The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord_A - We Are God's Beloved_011126

Baptism of Christ - Davezelenka.png

Deacon Tom Writes,

“We are God’s Beloved”

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Year A

In one of his first encyclicals, Spes Salvi, In Hope We Are Saved, Pope Benedict wrote, “It is not science that redeems man: man is redeemed by love. This applies even in terms of this present world. When a man experiences a great love in his life, it is a moment of “redemption” which gives new meaning to his life. However, soon he will also realize that the love he has received cannot, by itself, resolve the questions of his life. All love remains fragile. It can be destroyed by death. The human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38- 39

At the heart of this Pope Benedicts encyclical is the fact that the deepest longing of the human spirit is to be loved completely, without judgment or qualifications, conditions or limitations. We all desperately want to be “beloved”, unconditionally. We want to be absorbed into a love that protects, nourishes, encourages, forgives, nurtures, enlivens, animates. When we don’t experience this type of love, we become fearful, suspicious, and withdrawn. Our lives become shallow and resentful. We become self-absorbed and self-centered.

One of the many gifts Christ’s death and resurrection secured for us is the reality that because of his selfless love, we too are beloved by the Father. This elevated status frees us from fear and gives us the hope, the certainty that there is nothing that will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

This is a good way to begin this New Year, to hold on to this profound truth thought throughout the new year: we are beloved, each of us by God whose love is overwhelming. Our God is with us always, by our side, always, in good times and when we are in despair. God gives us that same love he gave his own Son, Jesus; revealing himself so that we may continue to grow in his Love; encouraging us to love one another; speaking in the depth of our hearts that we too are loved with an everlasting love, an unconditional love that awaits our falling into it.

 Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: Three ways to incorporate Ignatian spirituality into daily life    . In this episode of Saturdays at Seven, Fr. David Quigley presents one of St. Ignatius’s building blocks for spiritual growth, namely, finding God in all things. As we begin this new year, let’s take the time to hear what Fr. Quigley has to say.

 

YouTube Video. Finding God in All Things. In this episode of Saturdays at Seven, Fr. David Quigley presents one of St. Ignatius’s building blocks for spiritual growth, namely, finding God in all things. As we begin this new year, let’s take the time to hear what Fr. Quigley has to say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Epiphany of the Lord_A - God's Wonderful Plan_010426

Deacon Tom writes,

“God’s Wonderful Plan”

The Epiphany of the Lord, Year A

The Feast of the Epiphany broadcasts to the world God’s immense love for all people. Christ, the Anointed One, has come as light to the people who have walked in darkness to reclaim us as his own. As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today, we recall God’s immense love for us made visible by his taking upon himself our feeble human nature and imparting upon us his own Divine Nature. What an unbalance exchange that was; one that reveals the abundant gift of grace we all have received in this divine plan. The Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer we hear today tells us how the Father “revealed the mystery of our salvation in Christ as the light of the nations…” This light dawned on that first Christmas day when Mary gave birth to her Son Jesus, who is both Son of God… and Son of Mary thus unfolding the long awaited promised one, Emmanuel, Christ with us, who has now joined our human family.

It was difficult for the Jews of Christ’s time to understand that God willed salvation for everyone, that salvation was not reserved exclusively for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob alone. True, God revealed himself through the Jewish people, but God intended Christ’s redemptive work to be shared by ALL.

This Feast we enjoy today celebrates the reality that God has not restricted or limited the saving work of Jesus Christ. It is through this revealing Christ to the world that God, again, in the words of today’s Preface, “... made us new by the glory of his (i.e., Christ’s) immortal nature.” What an encouraging thought in light of the many challenges we face today…that we can tap into this newness of life and love that Christ offers each of us.

None of us have the power to change things very much on a global scale. But, each of us can do something to show that we have been renewed and animated by Christ’s love and presence in our lives. We can do little things that make a big difference in the lives of the people we encounter every day. We can pray for one another; we can visit someone mourning the loss of a loved one. We can show that we have been renewed by Christ’s love whenever we visit a sick friend, welcome a stranger, give hope to the despairing, write a card or make a call to someone immobilized by old age or illness. We, ourselves, are renewed whenever we are animated as a member of the Body of Christ to be stewards of God’s grace or give witness to God’s transformative power by telling others how God has transformed our lives. We are renewed each time we realize God’s wonderful plan is to make all things new, even us. The more we empty ourselves of us, the more God can fill us with his divine presence. Yes, our destiny is to be remade in the image of Christ… “to put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (EPH 4:24).

Have a wonder-filled New Year experiencing God’s love and sharing that love with others every day of the year!

Deacon Tom
Enjoy these early days of the New Year... and look forward in HOPE to the days ahead.

