3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 26, 2025)

During this third year of Sunday readings,  we will hear the Gospel of Luke proclaimed during ordinary time.

Luke begins his Gospel by telling us that he has investigated carefully the events of Jesus’ coming among us. He wants to write them down in an orderly sequence for Theophilus, a person who loves God, so that he (and we) may realize the certainty of what has been taught to us by word of mouth.

Luke is writing his Gospel about forty or fifty years after Jesus’ death and rising. So far, the life and teachings of Jesus had been passed down by word of mouth. Luke is moved by the Holy Spirit to write out the events of Jesus’ life so that the ever-growing community of believers may have greater certainty about them as they share the good news with new members.

Luke begins Jesus’ public ministry in a synagogue. We heard Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah and then tell the people that God is fulfilling this prophecy in him. He has just been anointed by the Spirit in his baptism in the Jordan. Now he comes to bring good news to all who trust in God’s goodness. What he will say and what he will be doing is meant for those who have been suffering – captives, the blind, the oppressed.

God has heard their cries and honors their faithful longing for salvation. God has sent Jesus to bring them liberty, recovery, freedom. He has come to proclaim a time that is God’s.In Jesus, all who have waited will experience the loving-kindness, the mercy, the compassion of God.

You and I suffer our own forms of captivity, blindness, and oppression. Have I, have you, been waiting for God? Do we trust in God’s goodness and care for us? Luke reminds us: Jesus is God’s loving-kindness, God’s mercy, God’s compassion, present among us. How is Jesus speaking to you, to me, in our suffering? What is he asking of me, of you? How is Jesus’ gracious presence with me, with you, good news? How can his presence make a difference in the way you and I want to live today?

This is a year acceptable to the Lord. Jesus desires to love us and journey with us. Are you, am I, willing to make an unconditional journey with Jesus, trusting that he is leading us home to our Father’s house? If we are, then let us make a conscious choice each day to call on Jesus often during the day and use the grace that he will surely give us.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 19, 2025)

As a first step in "going public" goes, this first demonstration of Jesus' divine power is, to say the least, an understatement. No miraculous healing. No exorcism of demons, no raising someone from the dead. Instead, he simply prevents the caterer from running out of wine at a wedding reception.

Many might consider this a misuse - nay, even a waste - of Jesus' saving power. Initially, even Jesus himself seems to feel that his power could be used better - and later - elsewhere.

Not Francis de Sales. He sees that there is more to this miracle than meets the eye. Here is an example of how God's power permeates all human experiences, even the most ordinary. We are speaking here of the practice of the "little virtues," a notion precious indeed to St. Francis de Sales and a hallmark of his understanding of Christ's saving power. In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote: "It may well be that a very small virtue has greater value in a soul in which sacred love reigns with fervor than martyrdom itself in a soul in which love is languid and feeble." (Book 11, Chapter 5) Put another way, the little virtues, the expression of care or concern in seemingly ordinary circumstances, may be "found more pleasing in God's sight than great and famous deeds performed with little charity or devotion."

Still, there is a place for great displays of love: "I do not say that we may not aspire to outstanding virtues, but I say that we must train ourselves in the little ones without which the great ones may be false or deceptive." (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 159)

Jesus may have been tempted to believe that changing water into wine was beneath his divine - perhaps even his human - dignity. In the end, however, the needs of others were more persuasive than the desire to make a "big splash" in the eyes of others. Ironically, it may have been Jesus' willingness to employ his heavenly powers for such a down-to-earth request that enabled his disciples to "begin to believe in him."

His greater, more famous and once-in-a-lifetime displays of power would, indeed, come later. But whether on the cross of Calvary, or at a simple wedding in Cana, the power, the promise and the person were one and the same.

The moral of this miracle? Nothing is too small for the Kingdom of God.

Baptism of the Lord (January 12, 2025)

Today we complete the Church’s celebration of the unbelievable good news that God has fulfilled his promise to be Emmanuel - God with his people.

