Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 2: 16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,  
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,  
they made known the message  
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed  
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,  
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,  
glorifying and praising God  
for all they had heard and seen,  
just as it had been told to them.  

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,  
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel  
before he was conceived in the womb.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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By now all of our Christmas gifts have been unwrapped and stowed away. Perhaps a few have been re-gifted or returned. We can literally say, “Christmas was last year.”

While that day has come and gone, we are invited to reflect upon the meaning of Christmas year-round.

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As we hear in the Gospel today, “Mary, kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” 

She didn’t go through the motions that first Christmas night. She paused. She pondered. She tried stitching together the meaning of it all.

I’m sure Mary thought about that providential encounter with the angel Gabriel nine months before; her 80-mile journey to visit her cousin, Elizabeth; Joseph’s acceptance of this divine plan; and the appearance of the magi from the East.

When she held the infant Jesus in her arms, she must’ve wondered, “Why me? Why was I chosen? Can I really care for this miracle made flesh?”

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Mary, “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

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But what is there for us to ponder about that first Christmas night? 

Consider two minor details. First, Jesus was born in a “manger,” which was synonymous with a “feeding trough.” 

Why would the Gospels describe Jesus being born in a “feeding trough”?

Just as animals feed from a trough, so Christians are meant to feed on Christ. He is nourishment for our body and soul. We feed on his Word at Mass, and, ultimately, we feed on his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. 

Christians feed on Christ.

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Secondly, Jesus was wrapped in, “swaddling clothes.”

Just as a blanket was wrapped snugly around Christ’s body, so Christians are meant to conform their lives around Christ. We place our present, our past, and our future into his hands.

The opposite approach would be trying to wrap God around our own plans and desires.

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Although our Christmas gifts have been unwrapped and stowed away, we are invited to reflect upon the greatest gift of Christmas – Jesus Christ – year-round.

As we begin a new year, may we feed on his Word and his Body, and conform ourselves ever more to his will.

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Image credits: (1) Catholic News Agency (2) Archdiocese of Washington (3) Beautiful Baby Jesus, Twitter

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Gospel: John 1: 1-18

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, 
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son,
full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying, 
“This was he of whom I said, 
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me 
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses, 
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, 
has revealed him.  

The Gospel of the Lord.

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COVID and the cold weather have caused many of us to return indoors. Resisting the inevitable boredom that can settle in, perhaps we’ve picked up a hobby or two.

For example, puzzles.

The first thing I do when starting a puzzle is spread all of the pieces across a large table. Then, one by one I begin piecing the puzzle together.

One piece turns into a cluster – and then several clusters – and finally a picture starts to emerge. 

When the puzzle is finally completed, it’s amazing to look back and remember the chaos that once was spread across my table.

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In the Gospel, John describes the beginning of the world. It was a place of darkness – a formless waste, with mighty winds sweeping across the waters.

But God orders the chaos. Day by day, piece by piece, he assembles the world over the course of seven days. 

That’s something only God can do: turn the darkness into light; chaos into order; death into life.

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It’s what we need God to do to our fragmented world once again.

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Looking back over the year, we can see the chaos.  2021 looks like a thousand puzzle pieces strewn across a table.

There’s still COVID, social distance, isolation, and whatever struggles we’ve dealt with personally – pieces that may make little sense to us now.

But God can piece our world back together if we ask him. 

Perhaps that’s the best way to end this year and to begin another one, to call upon Jesus.

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Image credits: (1) The Boston Globe (2) Zen Puzzle (3) Redbubble

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Gospel: Luke 2: 22-35

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. 
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This will be our only encounter with Simeon in scripture. But he appears for a very particular reason. Simeon teaches us the value of patience.

Although it feels at times like God is delayed, this Gospel reminds us that God is faithful; the Lord will act in our lives. 

But God’s timing is different from ours. As we hear in the Psalms, “A thousand years in your eyes are merely a day gone by.”

God isn’t in a rush.

In Simeon’s case, the Lord promised that he would appear before Simeon’s death. Simeon waited his whole life for that promise to be answered, but finally, when he was old and grey, the Lord appeared in the child Jesus.

It must’ve felt like a thousand years, but God kept his promise.

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What am I waiting for?

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Perhaps we’re waiting on a prayer to be answered; an illness to be cured; a relationship to be restored; this pandemic to end. 

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It’s hard being patient. But good things come to those who wait. 

Even if it feels like a thousand years, for God it’s only a day gone by.

Trust Him. He will act.

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Image credits: (1) RPM Ministries (2) Simeon Holding Jesus, Andrey Shishkin (3) DailyVerses.net