5th Sunday of Easter (A)
(Jn 14:1-12)

t the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he spoke at length with his disciples about very deep and important things, which St. John’s Gospel records in chapters 13-17.  This “Last Supper Discourse” helps to prepare the apostles for the great gift Jesus will give them, which is the Eucharist.  

In order to understand what Jesus wants to accomplish in us by means of the Eucharist, we have to listen to these words.  And what Jesus speaks about more than ever, is the Holy Trinity.  He talks to his 12 apostles about the relationship he shares with the Father.  

Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father.  Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father!”  This is because, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.”  

I’m sure we often wonder what God is like?  This one phrase from the Gospel explains something very deep about the mystery of who God is.  God is one, there is one God.  But God is a communion of Persons: 2 Persons, whom we call the Father and the Son.  And these two persons completely dwell in each other.  The Father is “in” the Son, and the Son is “in” the Father.  And because they are “in” each other, the Father and Son are One.  (Later Jesus will explain that in this oneness of the Father and the Son is a 3rd divine Person, the Holy Spirit, who is the love and union between Father and Son.)  

What Jesus shares with the apostles at the Last Supper is a deep mystery, the mystery of God’s inner life.  And we can only marvel at it, because there is no way we can really grasp the mutual indwelling of Father and Son; what it means for the Father to be “in” the Son at the same time that the Son is “in” the Father.  

God made man in His divine image and likeness.  In our human experience we have something similar to what Jesus speaks about.  This is what happens when two people love each other.  It’s a mystery how it happens, but we know from experience that when two people love each other, they become one together in their hearts and minds.  Even though they are always two distinct people, somehow they become “one” together.  They know what the other thinks, they know what the other feels; in fact they feel what the other feels.  And by means of their love they are able to carry each other, enrich each other by their lives.  And when separated, they feel it as grief.  

Man is created in God’s image, and so we experience in a small way through human love this “mutual indwelling” that exists between Father and Son.  

But at the Last Supper Jesus has something very important to explain to the disciples.  It is the teaching he has been holding to the very end, and now on the night before he will undergo his passion and death, he will share it with them.  It is the Eucharist.  It is the most important and special thing we have in the Church, the deepest part of our relationship with Jesus the Son.  

Jesus explains that the disciples are going to be able to do even greater things than he did.  Jesus performed his works because the Father was working in him and through him.  But Jesus wants his followers to know that he will have with them, the same indwelling that he has with the Father.  Just as he dwells in the Father and the Father dwells in him, Jesus will dwell in us and we in him.  

This is even deeper than when two people love each other.  Two people can share their lives and be one with each on a very deep level, but there is no way humanly that they can literally be in all aspects “in” each other.  But Jesus says with him this will be possible.  And this is what is accomplished by the gift of the Eucharist.  

In the Eucharist, Jesus gives the way to be received into his followers so that he might dwell in them, not just physically of course, but spiritually.  But nevertheless, also physically!  When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we receive his risen flesh into our flesh, and his divine blood (Life) into our veins.  We receive Jesus into our hearts as the divine guest.  He dwells in us.  Just as the communion hymn sings: “Savior, abide with us, and spread Thy table in our heart… Lord, sup with us in love divine…”  This hymn sings of the heavenly wedding banquet that takes place in our heart, whenever we receive Holy Communion.  

We understand that in Holy Communion, by means of this special sacrament in which bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we receive Jesus into ourselves, really and truly, and not merely symbolically.  But what we also need to realize, is that when we receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus is receiving us into him, and not just symbolically, but actually.  

A few verses later, in John 14:20, Jesus says, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”  This is the great treasure of our faith.  This the great secret of the Church, made possible through the Resurrection.  This is why people become Catholic, so that they may arrive at the moment, after much preparation and searching, at the point where they can receive the Son of God in Holy Communion, and enter more deeply into this indwelling with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and through Jesus, with the Father.  

In the early Church, the mystery of the Eucharist was not revealed or explained to new Christians until the very end, at the actual moment when they received Communion for the first time at the Easter Vigil.  In fact, the purpose of the Easter season in the early Church was to teach the new Christians about this mystery.  It was called the period of “Mystagogia.”  

For the children today, they come to the moment of their First Holy Communion.  They have been learning and preparing for several years, and finally they are old enough to appreciate what a special and unique gift this is from God.  

The Eucharist is not just bread.  The Eucharist is not just something symbolic.  At the beginning of Mass, yes, we start with ordinary bread.  But during the Mass Jesus does the same thing for us as he did at the Last Supper: he changes that bread and wine into his Risen Body and Blood, the flesh and Blood which conquered death.  So when we receive the Eucharist, we are receiving the power and the reality of the Resurrection into our mortal flesh and body.  And we are brought deeply into the banquet of love which the Father and Son experience by dwelling in each other.  

Holy Communion is never something we should approach lightly.  The children today remind us how carefully we need to prepare, how reverent we need to be, and by their white baptismal clothing they remind us how our lives need to be free of sin and consecrated to God, in order to participate in this Communion with God.  

For us who were baptized as infants, and made our First Holy Communion when we were children, we should use this Easter season to deepen our own Mystagogia, listening to the words of Jesus as he speaks about this mystery, and recognizing what an incredible grace we possess in the Eucharist.  

