Christmas Homily

           It all began just a few miles from here, in an obscure town called Bethlehem, the town of David, on the West Bank of the Jordan River. God so loved the peoples of this world that God decided to dwell among us though he knew the world would reject him. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why God loves us so much when we do mean things to one another, but thus begins the story of making oneself vulnerable by doing good and teaching well despite the ever-present opposition. The man who became the savior of the world was born for us and redeemed this very land upon which we both walked and he brought hope to every generation in our human history.

            The story of Christmas tells us that God speaks through goodness and gentleness. It is the only thing that can penetrate our heartaches. Life hurts too much at times and we need the tenderness that only God provides. Just watching Mary and Joseph care for their son so sweetly is a reminder of the tender way God deals with our pains. God holds us in the same way Joseph and Mary caress Jesus to sleep. We hasten to the manger scene to see the newborn child resting comfortably. It reassures us that we are safe in God’s presence and that God values everything that is good and holy. We want to retain those impressions of innocence and we want God to look upon us with the same happiness we feel toward this tiny child.

            Sitting in Mass this morning, I took in and absorbed each of the fourteen parishioners who came to Mass. Melodic Christmas carols solemnly played in the background to set a reflective tone. Most of them closed their eyes gently in prayer and they seemed to be at peace. I thought about each one of them as they experience the presence of God and I marveled at them as gift to one another. Stillness filled my heart as if I were gazing upon the tiny child Jesus laid to rest in a manger.  My heart became very warm as I knew God’s love was reaching each of them – and me – and it made me love them even more than I did before. God’s radiating love is what comes through at Christmas. It can’t be explained, but we know God is present when our capacity to love is increased.

            I ask you to connect with one another – in silence – to see the love that God has planted it them – friend, neighbor, or stranger. Just look at one another and smile and appreciate how much God is calling them to do their very best. (Turn to one another, hold your gaze, and without words, just smile.) This is the same love Jesus gave us at the manger when he notices us. This is the love he wants us to share as believers in God. This is the love that makes the world good, gentle, and tender. This is the love that alerts all our senses to help us realize how near God is to us.

            Let your heart be moved and your senses awakened. Love the one you are with, even if you don’t like that person too much. Let your heart reach out and love them because that is what this tiny infant wants us to do. Our love is given to us to be used copiously, generously, as fully as we can. Give it away as much as you can. You will experience Christmas every day when that abundant gentleness and tenderness is returned unexpectedly. We will know with absolute certainty that God has visited his people and has redeemed us. Our Savior has been born into our world. Today, true peace has come down to us from heaven. Our Wondrous God, the Prince of peace, will reign without end.       

Poem: “The Voice of the Christ-Child” by Phillips Brooks

The earth has grown old with its burden of care,

But at Christmas it is always young;

The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair,

And its soul full of music breaks forth on the air,

When the song of the angels is sung.

It is coming, old earth, it is coming tonight!

On snowflakes which covered thy sod,

The feet of the Christ-child fall gently and white,

And the voice of the Christ-child tells out with delight

That mankind are the children of God.

On the sad and the lowly, the wretched and poor,

The voice of the Christ-child shall fall;

And to every blind wanderer opens the door

Of a hope which he dared not to dream of before,

With a sunshine of welcome for all.

The feet of the humblest may walk in the field

Where the feet of the holiest have trod –

This, this is the marvel to mortals revealed,

When the silvery trumpets of Christmas have pealed,

That mankind are the children of God.

Poem: "The Magnificat Today" Translated by Olga Vamke

My soul glorifies the Lord!

My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!

For God has blessed me lavishly and makes me ready to respond.

God shatters my little world and lets me be poor.

God takes from me all my plans and gives me more than I can hope for

         or ask.

God gives me the opportunities;

         the ability to become free;

         to burst my boundaries.

God gives me the strength to be daring, to build on God alone, for God is

         the ever greater One in my life.

God has made known to me this: it is in my being servant that it

 becomes possible for God’s kingdom to break through here and now.

Spirituality: - J.B. Philips, British Bible translator

The particular danger which faces us as Christmas approaches is unlikely to be contempt for the sacred season, but nevertheless our familiarity with it may easily produce in us a kind of indifference. The true wonder and mystery may leave us unmoved; familiarity may easily blind us to the shining fact that lies at the heart of Christmastide. We are all aware of the commercialization of Christmas; we can hardly help being involved in the frantic business of buying and sending gifts and cards. We shall without doubt enjoy the carols, the decorations, the feasting and jollification, the presents, the parties, the dancing and the general atmosphere of goodwill that almost magically permeates the days of Christmas. But we may not always see clearly that so much decoration and celebration has been heaped upon the festival that the historic fact upon which all the rejoicing is founded has been almost smothered out of existence.

