Merry Christmas

Homily:  Christmas Mass at Midnight

Venite Adoremus!  Come let us Adore Him!

One of my favorite Christmas memories is of lying under the Christmas tree gazing at the nativity scene which, in my family, always finds its place beneath the tree surrounded by gifts.  I would lay there for long periods of time looking at the scene before me.  There were the mysterious and intriguing magi with their camels and gifts fit for a king.  There were the shepherds with their tattered garments surrounded by their flock.  There were the angels, one of which was perched atop the stable holding a banner which said “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.”  There was Mary kneeling before the manger, her hands over her heart and Joseph the protector standing with staff in hand.  Most importantly there, lying in the manger was the little child destined to save the world from sin.  The whole thing intrigued me.  As a child, it made me wonder “who are all these people?”  “Why did they come to the stable?”  “What was it like?”  “Did he cry?”  “Were Mary and Joseph afraid?”  “How can this little baby bring peace and conquer evil?”

The wonder and awe that little children have about the event we gather in the dark of night to celebrate is all too often stifled by the spirit of the world where scientific knowledge, pride, and self sufficiency overshadow the simplicity of child like faith.  As adults living in an adult world many give in to the tendency to view this event with cynicism and unbelief which then leads to the idea that this is a celebration for Children, but not for adults.  But this is not so. This feast is just as much for adults as it is for children, in fact, because as adults we tend to lose the wonder and awe that captures the imagination of children, it is even more important for us.  For we, more that the children, need to stir up in our hearts that wonder and awe.  As Pope Benedict said last year, “Christmas is a feast of light and peace, it is a day of inner wonder and joy that expands throughout the universe, because "God became man".” 

The wonder and awe that seeing the Christ Child lying in the manger stirs up within us should lead us deeper and deeper into the mystery of the incarnation, the coming of God as man.  As the Pope said, “From the humble grotto of Bethlehem, the eternal Son of God, who became a tiny Child, addresses each one of us:  he calls us, invites us to be reborn in him so that, with him, we may live eternally in communion with the Most Holy Trinity.”

Tonight the Christ Child calls to each of us from the stable in Bethlehem and invites us to understand in a deeper way his love for us, and his desire for us to be united with Him.  What more could God have done to express his desire to unite himself with us than to become one of us, to become so tiny and vulnerable, to become so approachable?  This invitation to become one with Him finds its highest expression in the Eucharist, where Christ, the Son of God lowers himself so much as to come to us in what looks like a piece of bread.  At Bethlehem he came to us as a baby that we might hold him in our arms, in the Eucharist he comes to us that we might hold him in our hearts.  As Christ descended into the womb of Mary and was born in the stable of Bethlehem so he descends upon our altar at each and every Mass.  Indeed each Mass is a re-living of the mystery of Christmas, for at each and every Mass Christ comes into our presence to be loved, adored, and received.

Even though Christ entered the world in the midst of a world hostile to him, particularly the hostility of King Herod who sought to kill him, he was born in the midst of love; the love of Mary and Joseph.  Since the moment of his conception he was carried in the womb of Mary with “love beyond all telling (Advent Preface II)” and was protected by the strong yet gentle love of St. Joseph.  Upon his birth, even thought surrounded by hatred and the impending death of thousands of innocent children at the hands of Herod, love reigned in that stable.  May we love our Eucharistic Lord who lowers himself to be born into our very bodies in Holy Communion with the love with which Mary loved Him when he descended into her body.  May our hearts burn with Love for him every time he descends into our hearts.

Just as the shepherds were invited in the midst of their work to come and adore the Christ Child so are we.  We are called every Sunday to lay aside our work and come and adore the Child.  On days other than Sunday we are called to find Christ in the midst of our work, and there, offer to Him the sacrifice of our work.  We need to realize that our work, when offered to God as a sacrifice has tremendous spiritual value.  Our desk, our workbench, and our kitchen sink are the altars where we offer to God the daily sacrifice of our work.  Like the Shepherds, we adore the Christ Child both by laying aside our work on Sundays and by finding him in the midst of our work during the rest of the week.

