run to her for comfort and support when our own cross frightens us.

Today we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title as, “The Mother of God”. In doing so, we make an important act of faith in the child whom she bore. He is fully man, being born of a woman. Yet, He is fully God, as He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. As God, He has existed from all eternity. Because He is fully God and Mary is His mother, Mary is rightly called the “Mother of God”.

As the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help beautifully depicts, Mary was a mother to Jesus in every way. She carried Him in her womb for nine months. She breast-fed, bathed and dressed Him. She would take delight whenever He smiled and laughed. And when He cried, she would wipe away His tears and comfort Him. When He suffered, she suffered right alongside Him up to His brutal death on the cross.

It was on the cross that Jesus offered Mary as a mother to us. When He said, “Woman, behold your son” to Mary and when He said to Saint John, “Behold your mother,” He was doing more than directing Saint John to take care of her. Rather, He was giving Mary to us to be our mother. He was placing us under her loving, motherly care. At that moment, under the tree of the cross, Mary become the mother of all believers.

Therefore, Jesus is not offended when we ask for Mary’s help. He is not slighted when we go to her first. Rather, that is what He wants us to do. He wants us to find comfort in her arms just as He did. He wants us to know her loving, motherly care for us just as He did. And Mary wants nothing more than for us to know and love her Son. In fact, the reason she prays for us and takes care of us is so that she can lead us to Jesus.

Because Mary is our mother, we can turn to her for “perpetual help”. She is always available to us. Unlike an earthly mother who gets tired and needs a break from time to time, Mary can always hear our prayers and is always eager to bring them to Jesus. No matter what trouble we find ourselves in, she is only a prayer away. For this reason, we can have great confidence in her.

Of course, we can go straight to Jesus, because He loves us even more than Mary does and any help that Mary gives us ultimately comes from Him. Still, He gave her to us as our mother so that we could know her motherly care just as He does. He desires that we be like Him in every way, including having the same mother.  And so He is delighted when we turn to her and receive the same comfort and affection He did throughout His life.

As we begin this new year, then, let us bring our needs to Mary, the Mother of God. There are no troubles so small that she does not care about them nor are there problems too big for her to handle. She loves us and wants to help us.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori said, “Mary’s prayers to God are the prayers of a mother and, therefore, are never refused.” The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is a source of perpetual help for all believers. Let us turn to her with confidence and go out with faith knowing that we have a mother who will help us to overcome every difficulty until the hour of our death.

The Blessings Of A New Year

It was the last day of the family’s summer vacation on the lake. The parents sent their two sons outside to play while they cleaned up the house and packed the car for the long drive home.

About half an hour later, the father asked the mother to go find the kids and tell them it was almost time to go. As she went out, he started vacuuming the carpets.

About another half an hour passed and she still hadn’t returned with the kids. He walked out onto the deck to see what they might be up to. The three of them were in the lake splashing around and laughing. At this point, the father was becoming furious. While they were goofing around, he was left alone to take care of all the cleaning and packing. Didn’t they realize that they had to get on the road soon to avoid the traffic?

So he stormed down to the lake to give them a piece of his mind and march them back to the house to help him with the packing. However, when he got to the edge of the water, the two boys splashed him and got him soaking wet. Not even taking off his shoes, he went into the water and started splashing them back. All of a sudden, he forgot his foul mood and joined in on the fun. They had a ball rolling around in the lake, splashing each other, and laughing.  It turned out to be the best time they had together all week and a memory they would cherish for years to come.

On the drive home, the father could not help but laugh at himself. He was so worried about getting packed and on the road that he might have missed all the fun they had down by the lake. He wondered how many moments like those he must have missed because he was too preoccupied with other things to pay attention to all the blessings around him. A tear welled up in his eyes as he thought about how blessed he was to have a healthy family and to have the means to spend a week together at the lake. He promised himself that he would slow down and take more time to enjoy all the good things God had blessed him with.

Today, we begin the new year by slowing down, stepping away from our busy lives, and reflecting on all the blessings God has given us. We look back at all the good things that happened in 2019. Even during the difficult times, we may have had a sense that God was with us carrying us through it all and providing for us. As we look ahead to 2020, we might have feelings of anticipation and anxiety. Nonetheless, we begin this year offering it all up to God with the confidence that He will give us the strength to endure it all and to find blessing in even the smallest things.

In today’s first reading, God gives Moses a blessing to invoke on the people of Israel. It speaks to how generous our Heavenly Father is to us. He wants to bless and protect us. He is smiling down upon us with love and mercy. He is being gracious to us by providing for all our needs. He looks kindly upon us and gives us peace. Our Heavenly Father is a God of blessings. His blessings are all around us. However, we can only notice them if we take time to slow down and open our eyes to them.

