The Baptism of the Lord_C - Christ Among Us_011225

 Image Credit: Baptism-of-Christ.jpg/ by Davezelenka

Deacon Tom writes,

Christ Among Us

 

The Baptism of the Lord, Year C

 

Today’s celebration of The Baptism of the Lord marks an end to this Christmas Season. I hope the peace and joy of the Christ Child touched you and your loved over the course of this holy time of year. You will notice that the white vestments that have signified these solemn days of Christmas will give way to green indicating a return to “Ordinary Time”  next week as the liturgical calendar rolls forward.

 

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord. This Feast’s importance is centered on the visit of the magi whose presence before the newborn King of the Jews reveals God’s loving plan of salvation for all the nations of the world. Yes, God who first befriended the people of Israel now sends his Only Begotten Son into the world so each person may experience the intimate presence of Emmanuel, the presence of Christ living among us.

 

In today’s gospel text Jesus comes to John to be baptized in the Jordan River, a second occasion where God is visibly living and active in our human family. God’s voice from on high proclaims and affirms Jesus His “Beloved Son” as the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form. Yes, today we experience the fullness of Trinitarian love fully present in the completely human person of Jesus.

 

The Baptism of Jesus reveals the mystery of the presence of God in all of our lives. God comes to us when we are baptized just as he came to Jesus, filling us with his Spirit and claiming us as his own. We too become his “beloved.” We are invited to deepen our awareness of the calling we have received in our own baptism and, as our journey of faith continues, to pass the fire burning within us to all those who come into our lives. But really, is this really happening in our lives? Do we have any sense at all that we are God’s “beloved”? I remember the Nuns in school telling us if we were the only person alive, Christ would have come down and died for us. That profound thought should help us grasp that God loves more than we can imagine and therefore should move us to love God in return equally as much... even with OUR own heart, soul, mind and strength.

 

Our relationship with God is much like our relationship with others in our lives. Just as it would be virtually impossible to have a healthy and meaningful relationship in this life with someone we claim to love but then constantly ignore, so to with God. To be his “beloved” is to be in an intimate and trusting relationship with him, a union of trust and faithfulness that is mutually nourishing, beneficial, health, and supportive, and yes, even full of surprises!

 

As we ease back into Ordinary Time, let us remember that we are God’s “beloved.” Let this simple thought become our mindset as we move into this new year so that we take advantage of every opportunity to act as God’s beloved and continue to grow in his love, deepen our relationship with him, and to share the abundance of his love with everyone whose lives touch ours. Can you think of any better way to help our troubled world than to share God’s love with everyone in our lives?

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation 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: Christian Mystics - Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages by Ursula King. Introduces sixty men and women whose great devotion and mystical relation to God transformed the times in which they lived and continues to affect our search for spirituality today. What a good way to nourish our spiritual lives by learning from the lives of those who have travelled the way before us.

 

 

 

Recommended Podcast: Recovering the mystical Identity of Christianity This is a wonderful presentation by Fr Laurence Freeman who leads us on seeing the mystical in our everyday lives… Great stuff for the soul here… Give it a go….

The Epiphany of the Lord_C - Lighten the Load_0105025

Epiphany_Three-Kings_reyes

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Lighten The Load”

 

The Epiphany of the Lord, Year C

 

No matter what the Holiday may be, we often hear headlines about how horrible airline travel is... delayed or cancelled flights, long lines, frustrated or impatient travelers.  Then there is the 50-pound weight limit for our baggage which, if you go over, you get dinged a $35 or $50 penalty. Perhaps you have seen people pulling items out of their check in bag and stuffing them into the carry on to avoid the penalty. If you are smart, you use your scale at home to avoid such a scene at the airport. In that case you might be confronted with the difficult choice of leaving behind that extra sweater or the additional pair of dress shoes and if push comes to shove, and you can’t decide, oh well, you are just going to have to pony up the extra bucks!

 

I wonder if the Magi had trouble packing all they needed for their trip. They didn’t know how long their journey would take nor what exactly they would need along the way. There was only so much that they could bring with them and there were no shopping malls along the way like there is today. They had to pack wisely if they wanted to find that special object they were seeking, the infant King of the Jews.