What we are in fact celebrating is the awe-inspiring humility of God, and no amount of familiarity with the trappings of Christmas should ever blind us to its quiet but explosive significance. For Christians believe that so great is God’s love and concern for humanity that he himself became a man. Amid the sparkle and the color and music of the day’s celebration we do well to remember that God’s insertion of himself into human history was achieved with an almost frightening quietness and humility. There was no advertisement, no publicity, no special privilege; in fact the entry of God into his own world was almost heartbreakingly humble. In sober fact there is little romance or beauty in the thought of a young woman looking desperately for a place where she could give birth to her first baby. I do not think for a moment that Mary complained, but it is a bitter commentary upon the world that no one would give up a bed for the pregnant woman—and that the Son of God must be born in a stable.

This almost beggarly beginning has been romanticized by artists and poets throughout the centuries. Yet I believe that at least once a year we should look steadily at the historic fact, and not at any pretty picture. At the time of this astonishing event only a handful of people knew what had happened. And as far as we know, no one spoke openly about it for thirty years. Even when the baby was grown to be a man, only a few recognized him for who he really was. Two or three years of teaching and preaching and healing people, and his work was finished. He was betrayed and judicially murdered, deserted at the end by all his friends. By normal human standards this is a tragic little tale of failure, the rather squalid story of a promising young man from a humble home, put to death by the envy and malice of the professional men of religion.

All this happened in an obscure, occupied province of the vast Roman Empire. It is fifteen hundred years ago that this apparently invincible Empire utterly collapsed, and all that is left of it is ruins. Yet the little baby, born in such pitiful humility and cut down as a young man in his prime, commands the allegiance of millions of people all over the world. Although they have never seen him, he has become friend and companion to innumerable people. This undeniable fact is, by any measurement, the most astonishing phenomenon in human history. It is a solid rock of evidence that no agnostic can ever explain away.

That is why, behind all our fun and games at Christmastime, we should not try to escape a sense of awe, almost a sense of fright, at what God has done. We must never allow anything to blind us to the true significance of what happened at Bethlehem so long ago. Nothing can alter the fact that we live on a visited planet.

We shall be celebrating no beautiful myth, no lovely piece of traditional folklore, but a solemn fact. God has been here once historically, but, as millions will testify, he will come again with the same silence and the same devastating humility into any human heart ready to receive him.

Spirituality: (Dr. John J. Pilch, The Cultural World of Jesus Sunday by Sunday, Year B)

With regards to Joseph accepting Mary as his bride and wife, he writes of divorce:

“[In the context of a Mediterranean culture,] divorce is not just the separation of two partners but rather the separation of two families. In a society driven by the values of honor and shame, the family of the bride will be shamed. The bride's male relatives in particular will have to bear the shame as well as the responsibility to remedy it. Feuding will result and undoubtedly escalate to bloodshed. This must be avoided at all cost, hence the cultural rule is no divorce.”

Poem: “The Annunciation” By Elizabeth Jennings

Nothing will ease the pain to come
Though now she sits in ecstasy
And lets it have its way with her.
The angel’s shadow in the room
Is lightly lifted as if he
Had never terrified her there.

The furniture again returns
To its old simple state. She can
Take comfort from the things she knows
Though in her heart new loving burns
Something she never gave to man
Or god before, and this god grows

Most like a man. She wonders how
To pray at all, what thanks to give
And whom to give them to. “Alone
To all men’s eyes I now must go”
She thinks, “And by myself must live
With a strange child that is my own.”

So from her ecstasy she moves
And turns to human things at last
(Announcing angels set aside).
It is a human child she loves
Though a god stirs beneath her breast
And great salvations grip her side.

Prayer: Christmas Prayer

Child of Bethlehem - house of bread;
Man of Jerusalem - city of peace;
you have loved us
without limit or condition;
in our greatness and in our misery,
in our folly and in our virtue;
may your hand be always upon us
and may your heart be within us,
so that we too may become
bread and peace for one another.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Fourth Sunday in Advent

December 22, 2013

Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

We enter the mysterious last days of Advent that lead up to the birth of Jesus. We watch all the signs given in Scripture becoming fulfilled: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel. Everything is tumbling into place so orderly despite the disorder of our lives. All becomes quiet, just like the mood that is evoked in the carol “Silent Night.” All is calm; all is bright. God has chosen to be with us, Emmanuel, and the name of the boy will be Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Approach these days with patient stillness. It is as if we are collectively pacing back and forth in a hospital’s maternity ward’s waiting room. Forces of nature control the outcome and all we can do is wait, hope, and pray while we remain powerless to effect the outcome. We hold our breath and hope for the best. The quality of time slows for us, while the miraculous events of childbirth quicken. All will unfold on its own time, and we all want to glimpse the infant child when he does come.

