Author: admin

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Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe we’re already five days in to 2020.

If we take a moment to reflect upon 2019, I’m sure most of us can say the year was a mixed bag. There were days we’d love to repeat, days we’d rather erase, and lots of days in between.

You might say we experienced both light and darkness.

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For example, remember how the world stood still on April 15^th as we watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris nearly burn to the ground.

It was a moment of great sadness; a moment of darkness.

Then in August we saw Hurricane Dorian, one of the most powerful storms on record, destroy entire towns in the Bahamas.

Many residents there remain in darkness.

Then in October, Americans witnessed the trial of Amber Guyger, who was found guilty of shooting an innocent man.

You may remember, she was an off-duty police officer who walked into the wrong apartment after work. Thinking she saw an intruder, she shot a man sitting on his own couch.

The victim’s brother was present at the heartbreaking trial.

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In 2019 we experienced darkness.

We witnessed churches burning, storms brewing, and innocent lives being taken. Dark moments for ordinary people like us. 

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But wherever there is darkness, light can appear.

Herein lies the lesson for us.

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The story of Notre Dame reminded us that the Church is not a physical building. 

As hard as it was to see a house of worship engulfed in flames, we were reminded then and now that we – not a building – are the real body of Christ.

And after Hurricane Dorian, hundreds of people risked their lives to save others, often people they’d never met. In the face of disaster, ordinary people became the light to those who sat in darkness.

And after Amber Guyger was found guilty, the victim’s brother asked if he could hug her before she was led off to prison.

That embrace showed us in the most concrete terms the real power of forgiveness.

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Throughout 2019, ordinary men and women stood up and said, “The darkness will not overcome us. We will be part of the solution. We choose to be light.”

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The same battle between darkness and light occurs in the Gospel.

King Herod is trying to kill the infant Jesus. A moment of real darkness.

Meanwhile the magi are seeking to worship Christ.

After the magi find him, they share what they’ve learned with others, the truth that God has come to save us, people of every race, and tongue, and nation.

The darkness has not overcome us. Evil has not won. Love is victorious.

There’s only one caveat.

As the magi realize, we’re all caught up in this divine plan of bringing light to others, meaning each of us is invited to worship Christ, and then share his light with others.

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We may not find ourselves in a courtroom embracing a guilty party or volunteering for disaster relief in 2020.

But if 2019 has taught us anything, it’s the truth that we can be light in the face of darkness – good in response to evil.

As Saint Francis of Assisi often prayed, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is despair, let me bring hope; where there is darkness, let me bring light.”

How we will follow in the footsteps of those who’ve gone before us remains to be seen.

But the message is clear. In the words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world.”

Shine bright in 2020.

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Mary didn’t just go through the motions that first Christmas night. As the Gospel tells us, she “treasured” these events, “reflecting” upon them in her heart. 

How often do we reflect upon the meaning of Christmas? Do we ever go through the motions, returning to life as normal on December 26^th?

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By now all of our Christmas gifts have been unwrapped – some gifts stored away, others returned. 

We can literally say Christmas was “last year.” But that doesn’t mean the meaning of it should be in the past. We’re invited to reflect upon our faith – and its relevance in our lives – each and every day.

As it’s written in the Letter to the Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He deserves our devotion everyday, not just during the holidays.

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Secondly, the Gospel tells us that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes. He wasn’t covered tightly in a “onesie” like so many newborns today; Jesus was wrapped in a blanket.

That blanket carries with it deep symbolic meaning. We are meant to conform ourselves to Christ – to wrap ourselves around him – much like a blanket wrapped around a child. 

The opposite would be trying to make Jesus conform to our own plans, our own wants, and our own ideas of who God should be.

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Mary did the opposite. She accepted the Lord’s plans for her life, even when it was difficult, and she didn’t understand. 

In fact, she was the only person who was present with Jesus when he first opened his eyes in Bethlehem, and present again when he closed them on Calvary.

Two events that made little sense at first.

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That’s the challenge for all of us, to follow Christ from beginning to end, to conform ourselves to him like swaddling clothes wrapped around an infant.

As we begin a new year – in fact a new decade – how can we better conform ourselves to Christ? Where do we need to bend our will to accommodate his?

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Mary treasured the events of Christmas, pondering its meaning in her heart. We are invited to do the same – to consider the relevance of our faith every day of our lives, for, “Jesus Christ is the same – yesterday, today, and forever.”

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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

With this opening sentence, John begins describing the creation of the cosmos. The world, he goes on to say, was a formless waste. 

But God created order – and with that all of humanity.

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We know how the history of our world has unfolded since – there’s been a combination of light and darkness, love and hatred, peace and war, action and indifference. 

You might say, a mixed bag.

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Maybe that’s how 2019 was for us – a mixed bag.

There were days we’d probably like to repeat and days we’d like to erase; days when we were sinners, days when we were saints, and lots of days in between.

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But herein lies the blessing of New Year’s Eve. We’re at the end of the road. 

Tomorrow is a new year – a new decade – and with it a clean slate.

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As we turn to 2020, may every blessing you seek be yours.

Bring the right attitude, never forgetting Jesus is Emmanuel, God is with us.

Happy New Year!