Silent Night, On a Somber Note

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  It's a time of celebration, a time of great joy, and yet here I am at one A.M. in the morning having very somber thoughts.  I want to share those with you if you will bear with me.  I intended to write something uplifting, something joyful and edifying.  We will see if that comes out it.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit has his own idea of what my blog posts should be about.

I ran into a friend earlier today at the store while getting some things for dinner and for the house.  He stopped to talk to my wife and I as we were moving thorugh the freezer section.   We talked about his plans for the next few weeks.   He is travelling down south to a place he owns in a warm climate.  He'll be gone for a few weeks.  He has to decide if he's going to keep the place or sell it.  It is a good time to get away, right after Christmas.   He said he'll spend Christmas with the family then fly down.  Then he looked at me.  I guess I reminded him of her.  We spent some time together before she passed.  Tears came to both of our eyes.  He didn't want to talk about it, I didn't want to bring it up.  We hugged.  We talked anyway. It's the first Christmas since she went on to the next life.

I hope this Christmas for him will be one in which he finds how to deal with the sorrow and finds comfort.  The Gospel reading for the Night Mass tomorrow talks of how Joseph and Mary had to journey to a place with many memories.  He had to return to the land of his family to be counted in the census. Like my friend, he had to go back.  Decisions had to be made.  Worries sorted through.  As they journeyed together conversations had to be had.  Christmas Eve was a time of hardship.  A time of fear.  No money, no place to stay at an inn, a baby on the way.

Then the angels came to the Shepherds in the field.  They proclaimed the good news!  “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”  I think often we forget how much fear was involved the night before Christmas.  So many strange things happening.  Life was going on though.  Christ, the king of the universe, was being born into the world.  The greatest event in all of human history, the salvation and restoration of mankind to a right relationship with God, began in the still and darkness of night.  It began with a journey.  Both for Mary and Joseph, but also for all those who came to see Christ.  They had decisions to make.  Shepherd or wise man, both had to go on a journey looking for answers.

Just like my dear friend who is flying out to make decisions, what they all have in common is they are looking for answers.  You and I, we are looking for answers too.  Truly though the answer lies in one man, Jesus Christ.   He is the full revelation of God.  Everything we need to know about mankind, everything we need to know about God, everything we need to know about life... all of it lies in this God man, born in the darkness of night.  Shrouded in mystery.  Placed in a manger.  The Bread of Life.  The Son of Man.  Emmanuel.  God with us. 

Tomorrow as we begin our Christmas season anew, let us begin to search earnestly for answers.  Don't let Christmas get away from you.  Too many times we get so caught up in the presents, in the food, in the atmosphere, that we don't spend time in prayer.. time with Christ.  We too have a journey to make, we just don't know when the final flight will occur.  Christ is being born into our world in the past, present and future.   What does that mean to us?   What do we do about it?  There can be a lot of fear.  A lot of doubt.   A lot of questions.  We know though, that a wise man once said, "We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."   Wise men still seek him, that's where the answers are. 

His servant and yours,
Brian

Wash me and I shall be white as snow

It's two days before Christmas and the story continues with more about John the Baptist and his birth.  The Old Testament reading has some interesting imagery in it though.  It talks of sending a messenger before him, to prepare the way.  Then it says the Lord will come suddenly into the temple.  This particular book, Malachi, was probably written during the exile, several hundred years after Elijah had been taken up in the Chariot of Fire.  It talks about Elijah's return.  Later in the New Testament, hundreds of years later, we see them say that John came in the Spirit of Elijah to fulfill this prophecy. 

What I find interesting though is the two images of God we find here, the images of one who is coming to prepare us.  The first image is that of a refiner.  It talks about refining Gold and silver.  Refining of course means to take an ore with impurities, apply a great amount of heat, then to scoop off the dross from the top.  Dross means the worthless, impure parts.  You keep repeating this until you're left with pure silver.  How do you know though? How does one know when silver or gold is refined?  Someone once said, "When you can see your reflection in it."  That speaks volumes in revelation to who God is.  We will be what he wants us to be, when he sees Him in us.  Wow.

Then we see this other image.... the image of a fuller and fuller's soap. A fuller is one who works with cloth.   He spends his day stomping the cloth in his vat, stretching it out on frames, beating it with feet or a club, continuing to do this until it is clean and shapely, in many cases even bleached white.  He keeps working the fabric, until it is the shape and size it should be.  If it's not perfect?   He goes through the whole process again.  Stretching.  Beating.  Cleaning.  Purifying.   Until it is exactly what it should be.  Perfect.

In the Gospel we see the people, the very ones who were friends of the family, the ones who probably worked and lived around Zechariah... being scared of what John represented.  All of these miracles around his birth.  His father unable to speak, but then miraculously being able to talk after naming his son in agreement with his wife and God's plan.  They were scared.  They've been waiting for the Messiah, but they aren't quite ready.   They are filled with fear.  They take all of these matters into their hearts though, and acknowledge that God is at work and has his hand on John.

I think that is our lesson for tomorrow.  That as we approach Christmas we should be asking, are we ready?  Do we realize how much of a miracle Christmas is?  How much of a miracle the Eucharist is?  Are we living a Sacramental life?  Are we opening our hearts to let Christ be born in them?  It is time for us to be serious about our walk with Christ.  God is not asking you to wait till you're clean..  He's not asking you to get your life straight first..  He is asking you to invite him in.  The Church is preparing the way.  It has shown you what you need to do.  Now it's time for you to open the doors of your heart and suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.   You and I are the temple of the Lord.  Let Him come in.

