Daily Writing
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October 9, 2009
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October 10th Holy
Spirit Novena |
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October 9, 2009
Feast of the Epiphany
Isaiah 60: 1-6
Arise, shine out,
for your light has come,
and the glory of Yahweh has risen on you.
Look! though night still covers the earth
and darkness the peoples,
on you Yahweh is rising
and over you his glory can be seen.
The nations will come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.
Lift up your eyes and look around:
all are assembling
and coming towards you,
your sons coming from far away
and your daughters
being carried on the hip.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart will throb and dilate,
since the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you;
camels in throngs will fill your streets,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Saba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and proclaiming Yahweh's praises.
Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
You have surely heard the way in which God entrusted me with the grace he gave me for your sake; he made known to me by a revelation the mystery I have just described briefly—
This mystery, as it is now revealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, was unknown to humanity in previous generations: that the gentiles now have the same inheritance and form the same Body and enjoy the same promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Matthew 2: 1-12
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east asking, ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least
among the leaders of Judah,
for from you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared and sent them on to Bethlehem with the words, ‘Go and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
January 7, 2007
INTRODUCTION: 587 years before Christ, God's people were conquered and enslaved by the Babylonians and taken to Babylon, the area around modern day Baghdad. Fifty years later the Persians, the people who lived in what is today Iran, conquered the Babylonians and they allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. In our first reading the prophet enthusiastically proclaims this return: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come…” The prophet, however, sees in this event something much more wonderful than the Jews’ return from captivity. He sees Jerusalem becoming the center of spirituality and light for all the world. People would come from all over to visit Jerusalem and to be nourished by the spiritual light and life radiating from it. This vision of the prophet begins to be fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection in Jerusalem. From there his light spreads out to all the world. As described so beautifully in the book of Revelation, those who follow Christ’s light will enter into a new and eternal Jerusalem.
HOMILY: Today, the feast of the Epiphany, is the original feast of Jesus’ birth. Eastern Christians were celebrating the birth of Jesus on January 6th years before Christians in Rome began to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Because Epiphany was already well established as a major feast by the time the Roman Church started celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th, the Roman Church could not ignore it, so they centered on the coming of the magi as the theme for the feast of the Epiphany. This extended the Christmas celebration for a number of days, which is appropriate, because Christmas is too wonderful an event to limit to only one day.
The word Epiphany comes from a Greek word which means coming to light or appearing. The shepherds who lived in the area of Bethlehem had already had their epiphany when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to them. Today we commemorate God’s revelation of the coming of his Son to magi. Magi is a term that designated persons who were priests of a pagan cult and were experts in astrology, interpretation of dreams and various other occult arts. Their primary job would be to act as advisors to the rulers of the people of Persia (ancient people who lived in modern day Iran). As advisors to the king and his court they would have studied the stars for messages from the gods. As pagans they remind us that Christ’s saving light is meant for people of every race and every nationality.
If we understand the word Epiphany as a general word indicating God revealing himself to anyone, then Epiphany does not end with the visit of the magi. God continues to reveal himself to all people. Some people respond to the revelation and some do not.
That is the point St. Matthew is making for us in today’s gospel. The magi searched for Christ and found him. The same opportunities to find our Lord were available to Herod and the Jewish high priests, but they didn’t find him, either because they were uninterested or they had hostile intent. Herod wanted to find him in order to kill him and the high priests, although they knew where the Messiah was to be born, couldn’t be bothered going there themselves to look for him. Christ can be found by anyone whose intent to find him is honest and who doesn’t give up the search. Christ wants us to know him, that’s why he came to us and he came a long way to make it possible for us to find him. We have to go part of the way too. He will not disappoint us if we really want to know him. May God's Spirit fill us with light so we can continually find him in new and deeper ways.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
‘Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you;
before you came to birth
I consecrated you;
I appointed you as prophet to the nations.’
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
‘As for you, prepare yourself for action.
Stand up and tell them
all I command you.
Have no fear of them
and in their presence
I will make you fearless.
For look, today I have made you
into a fortified city,
a pillar of iron,
a wall of bronze
to stand against the whole country:
the kings of Judah, its princes,
its priests and the people of the country.
They will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you,
Yahweh declares,
to rescue you.’
1 Corinthians 12:31—13:1-13
Set your mind on the higher gifts. And now I am going to put before you the best way of all.
Though I command languages both human and angelic—if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains—if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned—if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known.
As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love
Luke 4: 21-30
Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.
They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?’ But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me the saying, “Physician, heal yourself,” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own country.” ’ And he went on, ‘In truth I tell you, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a town in Sidonia. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many suffering from virulent skin-diseases in Israel, but none of these was cured—only Naaman the Syrian.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him off the cliff, but he passed straight through the crowd and walked away.
