Am I, or Was I, Changed by the Christmas Season?

Christmas Day has come and gone; New Year’s Day has come and gone. This is still the Christmas season. We know it is when Jesus, the Son of God, born of the Blessed Virgin, was born to redeem us. But does this really impact me? Does it really bring joy? Everything is getting back to routine. Nothing has really changed. But it should have. Hence, I went searching the Church Fathers, and I found a sermon by St. Leo the Great.

St. Leo said, “Our Savior, dearly-beloved, was born today: Let us be glad, for there is no proper place for sadness when we keep the birthday of Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity.” What is “life”? I don’t mean the condition of living, but what is true life, the life that Christ brings? So often in the past, I tried to be “spiritual.” I put a lot of work into it. The usual result was: pride. I think back to my Baptism. There was no noticeable change at Baptism, but it was at that time that “life” began.

Life has no connection with death. The ante-Nicene Fathers knew this. Listen carefully to St. Leo, “…the birthday of Life, which destroys the fear of mortality” (emphasis added). It was for this reason that many of them readily accepted martyrdom. They realized that, because of the Nativity, “the Son of God…has taken on Him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author: in order that the inventor of death, the devil, might be conquered through that (nature) which he had conquered.” Today, many just want to go to heaven. They believe that if they live a “good” life – in their eyes – they will go to heaven. Others believe that they will go to heaven because they believe in Jesus. We often forget that Satan knows Jesus better than we do. Some believe they will go to heaven because they have been baptized. Judas was baptized also.

Before we can grasp what life truly is, we must understand death and dying. Dying is reality to us. When we exited our mothers’ wombs, we began dying. It is all we know. Webster defines dying: “losing life; perishing; expiring; fading away; languishing; mortal; destined to death – as dying bodies.” Death was brought on in the Garden by Satan, through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Death and dying brought on greed, envy, covetousness, lying, murder, rape, etc. Death brought on everything that is contrary to life: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.

I do not know, but it is also possible that ownership is a result of death and dying. St. Chrysostom preached against ownership. He said that, prior to the Fall, there was no ownership. We know that ownership does not bring contentment; it only makes us to want to own more. We know this, yet we desire that our children have more than we. We want them to have “good” careers, careers that earn much money. I am not being critical; I just want us to realize that this is not life but death. There are many doctors in the mission field. Many of the saints worked in hospitals, not for “good” careers but because of life. Many lawyers work pro bono – because they seek justice. I have a good job. I must answer for what I do with my money. That is terrifying to me. May God have mercy on me! Do I need the things I own? Would something of lesser value have been sufficient in order that I could have given more? Fear is also a factor. I might need that money in the future. Emergencies do occur. All of this is a result of death and dying, not life.

Jesus’ nativity destroys the fear of mortality. At His first Advent, He came to save, not to condemn. At His Passion and Resurrection, He conquered death and dying. Yes, we remain in mortal, dying bodies; but, nevertheless, we are not dying. The mortal body is dying, yet we are growing, living. St. Leo said: “There is for all one common measure of joy because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon.”

Life is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance. You will recognize these as the fruit of the Spirit. Christ brings us this as a result of His nativity. St. Leo concluded his sermon: “Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, Who for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us, has had pity on us: and when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ, that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which you are a member. Recollect that you were rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God's light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from you by base acts, and subject yourself once more to the devil's thralldom: because your purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge you in truth Who ransomed you in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns forever and ever. Amen.”  T.T.

In The Fullness of Time

I do not know if this phrase really caught anyone else’s eye, but it did mine. The question came to mind: Why did the apostle, St Paul, write this phrase (Galatians 4:4-5)? All the commentators rightly stated that this means “at the time appointed by God.” This is absolutely true, but why, still, was this the fullness of time? What made it the fullness of time?

