“Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” Mark 9:2-10

Today we encounter the words of Peter, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” Indeed Lent is good for us. The consistent practice of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving opens our hearts to the incredible outreach of the Trinity and enables us to reconcile our selfishness with the selflessness that makes God so much a part of our lives and the reason for being here.

We were reminded through Genesis today how Abraham, known as our Father in Faith was greatly loved by God. And yet, as a test of his love, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, after everything he and Sarah had done to have child, they were now being asked to sacrifice their future inheritance with complete trust so that Abraham’s love might be found worthy to deliver the great covenant between God and His People.

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“And the angels ministered to Him” – Mark 1:12-15

Today’s Gospel according to Mark is a wonderful inspiration for the beginning of our Lenten Journey. “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” (Mk. 1:12) You get this sense of a gale wind, picking Jesus up and carrying Him into the solitude and silence of the desert.

What happens to Jesus when He is alone and becomes quiet? Jesus is “tempted by Satan.” (Mk. 1:13)  Jesus was “among wild beasts.” (Mk. 1:13) We know what that feels like, don’t we, when temptations bother us and our conscience is reminding us of the right thing to do. What we can forget in those times is the second part of that sentence – “and the angels ministered to Him.” (Mk.1: 13)

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ASH WEDNESDAY

God has summoned us here this morning to announce a great fast. Throughout our history, since Adam, God has called His People back to Him so we can once again enjoy the unity of our creation in His Image and likeness.

Each of us from our conception is made in God’s image. It is what unites us both to God and to one another. It is this image that makes us the same. Our diversity comes not in the soul but through our bodies. There we have similarities but we are not identical. Our bodies demonstrate a unique quality and a specific mission given to us out of God’s eternal love.

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How does the Word become flesh in you?

Jesus’ words amazed the people in the synagogue, and His deeds left them awestruck. The miracles Jesus performed tell us something about three people: Himself, the disciples, and Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus did not need to make Himself the center of attention. He did not need to make great incantations or gestures to dispel demons. All He needed to do was to speak with authority. His relationship with His Father was such that whatever He asked was granted.

A miracle for Jesus was not a means of increasing His prestige; He performed miracles because He was ‘moved with pity.’ Jesus was keenly interested in the lives of the people He touched.

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“He will pick us up & hold us close” Mark 1:21-28

You would think that the man processed by an unclean spirit would run away from Jesus. You would think that the pain of having this spirit cut out of your body would drive the poor man away. Rather, the man meets up with Jesus and stands right in His face. Perhaps the man had one last thread of hope, rooted in a very dim faith that Jesus could in fact heal him.

There are those of us who are in the same position as the man with the unclean spirit. We want to hold on in hope that Jesus can take pity on us as well and redeem us. Yet, if we too have the audacity to believe in Him, He will accept our contrition however imperfect. He will pick us up and hold us close. He is the one Who is to come. Jesus is the one who nurtures the hope of the once possessed man: “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in His pity has done for you.”

 

“Come after Me” Mark 1:14-20

When Jesus invites His Apostles to “Come after me,” they are intrigued because the response to this invitation involves a conversion on all levels of life and at every moment. Conversion is not stagnant in time; rather it is on going and life giving.

Jesus reminds us today what the life of a fisherman involves

  • Being patient, learning to wait in God’s time
  • Persevering-never being discouraging; always being willing to try again
  • Having the courage to face the consequences of telling the truth
  • Being discrete in finding the right moment to speak and the right moment to be silent
  • Being physically fit so as to become his instrument.
  • Being humble in our attitude and in our speech toward others

Remember, the apostles were not forced to accept the call to be fisher’s of men. They could have walked away, as we can. But once they answered, “I Believe,” they accepted the challenge that lay before them, as we must.

“Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” is a new way of life that seeks to gather all men, women and children to a place where we can truly preach the Word of Christ, not necessarily “with the wisdom of human eloquence, but for the purpose that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of it’s meaning.”

Complete your life then, go after Him and you will become ‘fishers of men.”

 

“Speak Lord, your servant is listening” -John 1:35-42

Today begins a week of prayer for Christian unity, during which we should give time to read the catechism and become familiar with the tenets of our religion. It is only when we are familiar with what we believe that we can reach out to others who don’t understand.

Thursday is a day of prayer and penance as we remember that our nation is one that legalized the killing of children and continues to slide down that immoral road, which affects all stages of human life, even our lives.

I think these things coming together is a sign for all us to see that, as Saint Paul says that, “The body is not for immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body…therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:13c-13a, 17-20).

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Feast of the Baptism – With You I am well pleased!

The power of baptismal water cannot be appreciated without considering what has happened here today. We find ourselves at the side of the river Jordan, a dove hovers not expectantly, the sky opens and a voice proclaims, ‘this is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ (Matthew 2:1-12) Imagine for a moment that you are the Christ and it is over your head the dove hovers. You are my beloved son, ‘with whom I am well pleased.’

Jesus rises from the water of death and begins to walk the Way, of Truth and for Life. Like all true disciples, we are struck at what Jesus does in His Public Ministry what attracts us will attract others to join us on the road to true peace in Him.

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A New Year of Hope! 2015

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

In the same way, she promises to bear us especially when despair or are anxious. Mary is our Mother of Hope because we meet in the reflection of the 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 Hope, rooted in Faith, Mary brings us peace; inner peace, peace in our families; communal peace, global peace. May this New Year bring you a fresh hope, a new beginning of virtue; making this world a better place to receive Him.

 

THE HOLY FAMILY – Bringing the Family into the Trinity of God

When God chose to present Himself to us as a Child, He re-sanctified the human family.  Jesus was born in a secure, loving and committed family which had its beginning in marriage.  Pope Benedict wrote: The family is “born of the love of a man and a woman who decide to enter a stable union in order to build together a new family” (BXVI, Letter for New Year 2008).

The spousal relationship between Joseph and his wife helps us understand our responsibility to work for stability, provide nourishment & a well-rounded education for each member of the family.

There are those today who want us to abandon Christ’s teaching on the sanctity and structure of the human family. They would like to take God out of the equation of marriage, deconstructing this holy sacrament making man the center and controller of life and objects of our desire to feel good.

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