 

This journey of the Magi that announces the Good News of God’s salvation to the entire world invites us reflect on the journey of our lives. The Magi’s story prompts us to ponder the direction of our lives and asks us, “What it is that we are looking for in this life”? What is the object of our hearts’ desire that is driving us forward each day; what is that “special thing” that will completely satisfy us when we find it? Most of us recognized that our lives are so busy and cluttered at times that we often neglect those important things that give us the most joy and happiness. Suffering from that same condition, I have been asking myself what are the essential, absolute necessities I need to enjoy life. It comes down a single word…relationship. Relationships with my family, friends, and God are what matter most to me at this stage of my life. Perhaps the same is true for you also. 

 

There are so many activities that contribute to the busyness of our lives that don’t contribute to the quality of our lives, nor do they lead us to what is most important: a deeper relationship with those around us and God. If the choices we are making aren’t leading us to deeper, more profound relationships, then, these are the things we need to leave behind, just like we must leave some things behind when we pack for the airport. Life, as we are often reminded, is full of choices…some are good, and others, well, not so good.

The choice I hope all can agree upon as we enter into 2025 is our own individual need to make better spiritual choices in the New Year. By that I mean, to choose to spend more time in prayer, more time examining our conscience to see where we need to make some changes in our attitudes or to identify areas where we just aren’t living up the teachings Christ taught us, those difficult things to do like forgiving others, not judging others, stopping gossip or overcoming our skepticism over so many things. As our lives have been turned upside down in many ways because of the pandemic, perhaps we can use the time going forward to delve into our spiritual lives and toss out any baggage that is not leading us into intimate communion with the Heart of God.

 

May God, who sent His only Son to “dwell among us,” help us to accomplish this in the New Year. And, may God bless you and your loved ones in the days to follow.

 

Enjoy the day and a very Blessed, Holy, and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Deacon Tom

 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation 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: 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

Recommended Podcast: Desert Fathers in a Year (with Bishop Erik Varden) Exodus 90 – ( Link to Apple Podcast.)

Modern life is like a desert—a parched and barren expanse where the soul thirsts for the living water Jesus promised at the well. Amid the ceaseless distractions and allurements of materialism, God can seem absent. As the Desert Fathers of old fled the noise of the world to seek God in silence, we too have been called into the desert.
Guided by Bishop Erik Varden, this year-long series—beginning January 1, 2025—invites listeners to encounter the profound wisdom of the Desert Fathers.

Bishop Erik Varden, a Cistercian monk and Bishop of Trondheim, Norway, is one of today’s leading Catholic voices. A convert to Catholicism during his studies at Cambridge, he was drawn to the monastic life, ultimately joining Mount St. Bernard Abbey in England, where he eventually became abbot. Through his writing and teaching, Bishop Varden speaks compellingly to a secular world, using the language of beauty to reveal the centrality of our search for God—even when we wander astray.
Join us as we step into the desert together, guided by the wisdom of the ancients, to rediscover the love of Christ that conquers all obstacles. Visit DesertFathers.com to learn more.

Solemnty of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God_C - Theotokus_010125

Theotokus, “Joy of All” Icon – orthodoxmonasteryicons.com

Deacon Tom writes,

“Theotokus”

 

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God_ Year C

 

I don’t know of a better way to begin the New Year than by celebrating the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God….In honoring Mary today we have the opportunity to reflect on the fact that God had an infinite number of ways that He could have chosen to make good on His promise to Adam and Eve after the fall…The time, circumstance and conditions as to how He would redeem us were endless.

 

Yet, during this holy season, we celebrate that God chose the most improbable way imaginable…He chose to fix the mess we got ourselves into by becoming one of us; by choosing to be born not to a woman of high status – a queen, 

a princess, a wealthy woman. No, he chose a simple young girl  of little or no means. And setting aside His Divinity… He crept into our history and joined our humanity.

 

It took years of before we recognized the depth of this mystery. In the year 431, the Council of Ephesus declared Mary to be “Theotokus” meaning, “Mother of God” the title of the Feast we celebrate today, as we look forward in hope to the dawning of a New Year.