It doesn't stop there though.  The Lord loves you right now, just the way you are.  He loves you too much to leave you that way.  Let Him then transform you.   Let him refine you.  Purify you.  Mold you. Shape you.  How do we do this?  A Sacramental life.  Receive him in the Eucharist.   Confess him in Reconciliation.  Seek His grace.  You and I cannot do this alone.  With God though, all things are possible.   Christmas is in two days.  You don't have to wait two days to have Christ born in your heart.... start today... .then ... every day continue to grow in Christ. Until we can live our lives in a way that reflects the heart of the Psalmist when he wrote:

Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may thrill.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.

O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

His servant and yours,
Brian

Wishy Washy.

Tomorrow's readings for daily mass contain a hard message, a challenging message. During Advent it is important that we get those challenges to the way we are walking our faith.  All to often, when we are honest with ourselves, we are failing to walk the walk and talk the talk.  We get tied up with the minutia of life.  Christmas shopping needs to be finished. Gifts need to be wrapped.  Company Christmas parties to attend.  Last minute cooking and cleaning before guests and family arrive.  Travel plans to be made.  So many things going on.   It's easy to get tied up in all that.  To not be able to see the forest for the trees.  Advent reminds us to slow down.  That all of these things can be good, but they aren't the focus, they aren't the reason for the season. 

Jesus calls out the head honchos in the Gospel passage.  He gives them a parable with two sons in it.  One son says he'll do it and doesn't.  Another says he won't, but later does.    He wants to know which one of those sons did what the father wanted him to do.  The one who did what he asked of him, even though he said he wouldn't.    John the Baptist had come to them preaching repentance, a way of life.  They didn't listen to him.  Even when the people that most Jews of the time thought were least likely to hear the voice of God began changing their lives, began following Jesus, the chief priests and elders kept on in their obstinacy.  They who had given an oath to God, they who had studied the law to see what God asked of them, they who knew the Scripture in and out... had said "Yes we will do" and then did not.   Those who had sinned, had fallen away from God... had initially said No to religious life... turned their hearts to God and were being saved.

How many times have you and I turned our back on our promise to God?  We have given an oath, a promise to God.  Some of us have done so at Baptism.  Others at confirmation.  Some have received an Altar call in some church or another.. some of you might have simply prayed a sinner's prayer.. all of these are a promise.. to try and live the Gospel.  To us Catholics, it's a promise to live the Gospel of the Apostles.. as handed on through their disciples to the Church.    That's a serious oath.  A serious promise.  How many times have we failed to live it?  How many times have we said "yes" only to then not do. It's not too late... to be the one who initially said no, the one who wasn't doing.. and then turned and did it anyway.

The first reading and the Psalm remind me of Saint Francis and his way.  My wife and kids kind of roll their eyes at me when I begin talking about Saint Francis.  I'm passionate for his message, for the way he lived the Gospel.  I get excited when I speak of him.  I feel the urge every day to be more like him, because I feel that Saint Francis truly lived the Gospel the way Jesus challenges us to do so.  In being more like him, I feel I will be more like Christ.  That's a lofty goal.  One I am likely not worthy of.

In the reading from Zephaniah we see the prophecy of the day when Jesus was to be born, and an image of the day when Jesus will come again.  God tells his people that on that day they will not need to be ashamed of their sins, their failures... their initial no... He says:

For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue


He says that the people of God will be humble and lowly.  That's a hard calling.  Society tells us to be the opposite.  To be proud.  To build ourselves up.  Rich. Wealthy. Powerful.   They shall be humble.  Lowly.  Honest.   That is our goal.   That was how Saint Francis lived his life.  More over, that is how Jesus Christ lived his earthly ministry as well.   Then the Church in her wisdom ties this message to the responsorial Psalm,

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

During this time of Advent it is time to look back on our lives.  When we are going out to have lavish dinners, filled with presents and gifts, drinking and reveling... remember all of this can be good and lovely.   We cannot forget though the poor, the downtrodden, the lonely.  That brings me to a story I read last night about Saint Francis.  (Rolling your eyes and huffing yet?)    His monks had set up a feast for them around a holiday.  They had obtained (borrowed?) fine dishes, a table cloth, lots of food.   They had spent time organizing this meal.  It was full of small excesses, things you and I wouldn't even thing were fancy.  To those who lived the lives of Saint Francis friar's minor... they were extravagant.   Saint Francis came into the room where they had set a place for him at the head of the table, and he walked to the fire place.   He took out a spoon that had been dropped in the ashes, a beaten and poor spoon... he took the hat of a beggar and placed it on his head and sat down in the dirt and grime of the floor.  He ate his dinner as the poor.. as the ones who were being forgotten.. as the poor Christ might have done. 

It's so easy to forget them isn't it?  Even those monks who lived a life of the poor forgot the poor for a moment.  They were ready to sit and eat at their fancy table.  Francis did not want to forget, so he made a tangible reminder.  He embraced poverty in a radical way that challenged us.  As you prepare for your own celebrations, don't forget them.  We still have people starving in our own streets.  We have men and women in nursing homes that have been forgotten.  That have no visitors.   We have poor families that will have no gifts for their kids.. fighting to keep their homes, fighting to keep their lives.   We have refugees from other countries.  How many of those are forgotten already?  How many have dismissed them completely?  They have been made out as terrorists.. as them... they.. the enemy.  Sure some of them might be bad people.. some of them are widows.. orphans. 

