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October 4, 2009
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Genesis 3: 9-15, 20But Yahweh God called to the man. 'Where are you?' he asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' he replied. 'I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' he asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?' The man replied, 'It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'Why did you do that?' The woman replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'
Then Yahweh God said to the snake, 'Because you have done this,
Accursed be you
of all animals wild and tame!
On your belly you will go
and on dust you will feed
as long as you live.
I shall put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
it will bruise your head
and you will strike its heel.'The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live.
Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12
Blessed be God
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us
with all the spiritual blessings of heaven
in Christ.
Thus he chose us in Christ
before the world was made
to be holy and faultless
before him in love,
marking us out for himself beforehand,
to be adopted sons,
through Jesus Christ.
Such was his purpose and good pleasure,
to the praise of the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved,And it is in him
that we have received our heritage,
marked out beforehand as we were,
under the plan of the One
who guides all things
as he decides by his own will,
chosen to be,
for the praise of his glory,
the people who
would put their hopes in Christ
before he came.
Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.
The feast today is about Mary’s conception, that from the instant she began to exist on this earth, indeed from her very conception, she was holy, without sin and filled with God's grace. The gospel today can confuse us somewhat because it tells us about Jesus’ conception. It was read, however, because of the greeting the angel used in appearing to her: “Hail, full of grace.” Our feast celebrates that there was no moment in Mary’s life when there was sin, no moment when God’s grace did not fill her.
As we listen in on this conversation between Mary and the Angel, we learn both about Mary and about the child she will give birth to. Mary’s child would be Son of the Most High and king forever. He will be called “holy, the Son of God.”
This is why Mary was “full of grace,” so she could give birth to God’s own Son, who would be the source of all holiness. We need to know this, not so that we can put Jesus and Mary on a pedestal and admire them from afar. Jesus, the holy one of God came to us so that we too can become holy. This is what St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading: “God chose us in him to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
Most of us do not think of our vocation as a call to holiness. We all want to get to heaven, but most of us think of holiness as reserved for other people, like St. Francis or Mother Teresa. Most of us are content to leave holiness for someone else. We just want to get through heaven’s doors. But no one will get to heaven unless they are holy, for holiness means being close to God and sharing God’s life. And that’s what God’s grace does for us: it unites us with God and allows us to share in God’s life. If we are in God’s grace, then, we are holy people.
Two stories we heard today tell us of our vocation to be holy:
The story in our first reading is about Adam and Eve, our first parents, who originally were very close to God and in their union with God, they were very happy. That was the symbol of the Garden of Eden. But they got greedy! They wanted to be equal to God. The evil one knew how to manipulate them and lead them to ignore God’s command. As a result they lost all they had.
The second story in the gospel illustrates Mary’s constant attitude of being willing to say “yes” to God, an openness that prepared the way for the Son of God to come to us.
When we were baptized we were filled with God’s life, we were born again in God’s grace. The very same grace that filled Mary at the moment of her conception, filled us when we were baptized. None of us will ever be as holy as Mary was. She got a head start on all of us. But if we follow the example of Mary, always ready to say “yes” to God, that will lead us to holiness and to the joy and peace and love that comes with it.
2nd Sunday
of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 62: 1-5
The splendour of Jerusalem
About Zion I will not be silent,
about Jerusalem I shall not rest
until saving justice dawns for her
like a bright light
and her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will then see
your saving justice,
and all kings your glory,
and you will be called a new name
which Yahweh's mouth will reveal.
You will be a crown of splendour
in Yahweh's hand,
a princely diadem in the hand of your God.
No more will you be known as 'Forsaken'
or your country be known as 'Desolation';
instead, you will be called
'My Delight is in her'
and your country 'The Wedded';
for Yahweh will take delight in you
and your country will have its wedding.
Like a young man marrying a virgin,
your rebuilder will wed you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
so will your God rejoice in you.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all. The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good. To one is given from the Spirit the gift of utterance expressing wisdom; to another the gift of utterance expressing knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; to another, faith, from the same Spirit; and to another, the gifts of healing, through this one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the power of distinguishing spirits; to one, the gift of different tongues and to another, the interpretation of tongues. But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, distributing them at will to each individual.