One of the early church fathers – I do not recall who – stated that, after the Fall, mankind became progressively worse in their wickedness, that we do not become better because of sin, but worse. Therefore, I believe God was not waiting for mankind to become better, to a point where they were ready to “accept” Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior, but He had something else in mind.

It is reported that at the time of the Incarnation and Nativity that there was “peace” in the world. This would only mean that there was no war, for there was no love between the Jews and the Romans. Roman soldiers were posted throughout the Roman Empire to “keep the peace.” Hence, this “peace” was not a peace of good will toward one’s fellow man. The Jews, we know, hated the Romans. Perhaps, trusting that the church father is correct, this was the fullness of time because the wickedness of mankind had become full, complete, just as when God told Abraham regarding the Amorites, “In the fourth generation, your descendants will return here, for the wickedness of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Ge 15.16).

Mathetes, an ante-Nicene Church Father, in his epistle to Diognetus, wrote:

“As long then as the former time endured, He permitted us to be borne along by unruly impulses, being drawn away by the desire of pleasure and various lusts. This was not that He at all delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured them; nor that He approved the time of working iniquity which then was, but that He sought to form a mind conscious of righteousness, so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able. But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed great long-suffering, and bore with us, He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! Having therefore convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having now revealed the Saviour who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible to save, by both these facts He desired to lead us to trust in His kindness, to esteem Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counselor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we should not be anxious concerning clothing and food.”

Henceforth, it was then, at that time, the fullness of time. It was also the "fullness of time" at our Baptism. Our sins were full, and we feared the consequences. The "angel" came to us in the time of darkness, saying, "A child is born--the Savior! He is born of the Virgin;; He is persecuted by Pontius Pilate; He is crucified; and He is risen, after having been dead and buried for three days, and He has ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father!"

We are now awaiting the “fullness of time” when Christ returns, a time when the wickedness of mankind will have become full again. This time, however, Christ must return as Judge, for He has already been manifested as the God-Man, the Savior, and He is now here in His Body, the Church.  T.T.

How to Recognize Jesus in the in the hum-drum of everyday life

Saturday 12.29.2012
Lk 2: 22-35

Today didn't start off special, really. It was required by the Law of Moses that a woman had to be purified after giving birth. For the birth of a male child, this was to take place 33 days after the boy's circumcision. So Mary, with Joseph and Jesus, went to the temple to offer the prescribed sacrifice, and complete the ritual. It was also the Law that every male that opens the womb be consecrated to the Lord, and so Jesus was to be presented, and consecrated. Nothing out of the ordinary, really…this was a good Jewish family devoutly following the Law of Moses like every good Jewish family was expected to do.

But we all know that this wasn't the typical Jewish family. The child Jesus was conceived in the womb of an immaculate virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph had taken her as his wife because of an angel's message, and the infant Jesus' birth was announced to shepherds by a whole host of angels.

Yet here they were, fulfilling the law in humility and poverty, just like everybody else. Who would have ever known…who could have even guessed…that disguised in this ordinary act was the Messiah, the Savior of the world?

Simeon is simply described as a man who" was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." He had been given a revelation that he would not die before seeing the Christ. Simeon was old, and who knows how long it had been since the revelation? But he waited; he prayed and he sacrificed and he fasted…and he waited. He believed God, that he would send the Messiah, and that Simeon would live to see it. But this poor couple? This tiny baby? Today? How did he know? Simeon knew because he trusted God. He prayed, and he sacrificed, and he fasted…and after who knows how long, he was rewarded. He was able to recognize the Savior of the world disguised in this little baby carried in the arms of this young mother and father, in this everyday circumstance on this particular day.

What about us? Do we trust God? Are we praying, and sacrificing, and fasting? If we are not, will we be able to recognize the Savior of the world as he comes into our lives disguised in the hum-drum of everyday life; in the humility and poverty of people we pass in the street?  Pray, and sacrifice, and fast, and trust, and he will reward us just as surely as Simeon.  --BW

Is your Family a Holy Family?