As we hear Luke recount the baptism of Jesus, heaven and earth are joined together as the Spirit descends on Jesus and we hear the Father’s voice announce Jesus’ true identity: “This is my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”

To help us understand the full meaning of the Father’s words, we have also heard the words of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus fulfills his prophecy: he is the Servant, the Chosen One, on whom the Father’s favor rests. The Spirit of the Lord is upon him, and he will bring forth God’s justice to all the world. The wonder of this revelation is that he will bring about this justice with meekness and gentleness, especially toward the downtrodden.

That’s the message we have received and the challenge we are offered by our baptism. Because Jesus wants us to share his very life, the Spirit of God has descended on us and dwells in us, and the Father speaks the same wonderful words to us that he spoke to Jesus: “You are my beloved son or daughter, with you I am well pleased.”

Our Father has grasped us by the hand, and he wants us to be the living signs of his continuing care for all his people, especially the downtrodden.

Our Father wants to remind us at the beginning of each day: “You are my beloved son or daughter; with you I am well pleased.” If we take the time to listen to his words each morning, they offer us direction for our day.

God’s loving word has to be an uplifting start to our day! Let us take the time to listen.

Epiphany (January 5, 2025)

Today we celebrate the manifestation of God to the world in the person of Jesus.

The magi were men of the East who were wealthy and educated. They were able to see the signs of the times concentrated in a single star and came to honor a great one born into the world. Naturally, they began by seeking him in a palace, since they came looking for the King of the Jews.

They eventually find a poor infant born to parents who were far from home. They bend their knee before the helpless infant and offer gifts of great value to a child that is poor. Station in life is forgotten in the presence of this child whose star they had followed.

We are invited to follow the example of the magi. We know that Jesus is God become flesh and blood like us. He has told us that God is so passionately in love with humanity that he entered the human condition in order to redirect human history back into its proper order – the establishment of the kingdom of God.

He came to remind us that each of us is created by God and destined for God. Our destiny is eternal union with our God. As one of the Sunday prefaces reminds us: “So great was your love that you gave us your only Son as our redeemer. You sent him as one like us, though free from sin, that you might see and love in us what you see and love in Christ.”

Today’s feast offers us a challenge for this New Year. Can we become like the magi, and lift our eyes from our preoccupations with our own petty concerns, so that we can see the glory and splendor of our God all around us? Can we receive the good news that Jesus has shared with us, by humbling ourselves before the helpless, seeing in them the presence of our God? Can we announce the good news by acting justly and peaceably?

Another new year offers each of us an opportunity to deepen our faith and widen our love. It offers us opportunity and grace to grow. May we have the wisdom of the magi to see the signs of our time and follow the lead of grace.

We too will find Jesus with Mary his mother. May we learn to humble ourselves before him in the many forms he will take each day and offer him all that we are and have in loving service.

Holy Family (December 29, 2024)

Today’s Gospel focuses our attention on the Holy Family, as members of a wider family, the family of God. The Father has bestowed His great love on us in calling us His children, brothers and sisters of Jesus who has shared His very life with us. Our Father’s final gift to His children will be seeing our God as He is – full union with our God forever. The Spirit has been given to us as the pledge of God’s everlasting love.

As God’s children, we are asked to reflect on a strange incident in the life of the Holy Family. What might we learn? When Mary and Joseph discovered that the boy Jesus was missing, they didn’t waste their time arguing about who was to blame. Together, they went to search for Jesus. When they find Him in the Temple among the scholars, they expressed their anguish about missing Him. Jesus focused them by reminding them that they should expect to find Him in His Father’s house.

Jesus was asking them to trust Him, even if they didn’t fully understand.

In our experience in the family of God here at Childs, there are often enough misunderstandings and anguish of one kind or another. We can lose sight of Jesus in these difficult moments. Jesus instructs us, as He did Mary and Joseph: “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”

Each day we come here to find Jesus in our Father’s house. Like Mary and Joseph, we can tell Jesus about our misunderstandings and anguish. Jesus always invites us to put them in His hands, then hear our brother’s comforting words to us and join Him in offering our sufferings with His to the Father. And He feeds us with His own Body and Blood and gives us His peace. Healed and nourished, we can go forth to grow in wisdom, knowledge and grace as a more united family of God.