The greatest blessing we have is the gift of faith. To believe in a God who is loving and kind gives our hearts much peace and joy. We believe that there is a purpose to the universe. We are not here by accident but we were loved into existence by an All-Powerful God. Ultimately, the world is not a cold, dark place that is bent on our destruction. Rather, it is a home that is given to us by our Heavenly Father. And this life is not just a meaningless exercise in survival. Rather, we are on a journey to a heavenly homeland. As Saint Paul tells us in today’s second reading, we are not slaves to dark forces beyond our control. Rather we are sons and daughters of God Most High - a God who loves us, who blesses us, and who carries us in His hands. Our faith gives us the confidence that all things will work out for our good if we put the will of our Heavenly Father before our own. Faith is the blessing we should always be slowing down to appreciate. It is a blessing we should also take time to cultivate through prayer and through frequent reception of the sacraments.

We begin this new year by celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title as Mother of God. Because Jesus is God and Mary is His mother, we rightfully call her “Mother of God”. She is also our mother because we have become brothers and sisters of Jesus through baptism. Also, Jesus Himself gave Mary to us to be our mother when He said from the cross, “Behold your mother.”

Mary is a great model of prayer for us. In the days leading up to Jesus’ birth, many things were happening around her. Though she was close to giving birth, she had to travel with Joseph all the way to Bethlehem. Once there, they couldn’t find anywhere to stay except a dirty stable. After giving birth to Jesus, they were visited by shepherds and later by wise men from the East. In the midst of all the chaos, Mary kept her focus on God. Rather than complain, she trusted. Saint Luke tells us that “Mary kept all these things reflecting on them in her heart.” We should do the same. No matter what is going on around us, no matter how hectic life gets, we should take time to reflect and ask ourselves where God is in the midst of it all. Then we will never miss out on all the blessings our Heavenly Father wants to shower us with.

As this new year begins, let us resolve to slow down, to take time to notice all the blessings around us. At every moment of every day, God is with us, providing for us, and blessing us. If we stay focused on Him, our lives will become richer and we will become a blessing in turn for the people around us.

Sons And Daughters Of Mary

Children find it easy to trust their parents. Because they depend on their mothers and fathers for everything from the home they live in to the food they eat, they can even take for granted that all their needs will be provided for. Relying on their parents for everything, they are free to play and learn without the constant worry of finding food or paying bills. Children happily surrender control of their lives over to their parents because they trust that they will provide for them without fail.

As we grow older, however, we begin to take more responsibility for our lives. Before long, our parents start to expect us to fend for ourselves. Increasingly, we become responsible for paying for our own food, clothing and place to live. As we mature, we take more control over ourselves and have more freedom to make decisions about what we will eat and how we will spend our free time.

This new freedom and responsibility sometimes gives us the illusion that we are in control. However, it does not take long for us to discover how little control over our lives we really have. All it takes is for us to lose a job or be struck with an illness to see just how precarious our lives really are. Our world can be rocked by the sudden death of a loved one or by being victims of crime. All we have worked for can come crashing down around us dashing our hopes for the future.

It is in those moments when all seems lost and we discover just how little control we have that we are invited to have the trust of a child again. However, we no longer place that trust in our parents. Rather we learn to depend on our Heavenly Father. When our world comes crashing down around us, we discover that, all along, God has been in control. Just as we trusted our parents to provide for us when we were children, so we can trust our Heavenly Father to take care of us throughout our lives. This does not mean that we stop working or striving for a better life. Rather, it means that we do so with peace and confidence knowing that our Heavenly Father is supporting us all the way.

We do not only have a Heavenly Father whom we can turn to in our time of need. We also have a mother in Heaven - Mary, the Mother of God - whose feast we celebrate today. The Church today invites us to begin the year by entrusting ourselves to her maternal care. While it is God who provides for all of our needs, we can turn to Mary to bring those needs to our Heavenly Father for us. Just as our mothers here on earth often spoke to our fathers to urge them to be lenient with us or spoke to our teachers on our behalf, so Mary frequently asks her Son, Jesus, to show mercy and to shower His grace upon us daily.

Throughout the centuries, the saints have taught us how important it is for us to have a devotion to Mary as our mother.

Saint Josemaria Escriba wrote: “When we were little, we kept close to our mother in a dark alley or if dogs barked at us. Now...we should run to the side of our Mother in Heaven… She will defend us and lead us to the light.”

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta told her sisters: “If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon our Lady. Just say this simple prayer: ‘Mary, mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.’ I must admit, this prayer has never failed me.”

Many holy women and men have taught us through the ages that it is quite impossible to honor God our Father or Jesus, His Son without honoring Mary our Mother.

Saint Ildephonsus said: “No one will ever be the servant of the Son without serving the Mother.” And Saint Louis de Montfort put it even more strongly: “All true children of God have God for their Father and Mary for their Mother. Anyone who does not have Mary as his Mother does not have God for his Father.”