Is your family a holy family?  This Sunday is the Feast oft he Holy Family, so this feast day presents us with a wonderful opportunity to ponder the question. Are our families holy families?

Let me paint you 2 portraits. 2 portraits of the Holy Family.

1st Portrait of Holy family = Marriage made in Heaven. We might call this the Holy card version of the Holy Family.

Mary = perfect mother - serene, meek, and mild mannered.
Joseph = perfect father - protective, caring husband and father figure.
Jesus = 'model child.'

No terrible twos, and other than one minor mishap as an adolescent (when he stayed behind in the Temple and worried his parents) Jesus did not give his parents any grief as a teenager. He grew up in wisdom, age, and grace... and they lived happily ever after.

That portrait is too shallow and overly sentimental. We look at our own families and find that they fall way short of this perfect holy family that has it all together, and that leaves us feeling discouraged and inadequate.

The 2nd portrait of the Holy Family looks like this:

Joseph and Mary’s Relationship began with a shaky start.

Mary was a pregnant teenager with an explanation too far fetched for even the most understanding fiancé to comprehend.

He considered divorcing her quietly, but in the end, he married the woman who carried another's offspring. The baby was born at a very inconvenient time and in a very inconvenient place. And then Joseph's dreams directed him to relocate the family to a completely different country for a few years for the child's safety. The child had a mind of his own, demonstrating an unusual degree of independence. Mary tried to understand her child's unconventional ways, pondering in her heart all that she experienced. No matter how much a mother loves her son, she can not determine his destiny. The sword of sorrow pierced Mary’s heart, and in the end, her son died a criminal's death.

1st portrait of the Holy Family is disturbing for its idealism. No family can live up to that idealism.

2nd portrait is disturbing for its realism. Unexpected pregnancy. Questions of divorce and illegitimacy. Dreams and angel visitations. Perplexed parents. When God decided to enter human history, he chose to do so through a human being who would live in a human family. Jesus’ human family was not un-real or ideal, but it was into the real world, with all its brokenness, that Jesus came bringing wholeness and reconciliation. Jesus knows from personal experience what it’s like to belong to a very real human family with very real struggles and difficulties.

A question for all the parents here –Have any of your children ever caused you a bit of anxiety, or when you were a kid did you ever cause your parents any concern? It seems that children do things that cause their parents some degree of consternation, and Jesus was no exception. As we hear in the gospel, instead of heading home with his parents after their annual Passover observance, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Have you ever asked one of your children “why did you do that to us”? or “why did you do that to me?” “why did you do that?” Joseph and Mary ask Jesus the same thing! It says in the scripture we heard today --The very anxious parents asked, "Son, why have you done this to us?" - It’s a question still posed by parents today. Life in the Holy Family was much like life in our families: The gospel also says that Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus said to them." Parents are often bewildered by their children - both when they do communicate and when they don't!

Consider this: If there was miscommunication and misunderstanding in the Holy Family, then there is hope for us all!

--So caring for our children can be tough. What about caring for our ageing parents? Many parents find themselves in what is sometimes called the "sandwich generation" - taking care of growing children along with aging parents.

We are advised by Sirach to help our parents in their old age, even if their minds fail, be patient with them. Every time I go to my parents house my Dad tells me: “be patient with the old folks.” He is talking about himself and my Mom. Be patient. Kindness to a mother and a father will never be forgotten. The model people set for elderly care now will probably be the quality of care they receive when they are old.

OK, so What makes a "holy family"? The spirituality of the family is not about excessively long hours of prayer and fasting. There are more than enough opportunities within family life to qualify for sainthood. Here is a list of a few: Changing dirty diapers, getting the kids up and to mass on time or to school on time, wiping runny noses, visits to the emergency room for stitches (when I was a kid the ER doctor knew me by first name!), Car pooling the kids and arbitrating squabbles in the car, helping to settle fights in the family, Fast food sandwiched in between piano lessons, sports, and play rehearsals, Crying with your children when a pet dies, Sitting through a three hour recital waiting for Missy to play the Minute Waltz, Waiting up for a teen out on a date. Stretching paychecks to cover college tuition, Agonizing whether to institutionalize a parent with Alzheimer's.