John 2: 1-11
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said, ‘Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. Then he said to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the president of the feast.’ They did this; the president tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew—the president of the feast called the bridegroom and said, ‘Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now.’
This was the first of Jesus’ signs: it was at Cana in Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.?
January 14, 2007
INTRODUCTION: Five hundred thirty years before Christ the Jews were exiles in Babylon. You’ve heard me mention this many, many times. Today’s first reading is an announcement from the prophet that the Persians, who had conquered the Babylonians, were going to let God’s people go home. Their cities and homes were in ruins during the time of their exile and the Persians were even willing to give them some material help to rebuild. God said he would forgive the sins of his people, their sins that brought on their exile, and God would take them back. God would make Jerusalem and Judea his spouse. The image of God marrying his people is an important biblical image and is the best symbol from our human experience that can be used to describe the love and intimacy God desires to have with his people. The image prepares the way for gospel account of the marriage feast of Cana.
HOMILY: I want to encourage you to make sure you have truly invited Christ into your homes and into your relationships, especially your marriage relationship if you are married.
Several years ago I read the story about a couple who bought a new home and spent a lot of money on interior decoration. The wife, who wrote the article, had a husband who wanted to hang a large picture of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place in their living room and the lady objected. It did not fit with the décor of their new home. But he insisted and reminded her of Jesus’ words: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.” (Mt. 10,32) Being a religious person, she gave in to his wishes and hung the picture. In her article she told about a few incidents that happened because the picture was there. One visitor, who kept glancing at the picture, eventually commented that “Jesus doesn’t look at you, he looks right through you.” Another friend commented, “I always feel so peaceful in your home.” She said one of the most striking things she noticed was that inevitably the conversation with friends and relatives was drawn to a higher plane. She felt overall the picture had a good effect on their family. Her article concluded with the statement: “This much I know, when you invite Jesus into your home, you are never the same again.”
I’m sure the couple in today’s gospel would agree. Wedding receptions were major celebrations in the culture and time of Jesus. They went on for several days and planning for one would have been difficult, but running out of wine would have been a long remembered embarrassment for the bride and groom. So Jesus came to their rescue, with a little prompting from his mother. And he rescued them big time.
Others we hear about in the gospel had their lives changed significantly for the better by inviting Jesus into their home. Peter brought Jesus to his home and Jesus healed his mother-in-law. A little girl died who was the daughter of a synagogue official named Jairus. Jairus went to find Jesus and Jesus came to his home and raised his daughter to life. He healed a man of dropsy one evening while having dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee. He became good friends with Martha, Mary and Lazarus and visited them when he came to Jerusalem. When Lazarus died Jesus brought him back to life. This is not to mention how people’s lives were changed in other ways because they opened their doors to Jesus.
Certainly, inviting Jesus into our lives begins by opening our hearts to him. But what if we lived in a country where it is illegal to be a Christian and the police came to our home, would there be enough evidence there to convict us? Do we have religious books or periodicals, any religious articles that remind us of our Lord or Mary or one of the saints, is there a bible somewhere within reach or is it on a shelf covered with dust? If our houses were bugged by the police, would we ever get caught praying with other family members?
When Jesus sent his disciples out he always told them to say “Peace to this house” whenever they entered a house. It is his desire to bring peace wherever he goes. In the book of Revelation Jesus makes this promise to us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, (then) I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” He will not invade our space. He wants to be invited in.
That goes doubly in marriage. St. John tells us “God is love.” If people want love in their marriage, they need to have God as the foundation of their relationship. I always have major concerns about couples who call up and want to have their marriage at St. Boniface, but they’ve not been going to Church. They are missing the essential ingredient for a loving and successful life ahead. I always challenge them that if they want me to have their wedding, then I want to see them become serious enough about their faith that they start practicing it.
St. John tells us today this was the first of Jesus’ signs. As a sign it shows Jesus’ high regard for marriage. But it shows much more. It tells us Jesus was interested in more than just keeping the party going, that he came to bring abundant blessings to those who believe in him. Today he works greater miracle for us by changing bread and wine into his own body and blood. May we be filled with his love as we receive the food and drink he gives us. Amen.
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July 31, 1994
Words of Jesus to Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:"My beloved priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates, in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.
"I will use the newsletter and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.
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- Message from Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31, 1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)
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