God dwells in us, and we dwell in God, through Jesus the Son of God who makes this possible in the Eucharist.  Savior, abide with us, and spread Thy table in our heart.  

For a Christian, morality is never simply about the keeping of the law, and avoiding punishment.  There are many people who obey the law and stay on the right path, not because they are 100% committed to the law, but because they don’t want to get arrested or get in trouble.  If they knew they could get away with it, or no one was watching, they would do as they pleased.  In other words, they do the right thing due to the threat of negative consequences.  This is not the pathway for Christians, as Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount.

There are others who do the right thing and keep the commandments in order to look good; in order for people to think well of them.  The Pharisees were like that.  They are not truly good people, they just look good.  Inside, they are insincere and hypocrites.  This is also not the pathway for Christians, as Jesus made clear throughout the Gospel; he hated hypocrisy and self-righteousness.  

Then there is another kind of person who likes to do good in order to please and curry favor.  These are the obsequious.  They are also insincere, but in a different way from the Pharisees.  They will find what it is that pleases you, what you like or want, and then use good to manipulate and ultimately to seduce you into giving what they want.  They do good all right, but there are strings attached, they expect something in return; the right way is the way for them to “get ahead.”  

Many Christians think they are really holy when they come to this level.  They want to please you, they want to please God.  But it is not enough, it is not the pathway that Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount.  He calls us to “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  

This same theme was already stressed in the Old Testament: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”  Because we belong to God who is holy, we are called to His holiness.
And God is Good, not because He actually wants to do something else but does good to stay out of difficulty.  God is Good, not to look Good and solicit praise and admiration.  God is Good, not because He wants something in return.  God is Good unconditionally, because that is Who He Is.


It is to this same genuine goodness that we are called: sincere, honest, humble, natural, simple, true goodness.  Goodness whether others like it or not; Goodness whether there are laws or not; Goodness whether it will get us ahead or whether it will bring us envy and hatred.  We will be good, simply because that is who we are, children of God, people who belong to God, followers of Christ. 

In the Gospel (Sermon on the Mount), Jesus shows how this teaching has application in concrete situations.  He talks about “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,” which is the principle of justice.  Jesus knows the importance of Justice, but he wants his followers not to be trapped by the limitation of justice, which has a tendency to lock you into revenge.  When someone attacks you, justice permits you to attack back.  When someone robs you, justice justifies you in constraining the thief to give it back, and with interest.  Jesus says that is not yet perfection.  

When you belong to God, and have Him, and are rooted in goodness, you have that which cannot be stolen, robbed, harmed, or taken away, unless you yourself compromise it.  You have a freedom which others do not, who have to use violence and deceit to get what they want.  Jesus is saying that some battles are not worth fighting, because they will detract from true goodness, and drag us down into a worldliness that is not befitting the children of God.  Some battles will endanger our peace and joy, and these are not worth it.  

If someone steals your tunic, give them your cloak as well!  In other words, there are spiritual realities that are much more important than these things.  Most people cling too much to the world, to the flesh, to possessions, to their own sense of self-importance.  Most people are way too easily offended when someone strikes at them, dares to criticize them, or hurl an insult against them.  Jesus says, don’t worry about it.  You have God’s grace, what more do you want?  

Presentation of the Lord
(Lk 2:22-40)

The day of the Lord’s Nativity is known as “Christmas.”  Forty days later, the day of the Lord’s Presentation in the Temple is known as “Candlemas.”  The Light which was born into a dark world and manifested to the kings through a star, now fills the Temple as a “light to the nations, and the glory of His people Israel.”  On this day, it is the Church’s tradition to bless the candles used throughout the year during the Mass.  Every time we celebrate the Mass, we echo the Presentation, as the altar servers with the priest and ministers process into the sanctuary, carrying the candles which represent the presence of our Lord and the light of faith.  

There are two things taking place for Mary and Joseph on this day as they fulfill the precepts of the Law.  One is the purification of Mary following childbirth.  The law of Moses understood that childbirth is a sacred thing, in which the woman has a special cooperation with God, being the bearer of life.  Through childbirth, God the creator is glorified and worshipped.  Like the priest who must purify himself before and after going up to the Temple to offer the holy sacrifice, the woman must purify herself before and after giving birth, in order to signify that what takes place through her body is holy and miraculous.  

Today, in a culture that fails to honor life as a sacred gift from God – where people do as they please – Catholics imitate Mary and Joseph, whose lives are governed by the holy Laws of God.  Five times, the Gospel today stresses how Mary and Joseph were acting “according to the law of Moses.”  Mary and Joseph teach us the correct way to live, which is not according to our own law and whatever we please, but we must live in obedience to the laws of God, with the single purpose of glorifying him.  

Even though the rest of the world does what it pleases, Christians, who are God’s people, must follow God’s laws with regard to marriage and childbirth.  This means living separately while prepare for marriage.  And when they get married, it must be in God’s sight, in Church, before His altar, and not simply in a civil ceremony at the court house.  And during marriage, children must be seen not simply as fulfilling human family plans, but above all as gifts from God which serve His purpose and plan for the human family.  