May our Eucharist on the feast of the Holy Family encourage us to live more fully as children of our Father, as brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Christmas Day (December 25, 2024)

The Scriptures recall “in times past.” Think back to the stories of Moses’ encounters with God. Moses asked God to see his glory, not his face. In the cleft of the rock, Moses is protected by God’s hand and sees God’s back as he passes by.

In today’s Gospel, John tells us “we have seen his glory,” but even more. Divinity has become visible in the Word made flesh. In the face of Jesus, we see God’s face and live to tell about it. And even more wonderfully, we learn that the divine desire to share life and love culminates with “the pitching of his tent” by the Word of God among his people.

With the birth of Jesus, God inhabits the “tent” of human flesh, not in a place apart, but right in our midst. God makes “grace upon grace” directly available to every single person.

John wants us to know the deep intimacy of God’s love which is revealed to us by the “only Son” who is “in the bosom of the Father.” This divine intimacy is shared with all Jesus’ disciples. You and I make visible in every generation the face of God in human flesh.

Our Christmas celebration reminds us how blessed we are. As de Sales reminds us: “Let us stay at our Savior's feet, saying with the heavenly Bride: 'I have found him whom my soul loves, I hold him, and I will not let him go.’”

May we live each day joyfully, as we manifest the Savior dwelling in our midst.

Christmas Vigil (December 24, 2024)

Tonight, we celebrate once again the most wonderful news: the long-awaited Messiah-Savior has come to live among us!

The Son of God has taken human flesh in the womb of Mary and comes among us as an infant, humbly wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Mary and Joseph attend their child with great care and watch in wonder as shepherds come to adore their child and later wise men come with gifts befitting a king.

It’s easy tonight to get caught up in the wonder of the moment and forget to consider the great gift we have been given in Jesus. St. Francis puts it this way: “In becoming (human), Jesus has taken our likeness and given us His.”

Jesus is our God, loving us here and now, inviting us to love in return. He comes with saving grace to restore us as children of God. He comes to live in us so that our hearts can be at peace – peace with God and peace with one another.

Our celebration tonight is a reminder that God’s favor rests on us. Our God shows us once again that he loves us immensely. We have nothing to fear.

Jesus comes to us tonight not just as an infant in a manger. He also comes as the Bread of Life in Eucharist, promising us life and happiness that will never end. He challenges us to let him live in us more fully – as St. Paul says: to reject godless ways and worldly desires and live a life that is balanced, just and holy, as we confidently await our blessed hope: the return of Jesus and the completion of the kingdom.

In this Christmas Eucharist, Jesus comes to us again. As we receive him as a gift and later kneel before the infant in the manger, let us be quiet and say nothing. Let us allow Jesus to reach out and hold our hands and tell us how much God is loving us tonight.

Then let us ask him to stay in our heart so that we can share the love we are receiving -- giving it as a gift to all who come into our life. Every day you and I are a bearer of Jesus, God’s love among us! Let us rejoice in the good news we celebrate tonight.

Fourth Sunday of Advent (December 22, 2024)

The angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary contained two discrete, yet related, messages: (1) Mary would be the mother of the long-expected Messiah, & (2) her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a child.

No sooner has Mary said “yes” to the invitation to be the mother of the Messiah than she is off “in haste” to visit her cousin.

In a very real sense, long before she actually delivered the child who would redeem the world from the hopelessness and despair of sin, Mary was already giving birth to the Messiah through her own willingness and eagerness to serve the needs of another: in this case, a relative who, because of her age, might have been considered a woman with a “high risk” pregnancy.

On the face of it, there is nothing noteworthy about Mary's action. After all, wouldn't any decent human being do the same for a relative in need? What makes Mary's service remarkable is the urgency with which she did it. She truly is a model of virtue, one who clearly demonstrates in her own life that the best way of saying “thank you” for God's goodness to her is to be a source of that goodness to others.

St. Francis de Sales observed: “Mary does not consider that she is wasting time when she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. No, it is an act of loving courtesy." (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 159) In her "haste" to serve Elizabeth, Mary shows us the path of true devotion. Francis de Sales continues: "God rewards us according to the dignity of the office we exercise. I do not say that we may not aspire to the outstanding virtues, but I do say that we must train ourselves in the little virtues first without which the great ones are often false and deceptive.”

