A New Year's Blessing

Deacon Tom Writes,

“A New Year’s Blessing”

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Year A

God blesses his people as they journey through the desert heading for the Promised Land. His blessing renews the promises God made to his chosen ones on Mt. Sinai and reminds these weary travelers of his unending kindness, his ever presence, and his generosity.

As we celebrate this wonderful feast of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God today we are reminded that God, in his goodness and mercy, was not satisfied to remain simply an abstract image or a verbal expression on the lips of his chosen ones. God planned from the very beginning of time to become one with his creation by assuming our nature and sharing all aspects of our humanity. We are blessed because God reveals himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ who came to live among us and teach us his ways.

Today we honor Mary, the Mother of God in whom we find all the virtues of motherhood, discipleship, and witness of God’s love, mercy, and compassion. Today we celebrate what was declared dogma by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 that Mary is the Mother of God, Theotokos. From the earliest days of our faith, people have turned to Mary and sought her intercession. The Council confirmed what the people already knew, that Mary was honored the one chosen by God to be our advocate and refuge for all peoples throughout all eternity.  

As we turn the page to a new year, we are profoundly aware of our many needs and those of our families and our world. Mary, whose love, sacrifice, and willing acceptance of God’s Will enabled her to nurture the Holy Family now stands to intercede on behalf of all who turn to her. There is no favor her Son will not grant her, for, since the beginning of time, it has been upon her that his favor rests.

Through the intercessions of Mary, may…

The Lord bless you and keep you!

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

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!

Wishing you and your families a

     Healthy, Holy, and Happy New Year‼!

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

When Heaven Came Down To Earth

Deacon Tom Write

“When Heaven Came Down To Earth…”

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

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 one day he would 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 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 and they fear for their children; there is uncertainty about "What is truth?” Many are worried of what tomorrow will bring.

This is similar to 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". In celebrating the birth of the Christ Child we have made our choice to follow him and his ways. 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 in the darkness around us. And, at the same time, 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!

Show Me A Sign

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Show Me A Sign”

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

How would we answer the Lord if He asked us to, “Ask for a sign”? There are many things that I can think of right off the top of my head, but I’m sure that anything I could possibly imagine would fall far short of what Isaiah comes up with given Ahaz’s silence. Never in a million years would anyone but a Prophet of God think of the sign we read about today, “that the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel”. Yet this is exactly what God does. And so Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Mary.

Today’s readings remind us that Jesus began his ministry in the security and safety of a family with Joseph and Mary to guide and teach him how to live a virtuous life. Joseph, as we know from the little we read of him in scripture, was a man of courage as shown by his willingness to accept what the angel had revealed to him. He was also a protector of his family, doing all that was necessary to keep them safe. Mary was a woman of strong faith and trust in God. All of their daily decisions, conversations around the supper table, interactions with their neighbors, relatives, merchants, fellow Jews, and even Roman occupation forces exposed Jesus to day to day life and helped shape his understanding of the world. We know that soon after the child’s birth, the holy family became fugitives, seeking safety by traveling to Egypt. The love and care that Jesus received from Mom and Dad helped strongly influenced his human nature as he grew in wisdom and understanding of his divinity.

By situating himself within a family environment, Jesus gives us insight into his divine family – the Trinity. Family for us is the visible sign of the relationship we have with one another, a relationship of mutual love, affirmation and support. Within the family, each member is nurtured and nourished by the common shared experiences of all. Indeed, any good that we see as essential for a wholesome and balanced family life can be attributed to the Trinity wherein these attributes exist in their perfection.

As we draw closer to this great Feast of the Nativity, let’s be mindful that we are all part of God’s family. Indeed, we are all his Children. Let us thank God for the gift of our families and ask him to guard, guide, and protect us all in the days and years to come.

May you find God’s joy and peace in these closing days of Advent.

Deacon Tom

Rejoice in the Lord Always!

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 a highway in the wilderness or crocuses blooming in the parched desert. This isn’t some delusional imagination at work. When their time comes even deserts produce profound beauty. And so it will be in God’s time Isaiah insists. The day will come when the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, and the dumb will shout for joy. 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 "gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away".  

Today’s readings prompt us to be people of expectant hope, to be a people 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

Image credit: REJOICE! By Sarah Brush, Discipleship Ministries

Advent, Getting Right With God

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; we’re all OK: we don’t need any fixing. And, by the way, you are OK too! Oh, if only that were true. I think we know in our hearts that nothing could be further from the truth.