This is the second thing taking place for Mary and Joseph: not only is Mary completing the sacred act of childbirth through her purification, but Mary and Joseph are consecrating their firstborn son, acknowledging that he belongs to God.  
In the Law of Moses, God commanded the people to offer a sacrifice of redemption for their firstborn sons.  The oldest son had special duties and obligations within the family.  He was the bearer of the family name, and would inherit the family estate, continuing the sacred heritage of particular family, clan, or tribe.  The firstborn son also belonged to God.  God commanded Abraham to offer his firstborn son Isaac to him.  Later, when the Pharaoh dared to persecute the Israelites in Egypt, whom God regarded as his firstborn son among the nations, He slew the firstborn sons of Egypt.  

The Israelites always understood that one of their children, the firstborn, the most important, had to be given to God.  Thus the Law commanded that he be Presented in the Temple on the 40th day and a sacrifice of redemption be offered.  In the case of Mary and Joseph who were poor, the price of redemption was “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”  It may have been a simple offering, but it was deeply important and symbolic.  

When I was young, sodas still came in glass bottles, and when you were done you could get 5 cents back on the empty bottle.  It was called “redemption.”  You take the bottle back to the store to be “redeemed:” Coca-cola would redeem or “buy back” the bottle from you so it could be used again.  

“Redemption,” to “redeem,” means to “buy back.”  The firstborn son belongs to God, but if the parents pay the price of redemption, they may keep him and raise him at home as their own.  Just as God ultimately allowed Abraham to keep Isaac, He allows parents to keep their children.  But He makes it very clear to them: this child is not yours, he is Mine, he belongs to Me.  

Catholics are no longer bound by the law of Moses, because Christ has fulfilled the law.  But in the sacrament of baptism, we still proclaim the same truth: every child belongs first to God, and secondly to the parents.  Catholics still try keep the custom of baptizing infants within a few weeks of birth.  In my own case, I was born on November 7th.  Within 40 days, November 25th, my parents brought me to the Church for baptism, for Redemption.  

But what is different now from the Law of Moses, is that Christ pays the price of redemption.  The sacrifice is no longer two turtledoves, it is his own sacrifice. Christ pays the price for the sins of the world by his own blood on the Cross, and through that sacrifice purchases or “buys back” sinners for God.  Christ is the world’s redeemer, he pays the price of redemption so that we can belong to God again.  Through baptism, we are redeemed!

When the infant Jesus is brought to the Temple, the old man Simeon and Anna speak prophetic words about him.  Simeon proclaims him the “light of the nations, and the glory of Israel.”  Simeon also prophecies that he will be a sign of contradiction that will lay bare the thoughts of many hearts, and that Mary’s own heart will be pierced by a sword.  Jesus’ life will fulfill God’s plan. 

My parents were blessed with five children, and each of them were consecrated in turn to God.  As to God’s plan for each of them, they didn’t know.  However, my parents always raised us with the understanding that we belonged first to God, and it was always their hope and understanding that at least one of their children would be further consecrated to the temple and set apart for priestly service or religious life. It ended up being the third-born instead of the firstborn.  
Because they lived that way, following Joseph and Mary who were obedient to the law, all their children were raised to live holy vocations, whether through priesthood, marriage and family, or the single life.  And each of my siblings has been in some way a surprise, a “sign of contradiction” to the world.  I think of my younger brother with his seven beautiful children: there would not be seven beautiful children, six girls and a boy, if they had followed the ways of the world, instead of seeing every child as a sign and gift of God.  I think of my older brother, who raised two beautiful children in difficult circumstances, who now are starting families of their own.  I think of my other brother, not called to marriage, who was the first in our family to consider the priestly vocation, and now lives single, in service to the poor and mentally ill.  I think of my younger sister, who chose her house near the church where their children could attend school and be raised in the tradition of the Catholic faith.  “Sign of contradiction.”  

And also, “sword of sorrow.”  Now, none of us are saints.  Each has also been a sword of sorrow to my parents, and each of us has experienced that sword in our lives as well.  In particular, our teenage years were not always the easiest on the parents.  Rebellion, selfishness, and ingratitude are difficult crosses for parents to bear, who are doing their best to guide and direct their children, who don’t always appreciate what it is they are trying to accomplish.  To be consecrated to God means that our lives will have a sharing in the Cross of Christ.  Again and again, children, teenagers, young adults, and even adults, need to be reminded of the day of their presentation, the day of their baptism: your life is different, you can’t do what everyone else does, you can’t do as you please, you belong to God and your life is to fulfill His purpose and His will.  Be obedient to your consecration, and follow His laws!  

When Jesus came into the Temple, the temple lit up with the Light of the World.  And God spoke words of prophecy regarding His beloved Son.  When a Christian is baptized, he receives that light of Christ into his life, and becomes “another Christ.”  Let us then, remember the words spoken prophetically to us on the day of our baptism, when our godparents lit our candle from the Easter candle: “Receive the Light of Christ.  This light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light. May you keep the flame of faith alive in your heart.”  