As on that night, the entire world received the greatest gift it could ever be given in the person of Jesus, we too should receive him into our hearts and our lives.  It is so easy to go about our life, going to church and doing good to those around us without ever allowing ourselves to receive.  We often times tend to give and give without receiving and when that happens, when we give and give without allowing ourselves to receive we burn out…we get tired of giving and become bitter and abandon the call to give of ourselves.  Now, I am not saying we should stop giving, I am saying that in addition to giving we also should learn to receive.  We cannot be a good giver unless we know what it is to receive. Christmas is a clear call to receive the free gift of God who is Jesus himself.  We did nothing to deserve or earn the gift of Jesus, yet God gave him to us to be our strength.  Let us consciously receive this strength and grace from God in the Christ Child, for if we do not our giving will be in vain.  We receive the strength of Christ most clearly in the Eucharist, but that receiving is extended through our prayer life.  Every day we should take time in prayer to receive the love and the strength of Christ for by doing so we will be living Christmas each and every day and we will have the strength to give to others with joy.

My Holy Spirit family, tonight God has revealed his love to us in the flesh.  He has revealed to us His desire to be loved, adored, and received by every person from the greatest to the least, from the simplest to the most educated, from the most sinful to the most holy.  He came once in Bethlehem, he comes today and every day in the Holy Eucharist, and will one day come again in Glory.  May his coming in the Eucharist in the here and now inspire in the same wonder and awe that his birth does so that when he comes in glory at the end of time we will be prepared to join him in the eternal Christmas celebration in heaven.

Come, Lord Jesus!

In Case You Were Wondering...

But for the Pope's home-style Christmas at the Vatican, everything is ready. Munich banker Thaddaeus Kuehnel has seen to it, as he has done for 25 years for his friend, then-Cardinal Ratzinger.

For 25 years, he has faithfully delivered to Rome every Christmastime everything that brings joy to a Bavarian in the holiday season: sausage,. Advent wreaths, ham, baked goodies, Kloster beer.

Thanks to Kuehnel's last trip over the Brenner Pass,the Christmas room in the Papal apartments now looks like that of the Schulzes or the Hubers anywhere in Germany.

There are two Christmas trees in the Pope's living room. Until a few days ago, they were growing in the Bavarian woods on the property of a farming family in Waldingen. Then Kuehnel came, the treees were chosen and chopped, and he strapped both trees securely to his car roof. They would not be unbound again until Kuehnel reached the courtyard of the Apostolic palace.

From that time, the trees became the responsibility of Carmela, Emanuela, Loredana and Christina, the Pope's lay nun housekeepers. They not only decorated the trees, but also have to prepare the main dish for Christmas dinner from a deer shot by a Swabian hunter, Gisbert Sattler, earlier this week.

Kuehnel also brought the Pope a variety of cookies made by Bavarian cloistered nuns - vanilla Kipferl, anise cookies, cinnamon stars, jam-filled cookies, and Stollen (a Christmas cake).

"The Holy Father has a weakness for sweet things," says Sister Irma.

The Pope's brother, Georg, flies to Rome on December 28, but even on Christmas Eve, the Pope will be wallowing in memories of Christmas past, as he loves to do, according to those who have known him in Rome for long.

In the Christmas room of the Apostolic Palace, he has put up the creche that has been with him since was a professor in Regensburg.

Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent

“The crowds asked John the Baptist,
’What should we do?’
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
’Teacher, what should we do?’
Soldiers also asked him,
’And what is it that we should do?’”

            What should we do?  In today’s gospel it seems as though everyone is asking the same question of St. John the Baptist, and that question is “what should we do?”  There seems to be urgency in their questioning; a certain uneasiness; as the gospel says they “were filled with great expectation.”  They sensed the world was on the verge of something out of the ordinary; indeed something quite extraordinary.  As is the case whenever there is a sense of expectation; a sense of being of the verge of something extraordinary the question arises with them about what they should do to prepare themselves.

            When Mary and Joseph were nearing the birth of their divine son there was no doubt a sense of expectation, and no doubt they, like all mothers and fathers expecting the birth of their first child were asking those around them “what should we do?  What do we need to do to get ready for the arrival of this great gift from God?”