Advent reminds us that the great hope for which we all long is built upon the foundation of little, simple, ordinary things: kindness, graciousness, welcome, patience, honesty, hospitality, and compassion. Mary shows us that even the most singular demonstrations of God's love for us, first and foremost, challenge us to recognize the opportunities already present in our ordinary lives to devote our energies in promoting the welfare of one another.

Like Mary, may we come to see that our willingness to do little things for one another with great love and enthusiasm - to display "loving courtesy" - is the first step in our ultimate vocation: to give birth to the Great Promise of God's love for all people - Jesus Christ.

Third Sunday of Advent (December 15, 2024)

We just heard St. Paul tell us: “Rejoice in the Lord always!” The prophet Zechariah told us: “The Lord is in your midst.” Our God comes to renew us in His love and He is rejoicing over us with gladness.

Imagine, our God loves us so much that he rejoices over us. God’s great love for us is the source of our heart’s peace. We have nothing to be anxious about when we allow God’s love into our hearts.

John the Baptist reminds us that Jesus came to baptize us with the Holy Spirit – to fill us with the life and power of God. Jesus also comes to separate the “wheat” from the “weeds” in our lives, so that there will be more room in our heart for the Spirit.

During our Advent preparations, we are encouraged to look into our hearts and ask the Spirit to reveal to us anything there that may be blocking the flow of God’s love in us. Are there attitudes in our heart about other people which get in the way of God’s desire to love others through you and me? Jesus desires to come into our hearts more fully in order to soften and heal these attitudes, so that God’s love can flow out to others. In our kindness and compassion to one another, God can be more fully in our midst.

My sisters and brothers, we really do have much to rejoice about, much to be thankful for. In our thankfulness, even our sinfulness can become a reason to rejoice. Our God comes to save us from our sins. God desires to renew us in his love.

During these final days of Advent, let us hear the call of God’s love to repent. Let us listen to the voice of the Spirit within us, encouraging us to change – to grow. Let us rejoice in God’s saving grace given to us in Jesus. Let us open our hearts more fully to God’s love, so that we are better able to draw more deeply from God’s life within us – and love others as we are loved.

Second Sunday of Advent (December 8, 2024)

Today we hear John the Baptist crying out his Advent message in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.” He is proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke likens John the Baptist’s message to the prophecy we heard from Isaiah. In the ancient world, whenever an important ruler was set to visit an area, all the roads of the area were repaired: valleys filled in, winding roads made straight, rough roads made smooth. All this was done so that the visit would be pleasant, and delays could be avoided. And the people would benefit too, because the ruler would bring gifts and declare a holiday. All this preparation led to a welcome.

John the Baptist is inviting us to make a similar preparation for welcoming the coming of our God in Jesus. Those who wish to welcome the Lord of life should desire to fill in the valleys created by our sins, make the winding roads of our conflicting desires straight, and smooth the rough roads of our anxieties and fears. This is repentance: a graced change in the way we choose to live. And the gifts that the Lord will bring us are the forgiveness of our sins and a deeper sharing in the very life and love of our God.

He is reminding us: If you really want the love of God shown to you in Jesus to fill you more deeply, then you must be willing to make room for him in your heart. You must clean out anything that takes up the space that he wants.

As we continue our preparations for welcoming Jesus among us, let us heed John the Baptist’s invitation: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.” With the grace of God, let us choose to turn from our sinfulness more completely, so that our God can more easily come and dwell in us.

First Sunday of Advent (December 1, 2024)

Each year, we begin our Advent season with a strong reminder: we are preparing ourselves for the return of Jesus who has already come among us, sharing our humanity.

We hear St. Paul exhorting us to let the Lord come more fully into our lives this Advent, so that His love in us may increase and overflow into the lives of those around us. We hear Jesus telling us to be vigilant and pray for strength. Do not let your heart become distracted by the anxieties of daily life.