January 28, 2007
INTRODUCTION- Matthew, Mark and Luke begin to tell us about Jesus’ public ministry with the baptism of John the Baptist. They tell us nothing about what happened during those thirty years between his birth and his baptism except for the one instance when Jesus’ parents lost him in the Temple at the age of twelve. I suspect Jesus lived a fairly ordinary life, working in the trade of his foster father, Joseph, as was the custom in those days. After Jesus baptism and his 40 days of trial and testing in the desert, they all move on to tell us about Jesus’ public ministry in slightly different ways. St. Luke describes how Jesus began his public ministry with a visit to his hometown, Nazareth. In several places in his gospel, Luke tells us Jesus and his parents were devout Jews and faithfully followed God’ laws. We would expect no less. Luke tells us it was Jesus’ custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath. He was invited to give a reading from the Scriptures and he chose Isaiah. Then he began to comment on what he read and his comments were well received. We heard all of this in last Sunday’s gospel. Today the story continues. We don’t know specifically what happened, but what began as a good experience turned out very badly. His former friends and neighbors were basically asking, “Who does he think he is? Where did he get the authority to teach us?” Within a short time they attempted to throw him off a cliff. We don’t know how he escaped their murderous intentions, but he did. Our first reading, as usual, prepares us for the gospel. Jeremiah the prophet heard God’s call to preach God’s word, a calling that would lead to suffering and rejection.
HOMILY- Calvin Coolidge, who was a man of few words, came home from church one day and his wife asked him what the preacher talked about. He said “Sin.” She asked, “What did he say about it?” He said “He was against it!” If someone asks you what the preacher talked about today you can say “Just ordinary stuff!” “Ordinary” is the keyword of my remarks today. I think one of the reasons Jesus got into trouble in Nazareth was because he was so ordinary. His friends and neighbors could not conceive that he was any better than they were. St. Luke glosses over the conflict between Jesus and his neighbors with the one question he tells us they asked: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” But if you read St. Mark’s account of Jesus visit to Nazareth, Mark is very blunt. He tells us the people were asking “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given him? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” In that culture boys were identified by their father. Calling Jesus the son of Mary is an allusion to Joseph not being Jesus’ natural father and would have been an insult both to Mary and Jesus. Their rejection of Jesus and their desire to kill him foreshadow the future of Jesus.
In today’s second reading we heard one of the best known and best loved passages in Scripture: St. Paul’s description of love. What is so beautiful about this passage is that it doesn’t deal with those thrilling moments when all of our being is charged with excitement and joy. It deals with the ordinary, everyday kind of love that ordinary living requires. Paul describes this kind of love by telling us what love is not rather than what it is. It is not jealous, pompous, rude or selfish, it is not short-tempered nor does it hold grudges. It is patient and kind and trusting and willing to put up with all kinds of little annoyances. This is not about falling in love – a period of infatuation that may or may not lead to real love. Paul is talking about our ordinary day-to-day contact with other people, some of whom we may not like a whole lot, but whom we learn how to be kind to nevertheless. Practicing this ordinary kind of love doesn’t always sweep us off our feet, but it does bring a kind of joy, because our vocation and our fulfillment in life is to learn how to love one another.
On this fourth Sunday of Ordinary time we hear about ordinary things. But in the ordinary is the extraordinary if we know how to find it. As the poet George Eliot said: “If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel’s heartbeat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.” It is through ordinary things that God touches our lives most of the time, through prayer and music, through the same Scriptures we’ve heard again and again, through bread and wine, and through the weekly Eucharist. We are perhaps surrounded by the same ordinary people we’ve seen week after week for years. Through our being together in prayer we become one body in Christ, and in Christ we love and worship our heavenly Father. Sometimes it feels pretty ordinary, but for those who can see more deeply, the mystery we celebrate is awesome.
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I Heart -
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- 24 |
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24" |
$500 | |
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Immaculate Heart of Mary w/glass |
24" |
$500 | |
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Immaculate Heart - Ivory w/glass |
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Infant of Prague w/glass |
24" |
$500 | |
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24" |
$500 | |
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24" |
$500 | |
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24" |
$500 | |
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24" |
$500 | |
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Sorrowful Mother w/glass |
24" |
$500 | |
| Immaculate Heart of Mary w/glass |
18" |
$300 | |
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18" |
$300 | |
| Sacred Heart of Jesus w/glass |
18" |
$300 | |
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18" |
$300 | |
| Our Lady of Grace w/glass |
18" |
$300 | |
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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel w/glass |
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| Our Lady of Guadalupe w/glass |
12" |
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11" |
$150 | |
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Fatima w/glass |
18" |
$250 | |
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12" |
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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.
"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."
- 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)
The China Church is over 140 years old
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