The Baptism of the Lord_C - Christ Among Us_010921

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” 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 saying 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


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

The Baptism of the Lord - The Word Became Flesh_011021

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Word became Flesh”

The Baptism of the Lord_Year B    

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord completing our Christmas Season that began on the First Sunday of Advent way back on November 30th. I suspect for most of us these six weeks have been quite different than any other Advent / Christmas seasons we have known. We Americans are not accustomed to having our movements limited or restricted as has been necessary because of the pandemic. Yet, it seems to me, we were still able to occupy ourselves preparing as best we could to celebrate this Holy and festive occasion. Physical visits and hugs and kisses from our loved ones had to be virtual yet, thanks to technology such as Facetime and Google Meet, we have been able to be present to those we love. So, in the black hole that has clouded our Christmas Joy, my hope is that we are able to take in some quiet time to experience the mystery of our faith that liturgically comes to completion today… the mystery of the Incarnation, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (JN 1:14)

Yes, this simple yet profound message of the Christmas season… “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” is not an easy message to incorporate into our daily lives. How do we who call ourselves “Christian” and who number ourselves among the “members of the Body of Christ” reengage the world after celebrating the birth of our infant savior? How do we engage this new year with a renewed level of energy and a deepened commitment to living the gospel message born by our infant savior? The answer, I believe, comes from this notion that our Savior came down from heaven to “dwell among us”. Once we grasp this profound reality, we begin to realize that for Christians there can be no “packing away” our faith along with the Advent Wreath and the Christmas ornaments until next year. No! We don’t just celebrate our Savior’s birth and baptism then just pick up where we left off with business as usual, forgetting our uniquely Catholic-Christian identity. Like Jesus, we too are called and we are sent… as His disciples, to make a difference in the world…for the better…to make His presence and His teachings known to all around us…not just by our words, but by our actions! Yes, it is one thing to sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” at Midnight Mass. It is quite another to be faithful to the teachings of Christ…and the example He set, of forgiveness, compassion, tolerance, patience, and unconditional love for all, even His enemies, even those who put Him to death. Recent history has put out a clarion call for Christians to be actively engage in being disciples of Jesus today…. in our time, in our homes, our communities, our schools, in our words and all our actions.

We begin 2021 with a deep sense of hope; hope that we will all choose peace over violence; hope that we will choose reconciliation instead of retaliation; hope that we will choose love over hatred. We hope to turn our backs to evil in all of its degrading forms. We resolve to denounce all forms of racism, bigotry, commoditization of people for profit, pleasure, for any and all evil purposes. We hope that by living the way Jesus lived we can transform this world into the kingdom ushered in by His birth. If we have truly come to believe that, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” all that we do will reflect the Christ Child’s abiding love and presence within us as we work together building the Kingdom of God on earth.

May the “Word become Flesh” dwell in our hearts, now and forever!

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

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

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 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

The Baptism of the Lord - Christ Among Us_011319

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” 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.

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 in these next few days so that we seek 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.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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