January 26, 2014 
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
(Mt 4:12-17)

When Jesus the Messiah began his public ministry, he did something unexpected.  Instead of centering his ministry in Jerusalem and Judea to the south, he established his headquarters in the region of Galilee far to the north, in the ancient tribal regions of Zebulun and Napthali.  This area was part of the old northern kingdom, long since conquered by the Assyrians, who scattered the ten “lost tribes” of Israel.  At the time of Jesus it was a mix of pagan gentile peoples, and small colonies of Jewish settlements.  

Jesus began his ministry there, in fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah (Is 9:1-2): “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”    

This Gospel reading is very apropos today.  As in the time of Jesus, we live in small parish colonies in the midst of a gentile society given over to pagan ways.  At one time our land too was more Christian in its values and laws, but that ancient Christian heritage has been banished and exiled.  Now our land too has fallen into darkness and become overshadowed by death.  

This week we remembered a black day in our nation’s history: January 22nd, the legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court in 1973.  On this day it became legal to put away innocent people in our society, for the sake of convenience and personal autonomy.  For the first hundred years of its founding, our nation was marred by another injustice: the legalization slavery.  Abortion is a hundred times worse, because whereas slavery treats a human being as a piece of property to be owned, abortion treats a human being as a life to be disposed at will.  January 22nd, 1973, was the day our nation definitively rejected God. 

On that day we put blinders over our eyes, and we deliberately chose to live in the darkness instead of the light of Truth.  There are all sorts of gymnastics we do to try justify abortion: arguments, lies, denials, and twisting of language.  We focus on the difficult, extreme, and exceptional medical cases, as if that has anything to do with what was actually legalized in 1973.  We speak about freedom of “choice,” but overlook the fact that the choice involved is actually a “child,” another person.

The supreme court invented a new “right to privacy,” nowhere mentioned in the constitution, entirely overlooking the right to “life,” enshrined and proclaimed in all the foundational documents of our nation.  People talk about “reproductive freedom,” and “women’s health,” when in fact freedom is destroyed, health compromised, and motherhood injured.  People talk about “health clinics,” when in fact they are death camps, factories of human destruction surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.  

Very simply, the legalization of abortion is the legalization of murder.  It is a denial of God, who is the Creator and author of life.  It is the failure to respect the mystery of human life, which is an individual miracle of God each time it happens.  It is a failure to respect the responsibility of marriage and sexuality, and if we are honest we have to admit that the real reason we keep abortion legal in our nation is because we wish to indulge in fornication and not have to worry about the consequences, which is a child.  Very simply, then, abortion is a rejection of God and His law, in order to justify a selfish lifestyle that suits our convenience. 

In his 1995 encyclical entitled Evangelium Vitae, the “Gospel of Life,” pope John Paul II clarified how respect for the sanctity of human life, from the moment of conception to natural death, belongs to the domain of God alone; not to man, not to society, not to legislators or supreme court judges, presidents, or politicians.  Abortion is therefore not a political issue, it is of the essence of the faith.  In his encyclical, the pope invoked his infallibility in this teaching, to proclaim that the life of the unborn, from the moment of conception, is as sacred as any other time of the human life span, and is to be treated as such.  In other words, to profess that abortion can be acceptable is to deny the faith of the Gospel.  It is a heresy.  A Catholic cannot be pro-abortion without denying the Gospel of Christ.  

The Gospel is a Gospel of the dignity of life.  We just completed the season of Christmas in which we proclaim the Incarnation, how God became man.  When did God become man?  At the time of the nativity when he was born? Or at the moment of conception when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be with child?  In what way would it be conceivable, to imagine even for an instant, that the Blessed Virgin Mary or St. Joseph, had some kind of right or freedom, or justification, to terminate her pregnancy?  

Every human life fulfills the plan of God.  Every human life is co-created between two human beings and God the Creator.  God is the creator of the human soul directly, which is immortal and spiritual.  The man and woman are procreators with God, of the material body for the new person.  Man cooperates with God; God cooperates with man.  Man must respect the laws of God.  

“The people sit in darkness… and dwell in a land overshadowed by death.”  When Jesus came into that region, he began to preach saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Today the Church must continue the work of the Jesus, which is to bring light in the darkness.  And the Church must do what Jesus did, which is Preach and Heal.  

We must Preach the truth and issue the call to repentance.  With regard to the sin of abortion, the Church does so forcefully, and attaches the penalty of excommunication to any Catholic who would procure an abortion, or assist with its procurement.  Excommunication is the Church’s ultimate call to repentance.  Abortion is not just a mortal sin, it is the crime of murder.  It destroys the family and society, and it destroys the person who commits the crime.  It requires deep repentance and conversion, and healing which only Christ can bring.  

When Jesus went about the towns and villages of Galilee teaching and healing, he exposed evil and sin, and brought the healing graces of God to people who were suffering under the lies and dominion of the evil one.  Clarity about the truth, and forgiveness for those who repented, is how Jesus established the Kingdom.  The Church must do the same today.

Pray for bishops and priests, that they might be bold and fearless in confronting this evil, and especially confronting politicians who would justify this crime.  As Catholics we can never support pro-choice, pro-abortion political candidates or platforms, and we must be vocal in our opposition to the point of public witness, protest, and demonstration.  It is one of the greatest scandals in our society that among the proponents of this sin are some who claim to be Catholic.  