We've made a promise.  We have an option this Christmas.  We can say yes, and mean it.  We can say no.. and change our mind and do it.  Or we can say yes, and do it.  I vote yes.. do it.  As Shia Labeouf would say, "Go ahead. Just do it!"  Consider ways that you can keep Christ in Christmas.  Not just the word.  Not just the tree and gifts.  Not just the nativity scene, though all of these are good things.  Keep the entire Christ in Christmas.. in each of the people out there in need.  Remember, whatever you do for the least of these.. you do for Him.  Find a way that you can give a gift to someone in need.   Invite someone to Church that hasn't gone in a long time.  Tell someone you are on the way to a communal penance service, and if they want to go they can ride with you.  Find someone you haven't checked on... reach out to them.  Look in on the elderly, the home bound, the bid ridden.  Invite someone to Christmas dinner that doesn't have a family anymore.  Give a hug.  Feed someone. 

Remember this list? 

The Corporal Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry;

To give drink to the thirsty;

To clothe the naked;

To harbour the harbourless;

To visit the sick;

To ransom the captive;

To bury the dead.

That's a real good place to start.    It's the year of Mercy.  It's Advent.  Let's get started! The Blessed Virgin Mary gave an unconditional yes to God.. no buts.. not ifs... Is your Yes unconditional?  If not, like the Son in the story.. we've said No... but it's not too late to change our mind, and go do what the Father has asked of us.

His servant and yours,

Brian

Good, Honest Dirt.

When I was a young man I got a job at an electrical company in the town of Wise, Virginia.  My friend Michael and I travelled around the tri-city area, eastern Kentucky and parts of Tennessee installing electrical systems.  I was thrilled to be out doing something.  I was thrilled to be making money.  Most of all I was thrilled not to be stuck behind a desk anymore.  It was an exciting time.  I worked hard.  I came home at the end of every day covered in honest dirt.   Any aches or pains I had were a happy reword for having put in a good day.  That continued for quite some time.

Then there was a new guy that got hired.  He was from up north.  He was like Larry the Cable Guy, always pushing to Get 'R done.   He wanted us to cut corners.  Speed things up by doing slip-shod work.  At this point I had been taking night classes in addition to working.  I was a licensed journeyman electrician with several years of experience under my built, a college degree, and a good work ethic.  I didn't want to cut corners.   I didn't want to endanger people to make money.  No, I wanted to do things right.  I was still very happy with my job, but this fellow was sapping my energy.  He was making it hard for me to see why he seemed to be favored by the boss while the rest of us seemed to get the less enjoyable work.

Then rumors began to spread.  Slowly at first, you would hear this or that.  "Did you know he has a company truck?"   "Did you know he has a gas card?"  "Did you know he gets vacation days?"  "health insurance?"  "Makes $10 an hour more than you?"   On and on they went.   I began to be disillusioned.  Work was no longer joyful.  I can honestly say I was no longer giving 100%.  My work began to suffer, as did those working for me.  This continued for some time.  I was very dissatisfied.

It all came to a point on day at a job in the small town of Honaker, Virginia.  The owner had hired another red hot Get 'R' Done guy from Balitmore.   This guy came on the job with the same attitude of the other and guess what?  He cut corners.  He pushed us to do things to save money, all the name of being a company man.  Then one day we found him smoking a joint in the basement, and we stood listening to him whine about his life and how unhappy he was.  I don't know what happened to him, but the next day he didn't show.  I called in to the owner and said he wasn't there.  A few days passed, we continued what little we had supplies for and still no foreman.  So the Boss came out and took me to the side, asking me if I would finish this job.   I had been running small jobs for a while, this one wasn't huge but I hadn't even seen the plans.  I eventually capitulated. 

After reading the plans and examining what this other man had done, I found out the job was a wreck.  It was an absolute mess.  Circuits pulled to the wrong side of the building.  Undersized wire for motors in the gymnasium.  Forgotten water pumps in the downstairs hundreds of feet across the building.  I ended up spending an entire day just sitting on a bucket looking out the window.   I didn't want to be there anymore.  I hated my job.  I hated my life.  I hated that people were making more to do less work.  I hated that in order to succeed materially I'd have to cheat, lie, and cut corners.

You see, my job hadn't changed.  I was making the same money.  I was working the same hours.  I was doing the same travelling, the same work, and coming home in that good honest dirt.. when I worked.  Nothing had changed, except me.  I had allowed those things around me, those rumors, those jealousies, those stresses to change who I was.  The man who had at one time been so excited to be doing anything outside of sitting at a desk, was now sitting on a bucket in a window.. coming home with clean clothes because he hadn't really worked that day.

The soldier's came to John in the Gospel and asked what they must do.   Do not extort, don't lie, and be satisfied with your wages.   How simple that really is.  Be kind.  Be honest.  Be happy.   When I first started working at that job that was who I was.  I was happy to be there.  I was kind to those I worked with.  I was honest.  I gave an honest days work for an honest wage.   I did good work.  I didn't cut corners.  It was when I didn't follow these rules that I began to hate my wages.  Hate my job.  Hate my life. 

