Thursday, January 30, 2020

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord_A - My Messenger_020220


Deacon Tom Writes,
“My Messenger”


“A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the saying goes. In today’s first reading the Prophet Malachi speaks of another messenger whose anticipated arrival was awaited with much desire by the Jewish people. Malachi writes that this mysterious person will be pleasing to the Lord and will purge every tinge of imperfection from his priests and his people. He will fulfill the covenant and be swift to judge with justice. Malachi writes that “You will find him in the temple”.

While our Christmas season has faded into the past, our feast today celebrates the Jewish ritual in which the first-born male born was presented in the Temple as a sacred offering to the Lord. What a thought! The most precious gift we receive from God is symbolically offered back to the Lord, the source of all that we have… and all that we are.

How our faith really challenges us! God’s messenger, God’s Word, God’s revelation of himself to his creation was manifested in such a fully recognizable and human experience, a child….  a vulnerable, needy, dependent, infant in whom lies the salvation of a broken world.

The Feast we celebrated today calls to mind our need to present ourselves to the Lord; that we are called to offer our very being and the work of our hands to do what God asks of us in bringing about the Kingdom of God here in our time, where we work and live and go about our daily tasks. 

Jesus enters into the human family in an ordinary way, subjects himself to the rites and rituals of the Jewish faith in order to fully embrace our human condition. Throughout his ministry, Jesus continues to draw closer to the Father and discerns what is God’s Will for him. And, by so doing, Jesus becomes for us the “The Way, the Truth and the Life.”

The Prophets Simeon and Anna tell Jesus’ wonder struck parents somewhat of the foreboding road that lies ahead… there will be challenges for their child to overcome, there will be pain and suffering for him and them, too. Isn’t that the story of life? Perhaps that’s why God’s Messenger begins his story where we all do, an infant. May our journey through this life, like Jesus’ follow the path God has laid out for us. And may we follow his example and place our hope and trust in him.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Decision Time_012620


Deacon Tom Writes,
“Decision Time”


Making important decisions is seldom easy. St. Matthew recounts the story of ordinary men who were running a successful business when they were asked to make a decision. Their encounter with Christ causes them to alter the course of their lives. They set out in a new direction to face the uncertainties of life with a new certainty….that all is not contained in this life, but rather, the greater reality is yet to come.

In deciding to follow Jesus these men became witnesses to the life transforming possibilities that Christ brought to every person and every situation he encountered during his brief ministry. Because they decided to follow Jesus, it is through their eyes and through their stylists these events have been written down and preserved by Holy Mother Church. Today these words come alive for us here and now. We now are asked how we respond to Christ’s invitation to “Come after me…”

We all have received a calling from God. We all have a unique and specific purpose in life that belongs to each of us individually. If we do not accept this call, if we don’t set out to accomplish the specific task God has given us, then that work, that effort, remains undone.

Today our Gospel prompts us to look into our lives and see how we have responded to the call that we have received, the call to love God and neighbor, the call to forgive those who hurt us, the call to live our lives in a spirit of wonder and awe knowing God is with us, always present in our lives, always seeking to bestow his abundant graces upon us just as he did to those we read about today. What he does for them he will do for everyone who makes a decision to follow him.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Friday, January 17, 2020

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Too Little To Ask?_011920


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Deacon Tom Writes,
“Too Little To Ask?”


In today’s First Reading, Isaiah reminds his listeners that God has great things in store for his people. Yes, Israel has fallen upon difficult times and is in a state of decline. But, the day will come when God will work wonders through his servant, Israel. Yes, too little is the work of raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the survivors of Israel. God has even greater plans for his Servant Israel, who will also ... “be the light of the nations that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth”.

Now at the beginning of a new year is a good time to reflect on how we are the beneficiaries of this ancient promise God made to Isaiah. What has God revealing himself to the world meant to us? How do we respond to his coming into our lives?

While reflecting on Isaiah’s reading, we might consider how little God really asks of us in light of all we have received from him. We have so much to be grateful for; we all could probably amass a large list, and yet God doesn’t overburden us with demands. He tells us simply to “love one another”, to share our food with the poor, to be peaceful, to be honest, to consider others first. He is not demanding that any of us end poverty, war, bigotry… No, he doesn’t demand that any of us individually solve the problems of hunger or disease. But I wonder if, just like servant Israel, God is just waiting for us to do our part, no matter how little or insignificant that may be, so he can bless the work of our hands and therefore bring to our troubled world the peace, justice and goodness that he desires for us.   

As we journey through this new year, one that may prove challenging and exciting in many ways, let us all be mindful that we are the torch bearers who bring the light of Christ to all those around us. May our thoughts, actions and prayers find their source in our Lord Jesus Christ who came to give us new life.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord_A - We are God's Beloved_011220


Deacon Tom Writes,
“We are God’s Beloved”


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 in a love that protects, nourishes, encourages, forgives, nurtures, enlivens, animates. When we don’t experience this type of love, we become fearful 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

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Epiphany of the Lord_A - God's Wonderful Plan_010520


Deacon Tom Writes,
“God’s Wonderful Plan”


As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today we recall God’s immense love for his people that gave rise to his taking upon himself our human natures so as to become one with us and claims us as his own. 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.

It was difficult for the Jews of Christ’s time to understand that God willed salvation for everyone; that salvation was not reserved 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, “you 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.  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