We are all sinners; we carry the scars and wounds of those numerous times when we have wronged 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, “I must decrease so He might increase”, that is, we must empty ourselves of our own self-centeredness, ambitions, and desires 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 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 our sins and await the new life that God has in store for us, an abundant life, and one that will last forever.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

An Advent Journey

Deacon Tom Writes,

“An Advent Journey”

First Sunday of Advent, Year A

Advent is traditionally a time of waiting, expectation, and preparation. Expectation is what the Prophet Isaiah envisions as he looks forward to the days when people from every nation will make their way to Jerusalem where their journey finally ends 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”.

For many people today the Advent journey consists of only going to the malls and wandering through a maze of stores and kiosks. Any wonder at the real meaning of the season is lost in the busyness of buying gifts and preparing for the “Holidays”. The sheer exhaustion from the pace leaves little energy or time for any reflection on the profound meaning of the Incarnation and the gift that we are about to receive from God most high.

The words of the Prophet Isaiah invite us to go on a journey this Advent. No, we don’t have to pack our bags and head off to Jerusalem and climb Mount Zion, although that would be a wonderful experience. We can stay right at home and be engaged in just as challenging an experience. We can use this Season of Advent 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 your will, that keep us from experiencing the depth and totality of God’s love for us. The journey to overcome the hurts and scars others have caused us and forgive them may be more difficult than climbing the highest mountains. How very difficult is it for us to change our mindsets and be opened to the ways of peace as Jesus taught throughout His ministry.

Isaiah invites us to do just that in this image he presents today of recasting spears into pruning hooks. Can we use this holy time to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt or make peace within ourselves, with 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 thought and ways to the One who came to dwell among us. 

Enjoy the day,

Deacon Tom

Find this blog on the web at www.deacontomwrites.com

Christ the King

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 have complete sovereignty over people, only God can.

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, 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. 

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 will break forth upon the earth. That time when all the kings and prime ministers, chancellors, and presidents, all the rulers who have ever ruled this world, will pay homage and tribute to the one from whom they have received their power and to whom they too must one day render an account. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image credit: inapenafrancia360.weebly.com/

The Days To Come

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 is a sure sign that our 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… 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 Jesus whose teachings need to be the foundation upon which we model our lives. We are invited to have 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. 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. We wait in hope for the Lord to come and rule the earth with justice.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

The Forces of Change: Prayer and Action

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Forces of Change: Prayer and Action

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

In today’s reading St. Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray that he and his companions, “be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith”.

St. Paul had reason to be concerned about perverse and wicked people. He knew the history of the Jewish people and was certainly aware of the fate of the seven Maccabees who were arrested, tortured, and killed for their faith. Paul, a man of prayer, asks the community to pray for him and his companions that God will protect them from the perverse and wicked things that people without faith do as he continues his mission to spread the Good News about Jesus.

The question that this account from St. Paul’s life raises for us today is, “Does the evil and wickedness we experience in our world today come only from the hearts and minds and hands of ‘those without faith’”? Unfortunately, no. Discrimination, the exploitation of the poor, the profiteering from the hopelessness and misery of others is a business today and there are many vendors who profit handsomely from these ventures. All we have to do is, “remove the wooden beam from your eye first” (Mt 7:5) in order for us to see how we may participate in the suffering of others by what we do… or what we fail to do.  There are many way in which we, the faithful, contribute to the suffering of so many people around us - people of color, the elderly and vulnerable, the immigrant, the single parents, the homeless and those “working poor” who struggle just to live simple lives. The sad reality is that so much evil and harm is done by people professing to be people of faith; those who fill our churches, temples, and mosques. Insane but true.

St. Paul was able to deal with the evil he experienced spreading the Word for two reasons:  he was a man of prayer, and he was a man of action. Prayer and work. Pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on us, advice echoed by St. Augustine some 350 years after St. Paul.

If we are ever to have any success in eliminating the racism, poverty, discrimination, and sexism from our society and in the world, we must find the right balance between prayer and action. Prayer is the way we  get things right on the inside, “cleanse first the inside of the cup…” as Matthew writes, (Mt 23:26) so that the love of God can flow out to others. 

Perhaps this week we can commit some time to daily prayer so that we can come to know our part in brining about the world that God has in mind for us: one without poverty, or war, or hunger; a world of right relationships built on the sure knowledge that God’s abiding love rests upon each and every one of his children.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Cosmic Perspective

Deacon Tom Writes,

Cosmic Perspective

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

The first reading today is taken from the Book of Wisdom. If you have an opportunity, treat yourself to some quiet time. Take a few minutes to reread this passage (Wis11:22 – 12:2). If you have seen any of the pictures from the Hubble telescope, you may realize the challenge this reading presents us, visualizing the “whole universe as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew before the Lord”. This insightful passage from the Old Testament helps open our minds up to the immensity of the universe and of creation. A creation that gives witness to the magnitude of God’s love for everything he has fashioned.  