 

In recognizing Mary as the “Mother” of God we are able to glimpse ever so slightly the depth of the Incarnation when we reflect on the Christ Child born into human poverty. In this image of Mother and Child we come to understand the reality and depth of God’s unconditional love of the highest of His Creation, the human family in all its brokenness, fragility, and fear.

 

This is the message Mary’s child carried into our world. We all belong to God’s Holy family….Where everyone is called to share in the life-sustaining, unconditional love of God and even in His very nature.

 

As the New Year dawns on us, let us ponder the wondrous gift of Mary, the Mother of God--- Theotokus. Let us place our hope and trust in her for all our needs as she abides in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May her favor be upon us as we welcome this New Year.

 

 

Through the intercessions of Mary, Mother of God,  may…… 

The Lord bless us and keep us!

The Lord let his face shine upon us and be gracious to us!

The Lord look upon us kindly and give us peace!

 

 

Wishing you and your families a…Happy, Holy, and Healthy New Year‼!

Deacon Tom

 

Please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you....

 Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation 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:  Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses by Robert Ellsberg

Since the early centuries, Christians have held up the saints as models of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Blessed Among Us explores this eclectic “cloud of witnesses”—lay and religious, single and married, canonized and not, and even non-Christians whose faith and wisdom may illuminate our path. In two stories per day for a full calendar year, Ellsberg sketches figures from biblical times to the present age and from all corners of this world—ordinary figures whose extraordinary lives point to the new age in the world to come.
  
Blessed Among Us is drawn from Ellsberg’s acclaimed column of the same name in Give Us This Day, a monthly resource for daily prayer published by Liturgical Press

 

Recommended Podcast: Things Not Seen Podcast hosted by David Dault speaks with Robert Ellsberg, publisher of Orbis Books, on his friendship with Sister Wendy Beckett -- a friendship based on several hundred letters, exchanged on an almost daily basis, during the last three years of Sister Wendy's life. Initially they dealt with lives of saints, the meaning of holiness, and the spiritual life, but they soon expanded into a deep and intimate exchange that encompassed our whole lives, the subject of love, suffering, joy, and the presence of grace in everyday life. The correspondence is collected in the recent book, Dearest Sister Wendy.

 

Sister Wendy, who died in December 2018, was a consecrated hermit who lived on the grounds of a Carmelite monastery in England. For some years she achieved highly unlikely fame when she was discovered by the BBC and given her own TV series to comment on art. From this there followed many books on art and spirituality. But eventually she reverted to her solitary life. Many had urged Sister Wendy to write more about her interior life--but she always refused. That is what changed in the course of our correspondence, to the point that she observed that the book I had been seeking was to be found in our correspondence. 

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Year_C - Reflection on the Holy Family_122824

 Image Credit: Cindy Osborne Drayton University

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Reflection on the Holy Family”

 

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Year C

 

The Feast that we celebrate today is a very special one for all who see family as the center not only of our physical lives but our spiritual ones as well. God’s unconditional love for us is revealed and reflected in the human family. The family is where we come to know and experience the deepest form of love – agape love, that sacrificing and selfless love - in an intimate way. The love of family and close friends surrounding us as we grow through infancy and childhood forms our behavior and determines how we will interact with those around us throughout our lives. In our effort to grow in our understanding of God, we begin to see that God’s self-revelation to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is something that we see in the structure of our own families. As unfathomable as the mystery of God’s own nature is, we are, nevertheless, able to experience that divine nature in a limited way in the love we share first in our families, then with others.

 

If we have contemplated the life of the Holy Family, we might have noticed that it stands in marked contrast to many of the experiences of families today. Families are under so much stress with all the demands being made on parents who are, in today’s norm, both working just to provide for everyday needs. Then there is all the running around – school activities, running back and forth to day care, music lessons, doctor’s appointments, getting the oil changed, yoga classes, or getting to the gym. Oh, and don’t forget getting to CRE and Mass too! There seems to be no end to the demands of contemporary family life. And, sadly, there are so many families that are unable to maintain the pace or withstand those stress and for them addiction, violence and abuse can become the order of the day.