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: The Cloud of Unknowing and the Book of Privy Counseling is an anonymous fourteenth-century text and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. The Cloud of Unknowing consists of a series of letters written by a monk to his student or disciple, instructing him (or her) in the way of Divine union. Its theology is presented in a way that is remarkably easy to understand, as well as practical, providing advice on prayer and contemplation that anyone can use.


YouTube Video: Carmelite Authors 101: Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
Pope Leo XIV had this to say about Brother Lawrence: Like many mystics, Brother Lawrence also speaks with great humility but also with humor, because he knows well that every earthly thing, even the most grand—and even dramatic—is a very small thing before the infinite love of the Lord. Thus, he can say ironically that God “deceived” him, because he, having entered the monastery perhaps a little presumptuously in order to sacrifice himself and harshly expiate the sins of his youth, found there instead a life full of joy.

Through the path that Brother Lawrence proposes to us, little by little, as the presence of God becomes familiar and occupies our inner space, the joy of being with Him grows, graces and spiritual riches blossom, and even daily tasks become easy and light.

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Image credit: REJOICE! By Sarah Brush, Discipleship Ministries

Deacon Tom writes,

“Rejoice in the Lord Always!”

 

Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

 

Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. The word Gaudete is the first word of the Entrance Antiphon for today’s Liturgy. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice! The Lord is near". One of the symbols of this Joy is the lighting of the rose candle on our Advent wreath.

 

In our first reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us that a day will come when God's kingdom will break forth like the desert bloom. If you have ever seen this miracle of nature, you know how breathtaking it is. This barren, desolate and vast expanse gives way to an overabundance of delicate beauty. Water will gush in the desert, burning sand will transform into a bubbling spring. For all those who are twisted, bent and bowed down by their burdens and harsh realities of life, Isaiah prophesies that one day, “they will meet with joy and gladness, [their] sorrow and sighing will flee”.  

 

Today’s readings prompt us to be people of expectant hope and who claim God’s promise as if we already possessed it, as if we were already living in this ultimate reality! Today we all claim as our own the gladness and joy Isaiah tells us will chase away our sorrows and sadness. Look closely at our readings today. Look around today at the litany of people who, although cast aside by the world, marginalized by poverty and ignorance, sadness and disease, refugees from war and famine; these are the very one who have a special claim on God’s love, mercy, and compassion. Look carefully at those Isaiah says have a very special reason to rejoice today: those with feeble hands and weak knees, those with frightened hearts, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the mute, the oppressed, the hungry, the captives, the bowed down, the strangers, the orphans, the widows, the poor, the lepers, and the dead. To be numbered among them…. is to be specially chosen by God!!!!! To be number among those who serve these little ones is to be faithful to Christ’s call to serve these, the least of our sisters and brothers.

 

On this day of Rejoicing, it is good to recall the times in our lives when we have been the forgotten, the alienated or hungry one. Let us resolve this Advent to be a source of strength, encouragement and support to those who have yet to claim God’s promise of gladness and joy.

 

Make this a joy-filled day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: “Channel of Peace, Stranded in Gander on 9/11” by Kevin Tuerff. Kevin tells his personal story of being a stranded traveler who, with numerous other, encountered  boundless acts of generosity and compassion from total strangers. This is a great testimony to the inherent goodness of people when crises arise.  

 

Recommended You Tube: a short reflection on “Stillness and the Fruit of Attention” by Fr. Lawrence Freeman, OSB that encourages us to develop the practice of contemplation in our lives.

 

 

 

 

Second Sunday of Advent_A - Advent - Getting Right with God_120725

Deacon Tom Writes,

Advent - Getting Right with God

Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

“Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand,” John tells us. Repent from what? There was a book out in the ’70s that was very popular. It was called, “I’m OK, You’re OK” by Dr. Thomas Harris. Catchy title isn’t it! It gives us the sense that all is well; I don’t need any fixing. I/m not the hot mess that people think I am! And, by the way, you are OK too! Oh, if only that were true! Unless we are suffering from some deep phycological prob I think we know in our hearts that nothing could be further from the truth.

We are all sinners. As St. Paul penned, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) We carry the scars and wounds of those numerous times when we have wronged God, others and ourselves by not living up to the to the high standards Jesus taught us. The memory of those failures festers deep within our innermost being. Our psyches are damaged as a consequence of the guilt those sins have spawned with us. We have much need to repent, but our pride often gets in the way and prevents us from coming to grips with the sinfulness of our thoughts, words and deeds, and even for those things that we should have done but failed to do.

 

In search of a remedy to their troubled consciences, the people of antiquity went out into the desert to hear John preach and to be baptized. In the solitude and isolation of the stark desert, people were able to grasp the notion that they needed to repent, to change the direction and focus of their lives in order to experience a spiritual rebirth as children of God.

 

This awareness of our sinfulness for the wrongs we have done or the good that we have failed to do is a prerequisite for us to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ Child into our lives. We need to be like John who testified, “He must increase; I must increase.” (John 3:30) That is, we must empty ourselves of our own self-centeredness, those driving ambitions, emotions and desires the place ourselves above others in order that we may be filled with the desire, the willingness and the passion to do God’s Will, to be the instrument of his joy, peace and hope in our world today.

 

These few remaining weeks of Advent are a special time to reflect on the way we treat others and ourselves. It is a time to get right with God, to turn away from sinful behavior and await the new life that God has in store for us, an abundant life and one promised to last forever.

 

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it

 

OTHER RESOURCES

 

Recommended Reading: Blessed Among All Women by Robert Ellsberg is a collection of devotional meditations highlighting the wisdom and courage of holy women throughout history. Some holy women you will encounter are Mary Magdalene, Teresa of Avila, Dorothy Day, and Flannery, O’Connor. Together hey draw us into the mystery of the beatitudes – mercy, purity, poverty of spirit, and the courageous struggle for peace and justice. A good read for this advent season.

 

Recommended You Tube: a short reflection on “Stillness and the Fruit of Attention” by Fr. Lawrence Freeman, OSB that encourages us to develop the practice of contemplation in our lives.

First Sunday of Advent_A - The True Ascent of Advent: Preparing for His Coming_113025

Deacon Tom writes,
The True Ascent of Advent: Preparing for His Coming

 

First Sunday of Advent, Year A

The Season of Advent marks the beginning of a new Liturgical year—a time of waiting, expectation, and preparation.

Expectation is what the Prophet Isaiah envisions as he looks forward to the glorious end of the age. He pictures a time when people from every nation will make their way to Jerusalem, their final destination, the place where their journey comes to an end as they:

“…climb the mountain of the Lord and arrive at the house of the God of Jacob, where they learn his ways and walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3)

For many people today, the Advent journey feels like drudgery. It is a time of going to the malls and wandering through a maze of stores and kiosks. For the tech savvy, it is endless hours of searching online and calling upon retailers for overnight delivery of our digital shopping bargains. Is it any wonder that the real meaning of the season is lost in the busyness of buying gifts and preparing for the “Holidays?” The sheer exhaustion from this pace leaves little energy or time for reflection on the profound meaning of the Incarnation—the gift from God Most High who is eager to enter our world and the recesses of our hearts from his divine realm.

These words of the Prophet Isaiah as we begin this Advent season encourage us to reclaim the true journey of Advent—a pilgrimage not to a geographical Jerusalem, but to the center of our own hearts.

We don't have to pack our bags and head off to Jerusalem. Instead, we can use this spiritually enrich time as a spiritual ascent, a time of reflection to identify and resolve to overcome the obstacles that limit our growing closer to Our Lord, surmounting the mountains, if you will, that keep us from experiencing the depth and totality of God’s love for us.

This path of self-improvement and peace is our vigilance. The Gospel calls us to "stay awake" (Mark 13:33) and not let the anxieties and cares of this life make us drowsy to the Lord's coming.

The journey to overcome the hurts and scars others have caused us and to forgive them may be more difficult than climbing the highest mountains. How very difficult is it for us to change our mindsets and be open to the ways of peace as Jesus taught throughout his ministry?

Isaiah invites us to do just that in the image he presents today of recasting spears into pruning hooks.

Can we use this holy time to seek all that is necessary to find interior peace within ourselves for all that is troubling us? Can we find the time this holy season to consult and listen to the Holy Spirit to direct our lives and heal our troubled consciences for all the wrongs we have done, and all the hurts we have caused others?

I doubt there is a more difficult uphill climb than this: finding peace by yielding our thoughts and ways to the One who came to dwell among us. May we all reach higher terrain this holy and grace filled season.

Perhaps that journey begins today, with a simple five minutes of silence, listening for the direction of the Holy Spirit, or committing to a nightly reading of the Scripture for the following day.

Enjoy the day, Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading:  The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI probes the question “What is spirituality?”, cutting through the misunderstanding and confusion that can often surround this subject with his trademark clarity.

 

Recommended Web Site: The 1st Sunday of Advent: Gospel Reflection, Year A, Fr. Tim Peters. Fr Tim unpacks the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent – Matthew 24:37-44. A good reflection to enter in this holy season.

