Feast of the Holy Family • Year A
St. Augustine said that “we make our times” … if our times are good or bad it is because we have made them so. No place is this more true than our family times. These are perhaps the most important and yet the most difficult of all the times of our lives.
Christmas • Year A
When Jesus was born, the only things he had going for him were his family and his Divinity. Oddly enough, his being God was little help in his human adventure. He had decided not to make much of his “being God” and thus throughout his earthly life he was treated like any other poor human. We are told that he “emptied himself” so that he could have the full experience of being human, the bad parts as well as the good parts. One of the good parts was in having a family. Jesus chose to be a member of a human family.
Fourth Sunday of Advent • Year A
I’ve known a lot of ordinary Joes and Marys in my life. Beginning with family and friends, most of the people I’ve encountered have been rather unremarkable as far as doing outstanding things goes. But I’ve found as I look at the entirety of their lives that they have been inspirational for me. They have become heroes, inspirational and extraordinary because of the longevity of their loyalty, the depth and strength of their faith which has established a tradition. They have become legendary in their goodness because of the ease with which they do it as a way of life.
Second Sunday of Advent • Year A
John’s message is not “I’m okay, you’re okay.” John does not think “It’s all good.” John does not make a few suggestions for modest improvement. John says: Salvation is at hand, so change your lives! God is drawing near: Be prepared! Christ is coming, and so this is no time to fool about with half-measures. We must part with our corrupt desires, surrender our bad habits, cut off our selfishness, ambition, lust and laziness. We cannot walk the narrow path of salvation if we are burdened with the weight of unrepented sin. And John’s good news is that we do not have to: We can repent and be reconciled to the Lord.
Second Sunday of Advent • Year A
For he wants to bring forth peace and justice, where the poor are heard, where no one comes to harm, where the things that need to be cut down are done so. What would it look like for us to be part of this vision of Christ’s advent in the world, where the wolf and the lamb lay together, where the little child guides rather than the powerful, and where the poor and vulnerable are heard rather than being told they have no place.
First Sunday of Advent • Year A
Humans – at least the Chosen People – had had plenty of warnings. For centuries prophets had promised that a Messiah, a Savior, was coming and that humans had best prepare for his coming. But over the years people forgot. They became busy about other things: getting through each day, going to work, having fun, studying for exams, getting married, having children, going to doctors. And after a while the only Savior that made any sense to them was someone who could make their daily life easier.