            My brothers and sisters, today’s Liturgy calls us to rejoice in expectation - for Christ is drawing near.  He is closer to arriving on this earth than when we gathered here last week.  Time is hastening on and with each passing minute he gets closer and closer to us.  Are we excited?  Are we, like the men and women gathered around St. John the Baptist, full of joyful expectation, knowing that we are on the very verge of magnificent supernatural event.  I know I am.  This Advent for me has been like none other before.  For the first time in my life I have been given the gift to be truly excited, even overjoyed because Jesus is coming.  I can hardly wait for the day when He will return to take me into eternity where I will never sin again.  I will never have to feel sorry and sad that I have offended God.  I will never again have to struggle overcome bad habits like eating too many spritz cookies or rum balls.  There, in God’s presence I will never again have to grieve over the death of a loved one, for in heaven, there is no death.  My brothers and sisters, Jesus is coming, and I hope we are filled with that urgent expectation which makes us ask “what should we do to prepare.”

            So, what should we do?  St. John the Baptist gives us some good ideas.  He says to the crowds who asked him what to do “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”  Well there you have it…as we prepare of Christmas we should take time to remember that not everyone has it as good as we do.  There are many who don’t have gifts to give, coats to keep them warm, or a nice Christmas dinner to eat.  To prepare for the coming of Christ we should share, even if it means we have to give up something of our own.  Maybe in your family you can all take one gift from the tree and give it to an organization that will distribute it to families who need a gift more that we do.

            When the tax collectors asked St. John the Baptist what they should do he reminded them to “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”  In other words don’t be greedy.  This season isn’t about amassing as many gifts as we can.  It’s not about the gifts we get from other people.  It’s about the one gift we have received from God in the person of Jesus the Messiah.

            Then there are the soldiers who ask the same question and get the answer that they should “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”  In other words, don’t use other people.  Don’t use them as a means to make money, don’t use them as a way to get out of trouble when you are really the responsible party.  The people around us are meant to be loved, and not used in order to get what we want.

            But more than all of this St. John the Baptist calls those who gathered around him that day to repentance.  That’s why they came to see him in the wilderness; to be baptized with the baptism of repentance.  When we were baptized we were forgiven of our sins, both original sin and any sin we committed before our baptism.  But since then, we have sinned, we are in need of repenting of our failure to follow the Lord as closely as we should.  That is in some senses what must happen before any of the other things St. John the Baptist spoke of.  First we must repent and get ourselves right with God before we go out and serve our brothers and sisters.

            My brothers and sisters, St. John the Baptist prepares the way for Christ by helping us to know what we should do to prepare; for it is only in preparing well that we will come to know the joy that our liturgy speaks of today.  It is only by making our whole life into a continual advent, a continual period of preparation for the final and glorious coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ that we will come to enjoy the eternal joy and blessedness of heaven.  Today as we gather here around the Altar of God let us renew our advent efforts, let us stir up within our hearts a joyful expectation, and with John the Baptist, with Mary and Joseph say come Lord Jesus.

Pray for Bishop Doran

Catholic priests across the Rockford area break some hard news to their parishioners during Saturday evening mass, telling them Bishop Thomas Doran has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

.... the Bishop had several tumors removed from his lungs and is now recovering at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Church leaders say doctors detected the cancer after a routine physical exam early last week. Bishop Doran then underwent surgery on Thursday to remove tumors from his left lung.Doctors do believe they removed all of the cancer before it spread.

The Hectic Advent Season

Those of you who have been around a parish during Advent or Lent know that it can be a particularly busy time of year. There are many things to plan for spiritually and liturgically so as you can imagine there are many prayers to be prayed, many confessions to be heard and many homilies to be written.  Thus, those of you who read this blog frequently will have noticed that not much is happening here.

One of the events that has had a very large impact on my spiritual journey through Advent happened not during Advent, but reather it happend the week before Advent even started.  This event is one that a priest never wants to encounter; the death of a young parishion.  The fragility of life and the nearness of the coming of the Lord into our lives to take us to Himself becomes very apparent when seemingly out of nowhere a thirteen year old young man from your parish leaves this world for the next.  Even though one has faith it is never easy to understand why God would take such a young, brilliant, kind, respectful, prayerful, and faith-filled young man to himself when there was so much potential for his future.  Yet our faith calls us to believe that God measures potential in a much different way than us.  Clearly Ian made a difference.  The countless throngs of classmates, family, friends, neighbors and parishioners who came to the vigil and funeral prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Now we wait, trusting that one day we will be reuinted with him and then we will know that he made a difference not only in this life, but even in eternity.  This is a lesson that many of the great saints teach us.  After this life is over, eternal life begins and there, as here, one can make a difference, often times in greater ways that one would be able to do here in this life.