It says that John said to them that God was coming to winnow the chaff from the wheat and destroy that which was worthless.  Such a dire message, right?  Then it says he continued to preach to them the good news.  What!?  Good news?  God is coming to get rid of the bad people!  What if I am one of them?   The thing is though they were expectant, they wanted the Messiah to come.  They were waiting for him!  So much so that when they saw John preaching repentance in his ascetic way they thought he might be the one.  They had their eyes open, they had their hearts ready, they wanted the Savior to come redeem them.  The Good news was that he was on the scene!  Redemption was at hand. 

That's what Advent is about.   It's about getting ready for Him.   It's about being expectant.  Receiving the good news, the Gospel, with hearts of eager for the coming of Christ.   It's about being good soliders.  Happy.  Honest.  Kind. Content with our life.  Striving to be better, but being happy with whatever we are given.  That's the thing though... society tries to tell us that happiness comes from more... more money.. money things... more status.. more power..  As long as we are always looking for more, we will never be content.  It's when we focus on Him, focus on his coming... asking him to be reborn in our hearts that we find true happiness. 

Are you expectant?  Are you content?  Is your life full of enjoyment and peace?  Or are you just after more?  Jealous of the other?  Gossipping and backbiting? Cutting corners to get ahead? 

Now is the time.  Not tomorrow, not next year, but now.  Then the Scripture comes alive that proclaims:

The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

His servant and yours,
Brian

How can you think of Christmas when Easter is upon you?

One of my friends was diagnosed with liver cancer.  She has been given only a few months to live.   My heart breaks when I think of this.  As I read the readings for tomorrow's daily Mass I am struck dumbfounded.   How can I think of Christmas when all that is on my mind is her Easter?  How much more so the experience must be for her.   She's angry.  I ran into her in the parking lot and I listened to her.  You know, not that expectant kind of listening where you wait for your turn to talk... but that kind of listening where you try to get out of the way and truly be present to them.  It was hard.  Not hard in the sense of getting out of the way, for once that part was automatic.  I felt God in that moment, I felt his Holy Spirit doing the listening... responding.  What was hard was listening to another friend, another person I have grown to love, share their grief with me and their fear.   Their fear of what was coming.

I am not sure any amount of faith could bring you to be ready for that.  Secure, sure.  I have seen people who are secure in their faith.   They know what is coming and they are ready to see their Lord.  How do you overcome the fear though?  The fear for those who you are leaving behind.  The fear for all the unfinished things.  The practical things.   All of it.  It is overwhelming to say the least.  It's Advent.  That time of year that we as Catholics use to remind us of the things that are important in life.   When we examine our thoughts, our words, and our actions, then through prayer and a sacramental life, we begin to let the Lord change us into who we are supposed to be.  We get out of the way.

In a world where we have so much, how often we instead find a million things to complain about.  In a season that we are supposed to be looking for Christ, when we are supposed to be examining inward as much as outward, to find what is between us and the fullness of humanity.... all too often we instead spend the time picking apart everyone else.  Instead of looking for Christ, we look for Satan... or don't look at all. We sit in our heat controlled homes, watching the news on flat screen TVs or Smart Phones, eating our clean, enjoyable foods; and we complain.  The store lines are too long.   They started Christmas too early.  The Pope had a slide show projected on the Vatican.   Look who funded it!? 

We pick apart that person, that Rite, that family, them.. they.    Jesus is talking to the crowds two thousand years ago in the Gospel, but he might as well be talking to us.  John came conservative, poor and meek, doing none of the things that a liberal might do.   They weren't happy with him.  Then Jesus came, drinking with the sinners, going to parties, and eating food.   He must be a drunk and a glutton!  No matter what they did, they could not win.  How so with the Pope today?  For liberals he didn't go far enough.  For conservatives he stepped over the line.  The truth lies in the middle.  The truth lies in looking at the present.  The truth lies in opening our eyes and asking what Truth lies in this slide show, what Truth lies in this family.. what Truth lies in this person or this Religion. 

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and our worlds for the coming of Christ.  It's a time to reflect on the fact He was born into our world as one of us.   That He is being born every day into our hearts and our lives.   That He will come again at the end of time and the universe itself and all in it will be reborn.  The thing is all too many are trying to prepare the world before they prepare themselves.  Conversion has to start with us.   Only when we are authentic will anyone ever be drawn to Christ through us.  Only when our lives show that we truly believe, that we are 100% committed, that Christ is being born in our heart; only then will anyone be attracted to Christ through you.

My friend is seeing Christmas with new eyes.   This is her last.   It's her last chance to go through Advent.   To worship Christ in the Mass.   To journey into a new year.  To celebrate the season of Easter.. while on her way to her own Easter.  In a way though.. she's also on her way to her own Christmas.   We Catholics believe that this is not the end for her.. but a new beginning.  A time to go from this world to the next.  Not an end, but a transition.  How much more does that bring Advent alive?   We don't know when it will be our turn.  This could be your last Advent.. this could be your last Christmas... or the last one for someone you love.   Are you prepared?   Are they?  Are you working to help them?  Is your life one that calls to them in a way that they say "I want what they have!"   Christmas can start today in your heart... you and I are on our way to our own Easter... our own rebirth.  Get ready.  Be ready.  Stay ready.

God's promise is one of love.  One of joy.  One of resurrection.  It begins though with obedience.  It begins with doing what he said... out of love.  It begins with hope.  As he said to His people then and he says to his people now:

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.