 

Our children and even our grandchildren are under a lot of pressure too, more so today than ever before, as they strive to do well in school, to be the student athlete, and to star in the big play. Our active schedules leave very little time for families to enjoy quality time together, a time to share each other’s company and stories about how life used to be. Now more than ever in our human development there is so little time where mom and dad can teach their children about virtuous living and help shape their character so that they can know how to live a moral life. Then there are the challenges poised by families separated by many miles and the difficulties encountered by single parents.

 

Isn’t it interesting that the people of antiquity were receptive to this notion of “Sabbath Rest” and set aside a complete day on which to rest from their labors and to replenish their spirits? Let’s face it, unless we are very disciplined people, we seldom schedule time to rest our bodies, renew our spirits, and develop lasting and binding ties to family and friends. And then there is this relatively new problem that we face today, our kids are susceptible to outside influences earlier today than ever before because our high-tech society has radically changed the way we communicate and interact with one another. And, as we are beginning to see more clearly, has produced numerous challenges to family life.

 

As we journey through these few days of Christmas, we would do well to contemplate the love and life of the Holy Family in which the child Jesus was welcomed, loved, nourished, and where He flourished and came to know and experience the depth of the love of God. With God’s grace may we do the same.  

 

May God bless you with the happiest and most peaceful New Year.

Deacon Tom

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass at Dawn_Year C - When Heaven Came Down to Earth_122524

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“When Heaven Came Down To Earth…”

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass at Dawn, Year C

In the stillness of the night in a remote village, the sound of a newborn baby’s cry interrupts the silence. No ordinary child by heritage, his ancestors include Abraham, Jesse, David, Solomon and Amos, towering figures who had safeguarded the promises given to them by Yahweh that he would one day come down from heaven and live among his people. All creation celebrates this moment in time. Stars in the sky light the way. Angelic Beings sing with joy. Wise men set their course to find him. Nothing in the history of the world before or after this singular moment has had a greater impact on our lives than when heaven came down to earth.

We look back two thousand years and celebrate this joyful event today as we look forward to the dawning of this new day and the promises it has in store for us… the promises of hope that we have for our children, grandchildren and, for some of us, our great grandchildren…. the promises we have that our loved ones who are suffering will find comfort and rest…..the promises that our broken world may find some peace and that all that divides us will be reconciled.

The world that Jesus was born into was not much different than the world we find ourselves living in today. There are evil rulers who destroy the innocent as Herod did. Vast numbers of people lack the basic necessities of life; there is uncertainty about "What is truth?" Many are living in fear of what tomorrow will bring.

And so too there is nothing new under the sun as the saying goes... this was pretty much the way things were when Jesus was born. Yet, In the quiet of the evening he came into the world that he created to be its light. But, “the world received him not". It is by the choices that we make throughout the day that provide the surest evidence that we have chosen to receive him into our lives even though he is still rejected by the world. We do so...when we choose forgiveness instead of resentment… when we choose the good of the other over our own self interest…when we choose to do what is right and virtuous instead of pleasing the crowd…when we choose the Eucharist over (____) [fill in the blank], when we choose to be the light that in the midst of the surrounding darkness. And yet, Jesus chooses too; he chooses to come again and again into our broken lives, into our fractured world, peddling his goods… peace, justice, purity, love. One day we’ll get it right… That’s the promise. That’s our hope.

May the joy of the Holy Family be with you and your families this Christmas and may the Christ Child grant us the deepest desires within our hearts.

Merry Christmas
AND
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Deacon Tom
Enjoy this special day!

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation 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:
“The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is” by N.T. Wright The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge: to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, and to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century. A very good read as we enter into a new year.

Fourth Sunday of Advent_C - I Come to Do Your Will, O God_122224

Deacon Tom Writes,

“I Come to Do Your Will, O God”

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

Isn’t it strange that the one thing that can keep us furthest from God’s love is the very gift God intended to draw us closest to him? It’s this unique gift of “Free Will” that flows from God’s unimaginable love for us that enables us to say “No” to him. When we misuse this gift, we are free to reject him completely; we can ignore him when it is convenient to do so; we can even deny that he exists. Imagine that! Once we liberate ourselves from our Creator, we are completely free to live our lives with reckless abandon trying to find substitutes for those very things God intended us to have from the beginning – our complete joy and happiness. But striking out on our own to find “the good life” usually has dire and “unintended” but predictable consequences.