How does this relate to my advent?  It teaches me that this life in nothing compared to the glory to be revealed.  My savior is coming to deliver me from sin.  I truly do wait in joyful hope for that day when I will see the Lord coming to deliver me from sin.  I wait expectantly - even excitedly - for the day when he will call me to a place where I will never sin again, where I will always do his will, where I will always be perfectly united to him.  This Advent, for me, has been the first Advent where I have truly been able to prepare for the Lord's coming.  Advent finally makes sense.

Come Lord Jesus!

Homily:  First Sunday of Advent

“But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.” 

            One of the greatest fears within the human heart is the end.  We hear in scripture and we read in books or see in movies portrayals of what the end will be like.  Today for instance we hear “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  A few Sundays ago we heard a very similar passage that said “In those days…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not gives its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky.”  In the face of such passages we may feel a bit nervous and fearful.  Fear might be a natural reaction to some of these events, but as Christians we are called to rise above the merely natural to see things in a supernatural light.  We are called to see all things through the lens of faith.  If we do that; if we see these events through the eyes of faith then these ominous events do not seem so harsh, in fact, we might be able to muster the faith to “stand erect and raise our heads” to see that our “redemption is at hand.”

            For most, if not all of us, the end of the world will not come at the end of time, but rather the end of our world will be our death.  Fr. Benedict Groeschel once spoke of this passage at a talk I attended.  What he said that day has stuck with me ever since.  He said that for us, the announcement of the end of the world, of our individual world will probably begin in a doctor’s office or in a hospital bed when they tell us that the end is near.  For us, in that moment, the sun will be darkened, the moon will cease to give its light, and truly it will seem as if the stars are falling from the sky.  In that moment, the Lord returns to call us to judgment, will we have strong enough faith to not run away from him or to die of fright?  In that moment will we have the trust in God needed to live what the today’s gospel calls us to; to lift our heads high, or will we hang them in shame?  I hope we have the faith, trust and strength to hold our heads high, for when death approaches we should not be afraid, rather we should rejoice because the reason for which we were born is at hand…we will be nearing our entrance into eternal life.

            This past Friday there was a quote from St. Cyprian in the Office of readings, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, which all priests pray for the entire Church.  He said “How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done [in the Lord’s Prayer], and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world!  Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure…”  My brothers and sister, with St. Cyprian, I encourage you not to see our departure for eternity not as something to be avoided at all costs, but to be embraced as a homecoming.  We are living here in the world as strangers seeking our true homeland which is heaven.  So when, as St. Cyprian says “the day of our homecoming puts and end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise…we should welcome it.”  He goes on to use the analogy of a soldier stationed in a foreign land.  Surely a soldier in that position desires with all his heart to return to the safety of his homeland where there will be no more danger of being captured of killed by the enemy.  “Well,” say’s St. Cyprian, “we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them…let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may.”

                My brothers and sisters, Advent is all about preparation for the coming of Christ.  Throughout this season we remember how the people of Israel prepared for His first coming for thousands of years in order to help us to prepare for His second coming, which for us will probably be our death.  What a gift we could give to our Lord at Christmas if on that day we were truly ready to meet him.  So let us all, myself included, use this advent to prepare well for his coming.  I would be willing to bet that if we knew that on the horizon was the coming of the Lord to take to eternity we would take certain steps to prepare ourselves.  Advent is the time to take those steps now.  If I knew Our Lord was coming for me the first thing I would want to do is make a good, honest, and complete confession.  I would want to give up all those sins which hold me bound to this world rather than freeing me for the next.  I would want to do penance to make reparation for my numerous and grievous sins and I would want to reconcile with those whom I have injured or have injured me.  I would guess that these are some of the things you would want to do if you knew the Lord was coming.  Well, my brothers and sisters, he is coming.  When he is coming we do not know, but we do know he is coming, so let us prepare so when he comes we will truly be able to lift up our heads for our redemption, our salvation, will be at hand.

Come Lord Jesus!

Leave It To The Curt Jester...

...to come up with this.  Click here to see it.