Bring him into your heart.  Bring him into your life.  Let him be born again now, that you may be born again then.   That your name may never be cut off or blotted out from His presence.  

His servant and yours,
Brian

Mary Did You Know?

Tomorrow is the feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Many mistake that for the day that Jesus was conceived.  It's not. It is rather the date we celebrate the conception of Mary, the Virgin who became the mother of God.  We celebrate the conception of Jesus 9 months before Christmas.. imagine that ;)

While taking a look at the first reading I'm reminded of little kids.  Often you'll find some disaster has befallen your home while you were mowing the yard, working on the car, or doing what the kids say you do all the time... taking a nap.  So you come in and demand, who did this!?  At which point a lot of finger pointing goes on.  Even once you find the culprit, they'll often blame it one of the others in the room, he made me do it! 

We see that with Adam and Eve in the garden.  God comes to be with Adam and Adam has moved.  He's not where he is supposed to be.  God hasn't moved, but Adam has.  So God asks Adam where he has hidden.  God doesn't need to ask.  He asks so that Adam has a chance to do what he was created to do, be in communion with God.  All Adam has to do is realize his sin, and ask for forgiveness.  Instead he does like our little kids do.  He blames the woman.  He blames God.  "the woman that you put here gave me the fruit."  It's all your fault God.  He doesn't notice his blessings.  He blames God for giving him the gift of a spouse.  It's all your fault man!  If you hadn't put her here, if you hadn't made her so pretty, if you hadn't given us free will, all of this could have been stopped.  Then Eve blamed the serpent, the devil. 

How often we do that eh?  During a break up.   When someone dies.   When something is taken away from us.  Why God?  I wish you'd never had us meet.   I wish you'd never have given me that car.  I wish you... you.. you...   It's easy to point fingers.  You created me this way, so if I sin it's your fault.  We are so happy with a blessing when we get it.  We are so angry when it's taken away.  We give our yes freely to the blessings, but to the no, to the loss.. that we aren't so quick to accept.

That is why we Catholics look up to the blessed Mother so much.  Where Eve said yes to the fallen angel, Mary said yes to the Angel of the Lord.  Mary declared "may it be done to me according to your word."   She wasn't ignorant of what that would entail.  She knew she was engaged.  She knew how this would look to the world.  It was likely that Joseph would divorce her.  It was even likely that she would be stoned for showing up pregnant before their marriage.  This very young girl was about to have her life turned upside down.  It wasn't just going to be blessing after blessing... it was going to be a long road... a road of a poor person trying to raise a child.  She said yes to it, all of it. Over the years she pondered all of these things in her heart.. and still, every moment, said yes to all of it.  Even when it was prophesied that "a sword will pierce your heart," Mary still responded yes.  At the foot of the cross, with her heart breaking, watching her son be brutally beaten, ridiculed and crucified... watching as his mortal life ended... all the fear, the tears, the sorrow... she said yes. 

When you hear that popular song, "Mary did you know?"... realize that she would respond, Yes.  I knew.   I knew and accepted.  I knew and loved him.  I knew and gave my life to God as an instrument.  I allowed God to be born into the world through me, knowing that I would have to suffer as well.  I knew.  I still said yes.  

What about you?  We are in Advent, travelling the road towards the Birth of Christ,  Christmas.  Are you ready?   Do you give your yes?  Not just to the good, but the unpleasant?  Are you ready to be like the Blessed Mother and give over your very heart, soul and body to God that He may use you to bring Christ into the world?  Are you ready to say "May it be done unto me according to your word?"  It's time to search the inner recesses of our hearts and find out.  It is time for us, like Mary, to keep all of these things in our heart and ponder what they may mean. 

His servant and yours,
Brian

The Princess and the Pea

When I was growing up in the mountains of southwest Virginia, God had blessed my family with the beautiful gift of being able to have horses in our lives.  I did not appreciate that immense gift for many years to come, but I did enjoy riding them.  I had this beautiful horse named Babe.  She was just the most gentle, loving, and amazing horse.   If you were riding her and began to lean to one side, as if you were going to fall out of the saddle, she'd walk in that direction to make sure you didn't fall.  I once did fall out of the saddle and decided to lead her for a while in the rain, a little fearful to get back on her.  The entire time I walked in front of her she kept nudging me to see if I was ok.

One day I saddled her for a ride and things seemed off.  She seemed distracted, constantly moving in odd ways.  It was as if she was shrugging her shoulders.  Turning her head to try and nip at me.  Even bucking once in a while.  I couldn't figure it out. She had never acted this way.  I rode her for a long while and then got her back to the riding rink.  I began to take off her saddle.  When I did there was a huge sigh of relief from the horse.  I noticed the blanket had a large wrinkle in the middle.   My dad had always told me that you had to make sure the saddle blanket was smooth before putting on the saddle.  I really didn't care I guess, being a teenager I thought I knew all the answers.  When I pulled the blanket off I noticed an almost bare spot on her skin.   What to me seemed unimportant had nearly made a raw place on the poor horses back.