We can hear in Isaiah’s scripture passage God’s frustration with our ways. God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz adheres so closely to a religious teaching that he will not ask for it. Isaiah detects God’s weariness because God is trying to help us and we keep pushing him away – by our own religious instruction. It is as if God breaks one of his rules because of our closed-mindedness when he says: I will give you this sign regardless, even though it will be far outside of your religious imagination to understand. It will be a sign nonetheless.

I have always enjoyed Teresa of Avila’s quote, “It is love alone that gives worth to all things.” When we read the nativity scriptures, it is helpful for us always to see God’s motivation behind these events because it is God’s love alone that is bringing all things into fulfillment. God sends us someone to save us from our sins and to let us know, as hardheaded as we are, that God is with us.

Pope Francis is a fine instrument of God’s love for the church and he is being recognized by the secular world as a truly revolutionary man. He is TIME magazine’s “Person of the Year.” The religious right calls him a radical, a leftist like Obama, and even a Marxist because of his economic views and his concern for the poor. The Washington Post reports that he is enjoying 92 percent favorability rating among Catholics compared to 76 percent for Benedict XVI. In the non-Catholic world, 62 percent approve his policies compared to Benedict’s 49 percent. Francis is creating new perceptions of the church and is returning us to Gospel values that defined the early church. Many believe in the integrity of his motives.

As I have heard many faith-filled stories over the years, many wonder whether God is with us at all. Tragedies, injustice, and hardship plague our lives and we feel the lack of kindness from many neighbors who are more concerned with their own interests than the common good. We find God to be remote and distant and for the most part unconcerned unless we pray our magical rosaries in the right way or for the right intentions. God only makes his presence known if we do things right. Thankfully, that thinking is wrong.

God knows of our hardships, which is the reason God sent Jesus into our lives. Emmanuel means “God is with us,” not God is above us or around us or just down the street who will appear magically. No, God is much, much closer than that. God is among us, with us to stay, along the road that each of us is traveling, with us now and forever. Whenever we feel love, we know God is with us. God is not the cause of misfortune, but if we look deep enough inside, we will come to know that God is compassionately present. God is not the cause of good fortune, but with faith-filled examination, we will find God’s presence once more. Let’s pay attention to the feelings and emotions of God – as an indication of God’s motivations, which remain constant. God’s love can always be found – and it gives worth to each of our experiences. Each day, we must ask to see God’s love. We will find it in abundance and then God’s love dwells within us. God is waiting to be found, waiting for us to ask for a sign. Let God surprise you with his care.

Advent lasts a few more days. Sit back, relax, and enjoy these mystical times because God will bring you freshness of new life into your world. Treasure the tiny details and you will find more goodness and love than you anticipate. Spend some time this week just showing up in prayer to tell God, “I am here to be with you,” and then just sit there. Accept the signs God personally gives you. Today, more than ever, God wants to dwell in your life and just be by your side.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: In Malachi, the messenger of the Lord will be sent forth to purify the sons of Levi in order to present the most perfect sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem and to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers. In 2 Samuel when David settled into his house of cedar and the Lord rested in a tent, David declared he would build a great house for the Lord, but the Lord told him that he would make a great house of David. (The Nativity of Our Lord.) In Acts, Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Filled with jealous, his adversaries killed him. He cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” The Letter of John restates the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel and declares, “What was from the beginning; what we have heard; what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of Life – for the life was made visible.” John proclaims the message that God is light and in him there is no darkness.

Gospel: Elizabeth gave birth to a son. When it was time to name and circumcise him, Elizabeth declared, “He will be called John.” Just then, Zechariah’s mouth was loosened and he was able to speak once again. Zechariah began his famed canticle saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people to set them free….” (The Nativity of Our Lord.) Jesus reminds his followers that adversaries will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues, but the Spirit of the Lord will be with you to speak for you. Whoever endures to the end will be saved. On the Feast of John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene runs from the run to Simon Peter to tell him that the Lord was taken from the tomb. Peter and the Beloved Disciple ran to the tomb; they came to believe. On the feast of the Holy Innocents, the magi departed and did not return to Herod. When Herod realized he had been deceived, he became furious and ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

Saints of the Week

Saints are not celebrated during the octave leading up to Christmas.