Of course, God did not intend for us to use the gift of “Free Will” to reject him. In giving us this gift God revealed something about himself. He revealed his unconditional love for us and for all his creation. No “normal” parent gives their children something that would harm them. The giving of gifts reflects the deep love parents have for their children. Genuine giving is an intimate sharing of parents’ desire for their children to experience joy and happiness here in this life, to reach their full potential as they mature into adulthood, and one day to enter into eternal life for which we were all created.

In the Second Reading today, St. Paul quotes Jesus’ words letting us know that he is aware of the gift he has received from God, and that he knows how to respond to that gift. He responds to the precious gift of free will by saying “Yes” to God. In the Gospel, Mary is visiting her cousin Elizabeth to share with her the good news of how God responds to her saying, “Yes” to him. Both Jesus and Mary use the gift of their free will by submitting themselves to God and disposing themselves to do all that God asks them to do. Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist know and teach us that this is the only way for us to fully experience all that God has promised us in this life….and, to look forward to the life that is to come.

As we prepare to exchange gifts this Christmas, let us recall the gifts that we have received from God. And, let us respond joyfully to the many other gifts we have been blessed with over the years by echoing Jesus’ words, “I come to do your will, O God” and then, sit quietly and await his response in silence.



God bless and keep you and your loved ones close to him, now and always. And may the Christ Child fill you with his peace and love.



Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.





OTHER RESOURCES



Recommended Reading: Reasons to Believe - A Personal Story Belief is difficult. Sometimes we need to see to believe. Jesus was gentle with Thomas and his doubts. He allowed him to touch His wounded heart. Is He doing the same for us now, in this new millennium? As a compelling and thought-provoking witnesses to their faith, Ron Tesoriero, lawyer author, and Michael Willesee, investigative journalist, take a look at several Eucharistic Miracles and build a powerful fact-based-case for belief in Eucharist



Recommended You Tube: Eucharistic Miracles of Buenos Aires - Bread to Human Heart. An interesting presentation on Eucharistic miracles occurring today. 







Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Third Sunday of Advent_C - What Shoud We Do?_121524

Deacon Tom Writes

“What Should We Do?”

Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

 

John the Baptist was like a magnet drawing people out into the desert. They came because they were looking for something, and perhaps, because John was so very different than anyone they had ever heard or seen, they may have thought that he had what they were looking for. So, they came and listened. Some even went so far as to be baptized, a sign that they bought into what he was preaching - lock, stock and barrel!

 

The baptism that John was preaching called for a change of heart. Those who felt called to take John up on his offer had to leave their old ways behind and start out fresh, as if it was a new beginning, or at the least, a new mindset. Those who desired to change their ways asked John an obvious question, “What should we do?” And so, to the Tax Collector, John says, “Stop collecting more than is prescribed.” In other word, do whatever is the right thing to do in all your business affairs. To the Soldiers who asked what they should do, he answered, “Do not extort…do not falsely accuse…. be satisfied with your wages.” That’s the equivalent of saying don’t abuse your power or misuse your authority. People from all walks of life came to John for his advice and it would basically be the same, “Stop the injustice; start doing what is right.”

 

John is preparing the people for the one who is to follow him, Jesus. John lays the foundation of justice that Jesus will build on. The call to justice requires that we look within and see how we have contributed to the injustices that surround us and to have a change of heart and recognize that we need to change our ways.

 

John calls us to conversion, a change of heart that comes from within. When we experience this conversion, we too begin to ask the question, “What should we do?”   While we still have some days of Advent remaining, let’s pause and ask Jesus to help us answer this question from within so we may always “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation 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: “Open Mind, Open Heart” by Cistercian Father Thomas Keating. A deep and thorough overview of the Christian contemplative tradition, a process of interior transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. Herein a restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond to everyday life with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that happens. Fr. Thomas gives step-by-step guidance in the method of Centering Prayer, a movement of divine love designed to renew the Christian contemplative tradition.

 

Recommended You Tube: a short reflection on “Stillness and the Fruit of Attention” YouTube: 79 The Most Excellent Path, Part 1, with Thomas Keating who leads us on the spiritual journey – Formation in the Christian Contemplative