Years later I had my spine fused.  Most of you know that story.  I was in a hospital bed in our living room for a very long time.  I can't remember much of that time.  It was mostly pain, sleep, bathroom, pain, sleep, bathroom.  The medicines they had me on were strong.  My wife took such great care of me.  I remember very clearly though that I had to have the sheets perfectly smooth.  If there was the slightest wrinkle, the slightest fold.. it would make my back scream in pain.  I am sure I was a pain to live with.. but I learnt first hand what I had put my beautiful friend through all those years ago.  What doesn't seem like a big deal, what seems insignificant, can create quite a bit of pain.. even begin to rub you raw if you give it enough time.

That brings me back again to today's readings.  We see John the Baptist beginning to prepare peoples hearts for the message they will receive from Christ.  We see the message from both Isaiah and Baruch that we must make crooked things straight, fill in the valleys and lower the mountains, until the pathway is smooth.  Just like a saddle blanket prepares the horse for a saddle and a bedsheet prepares the bed for the occupant, so too must the pathway be made ready for him who will walk on it.  We see Jesus use parables about seeds and farming.  In those parables the seed goes into the soil.  We are that soil.  We are the path that Jesus will walk on.  Our body is the temple that He resides in.

How powerful an image is that?  That is why during this Advent we are supposed to examine our hearts.  Our hearts are the place where God is supposed to reside.  We must ask ourselves, are there any things in there, no matter how small... no matter how tiny it may seem.. but anything that makes the path unsmooth?  It may not seem like much.  Our flesh may even try to convince us that "Oh that?  Nah that's being too picky."  Look closely.  Then ask God to clear it from you.  You see the horse is our heart, the saddle blanket our preparation, the saddle the gentle yoke of Christ.  The Holy Spirit is coming to bring Christ into the world.   He is to be born again, born again in our hearts every second of every day.  Is there anything standing in the way?  Anything that keeps us from wanting that saddle on us?  Remember, it might not seem like much at first.. but eventually it begins to dig in.. it begins to chaff.. to rub.. to make raw places.... Let God get all of it out of the way. 

I keep hearing people say God loves you and wants you just the way you are.  I agree.  He does indeed love you, and he wants you to come to Him regardless of your sins.. regardless of your bumps, bruises, folds and wrinkles.  He loves you too much to leave you there.  He wants to smooth things out.  He wants to make the pathway straight, the blanket pleasant, the sheet fit perfectly.  He loves you just the way you are.. but too much to leave you that way.  So open your heart, your mind, your soul to the Holy Spirit that he may prepare a manger for the coming King.  Then allow Him to be born in your heart, over and over... until that day when you are born again into His kingdom and he says to his Church, "take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship."

A Lock is Only For Honest Men

Just this morning I locked myself out of my house this morning.  It's one of those moments when you feel so very silly and embarrassed.  It happens to all of us.  When it happens to us though, it seems so much more shameful.  I marched around the house looking for an open window.  Would you believe my kids actually listened to me when I told them to keep their windows locked?  You would think that I would be happy with that, and when I look back on it I was.. but this time it was frustrating.  I then went to the back garage door which we also hardly ever lock, but because of someone recently goofing around in our garage, we've started locking that too.  Guess what?   It was locked. 

I was walking back to my car when I remembered the garage door opener.  I pushed the button in the car and the door creaked it's way upward. Heaving a sigh of relief I walked in, pushing the button behind me to lower the door back down.  After it closed I went to open the door into the kitchen.  Guess what?  Yes, you guessed it.  It was locked.  It was locked with a slide bolt at the top.  I knew that it was kind of lose and thought, if I jar it nice and hard... it'll shake out of place.  So I turned the handle and gave it a nice, hefty, frustrated shoulder bump.   The door flew open inside.  I looked up and the brass bolt that was supposed to hold it shut had bent at a ninety degree angle.   Beware the frustrated shoulder of a three hundred pound man.

What does that story have to do with tomorrow's reading?  In the Gospel we see the parable of the men who built their houses, one on sand and the other on rock.  Both homes we wearied by a storm.  The one built on a rock solid foundation stood the test of the weather.  The one built on sand crumbled and fell.  Like the foundation, a good lock is supposed to hold the door shut.  One shouldn't be able to blow the door open with a shoulder, especially with as little effort as I put into it.  It should take a lot of effort to get into the house, that's what safety is all about. We want to feel safe.  We want the bad elements to stay outside and the good in.  Those things that go bump in the night.. we want to go bump far away from us.

I think sometimes our hearts and our minds are much like that.  There are so many bad influences out there.  Television is filled with so much angst, pornography, slack morals, and sensual lures that it can be almost too dangerous to watch.  Music is filled with messages that most people gloss over as the norm.  All of these things are trying to break in, trying to get into our hearts.  They want us to be influenced to enjoy them, to join in.  Our relationship with Christ is much like the lock on the door.  The stronger our relationship, the harder it is for these things to get inside.  If we have a weak lock, we are like the house with a weak foundation.   It doesn't take much effort to get inside, we then spend our time looking and hearing these things until they come right in.   They don't fight for it, they just nudge a little harder and it flies open, exposing the inside to all who come by.

If your foundation is rock solid though, if your rock is Christ himself, how can they get in?  Just like the house that weathered the storm, the lock will hold tight, keeping the door of your mind and heart from being opened by anyone but those who should be opening it.   That doesn't mean a blind obedience, it means a discerning heart.  We pick and choose those things which will make us better.  We stop looking at, listening, choosing, and participating in those things which erode away our foundation, which draw us farther and farther away from Christ.

“A strong city have we;
he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
Open up the gates
to let in a nation that is just,
one that keeps faith.
A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;
in peace, for its trust in you.”