Revelation (Rv 12:4) depicts the devil as a great dragon who attacks the woman, seeking to devour her unborn child.  When Jesus preached and healed, he expelled the demons.  The Church today, by the power of the Gospel and the healing ministry of confession, has Christ’s power to expel demons, and establish God’s Kingdom.  It is a great spiritual battle, and one we all share.  

Mary is the Woman whose offspring will crush the serpent.  We, united with Christ, are her children, and we share, with her, that mission.  Let us invoke our Blessed Mother as we seek to fulfill this mission Christ gives us today: to bring light to those who dwell in darkness, and to a land overshadowed by death. 

Lamb of God 
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
                (Jn 1:29-34)

John the Baptist had a special calling.  God revealed to him that “a man is coming after you who ranks ahead of you because he existed before you.”  His mission was to identify that man, and help others find him.  

I was once asked by the bishop to pick up a new priest at the airport who was coming to the diocese.  How would I recognize him?  Unfortunately, the bishop didn’t have too many details.  But there was no doubt when the people were coming through the gate and our eyes met: there was an instant recognition among priests, you just know.  Of course, it helped that we were both wearing clerics.

When God asked John the Baptist to welcome His Son and bring him to the world, John must have asked God, “how will I recognize him?”  And God said, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one.”  John must have baptized thousands of people, but when Jesus of Nazareth came forward he knew.  All four Gospels recount how John literally saw the Holy Spirit come upon him like a dove.  He immediately recognized the one he had been sent to find.  He knew what to look for, and as soon as he saw Jesus, he identified him: “behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  

I think this is our big challenge today.  Recognizing Jesus.  John the Baptist fulfilled his mission 2000 years ago, clearly identifying Jesus, presenting him to the world, and telling his people to go and follow him.  How well are we doing that today?  How well do we identify Jesus in our midst?  How well do we present him to the world?  How well do we get others to follow him?  

Where is Jesus today?  Where do you find him?  This is related to the question of which church is the true Church?  Each group seems to have their own brand of “Jesus.”  I like watching televangelists: Jesus is a magic formula who will bring you health and wealth if you learn to say his name right (“JAY-suhz”).  

To others he is a Bible-based figure who brings salvation easily and quickly when you surrender to him in blind faith.  You simply pick up a Bible and read, then say a prayer, but there is little awareness of how Jesus has worked in the Church for 2000 years of history.  

To others, Jesus is pretty vague.  He teaches about doing good to others and feeling good about yourself.  Jesus is completely non-threatening, always affirming, and basically everyone goes to heaven.  We must accept everyone and everything, not make life difficult for people, and always be politically correct.  

To others, Jesus is an intense emotional experience flowing from conversion, that is expressed in exuberant praise, often with tears and tongues.  I remember a billboard in our town once that said, “Let JESUS happen to you.”  

Going to different denominations, you will find all sorts of tastes and flavors of “Jesus”: he is almost like a soft drink: you can find regular and diet, caffeine or caffeine-free.  A lot of people just shop around until they find the brand of “Jesus” they like best.  

There is no doubt that meeting Jesus results in many of these things, which certain denominations tend to emphasize: blessings & miracles, love of Scripture, faith & surrender, noble intentions and goodwill, charismatic gifts.  

But there is only one Jesus.  He is not different now from when he walked on the earth.  He is not one thing yesterday and a different thing tomorrow.  Jesus is not one person for you and another for me.  Only one man is Jesus, and he is the one pointed out by John the Baptist, when he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  

John didn’t say, “Behold, the King!  Behold, the miracle worker!  Behold, the liberator and savior of the nation!”  Even though these things are true, people had great misconceptions about the Messiah, looking for a political liberator, or a wonder worker.  Jesus shunned those who treated him that way.  Instead, John calls him the Lamb of God.    

Of all the titles John could have used, why did he call Jesus the “Lamb?”  The lamb is what was sacrificed in the Temple as an offering for sin.  The lamb is also what was eaten at the Jewish Passover meal.  During a Passover, Jesus became the lamb sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the whole world.  At the Last Supper, when all the Jews were eating lamb, Jesus took bread and gave it to his apostles saying “take and eat it, this is my body,” and the same with the wine saying, “this is my blood.”  

Jesus is the Lamb whose blood takes away the sin of the world, and whose flesh is consumed by the faithful.  That is who he is; that is why he came.  And that is what you find right here in the Eucharist, in the Sacrifice of the Mass.  

When you are looking for Jesus, ask yourself, where does John the Baptist today point out Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?”  Since the time of the early Church, Christians have always heard these words of John in one place: in the Liturgy of the Mass.  Down to the present day, whenever we fulfill Jesus’ command to come together and “Do this in memory of me,” we proclaim “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.”  

Where is Jesus today?  Surely he is present in some way in other places, but only the Catholics imitate John the Baptist who actually pointed him out:  “Behold, This is the Lamb of God…”  You can only say that when you have the Eucharist.  

Look around, go visit all the different churches, then study history and come back to the Catholic Church.  Don’t settle for diet versions or imitation brands.  You want the real thing, the Real Presence.  