Folks, what family spirituality is about, is prayer, love, healing bruised egos, mending broken trust, and struggling with reconciliation. It was into family life, holy and messy as it is - that God came to dwell among us as Jesus Christ.

--Is your family a holy family? It is if it is bound by love –the love of Christ. Our families are holy if we find the love of Christ in our family and keep God first in our lives.

Oh yes, family life can be messy, but we also remember that marriage between man and woman is a symbol of Christ’s love for his Church. A marriage between a man and a woman is a symbol of Christ’s love for you his church, his bride. Through marriage, husband a wife share in the creative powers of God -- First, by bringing new life into the world by two people becoming one flesh.

-- And secondly, by bringing new spiritual life into the world by being the first teachers of the faith and the primary source for nourishment of the faith. Listen carefully, It is a serious mistake to think that the Catholic school or the Catholic church is the primary source for spiritual nourishment. I repeat: It is a serious mistake to think that the Catholic school or the Catholic church is the primary source for spiritual nourishment. Lest we forget let me read to you what we all promised at on behalf of our children when they were baptized. . . . (from the book). Faith must have a base upon which to build, and that base is supplied in the home by the family.

So --how do we help keep our families together? How do we bind them together? We are all aware of common experiences that bind people together. Disasters seem to bind people together --Hurricanes, Earthquakes, sickness, fires, war all bond people together. Why not use the common experience of prayer and God to bind our families together? The old saying goes, a family that prays together stays together. Is that still true? Do you as a family pray? I’m not talking about some rote recitation of something like prayer before meals. Do you really pray from the heart? Many families start off like that –do you still do it?

So I ask you, is your family a holy family? How can you transform the nitty-grittiness of your daily life together as a family into a holy family. You don’t do it by getting rid of your humanness, but rather by starting the day with strength from God – from prayer and closing the day with strength from God –from prayer.

Here is the list for building and maintaining a holy family:

Pray -- love -- Teach the faith – love --

heal bruised egos, love -- mend broken trust, love -- struggle with reconciliation, love -- pray.

---Oh yes, life is messy, relationships are messy, families are messy -- I come from a family of 9 kids, dogs, cats, fish, parents, you name it we had it. I know it can be a struggle -- Is your family a holy family? Not a perfect family – but a holy family.?   --DH

What to hope for

Saturday 12.15.20, Mt 17:9a, 10-13

John and Martha had been high school sweethearts. After graduation, John had gone off to college…and then the war. Martha became a teacher. They had tried to stay in touch…but there was so much that had gone on. Martha eventually married, and she and her husband had three kids…but then there was an accident…and she was left to raise the kids by herself. John never married…the war had really been tough…but he was absorbed in his work, and was quite successful. It just so happened that they had a mutual friend who put them back in touch, and had actually set up a rendezvous. It had been a long time…a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak. Martha arrived early, and sat at a table where she anxiously watched the door. He arrived shortly after, walked by her, and sat at another table, anxiously watching the door. After a while, they both got up to leave, and as he held the door for her, she thanked him…and he recognized her voice. “Martha??”…”John??”…

After all that time, they didn’t recognize one another…they just didn’t know what to hope for.

The chosen people were waiting…and hoping… for Elijah to return, and for the Son of Man to follow…but they wouldn’t recognize either…they just didn’t know what they were hoping for.

How do we know what to hope for? In a secular world that seems so filled with disappointment, so filled with senseless disrespect for life, for people, and for relationships, it can be a really tough question…

But as Christians, we have a blessed advantage. Hope for us is a theological virtue…a gift from God our Father…that gives us assurance…assurance…of salvation; it allows us to place our faith (ANOTHER gift ) in God, and helps us to do the charitable things that please Him.