We all know how easy it is to become frightened and anxious as we look around us and see the signs of our times. There is much happening in our world - and closer to home, our own personal lives - that can distress us. That is why Jesus encourages us to stand erect and raise our heads. Our redemption is at hand.

Jesus has suffered and died for our sins; we are saved. He has risen, and He shares His life and love with us. He has told us that God’s great desire for us is to be one with Him. Jesus’ love within us makes this possible. We have nothing to fear as long as we hold His hand each day. His presence and the power of His grace are the reason for our confident hope.

Advent is a season of waiting, a season of expectant hope. As disciples of Jesus, our waiting is always active and alert. We are looking for Jesus wherever He wants to be found. In order to do this kind of waiting, we must learn to discipline ourselves often each day. Discipline ourselves to be aware of Jesus within us seeking to reach out in loving kindness to anyone who needs to experience God’s loving presence in his or her life. Discipline ourselves to be accepting and thankful whenever Jesus chooses to surprise us with His love given through others.

This discipline of vigilant waiting only happens when we choose to be prayerful in our daily living. Perhaps this Advent season could be well spent learning this prayerful discipline. It is not difficult. All we must do is choose to take a few moments several times each day to be aware and thankful for Jesus’ great love within us. That awareness and our thankfulness will make it more likely that we will choose to reach out with Jesus’ love to those around us.

As we learn this discipline, we will understand why we can be confident in the face of the distress in our world. Jesus’ love within us makes us ready whenever he chooses to return.

Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (November 24, 2024)

Each time we gather to celebrate Eucharist, we come together as the Body of Christ to offer thanks and praise to God through Jesus who is our Head.

We honor Jesus who is the “faithful witness” - the one who has shown us the love God has for us by dying on the cross to free us from our sins. Jesus who died and is risen has shared his new life with us, incorporating us into his Body, making us one with him and with each other. As today’s reading from the book of Revelation reminds us: “He has made us a royal nation of priests in service of his God and Father.” We are here today to exercise our baptismal priesthood - to give praise to God and offer ourselves in his service.

Our service as priests is to testify to the truth which we have learned by listening to the voice of Jesus, our Priest and King. Our commitment to living and speaking the truth is our priestly service to the world. Our openness to hearing God’s word to us today and our eagerness to be fed with Jesus’ Body and Blood as food for our journey enable us to grow in our priestly service.

Our remembering in Eucharist is not limited to making present today the power of Jesus’ death and rising to free us from our sins and give us a deeper sharing in his new life. We also call to mind that we are part of God’s continuing work of building the kingdom, preparing ourselves and our world for the time when Jesus will return to present the kingdom to his Father.

We continue to witness to the truth of all that Jesus said and did. Through us, the power of saving grace is made evident to the world. Who we are and how we live each day makes it possible for the grace of salvation to change the world around us. Think of it! God is reconciling the world to himself through you and me.

Jesus is the living head of the kingdom to which we belong. As members of the kingdom, we give honor to our King today. As we honor Jesus, let us also recommit ourselves to him - choosing to live fully our priestly witness by making God’s compassionate love evident in us.

May his love reach out to all his children through us.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 17, 2024)

Today’s Scriptures remind us that the world as we know it will come to an end.

The apocalyptic events described in today’s gospel sound terrifying. How often we have heard them repeated. As believers, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we must be careful that we don’t let ourselves become so focused on the possible terrifying events that may occur, that we forget all that Jesus has told us about the end. He will come again “with great power and glory.” But Jesus is also our brother. He is not a stranger but the one whom we know by faith. He knows our human existence from inside and He has suffered and died once for all for our sins.

We may not know all the details of His return, but we can be confident that it will happen. What should be our attitude toward His coming again? Put briefly, Jesus wants us to be confident. He wants us to be secure in Him every day of our lives.

And He wants that security to move us out into the world and offer others the same reasons for confidence that we have.

Our names are written in the book of life. They have been written in the blood of Christ and cannot be erased. Salvation is a promise from our God to all who are baptized into Jesus and have welcomed Him into their hearts. Forgiveness of sins has occurred and continues to occur, so we are very safe. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith – not us. He has won our salvation and He will keep us safe so long as we stay close to Him.

Our faithful living of our vows as Oblates is our way of staying close to Jesus – letting Jesus live in us. We are to be witnesses that Jesus touches human lives and lifts them up to be of service to the Church.

As you renew your vows and we await the return of our Savior and Brother, let us share our joy and hope with our brothers and sisters. With the daily grace of our God, let us become pillars of strength for all those who don’t yet know the salvation that is available to all God’s children.

May our God continue this good work in us and through us.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 10, 2024)

All of us are familiar with today’s Gospel parable.

Did you notice that the end of the passage doesn’t fit the content of the story? All the young women in the story feel asleep. So the command, “Stay awake” must not be the point of the story. Wisdom is the real point of the story – wisdom which led the five young women to prepare themselves for their duties. They did everything they could to get ready, so they were able to wait patiently for the wedding party.

There is a very practical message for us in Jesus’ parable. When it comes to the events of daily life, we humans make two contributions: intention and attention. Often, we don’t have much control over the outcome. That’s a very hard lesson for us humans to learn, but it’s an important one. It can prevent a lot of agitation and negative self-talk. Often enough, I’ve heard my frustrated self say: “I worked so hard. I put my best in, and it didn’t turn out as I planned. Where did I go wrong?” I forgot the difference between human control of input and outcome.

The application of Jesus’ story reaches into all aspects of our life. As disciples, we believe that God’s providence cares for all creation and the plan of God’s will is always effective. God’s grace makes us holy; our responsibility is to use the grace we are given. If that is our belief, then my responsibility in human actions is limited to: good intention for doing whatever I do (I want to please God) and good attention to what I do (I put myself fully into what I do). God will take care of the rest.

This is what living a holy life means: asking for the grace of God as I begin any action, then doing well what I am doing with the intention of pleasing God. When I do this, then I can accept whatever results as God’s will for me. I am free to “let go and let God.”

Wisdom is a gift of God which enables us to understand life from a divine perspective. Wisdom allows me to place my trust in God whose provident care upholds the universe. Wisdom encourages me to ask the best of myself and be happy with that best.

Let us ask for the gift of wisdom so that we will be prepared each day with our best and have the patience and calmness to wait for the coming of the Lord.

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 3, 2024)

When we get right down to it, what is the most important dimension of our faith?  Upon what foundation does the edifice of Christianity rest?

Jesus’ answer is unambiguous: love. This love has three facets.

Love of God.  Francis de Sales tells us that the reason that we love God is because of who God is: our dignity, and our destiny.  “We love God because God is the most supreme and most infinite goodness.”

Love of neighbor.  Francis de Sales tells us: “Love of God not only commands love of neighbor, but it even produces and pours love of neighbor into our hearts.  Just as we are in God’s image, so the sacred love we have for one another is the true image of our heavenly love for God.”

Love of self.  This is the aspect that perhaps we are most tempted to overlook: after all, “self-love” sounds suspiciously like being self-centered. Why should we love ourselves?  Simply and profoundly because “we are God’s image and likeness,” says Francis de Sales.  When we are at our best all of us are the “most holy and living images of the divine.”

Why is authentic love of self so critical to our love of God and neighbor?  Simply, if we fail to love ourselves, how can we possibly give praise and thanks to God for creating us?  If we fail to love ourselves, how can we possible love our neighbor who is not only made in God’s image, but who is fundamentally made in the image and likeness of us since we all come from the same source – God himself.

The fullness of Christian perfection – the fullness of living Christ’s life – can be likened to a three-legged table.  To the extent that any one of the three legs is weak, the whole table is seriously at risk.  Such a table cannot hope to support any significant weight.  So, too, if any one of the three loves of our lives – God, self and others – is deficient, all three will suffer, and we cannot hope to carry the weight of God’s command for us to build up something of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

To be sure, love is the simple answer to what is most important in our lives.  In our lived experience, however, this love is never quite so simple as we might like to believe.

How is your love of God?  How is your love of neighbor?  How is your love of self?

Really?