That's what I take from the first reading as well.   Just as Jesus words say in the gospel, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”   It's more than just hearing, or saying... it's living the Gospel.  It's making your life a beacon in a world of darkness.  It's making sure your foundation is rock solid.  That Rock is Jesus Christ himself.  That is the bed stone of our Church.  We should open our gates to let in those things which keep the faith.  We should have a firm purpose, indeed.   Locking the doors to any evil influence, and carefully and spiritually discerning what we should let in.

How powerful a reminder of this is the Saint of tomorrow's memorial.  Saint Francis Xavier was probably the greatest evangelist since Saint Paul himself.  It is credited to Francis to have been directly involved in the conversion of over fifty thousand souls, even an entire city at once.  He followed God's calling and went wherever he needed to help spread the Church, in the end giving his life in the pursuit of that faith.  That's what a rock solid faith looks like.   It gives itself.  It pours itself out.  It does whatever necessary to spread the faith in it's entirety, not some watered down version.  When we water it down... we erode the foundation... we weaken the lock.

As we continue our journey in advent toward Christmas, that's what we need to be asking ourselves.  Is our foundation solid?  Are our doors locked?  Are there things in our lives that are eroding that foundation?  Have I kept God at the center of my life? Or is something else creeping into his place?  Let us prepare our hearts like the temple that were created to be.  As we approach Christmas, let's dust out the corners, shake out the curtains, and sweep out the cob webs.  Let's close the door on those things which are trying to get in that have no place, no right to be there, and instead let Christ be reborn in our hearts.  Then we can truly proclaim with the Psalmist: "This gate is the LORD’s; the just shall enter it. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have been my savior."

His servant and yours,
Brian

An Evangelist to the End!

Fishers of Men by Kim Freitas

It's Advent!  How exciting! How beautiful!  Do you feel the change in the air?  We should.  This beautiful season is to remind us of what it felt like to be present for the promise of the Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel!  The Jewish people still in captivity after such a long time, not only bound by the government of Rome but also still warring with sin in their flesh; were waiting for the promised deliverance, the prophet greater than Moses, for Jesus Christ himself.   Mary had been promised to deliver a child by the angel Gabriel and here we approach the date of his birth. 

We don't just celebrate a birthday on a birthday you know.   We don't just celebrate a past event, though that is part of it.  We celebrate the person!  We celebrate their past, their present, and their future.  We talk about what they were like as a child, maybe even pulling out some of those embarrassing baby photos to show the new members of our clan.  We tell jokes and stories.  We ask them how they are and spend time appreciating them!  We wish them many more happy years, and give them gifts.  Oh how wonderful a birthday is!  A day to remember a person, and a sad parting at the end when they must go back to their life and you to yours. 

That's the beauty of Christmas though, when we celebrate Christ's birthday it doesn't have to end there.  So here we are moving toward his birthday.  Some would say we should celebrate it every day of the year.. and you know they are right!  That's not what Christmas is about though.  It is not a day to stop and say ok, remember Christ today and forget him tomorrow.  No, it is a holiday to remind us to stop and say, have I been doing it!  Have I forgotten who Christ is?  Have I spent as much time with him as I should?  Let's tell those stories.  Let's talk to him, and listen to him, and appreciate him.  Then take him with us throughout the year.  We all need those reminders.  We need those days to remind us not to take things for granted. Not to forget.

Today is the feast of Saint Andrew the apostle.  There is a man who was a true evangelist.  A man who did not forget and took Christ with him.  The first reading from Saint Paul's letter to the Romans reminds us that faith comes from hearing.  How can they hear without someone to preach?  How can people preach unless they are sent?  The shepherd's in the field were one of the first to hear the good news.  They were told by the angels themselves!  The angel's were sent by God.  They announced who Jesus was, and pointed to him.  Jesus then sent Andrew.  Andrew announced the good news as well.  Andrew was so enamored with Christ, so filled with the Holy Spirit that it is said that when he was martyred in Patras they bound him to a cross.  They left him there for two days. For both days he preached to the crowds gathered.. using every last bit of his life to preach to them that Christ was the messiah, and the way, the truth and the life.

Then in today's Gospel according to Saint Matthew we hear the story of Andrew's calling.  Jesus called to Andrew and Peter and told them to stop casting their nets into the sea, that he would make them fishers of men.  Matthew tells us that immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.   They didn't wait till later.  They didn't pack up and say their goodbyes.  Rather they left, right then and there to do the will of God.  Come after me.   That was Jesus first words to them in this encounter.  Follow me.  As we journey through Advent and the Christmas season I think that is our challenge.  Just like the Shepherd's who heard the message came to find Christ in the manger, just as the Wise Men from the East saw his star and came to worship, just as Mary, the disciple par excellence, heard the message and gave an eternal yes to the father to bring Christ into the world... so too must we.

You and I, brothers and sisters, are called by our baptism to be apostles to Christ.  An apostle is one who has been called by the Lord, sent by the Lord, and has seen the risen Lord.   If you are Catholic you fit the bill.  You have been called through your baptism into the life of the Church.  Jesus has called you to this.  It was not you alone though it was your choice.  Jesus said no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws them.  You have been called. You have been sent.  Every time we go to Mass at the end of Mass we hear something to the effect of "The Mass is ended, go forth and glorify the Lord with your lives."  The Priest or Deacon is not just saying "Hey see you next Sunday."  No, it is a sending forth!  You are being sent into the world to deliver the Gospel!  The food you have just received from this table, you are going out into the world to share it with everyone else!  You have been sent.