Our first task, like John the Baptist, is to identify him.  It would be good for us to recognize Jesus more clearly in our midst.  Sometimes we as Catholics don’t recognize Jesus in the Breaking of Bread, even though he is right here.  

After identifying him, our next task is to present him to the world.  Here too we often fail.  People should see Christ in our lives, and the witness of our love and good works.  Often, the reason we do not give convincing witness, is because we ourselves never recognized Jesus clearly to begin with.  

John prayed and fasted in the desert many years before he recognized Jesus and saw the Holy Spirit.  In the same way, our faith must grow and be purified for us to recognize Jesus.  Like the Pentecostals we sometimes need that intense charismatic experience to set our hearts on fire.  Like the Evangelicals we need to discover the power of God’s Holy Word in the Bible.  But it must all lead to adoration, to the Holy Eucharist, Jesus himself present in our midst as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  Blessed are those who are invited to the supper of the Lamb!  

                                                                                                                                        Fr. Glen Mullan

Baptism of the Lord (A)
             (Ps 29; Mt 3:13-17)

Psalm 29 sings of the glory of God, which thunders from heaven: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders; the Lord is enthroned above the flood; the Lord is enthroned as king forever.”  
The first time the voice of God was over the waters was at the dawn of creation, when the Holy Spirit went forth and separated the waters above from the waters below, bringing forth the world.  The second time God was enthroned over the flood was when the dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, went forth over the waters to bring Noah the olive branch.  The third time God’s glory was manifested over the water was when God sent a mighty wind to part the waters of the Red Sea so that His people might be saved, and thus destroyed the army of the Egyptians.  

Finally, the voice of the Lord was over the waters at the time of Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  

The Baptism of the Lord is the beginning of a new creation.  In these waters made holy by the presence of God, a new world comes forth, full of holiness and goodness.  Just as the “Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” created the world through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so the Father recreates and redeems the world through His beloved Son, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  

The Baptism of the Lord signals a new flood which is the fulfillment of Noah’s flood.  It is not a flood that destroys the world and mankind, but renews the world by destroying evil and preserving sinners.  The waters of baptism do not harm man, they leave him whole, washing away the curse of sin and blessing him with eternal life.  Christ enters the waters of the Jordan with sinners not because he himself is a sinner in need of cleansing, but in order that those waters might be consecrated and infused with the power to cleanse others from sin.  

Through his baptism, Christ elevates the baptism of John from being a purely symbolic action, to being a Sacrament that not only symbolizes recreation and forgiveness, but accomplishes it!  

The Baptism of the Lord is a new exodus, when God’s people are delivered from the tyranny of the devil and brought through the waters to God’s Kingdom.  

Even though John is at first confused by Jesus coming to him: “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me,” Jesus explains how this baptism fulfills all righteousness.  It manifests the glory of God at the beginning of his work; it manifests the fact that he is the “Christ,” the one anointed by the Holy Spirit who will accomplish the recreation of the whole world.  

Jesus’ public ministry begins with his baptism by John, and with the revelation of the Holy Trinity.  And it ends with his command to the apostles that they go forth and baptize all nations, “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  They are the very last words of Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 28:19).  

I have, among my precious possessions, a small bottle of water that I took as a souvenir from the River Jordan when I visited the Holy Land.  On special occasions I use some of that water to bless objects.  We can use water from the River Jordan devotionally in this way because it was made holy by Christ himself.  

But with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, any clean water can be blessed and made holy.  At Easter, the priest solemnly blesses the water of the baptismal font by immersing the Paschal candle into the water three times, a reminder of Christ’s baptism, when he who is the light of the world entered the water to be baptized by John, and thus made those waters holy.  

At our parish we maintain a font of holy water.  It is kept in the sacristy, and every Saturday morning it is solemnly blessed and renewed.  This water is used to replenish the holy water stoups at the entrances of the Church; it is used to bless devotional objects; and it is also given to the faithful to be used in their homes.  

When the priest blesses holy water, he uses a solemn prayer which calls to mind the various Old Testament events that foreshadow Christ’s baptism, and then the priest specifically invokes the Holy Spirit upon the waters, and touches the water with his hand.  Through this solemn blessing, Christ continues to be present in his Church, and renews the mystery of his baptism by means of Holy Water.  

Even though it is a special thing to use actual water from the Jordan in the celebration of baptism, or when blessing people or objects, the fact is that any water blessed and consecrated by the bishop, priest, or deacon, is identical.  It is made holy by Christ and the Holy Spirit, and it manifests the glory of the Father who speaks from heaven.

Christ commanded the apostles to go out into the whole world and baptize all nations.  That is why we still go out and bless everything.  After we have been baptized and consecrated to God, we like to bless and consecrate our homes, our cars, the events of our lives, and especially the devotional objects we use to deepen our faith such as our bibles, Rosaries, and holy images.  

In one of his first sermons, recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 10:34-38), St. Peter explains that when “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, he went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”  We still use holy water today for healing and protection, to liberate those oppressed by the devil.  

Holy water has this effect: it washes away evil while preserving the sinner.  Unlike the waters of the flood, which washed away the world’s evil by destroying sinners, the waters of Christ only destroy sin, and heal the sinner.  Holy Water is always effective against the devil, and we use it often.  