The focus of our hope is Jesus; that he died for us…to wash away our sins; that he rose from the dead…so we can do the same.

During Advent, we are anxiously waiting…watching…expecting…and praying…that we recognize him when he comes…that we welcome him into our lives…not just at Christmas, but each and every day of our lives.  --W.W.

What kind of Judge is God?

What Kind of Judge is God, reflection on Luke 18: 1-8.

He’s fearless…and if he doesn't even fear God…he is shameless as well. He has no reason at all to even listen to her. It certainly isn’t her wealth or her power that moves him…she has none of either. And it isn’t out of pity or sympathy for her…he is capable of neither. He’s tried ignoring her…and she comes before him over…and over…and over. 

It’s her persistence that wears him down. This big, powerful, important, fearless and shameless judge is so disturbed by this desperate widow’s persistence that he finally…finally…decides in her favor. In his own words, “…lest she finally come and strike me.” Is he really worried that this weak widow woman will literally come down there and thump him? Maybe it’s not a physical thumping that has him concerned. Maybe he’s worried that this persistent and consistent cry for a just verdict from someone so weak and powerless will make him look bad if he fails to act…justly.

Now in our reality, our God is our judge…and he is nothing like the judge in the parable. He waits for us; he listens with love and concern, and while he will never be able to find any of us innocent, he is always eager to find us, through his mercy…saved.

Throughout God’s word, we see it over and over again: widows, orphans, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick and the lame, the imprisoned, and the stranger…the powerless…those who by a fearless and shameless world are judged imperfect or defective…the abandoned and the ignored; to God these are the most precious. Think about it…for a moment…just think about it. Throughout our lives, each of us will fall into at least one of those categories at any given time; and we may not even recognize it as it is happening.

So we have to pray…persistently and consistently…coming before the just judge over…and over…and over…and there is no doubt…he will give a verdict against the world in our favor.  BW

Northwest Florida Guild of the Catholic Medical Association

There are no coincidences in life. Today, we mark the founding of the Northwest Florida Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, and I think that today's Gospel (Luke 13: 1-9) speaks to this significant occasion.

The fig and the fig tree have been mankind's constant companion throughout all of recorded history, and even beyond that. There is solid evidence that it has been cultivated at least as far back as 7,000 years ago; it is mentioned over 50 times in the Bible, spanning both Old and New Testaments; and all of the references are full of meaning…it's not just a tree that bears abundant fruit with precious little care; it stands as a symbol of so much more.

Fig trees and fig crops were indicators of a robust economy, much like low unemployment figures are now. The fig tree was a symbol of Peace, Prosperity, and God's blessing. The Apostle Bartholomew was chosen by Jesus because Jesus saw him "sitting under a fig tree", which was a metaphor for being lost in deep prayer.

In all cultures where the fig appears, physicians have always recognized it as a source of power and strength, and as a source of healing for diseases of every description.

So, what is the point of the parable that Jesus tells us today in our Gospel reading? How does it speak to us…how does he speak to us…today? This tree, this fabled symbol of God's grace, is threatened with destruction…because it is not bearing fruit, despite many seasons of growth. The owner of the orchard even says "So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" What a devastating conviction!!

Yet it is the gardener who comes to the tree's defense, giving it one more chance to bear fruit with his promise of extra special care…one more year…but only one more year

The profession of Medicine today looks a lot like the fig tree in today's parable…it has had many seasons of growth, and is flourishing physically and technologically, but it is not bearing the spiritual fruit that it is not only capable of bearing, but that is so much a part of what it is really meant to be…what we all want it to be.

Today, the Catholic physicians of St. Paul parish and our area take that first step…together…to begin the process of cultivating and fertilizing the fig tree of our beloved profession. We ask God's help for an abundance of fruit.  BW