Finally, the one that so many people miss, you have seen the risen Lord.  I said this to my confirmation class recently and all of them demanded to know when.  In the Eucharist!  We Catholics do not believe it is a mere symbol.  We believe that Jesus Christ is truly present, literally and entirely in the Eucharist.  He is not trapped there.  He is not only there... but he is very much there!  When the Priest lifts up the Eucharist in Mass we look upon the divine deity, Christ himself!  Wow!  Does that floor you?  It should.  You have been called!  You have been sent!  You have seen the risen Christ!  You are an apostle.  That means you too must go forth preaching to the world! Oh, indeed, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!  Be those feet!

Are you ready for this?  If you were crucified today would you spend your last two days of life, starving and in pain, to preach the message of Christ to anyone who would listen?  Are you preaching Christ in your daily life?  Do people know you are a disciple of Christ?  Does your life exhibit the truth of the Gospel?  Are you following Him?  That's what Advent is about.  It's time my friends, to examine our hearts.. our lives.. our consciences and ask ourselves.. have we forgotten?  Let us use this Advent wisely as we approach Christmas.  Let us remember that our lives are ordered towards Easter, but they begin with Christmas.  So let's journey through our liturgical year to remind us of Jesus past present and future.. and as disciples of Christ let us remember that the means we want our lives to look like his.  Use this time to look at your own past, present and future... You have been born in Baptism.  It doesn't end there.  You are being reborn daily, with your choices, with your actions... with your thoughts.  Are you letting Christ be born in your heart now? Or is there something in the way..   You will be reborn after this life.  Where will you spend your eternity?  Now is the time.  Get ready.  Be ready.  Stay ready.

His servant and yours,
Brian

Happy New Year!

Be vigilant!   That is our message from today's Gospel.  As we enter the season of Advent, we see more of that Apocalyptic literature that reminds us to be ever ready and watchful for the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  It exhorts us to continue working towards that perfection, that holiness of life that comes with following Christ as our example.  It also evokes in our hearts the realization that we all have one thing in common.  We all eventually will die.  We all eventually will face judgement.  These readings are intense, but they are written not to scare us but to encourage.  A prompting to "conduct ourselves in a way pleasing to God."

The last few days I've been binge watching a television show that I find to be very interesting.  I wouldn't recommend it for children or anyone sensitive to harsh language, but the Man in the High Castle definitely shows us a danger of the human condition.  In this alternate reality the Nazi's created the bomb before America did.  This enabled them to not only win the war, but to take over half the country.  The other half seems to have been dominated by the Japanese which I imagine began with Pearl Harbor.  Throughout the series we see what life would truly be like if we didn't have freedom.  If you have ever complained about freedom here in the United States?  Give this show a watch.

Why do I mention this show?  When I watch it I see something about the characters that is very much vigilant.  They have their eyes open.  They are seeking the good of 'society'.  One of the characters is a Nazi commander and he very much seeks the best for the Nazi government.  He is dedicated.  He believes in what he is doing.  He keeps to his 'rule' of conduct at all costs.  In that though, he ignores one thing, his heart.  At one point he turns over his friend, because as he puts it, "There is no room for emotions" in the world.  He has left love behind. 

That is a danger that many people forget.  In their conduct they are trying to be pleasing to God, but God is pleased truly with love.  Our liturgies are important, our devotions too, our prayer and worship should be first and foremost in our lives.  All of it must be tempered with love.  Humanity is bad to stick to one ideology, one way of doing things, to the point of harming others in order to stick to that one way of life.  We aren't like the Nazi's, I agree.   Most of us would blanch at killing in order to purify the human race.  Yet, how many of us stick to our democratic or republican voting points regardless of if love is involved?  How many of us would vote the party line even if it means supporting one of the five non-negotiables?  How many of us decide that one liturgy is better than another? Or one version of music is the 'right' one, even to the point of running someone down to get our way?

Jesus said if we were angry with our brother it was the same as murdering him.  If we are so set in our ways of doing things, and have not love, St. Paul says we are just a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  That is, we are just a loud noise with no effectiveness, pushing people away and harming them instead of soothing them and drawing them closer to Christ.  When we decide at work that our way is the only way to do things, even to the point of not being charitable to that person who wants to try something new, hurting their feelings and gossiping behind their back; aren't we killing them with our words and thoughts?  Jesus condemned empty and hollow tradition.  He said that the Pharisees were like white washed tombs.  On the outside they did all the right things.  On the inside there remained the filth of decay and the bones of dead men.  Are you the same inside as your are outside? or are you wearing a mask? We must change.  We must start with love.  Then and only then, when we do our traditions out of love.. they are a true and pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. 

As we approach Christmas through advent let us do so with love.  Let us invite others into our celebration.  Let us spread the word, declaring "Blessed Advent" or "Happy Advent" to those who wish us a "Happy Holidays."   Then when they ask what Advent is, let us explain our traditions, how that we are journeying towards Christmas to remind us of that grateful expectation that Israel felt as they waited for the long prophesied Savior and Messiah.  Let us build that palatable excitement in our lives until we can sing with the angels, the Saints, and the blessed Virgin Mary:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

His servant and yours,
Brian