The first place we use Holy Water is when blessing ourselves upon entering or leaving the Church.  Through Baptism we were washed clean of sin and the dominion of evil, and entered the Church.  Every time we enter the church now, we renew that cleansing, purifying ourselves of the world so that we might come before the Lord in holiness.  And when we leave the church we again bless ourselves as a reminder of the Lord’s commandment, which is our mission: go and baptize the world in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  

Every Catholic household should have a container of holy water.  This can be used in the same way as at Church, to bless yourself when going in and out, and on special occasions.  Likewise if there seem to be particular spiritual attacks and struggles, use holy water together with prayer.  

When keeping Holy Water, make sure to use a special container or bottle marked as such and set aside for that purpose.  Don’t use ordinary water bottles.  And any time you need a refill, bring it after Mass and the sacristan will refill it for you.  

There is never reason to use large containers such as milk jugs.  We don’t drink holy water, we don’t wash with it, and we certainly don’t use it in superstitious rituals.  We need to guard against the wrong use of holy water.  There is a superstitious subculture which seeks holy water and other religious objects of the Catholic Church, to be used according to practices and customs that do not come from the Church, or the priests.  For instance, curanderismo.  We must not engage in those superstitious practices, or misuse holy water for purposes the Church has not instructed.  If there are any doubts, ask the priest or deacon.  

All you need is a little bottle, and sprinkle it, together with ordinary prayers and the sign of the Cross.  If anyone is telling you to follow specific instructions more than this, or follow some kind of recipe, or perform some additional ritual activities, this is not Catholic; it comes from some source outside the Church.  

In any case, the power of Holy Water is always related to the graces of baptism.  Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan with sinners to overcome sin, not to perform magic.  Holy Water will not substitute for the life of baptismal holiness, repenting of sin, and coming regularly to the Eucharist.  Holy water overcomes the devil by renewing the grace of baptism.  It requires a life pleasing to God.  What God the Father spoke from heaven at the time of Jesus’ baptism, He desires to say for each of us: “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” 


                                                                                                                       Fr. Glen Mullan

On the feast of Epiphany, 
which means “manifestation,” the Church remembers the three Magi, who come to Christ as ambassadors from nations of the world.  The “Magi” are variously described as kings, wise men, or astronomers.  “Magician” comes from the same word.  Each culture has its “magi,” its wise men who have great knowledge, who provide answers, and who can achieve marvelous feats.  Today we call them the “experts.”  Our modern magicians are the scientists and technicians who explore and unravel the mysteries of the universe.

In biblical times, magi looked to the “heavens” for answers.  They tracked the movements of stars and planets with painstaking detail, looking for correspondence with terrestrial events.  They knew heavenly movements were related to earthly events such as seasons and tides, but was there also a causal connection with human events and history?  What did it mean on earth when there was an eclipse of sun or moon, or when a new star suddenly flared up?

We are not too different!  It is still “out there” that the modern magi search for answers to the questions of life “down here.”  With the resources of an entire space program at their disposal, the modern magi have set up a network of great radio dishes all around the world listening for any signs of life in outer space.  They have gone to the moon and back looking for answers, they sent a robot to Mars, and the Voyager spacecraft has gone to Jupiter & beyond.  Our modern magi have placed their Hubble telescope into the heavens themselves, in order to study the farthest corners of the universe, and look all the way back to the dawn of time!  

We spend billions on these projects; it is serious business, this study of the heavens.  What does it accomplish?  

Modern man still wants to know the meaning of life, and he thinks if we find life on other planets out there, it will explain what life is down here.  Is it all just blind chance and random chaos, or is there a divine intelligence and meaning behind it?  Is the earth just an insignificant speck of dust in a lost corner of an unimaginably large and empty black space?  Or is man the center of the universe?  

It is good to search the heavens as the Magi did.  By searching to the limit of the universe, even if you are an atheist, what it really means is you are looking for God.  To those magi who search honestly, using their minds and reason, whether in the time of the Bible or today, God will not disappoint.  He will respond with a gift of grace, a special light from Heaven to guide them into truth.  The magi of the Bible received this “wisdom from above” in the form of a unique star, a special astronomical light to lead them on.  

And the light pointed them back down to earth for the answer, to a particular land and city, to a particular time, and to a little child.  The unique star which led them to Truth was the “Star of David.”  Wherever the quest begins, and however long the journey takes, there is this one light that will bring us what we seek, and it will lead in the end to the one place where Truth can be found: Bethlehem in the land of Judah, during the time of Caesar Augustus and Herod the Great.  

All religions try to provide light, but they are not enough to lead to Christ.  Only the Old Testament, which is the Bible of the Jews, leads to Christ.  Only through the history and culture of the Israelites did God bring the world its Savior.  

Whatever one’s background or nationality, the path will eventually converge on a single light, the Star of David.  God gives us the Holy Scriptures to guide us, and we must study them the way astronomers study the heavens!  