December 22 - O King of all nations and keystone of the church: come and save us, whom you formed from the dust.

December 23 - O Emmanuel, our king and giver of the Law: come to save us, Lord our God.

December 26: Stephen, the first Martyr (d. 35), was one of the seven original deacons chose to minister to the Greek-speaking Christians. The Jews accused him of blasphemy. Though he was eloquent in his defense, Saul of Tarsus condoned his death sentence.

December 27: John, Apostle and Evangelist (d. 100), was the brother of James and one of the three disciples to be in the inner circle. He left fishing to follow Jesus and was with him at the major events: the transfiguration, raising of Jairus' daughter, and the agony in the garden. He is also thought to be the author of the fourth gospel, three letters, and the Book of Revelation.

December 28: The Holy Innocents (d. 2), were the boys of Bethlehem who were under two years old to be killed by King Herod in an attempt to eliminate the rise of the newborn king as foretold by the astronomers from the east. This event is similar to the rescue of Moses from the Nile by the slaughter of the infant boys by the pharaoh.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Dec 22, 1649. At Cork, Fr. David Glawey, a missionary in the Inner and Lower Hebrides, Islay, Oronsay, Colonsay, and Arran, died.

·      Dec 23, 1549. Francis Xavier was appointed provincial of the newly-erected Indian Province.

·      Dec 24, 1587. Fr. Claude Matthe died at Ancona. He was a Frenchman of humble birth, highly esteemed by King Henry III and the Duke of Guise. He foretold that Fr. Acquaviva would be General and hold that office for a long period.

·      Dec 25, 1545. Isabel Roser pronounced her vows as a Jesuit together with Lucrezia di Brandine and Francisca Cruyllas in the presence of Ignatius at the church of Sta. Maria della Strada in Rome.

·      Dec 26, 1978. The assassination of Gerhard Pieper, a librarian, who was shot to death in Zimbabwe.

·      Dec 27, 1618. Henry Morse entered the English College at Rome.

·      Dec 28, 1802. Pope Pius VII allowed Father General Gruber to affiliate the English Jesuits to the Society of Jesus in Russia.

Saint Peter Faber, S.J.

Peter Faber has been declared a saint today December 17^th . Pope Francis has canonized one of the first companions of St. Ignatius extending his devotion to the universal Church. This is a so-called "equipollent" (equal in force) canonization in which the Pope, by his authority, extends the worship and liturgical celebration of a saint to the universal Church, after having fulfilled certain conditions established by Pope Benedict XIV (1675-1758). This practice was used by Pope Francis himself on October 9 for the canonization of Blessed Angela from Foligno and by his predecessors Benedict XVI, John Paul II, John XXIII, among others.

The canonization of Blessed Peter Faber holds a special meaning because he is a model of spirituality and priestly life of today's Pope and at the same time an important reference to understand his style of government. Faber lived on the crest of an era when the unity of the Church was undermined and he remained essentially alien to doctrinal dispute, directing his apostolate to the reform of the Church and becoming a pioneer of ecumenism.  How much his example is rooted in the pastoral horizon of Pope Francis is felt in the synthetic portrait he made in the interview he gave to La Civiltà Cattolica, revealing some essential aspects of his personality: "His dialogue with everybody, even the most remote and even with his opponents; his simple piety, a certain naiveté perhaps, his immediate availability, his careful interior discernment, the fact that he was a man capable of great and strong decisions but also of being so gentle and loving, loving."

The aspect of Faber is that of a contemplative in action, a man attracted to Christ, passionate about the cause of the brothers, experienced in discerning the spirits, devoted to the priestly ministry with patience and mildness, offering himself without expecting any human reward. Faber meets God in all things and everywhere, even the most cold and hostile settings. In his Memoriale, which is one of the main documents of the spirituality of the early Society of Jesus, his life is conceived as a journey, a journey through the various regions of Europe following the example of Christ: traveling for obedience, always alert to make God's will and not his own.

Father Adolfo Nicolás, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, expresses these same aspects in a letter to the whole Society on the same day.

Spirituality: Three Quotes

“I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.” (Taylor Caldwell)

“Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” (Alexander Smith, Scottish poet-essayist, 1830-1867)

 “The purpose and cause of the Incarnation was that God might illuminate the world by His wisdom and excite it to the love of Himself.” (Peter Abelard)