All Saints (November 1, 2024)

“Let us join our hearts to these heavenly spirits and blessed souls. Just as young nightingales learn to sing in company with the old, so also by our holy associations with the saints let us learn the best way to pray and sing God’s praise.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 16)

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Over the last two thousand years countless men, women, and children of many eras, places, and cultures have spent their lives in the service of the Good News of Jesus Christ. From among these many, a smaller group of individuals have earned the distinction of being known as “saints.”

These are real people to whom we look for example. These are real people to whom we look for inspiration. These are real people to whom we look for encouragement and grace.

These saints – these real people - have blazed a trail in living and proclaiming the Gospel. The challenge to us is to follow their example in ways that fit the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves.

In case you haven’t yet figured it out, you, too, are called to live a saintly – a God-centered, self-giving - way of life in the very places in which you live, love, work and play every day. Francis de Sales wrote: “Look at the example given by the saints in every walk of life. There is nothing that they have not done in order to love God and to be God’s devoted followers…Why then should we not do as much according to our position and vocation in life to keep the cherished resolution and holy protestations that we have made?” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part V, Chapter 12)

What does it mean to be a saint? Surprisingly, it is much more down-to-earth and obtainable than we might think. Francis de Sales observed: “We must love all that God loves, and God loves our vocation; so let us love our vocation, too, and not waste our energy hankering after a different sort of life, but get on with your own job. Be Martha as well as Mary, and be both gladly, faithfully doing what you are called to do…” (Stopp, Selected Letters, Page 61)

In the view of St. Francis de Sales, sanctity – sainthood – is measured by our willingness and ability to embrace the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves. Saints are people who deeply embraced their lives as they found them, rather than wasting time wishing or waiting for an opportunity to live someone else’s life. Sainthood – sanctity – holiness – is marked by the willingness to embrace God’s will as it is manifested in the ups and downs of everyday life.

How are you being called to be a saint today?

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 27, 2024)

In today’s Gospel, we experience Jesus’ compassion as He heals the blind man who has faith in His healing power. St. Francis de Sales notes:

Your heart is held in God’s hand of mercy. God will never abandon you even if you are troubled and in anguish. You never want to leave God when you are feeling sad and bitter. Instead call out to our Lord and our Lady, who never stop loving you. God’s goodness with its gentle strength comes to our aid if we accept the needed help. In no way must we lose heart. If we cooperate with God’s loving care for us, God’s goodness will give us another, even greater help. God’s mercy leads us from good to better so that we may advance in holy love.

By frequently lifting up your heart to God during the day, you will strengthen your mind against useless and habitual thoughts that upset and torment you. You can say: "Yes Lord, I want to do this action because You want it." Choosing to endure difficulties so as to achieve what is better for us is a very powerful prayer before God, regardless of the complaints that come from our feelings. If you happen to fail, don’t be disturbed. With great confidence in God’s mercy, pick yourself up and continue to walk peacefully and calmly, as before, in faith. Even though we are weak, our weakness is not nearly as great as God’s mercy toward those who want to love and hope in God.

I have seen few people make progress without experiencing trials, so you must be patient. After the squall, God will send the calm, for you are God’s child. Our divine Savior never forgets to show that his mercy surpasses his justice. That his love and desire to forgive is infinite, and that he is rich in mercy. Consequently, Our Redeemer wishes that all be made whole through his divine love. Have faith in God’s healing power.

(Adapted from the writings of St. Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal.)

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 20, 2024)

It’s interesting that Jesus does not directly criticize James and John when they ask to sit at his side in glory. Instead, he challenges them: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” He contrasts their lofty ambitions with his humility: zeal for glory is set against God’s call to humble service.

Jesus’ humility was born of his love for the Father and for the world. Because he loves, Jesus is willing to endure anything – even death – in order to save the human race. This kind of humility releases God’s love to the world and advances the kingdom of God. It’s this kind of humility we heard Jesus teaching his followers: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be a slave to all.”

It’s obvious that Jesus is not trying to gather a bunch of shrinking violets. That’s not the kind of humility he’s looking for in his disciples. He wants a people like himself who will shoulder the Father’s sadness over the suffering in the world. He is looking for people who will work with him so that the world will be free of sin.

Rather than rebuking the misdirected ambition of James and John, Jesus channels it into an embrace of the Father’s will: “The cup that I drink of you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.”