Studying the Bible and religion does not mean we reject science.  And studying science doesn’t mean we neglect religion.  They are not in contradiction to each other.  But we will be forced to acknowledge the limits of reason, and recognize that beyond scientific knowledge there are deeper truths: the miracle of life, which no biology textbook or theory of evolution will ever explain; the mystery of the person created in God’s Trinitarian image and likeness, with a spiritual soul.  Truth is bigger than what we can learn through a telescope.  Even though the human species seems to be just a tiny speck of dust in the universe, man is actually bigger than the universe.  A tiny baby holds the secret to the cosmos!  

When the wise men from the ends of the earth found the child, with Mary his mother, in Bethlehem, they found the truth for which they were created, because they found the One through whom the heavens were made!  Christ reveals the full truth of man to himself.  Here was the fulfillment of their search, the answer to life’s meaning.  

In this little house of Bethlehem they could with full assurance give themselves, and give away what was precious to them: “They fell down in worship, and opening their coffers they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” 

This is such an important part of the story, because it shows how the great search which spans the entire universe and a budget of trillions of dollars, ends in the simplicity of humility and adoration, in the gift of self.  The great search for meaning and answers, ends in worship.  If we use our human reason correctly, and pursue truth with honesty and humility, it will not lead us away from the Church into atheism.  True human intelligence and the study of the heavens will lead us to marvel at the miracle of man, and it will lead us to praise the greatness of God; and it will lead us to the Church where He can be adored in the flesh.  

Truth led the magi to Bethlehem.  Truth still leads us today to “Beth-lehem,” to the “House of Bread” which is the Church; to the mystery of Christ in the Eucharist, where we can bow down in adoration and submit all the treasures of our lives as gifts in his honor.  Here, in this “house of heavenly bread,” we are able to offer our most precious gifts in an act oblation and adoration: gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  

Gold is life’s hard-earned treasure by which we provide for our needs.  It represents all the good we can achieve and accomplish by our effort and ability.  No one intentionally squanders hard-earned money, but on what is it truly well-spent?  When we find someone worthy of our trust and honor, we express our love by getting them the most expensive gift we can afford.  When the Magi found Christ, they found the one who was worthy of all human treasure, and they worshipped him by putting their gold at his feet.  

We too, try to imitate the magi by placing our Gold at his feet.  Our weekly offering for the support of the Church is a generous and true sacrifice, something holy and meaningful, never just loose change.  We want our offering to be a gift worthy of the King.  But more than just money, our gifts of gold include our abilities, time, talent, and skills.  The sacrifice of time is a precious gift to Christ: through it we honor him and share in his mission.  

Frankincense represents prayer, or one’s religious convictions—that most personal and precious allegiance of one’s heart, soul, and mind.  Where and to whom do we give that gift?  We know what a precious treasure it is when another person becomes a true friend, when they give us their trust and total loyalty.  Do we do that with our Lord?  Have we given our Lord Jesus the pure Frankincense of our heart and will?  Frankincense includes our Sunday Mass attendance, but more than that, it is our daily prayer and the daily oblation of our heart.  Our loyalty.  

Finally, Myrrh represents life’s sufferings and trials, all the hardships and battles we have to endure.  Myrrh is a burial ointment.  We often question the meaning of suffering.  What is it for?  What do we do with it?  Is it meaningless or can it actually be offered as a gift?  Human suffering is actually very precious, and very personal.  Apart from Christ suffering has no meaning.  But through Christ and his Cross, our suffering becomes the precious burial ointment of the Messiah.  To give Christ our Myrrh, means to give him our life and especially our death.  It is probably the most precious gift of all.  

Today the Catholic Church, like Mary, presents Jesus to the world for adoration.  The Church, imitating Mary, holds him up so that those who seek for the truth may find him, and be able to adore him.  Amid all the many confusing lights and voices in the world today, one light continues to shine brightly for those who are astute, and are seeking the Truth.  It is the light of our Catholic faith, rooted in the Revelation of the Old Testament.  The Star of David continues to guide people to Christ.  

Here in this parish, and in every Catholic Church, Jesus can be adored.  We can bring open the coffers of our lives and give him our gifts.  At our parish, adoration is the heart of our prayer life.  Every day, Jesus in the Eucharist is held up on the altar for adoration, and parishioners are invited to come and find him, to adore him and lay their lives before him.  In our chapel we find Christ for ourselves every day, and offer him the worship represented by gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  

Mary, the Queen of Heaven, first introduced the Wise Men to their Savior.  Through the Church which she represents, may she also help us come to know her Son today.  May she accept our gifts in his name, and help us to worship him as he deserves.  

This painting is entitled “Virgin and Child” and was painted in the 15th century by the artist Andrea Mantegna or by one of his followers.  
It has been commonly observed that Baby Jesus in this painting has many markers of Down syndrome.  His eyes are slanted, the bridge of His nose is flat, He has a large space between his first and second toes, and His tongue is sticking out, all of which are common in individuals with Down syndrome.  There is a debate among art historians as to whether this was on purpose.  However, I do not think it really matters whether the artist meant for his Baby Jesus to have Down syndrome or not.  The point is that, wittingly or unwittingly, the artist painted Jesus as a child with Down syndrome.  This painting is a reminder that, in every person with Down syndrome or any other disability, we witness the face of Christ.
                                                        Sophia Decker