Author: Father Cioppi

Miracles are events that reveal the mystery of God, John 2:1-11

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Miracles are events that reveal the mystery of God present in the world. The event announces, “God is here!”

When we meditate on the Wedding Feast of Cana, we discover the Face of God in very ordinary ways.

Consider Jesus being invited to a wedding. This must have been a family friend, because Mary was present as well. Maybe it was the son or daughter of one of Joseph’s business associates that Jesus knew well since he was a partner with Joseph as a carpenter.

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We are His children, on us His favor rests

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Today is the final celebration of Christmas! The Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan reminds us of our own Baptism in the waters of our Church’s font.

From our Baptism the living waters of faith flow. The ceremony of Baptism of which we are reminded, initiates the soul in the life of the Church, uniting it to other pilgrims on their way to communion with Christ. This is the goal of baptism that Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, manifest Himself through us.

The Gospel, spoken today, in every church, in every city across the world announces with great joy the effect that ‘the Word made flesh’ has on humanity.

We are His beloved Children, on us His favor rests.

We are a changed people. That even in the midst of great darkness and death, in the midst of man’s inhumanity to man, our human life flies freely within the warm light of peace hope and charity that the Son of Man brings to our history. We celebrate every human being who desires God with a sincere heart and their ability to accept this gift with joy and inner peace.

We should not believe in every word written on a blog or a newsfeed. We should believe above all things the Word of God, sent to us for life. We should sing of the greatness of each human person, of his or her dignity in the family of God and of the unconditional love He has for us, His children.

 

 

In Worship one should expect the unexpected

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This Advent and Christmas season we have been on a journey of faith, each of us has been called to accept gifts from God and to use them for the purpose He intends. And like the Magi, we come here looking for the promised One who would change our lives and the times in which we live.

“The Magi entered the house over which the star had halted. They saw the Child and fell down in worship” (Mt 2: 11). Outwardly, their journey seemed over. They had reached their goal without really leaving their comfort zone.

However, it was on their knees, through their worship of God, that the real journey was beginning, an inner pilgrimage that changed their lives and the life of the world.

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Mary, Mother of God

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There is no other image in the mystery of the Incarnation simpler than the image of the Mother with Jesus in her arms. She bears her Son from conception to death.

In the same way, she promises to bear us especially when in despair or in anxiety. Mary is our Mother of Mercy because we meet in the reflection of her Child’s eyes, thus we are able to reach out to Him and touch Him so He can dispense His mercy and forgiveness.

Through this Virtue of Mercy, rooted in God’s abiding Love, Mary brings us peace; inner peace, peace in our families; communal peace, global peace, a peace not afraid to forgive and not afraid of being forgiven.

May this New Year bring us a fresh understanding of God’s mercy, a new beginning of virtue; making this world a better place to receive Him and may we depend on Mary, the Undoer of Knots to help us on the Way.

 

Each family is an icon or perfect reflection of the Holy Family.

Posted on by Father Cioppi

If Mary were anything like my mother, there’d be more to say in this story! But that’s the point isn’t it; that our family is like the Family of Nazareth. I can identify some part of theirs lives with my own. Each family is an icon or perfect reflection of the Holy Family.

  • Joseph is righteous before God, he has a good work ethic that he passes on to his son, and he is a faithful loving husband, who brings stability to his home life and to the community in which he lives.
  • Mary is humble, nurturing, and directive. She treasures in her heart everything about her Son and worries.
  • Jesus is obedient, loyal to tradition, faithful and caring for his parents. He is a willing student so He may be a better Teacher.

The silence of Mary speaks to our hearts!

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The Fourth Sunday of Advent gives us an opportunity to reflect on the silence of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary is the Mother who stands by her Son, that woman who Saint Paul describes when he says, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.” Again, in the total giving of her life, he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”

The Gospel tells us “Mary traveled in haste.” She is anxious to enter her family’s home, into the hearth of Zechariah and Elizabeth in the same way she enters each of ours hearts and helps us wait for Jesus.

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Jubilee Year of Mercy opens in King of Prussia

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We join the Universal Church today in opening an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. God is calling people of goodwill to join us in sharing with each other the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that God has generously shown to us. As this great Jubilee Year begins on the Immaculate Conception, we have the opportunity ‘to contemplate the mystery of mercy that is a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace.’ (2)

Mary’s Immaculate Conception opens for us a new way of being human.  Here is a woman who from the moment of her conception was meant for the Lord. She stayed close to Him and is even now whispering her prayer into His Ears. We have been chosen to love Him more by seeing His Face in the face of the unforgiving, the alienated, the poorer, the sick and the lonely.

We have been chosen to offer an alternative to our present way of life, to be less possessive and more giving, more relational and less alienating. We are chosen to live like those who have hope, rooted in the fact that Jesus is the risen Son of God.

Mary’s yes to God’s plan in her life undoes the disobedience of Adam and Eve and makes heaven a possibility for us all. That is why Our Lady, Undoer of Knots is so powerful an image for us. If we allow her to take hold of the Knots we tie so tightly, she will undo them for us, clearing our way to forgiveness and mercy.

‘In order to receive mercy, my friends, we need to ask for forgiveness and this can only be achieved on our knees in the silence of the confessional.’ With this singular act of humility we give witness to the power of Pentecost, the rejuvenation by the Holy Spirit of our lives as Christians that enables us dispense what we ourselves have been given: a life filled with joy, serenity and peace.

As we begin the Jubilee year then let us echo with the Pope our trust in the Mother of Mercy. ‘May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness.- (24)

 

Make the rough ways smooth!

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The Hebrew Prophet was not merely a man enlightened by God to foretell events; he was the herald sent by the Lord to communicate His will and designs to Israel. The prophet is literally the mouthpiece of God. John the Baptist is the last prophet. After John, the Word of God was made Flesh in Jesus Christ. So what does God have to say to us through the lips of John?

John went through the whole region proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. “Prepare the Way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

Notice that John does not say, make straight your paths; it’s His paths we need to make straight. How do His paths become crooked? They don’t unless we make them crooked by our sinfulness, carelessness, apathy or our impurity.

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Be vigilant – He has already come!

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It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is over and that this is the First Week of Advent. The awareness of this moment is surely a metaphor for the message of the Scriptures today: we don’t know when the hour will come. It will be unexpected. This is why the true disciple must be vigilant, watch and be ready.

This Advent time offers us the opportunity to enter into the silence of God. It is here that God speaks to us and re-enforces our relationship with Him.

God offers us time to be still. In this gift we are able to lay down our anxieties and fears and rest a bit in His Presence.

If you would take just five minutes, maybe ten each morning to place yourself in the Presence of God and without words or thoughts give yourselves over the silence of that moment with only the name of Jesus on your lips, you would have a better day a holier Christmas and healthier life.

Be vigilant, He has already come!