Image credit: inapenafrancia360.weebly.com/

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Christ the King”

 

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year C

 

Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in response to the growing sense of secularism that arose in the early 20th century. Germany was experiencing the rise of Nazism and exaggerated nationalism. There were populist movements toward communism, atheism and totalitarian governments elsewhere that demanded total sovereignty over people, substituting a nation or an ideology in place of God. This led Pius XI to institute today’s Feast as a way to make us aware that nations can never replace God in claiming sovereignty over the people.

 

Yet, we know from Sacred Scripture that Jesus rejected the notion of being an earthly king. St. John tells us that when asked by Pilate if he was a King, Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” (John 18:36)

 

So, just what does Jesus’ kingdom that is “not of this earth” look like and how do we show our fidelity to it? The answer to this may be hidden in the choice of today’s gospel that is taken from St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ death on Calvary. (Luke 23:35-43) In Jesus’ perfect surrender of himself on the cross, we get a glimpse of the Kingdom to which we have been called along with a sense of the nature of the Christ’s Kingship. His is a kingship of suffering the insufferable, a kingship of forgiveness in the face of terrible injustice, a kingship of surrendering self and any authority or power we may have in this life into the hands of God the Father. Christ is king for those who live the beatitudes; he is king for everyone who suffers with those who suffer injustice, persecution, victimization, or deprivation; he is king for those who side with the immigrants, refugees, widows, the powerless, afflicted, disenfranchised; he is king for anyone who attempts to bring a sliver of hope to our world where hope is so desperately needed. If our loyalties and fidelity lie elsewhere, be assured, we do not belong to the kingdom Jesus inaugurated and is running its course before our very eyes.

 

It is fitting that the Feast of Christ the King marks the end of our liturgical year. It enables us to move into the Season of Advent anticipating the day when God’s justice and peace come to completion on this earth. That time when all the kings and prime ministers, chancellors, presidents and all who have ever ruled this world, will pay homage and tribute to the one from whom they have received their power and their authority and the one to whom they too must one day render an account. 

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius may be the best way to prepare ourselves to receive the Christ Child into our lives this Christmas.   

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Meaning of Life: Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. A Philosopher’s view of Frankl’s Man’s search for Meaning.  prayerful reflection on the people, events and happening of the day and where you met Jesus in them.  

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Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Days to Come’”

 

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

Seeing Christmas decorations in the stores and hearing the countdown to Christmas since early September is a sure sign that our holiday shopping season has arrived. In the spiritual realm it is a reminder that this current Liturgical Year is drawing to a close. As it does, Sacred Scripture invites us to consider “the days to come”. Today we hear the first of several prophetic warnings about the judgment that will take place in “the days to come”. The Prophet Malachi issues a warning that the proud and evildoers will be punished, and those who fear the Lord and follow his ways will be rewarded in “the days to come”.

 

Jesus, too, sees that in “the days to come” there will be a judgment rendered upon Jerusalem, a day when the magnificent Temple standing before him will be leveled…. “So that not one stone will be left upon another”, a painful image for the people of his day.

 

What Malachi and Jesus both envision for us today is that the days of this world are numbered. The clock is running...tic, toc. History, with its wars, famines, revolutions and plagues will give way to a new chapter in the Creator’s plan in “the days to come”. These readings remind us that everything around us is temporary. The world and all that has been developed over the ages in the course of human achievement and progress will one day fade away. What will not fade away, however, is God’s judgment!

 

In these last several weeks of our Liturgical Year, we are challenged to prepare ourselves for “the days to come” by setting our hearts and minds on the things that matter, on the things that will endure, Jesus and the kingdom he inaugurated. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are invited to live a healthy and mature spiritual life that leads to a deeper relationship with God; we are encouraged to develop a discerning spirit so that we know how to make the right choices for ourselves and our families; we are asked to conform our lives to Christ’s so that we live and act justly and do what we can to comfort and help the poor and the needy.

 

Following Christ’s example can be costly, as Jesus makes clear in the gospel today. Being a witness of the gospel can cause us hardship, suffering, and distress. Just try speaking out against capital punishment or advocating the principles of our Catholic Social Teaching. Watch what happens if you welcome a political refugee from Venezuela into your home.  That’s because the gospel stands in contrast to the world around us, a world that is often indifferent, wasteful, unjust and, oh, by the way, passing.

 

As our Liturgical Year ends, we look forward to “the days to come”, when all that is temporary and lacking gives way to the plans that God has in mind for those who persevere in following his ways. Today, we wait in hope for “the Lord to come and rule the earth with justice.”

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: Letters From an Understanding Friend by Isaias Powers, C.P., draws the reader into Christ's loving care to experience his love and compassion.

 

Recommended YouTube Video  Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI on Catholic Social Teaching. This is an excerpt from his lecture series "Simply Being Good-Hearted is Not Enough: A Spirituality of Charity, Justice, and Prophecy." I hope you will find this very interesting.