Why should we entrust our cares and our very selves to Mary? Because God did. By calling her to be the mother of His only Son, God entrusted to her what was most precious to Him. It was Mary who protected, nourished and cared for the infant Jesus when He was most vulnerable. And she continued to care for Him throughout His life up to His death on the cross. In fact, it was on the cross that Jesus revealed to us that Mary would serve not only as His mother but as the mother of all those who believe in Him when He turned to Saint John and said, “Behold your mother.” Just as Jesus entrusted Himself to Mary’s care and entrusted His beloved disciple to her, we should also entrust ourselves to her motherly protection.

It is a great comfort to know that, whatever difficulty we are facing, we are not alone. There is someone who will love and support us no matter what we have done. Certainly, we can turn to God and entrust ourselves to Him with total confidence. However, in His generosity, He has also provided us with a mother we can turn to. She will never fail to intercede for us and lead us safely to her Son. As weak people who so often fear those things which are out of our control, we need all the help we can get. If God is offering us help through the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, we should not turn it down.

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul assures us that we are sons and daughters of God. If so, we have God as our Father and Christ Jesus as our brother. It follows that Mary is our Mother. Nurturing a love for her and depending on her in every trial will only bring us closer to God our Father and Christ Jesus our brother. Let us begin this year asking her to teach us to have a childlike trust in her so that we can face the challenges of this year with confidence and serenity.

Mary, Mother Of God

Motherhood is a beautiful mystery which reflects the nurturing love of God.

Mothers assist God in creating new life by offering their bodies in love to their child. Even before they can look at their child’s face or hold them in their arms, women nurture a profound bound with the new life growing within them. This bond is so deep and personal that even when the baby is miscarried, the mother grieves for the lost life as surely as if he or she had already been born. Because only a mother can understand this connection, many times women who have lost their babies have to mourn alone. No one else besides other mothers can begin to fathom the depth of loss a woman feels in these situations.

Once the child is born, the self-sacrificing love of the mother continues. In the early years of life, the mother continues to give her body to her child providing nourishment through nursing. The whole pattern of her life is thrown into disarray as she wakes up at all hours of the night to feed her baby, sits up with her baby all night when he or she is sick and spends the day making sure that all her child’s needs are met. When the child is able to walk, the mother is never far away making sure that he or she does not fall down the stairs or get burned at the stove. No matter how attentive a father may be, it is always the mother the child runs to for comfort when he or she is hurt or for food when he or she is hungry. A mother always knows where everything in the house is and what to do to make any circumstance better.

This mystery of motherhood is a beautiful gift to us. It is a reflection of the love of God who brings us into being, who nurtures us and who provides for all our needs. Like a mother, God never forgets us, always has us in mind and is the first one we should run to whenever we get ourselves in trouble. God never tires of offering His love to us and is always glad to hear from us. Like a mother, there is nothing that God will refuse us if we only ask Him.

This gift of motherhood is something which all of us can understand. Many of us here today are mothers and know it firsthand. However, all of us without exception have had mothers. All of us came into the world through a woman who carried us within her through the first months of our lives. Our mothers were the first to teach us about love, trust and the dignity of our lives. Even if our mothers were not perfect, even if they were not in our lives because of death, divorce or addiction, we can be assured that they loved us in the best way they could and that no one else could ever take their place.

Just as each one of us needed a mother to bring us into this world, so Jesus, the Son of God, needed Mary. Mary offered her body to God so that Jesus could be conceived within her and brought into this world to save us. She is the one who is called “full of grace” because God Himself came to life within her. We give her the awesome title, “Mother of God”, because the child growing within her is the Son of God.

As a baby, Jesus depended on Mary for everything. Like us, He came into the world as a helpless child. In her love, she wrapped Him in swaddling clothing to keep Him warm, fed Him when He was hungry and comforted Him when He was hurting. She rocked Him to sleep when the sun went down and checked in on Him in the middle of the night. Even as He grew into manhood, she was never far from His side. It was at her request that He performed His first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. As He was condemned to death, dragged through the stone streets of Jerusalem and nailed to a cross, she was by His side all the way. No one besides Jesus Himself has ever suffered more. Yet she trusted in God’s promise to raise Him up on Easter day.

Mary never stopped being a mother to Jesus. As His mother in heaven, she brings our prayers to Him. We can be assured that as a good son, Jesus never refuses His mother no matter what she may ask of Him. We can go to her, then, with great confidence, because she is also our mother. Saint Paul assures us in the second reading that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are the adopted sons and daughters of God. This adoption puts us in line to receive an inheritance which is nothing less than all the spiritual blessings in the heavens. One of these spiritual blessings is to have Mary as our mother in faith. Like a good mother, we can be sure that she hears us whenever we call out to her and that she will bring to her Son whatever needs we may have.

And so we begin this new year celebrating Mary’s motherhood as a reflection of God’s own love and as a promise of her maternal intercession. On this World Day of Peace, we remember in a particular way all the nations which are torn by violence, where families must leave their homes to find safety in foreign lands and where it has become impossible to make a living. We bring these lands and peoples to Mary and beg her as the Queen of Peace to ask her Son to bring an end to war, to greed and to hate. We entrust all the world’s injustice and suffering into her motherly care and wait with confidence for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to answer.