Pentecost Sunday
The coming of the Holy Spirit CHANGED the first followers of Jesus. We received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass…but how much are we CHANGED by these experiences? Do you ever long for more in your faith but just don’t know why you aren’t getting it? If that’s ever been you, listen to this homily, and most importantly – remember to breathe (spiritually)!
Easter Sunday
Happy Easter to all of you and your families!
One question this Easter: What does God want to do for you?
The Baptism of the Lord
Today Jesus is baptized, not to be washed by the water but to wash the water; not to be cleansed by the waters but to cleanse the waters. Today Jesus isn’t baptized by water – water is baptized by Jesus. So when we go down into the water in baptism, we no longer just get wet, we get Jesus Christ! At our baptism we were set free from the hold of sin, worry and anxiety in our life, brought into God’s family, and given the power of the Holy Spirit to live this new life in God. The challenge this week: how are we doing? How are we living out the gift of our baptism? Have we in some ways forgotten the power and strength God gave us on our baptism day and settled for a less than full and vibrant life of faith? This week, let’s ask for a renewal of that strength of our baptism!
Epiphany
Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star. The presence of these three non-Jewish kings reveals that God is not only calling the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus. God’s sign was a star; presumably everyone could see it. So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star? Was everyone else just too busy? Were they so caught up in life that they didn’t even notice the sign? We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don’t notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don’t follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it. This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus was born into a human family, with everything that entails. He learned to live with an immediate and extended family (and based on the lineage we hear in other Bible passages, his relations were far from perfect). In an imperfect world, with imperfect people and imperfect families, today’s readings give us some very practical advice on how we can live more fulfilling lives: put the wants and needs of others before your own…as Christ did.
Paul gives us a very concrete example of how this looks in one of the most fundamental sets of relationships we find ourselves in: the family. Before getting up-in-arms about how Paul could write, “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,” let’s look at the reading in context and see how Paul is challenging everyone to stretch their hearts and love others the way Christ loved us.
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
Feast of Christ the King
We as Americans don’t always like the idea of authority, a king, a ruler. We pride ourselves on democracy, equality, independence and standing on our own two feet. But as Christians we claim that God is God and we are not, as Christians we claim to submit ourselves to Jesus Christ, as Christians we claim to bring about the reign of God’s kingdom on earth – beginning with our own lives: minds, hearts, words and actions. So what am I? Am I more of a modern American with a mind of independence? Or am I more of a Christian with the mind of being entirely dependent on my God? This feast is a challenge for us as a Church and as individuals to ask ourselves, “Where in my life do I still try to be independent? What in my life have I not offered to God? Do I allow Christ to be the King of my life? Is He King of all of it, or just some of it?” We will always feel like something is missing in life, like there must be something more, like something in us is just not quite filled, until we give our God every aspect of our life, total control: until Jesus Christ is truly our King!
Nativity of John the Baptist
This weekend we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. John was a crucial figure, bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments and preparing people for the coming of the Lord. He spent most of his life in quiet preparation in the desert, and even though his role was crucial when he stepped out of the desert and into the spotlight, his time “on stage” was very short. Maybe in your life you don’t feel like you’re on the front lines; maybe parts of your life seem un-amazing and un-eventful; maybe you don’t feel like God is using you often for a special purpose. Perhaps, like John, this is your time in the desert, when God is preparing you for the time when He wants you to step on stage and play a crucial role in the life of someone else.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Some things we experience in life are beyond description – words can’t reach as deep or as high as the reality. Love is a good example. We can use all different kinds of images and words and phrases to try and describe it, but in the end it’s something indescribable with words – the experience and reality of love is deeper and truer than any words can express. In the Trinity, we bump up against another reality (or is it actually the same reality?) that words will always fail to describe. Words might fail, but we can live in and experience the reality of the Trinity in our lives if we are willing.
Pentecost
The coming of the Holy Spirit CHANGED the first followers of Jesus. We received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass…but how much are we CHANGED by these experiences? Do you ever feel like you’re in a spiritual rut? Do you ever long for more in your faith but just not know why you aren’t getting it? If that’s ever been you, listen to this homily, and most importantly – remember to breathe (spiritually)!