Jesus is speaking to you and me, is challenging you and me. The challenge is not an easy one. It would be easy for us to become discouraged. What Jesus shows us through his life and suffering and death is that the cup of sacrifice is also one of intimacy with God. Every willing act of death to self for the sake of the kingdom brings us closer to Jesus.

The more fully we are willing to drink of this cup, the more fully we learn that Jesus never asks more of us than he empowers us to give. Jesus is always inviting us to “draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus is reminding us that he knows what our suffering is like, and we never have to suffer alone. He is telling us that our suffering can be a time of grace – for us and others.

Are we willing to drink of our cup, as Jesus drank of his? If we are willing, then let us approach Jesus where we will receive mercy and find grace to help us.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 13, 2024)

In the closing minutes of the movie Field of Dreams, the character Thomas Mann is invited by the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson to come “out” with the team.  Ray Concella is incensed. Why is the writer invited instead of Ray? Ray launches into a litany of all the things that he has done in following the promptings of the “voice” and ends with the statement: “Not once have I asked what’s in it for me!”  The ghost inquires: “What are you saying, Ray?”  Ray responds: “I’m saying, what’s in it for me?”

How honest.  How revealing.  How human.

We hear echoes of this same refrain in St. Peter’s statement in today’s Gospel: “We have put aside everything to follow you.”  Implied?  “What’s in it for us?

The truth is that the Good News never seems to let up.  Even as we grow in our love for God, ourselves and others the Good News always calls us to give more, to go deeper, to press on.  Truth is, the Good News sometimes does not feel so good.

No wonder we sometimes ask the questions: “What more do you want?  Why should I do this?  What’s in it for me?”

What’s in it for us is a twofold promise.  First, we come to know the joy that comes with being more concerned about giving than receiving.  We experience the freedom that comes with allowing God to penetrate all – not just some – of who we are.  In short, we experience the wealth that is only known by generous people. 

Second, we live each day with the belief that we shall one day enjoy God’s generosity forever in a life that never ends.

So, what’s in it for us?  How about purpose, meaning and direction in this life?  How about the fullness of these – and so many other gifts – in the life to come?

Now that’s Good News!

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 6, 2024)

Jesus’ words today may not be easy to listen to; they can make us uncomfortable. It’s important to hear his words in the context in which they were spoken.

Jesus is responding to a hostile question about divorce. Jesus responds to their question by explaining to them God’s plan for marriage. He invites his listeners to consider the creation story in Genesis.

God formed the woman directly from the man, not from the ground as he had made other creatures. Woman is created as a suitable partner for the man. She is the mirror of the man’s very being. The man recognizes their intimate relationship when he acknowledges the woman as “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

The author offers this acknowledgment of their intimate relationship by creation as the reason for the sacredness of marriage. The relationship of husband and wife in marriage becomes a concrete realization of God’s plan for creation. As Jesus comments: “They are no longer two but one flesh.” And so he adds: “Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Jesus’ words are not spoken in judgment. They are meant to explain the place of marriage in God’s plan of salvation.

Perhaps this can help us understand why the Church places such emphasis on preparing couples for the sacrament of marriage. The Church wants couples to look more deeply at the sacredness of their relationship. Christian marriage is much more than the legal union of the secular world around us. The Church would like couples to think beyond their feelings of love and discern whether or not God has brought them together as “suitable partners.”

Are they willing to recognize that they are graced by God for each other? Are they willing to work with each other and with grace each day to become “one flesh?” For the Christian, marriage is a way of being holy together, not just a sanctioned way of living together.

Jesus is presenting us with the ideal for married love. He knows our limitations as human beings so he promises married couples the grace they will need each day to work patiently with each other toward that ideal. He is also compassionate and accepting of us when we fail.

During this Eucharist, let us pray for all married couples: for those who find joy in becoming “one flesh,” for those who struggle in their efforts to be faithful, for those who have been hurt and betrayed by their partners.

Let us pray too for those considering marriage. May they have the patience, wisdom, and courage to seek “a suitable partner” made for them by God, with whom they can work to become “one flesh.”