Astrophysicists now realize that the universe is still expanding, is still being formed. Yet, as we read today, it appears to God as but a small grain. More amazing still is that it is God’s very gift to us. It is in our small part of the universe, mother earth, where we come to know and experience the awesome wonder of God’s love for us who are the masterpiece of his creation. The sacred writer tells us that God sustains everything he has fashioned, all that he has brought into being; everything that God willed to exist; otherwise, he would not have brought it into being.

It is truly amazing that the Creator of all that is has so much love for his creation that he allows us to be co-Creators with him. With that privilege comes the responsibility of being good stewards of all that “the lover of soul” has brought into being. Our Creator calls us to be good stewards of the environment and all that it entails. Pope Francis affirms our need to be faithful stewards of the environment in his Encyclical, Laudato Si, calling us to, “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. In addition to caring for the world around us, God also calls us to be good stewards of his justice and peace, so that all can share equally in the bounty of the earth’s abundance. He calls us to be good stewards of his forgiveness so that wickedness may not occupy any space in our hearts. And, he calls us to be good stewards of his love so that his Spirit can move among his children and keep the fire of his love burning brightly.

Teilhard De Chardin, the visionary French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist, and philosopher had this to say in regard to our use of God’s gifts: “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire”.

The next time you look at the sunset or the dark winter sky, be assured of God's presence and know that he created all this to remind us how great his love for us all.  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Look Into My Eyes

Deacon Tom Writes,

Look Into My Eyes

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

This picture of a Syrian boy bruised and bloodied during the recent fighting in Aleppo has touched the hearts of people around the world.   

Kids have a way of letting their faces show their emotions as I think this picture indicates. I look at it and I feel a sense of loss, the loss of another generation of children who have inherited the legacy of war, poverty, hopelessness, and desperation. Are these horrible conditions helping formulate young minds into believing that the future holds no hope for them or their loved ones? In the absence of hope, the violence and devastation will continue. 

                     

In our Old Testament reading from Sirach today we hear that, “The Lord is a God of justice….who,“hears the cry of the oppressed”. Sirach writes further, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds… and the Lord will not delay”. 

This thought that the Lord is a God of Justice should inspire us and encourage us never to miss an opportunity to reach out to the hopeless and despairing. Those who believe in God’s justice seek to cooperate with him in helping to answer the cries of the poor. Faithful people do not lose hope! Rather, they look to inspire and generate hope in the most desperate of situations.

There are many volunteers whose efforts engender hope to the war torn cities, the many refugee camps, and those fleeing the devastation. Any help we can give to the many charities is desperately needed. Catholic Relief Services does an excellent job in these much-needed supplies to relief areas.  Also, don’t forget to continue to offer prayers and sacrifices for an end to this and other conflicts around the world. Remember, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor”. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Prayer In Action

Deacon Tom Writes,

Prayer In Action

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Francis Cardinal Spellman gave us a unique perspective on prayer when he wrote, “Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon you.” In today’s readings we see Moses and the woman plaintiff working very hard to get the results they wanted. Prayer is very much a part of the solution. But as we read today, so is being active in pursuing the desired outcome.

We know that God wants us to pray because Jesus was a man of prayer. The gospels tell us that Jesus often went off early in the morning and prayed. It was through his prayer life that Jesus was able to know what God asked of him and formulate what his response would be. Jesus’ prayers animated all his thoughts and actions.   

It is this understanding of Jesus and his ministry that gives rise to Cardinal Spellman’s insight calling us to prayer inspired action. This is a very practical example for anyone trying to live the gospel message. How else can we do what Jesus asks us to do? Can we truly expect to love our enemies if we are not prepared to take some steps toward bringing about a peaceful resolution?  Do we think that we can merely say a prayer that someone we have hurt will forgive us and, zap, everything will be all right? Or pray for the hungry in the hopes that others will feed them? I seriously doubt it. Forgiveness, reconciliation, peace making, changes in our attitudes and behaviors, all the real activities of spiritual maturity, take both much prayer and much work. That is probably why St. Paul said to “Pray without ceasing”, and why we have the “spiritual exercises” of St Ignatius, to encourage us to pray and work for a Godly balance in our lives. This will enable us to discover God’s priorities for us this day and to discover his Presence in ourselves, in others, and in everything around us while keeping us from being overwhelmed by it all.

Central to our faith and essential to our spiritual growth and maturity is the constant need to maintain a proper balance of prayer and action in our lives. Doing so will deepen our relationship with our Lord who desires our constant love and who seeks to be our life long companion.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom