Today’s Thoughts: “How does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Words uttered by Elizabeth in today’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-45). Yet I think they are also words uttered by us at times when we recognize Mary’s presence in our life.
Yes, I firmly believe that I have been visited by Mary at moments in my life. Mary has come to me at times when I needed a mother’s presence either to comfort me or put me back on the straight and narrow. Times when I needed that hug or when I needed a stern but loving word to set me straight. Mary has come at times when the gift of family was strong and ever present and when I was alone and needed to know that family was still there. Mary walks into our lives often and like Elizabeth we often recognize her presence and God’s presence at once because something inside us leaps for joy. However, there are other times when it takes us a little longer to recognize her presence and the presence of God. Sometimes it is long after they have visited us that we are able to acknowledge their presence. Mary reminds us today that mothers are so important. They not only give us life. They carry us until we can face the world. They protect us. They nurture us. They teach us and they make Mary and Christ present to us throughout our lives! Perhaps like Elizabeth today as we think of our own mothers, as we think about pregnant mothers, as we think about all mothers, we should remember how gifted we are that the mother of our Lord should come to us. We celebrate this day in gratitude for all the mothers! Have a blessed and holy Wednesday everyone.
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Today’s Thoughts: Before I begin my reflection today, I just want to apologize for not posting the last three days. Over the weekend I traveled to St. Louis for the baptism of my newest grandniece, and I decided once I got there that I would unplug in order to just enjoy family time. So, in case you were wondering what happened to my reflections, prayers and blessings the last few days this is the reason. I traveled back home yesterday, so here I am back. I hope your fourth weekend of Advent went well and that you find yourself in the home stretch of Advent ready for the celebration of Christmas! I have to say I enjoyed my unplugged weekend, but it is nice to be back with you once again!
In these last days until Christmas, we are reminded repeatedly how the Christmas story came to be. Yesterday we heard about Zechariah's encounter with the Lord and Elizabeth's conception after years of being barren and today we hear about Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel. Each story is a snapshot of the greater story of God’s human presence in the world. In today’s Gospel (Luke 1:26-38) we are reminded that Mary was truly a believer. Even though she did not know the full extent of her “yes” she proclaimed it anyway. She trusted in God. She had faith and she staked her life in the promise of God something Ahaz, in our first reading (Isaiah 7:10-14) was unwilling to do. Not having a clear vision of the road ahead is not always an easy way to live. It demands trust, it demands faith, and it demands a sense of hope in all that one does. Mary certain defines this way of living. She did not know the implications of her “yes”, but she had trust, faith and lived by an unrelenting hope. There is a quote by Calvin Miller that I have often used. It is from his book The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent. I find it a wonderful way to think of the gift of Mary in our life and so I share it with you again today – “We must look to Mary's example to know how to deal with the glorious impossibilities of God. Look how she turned the world upside down by making one simple statement.” Mary’s one simple statement was “yes” to God. Today we remember another moment from the Christmas story. It is a moment that reminds us that if we trust, if we believe, if we live by hope we will encounter God most often when we least expect it but always when we are most in need! Have a great Tuesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Our readings today remind us of the sacrifices made by many so that we might live out our faith today. In turn we face challenges, struggles and make sacrifices today so that many in the future might live in faith.
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that we have it hard, and others have it easy. I am sure that the Israelites looked around at the many nations around them and wonder where God was in their life. They struggled, they had many challenges and at times they suffered greatly. Early Jewish Christians perhaps remember their long history to get to this point and then looked around at the gentiles coming into the Church and wonder why they had it so easy. Our readings today remind us that to be a person, a people of faith, we are going to struggle, face challenges and at times suffered. However, in the midst of living life we also get the chance to treasure the gift of faith handed down to us from all who have gone before us. We are called as people of faith to treasure every opportunity to share our gift of faith freely and promptly with others. So that they too might grow and overcome the challenges, struggles and suffering they encounter. One generation blesses the next. So as you journey in faith today be thankful for those countless others who have gone before you and those countless others who will be blessed with your gift after you! Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: In today’s readings we realize that God can speak tenderly and harshly! It is a fearful and scary moment when we allow God the freedom of approaching us in any way that God judges best for us. God may reach out to us tenderly or severely.
God’s “Advent” may involve a long preparation, the way that Isaiah drew upon centuries old traditions and carefully composed an elaborate doctrinal poem that we find in today’s first reading. Or God can burst upon us like the prophets who come into our lives without even a conventional “how-do-you-do?” – like John the Baptist. We realize in today’s Gospel that John had a profound effect on all in his time expect the religious leadership. They were unwilling to let go and let God! Our readings remind us that God can act dramatically or philosophically and allow us time to think things over. Or God can demand an immediate “yes!” God uses each of us uniquely, yet we need to be ready and willing. That is what Advent and life in relationship with God calls us too. Have a holy and blessed Thursday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: As I read the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 45: 6c-8, 23c-25) yesterday evening a song by Fr. John Foley, S.J. came to mind. The song is “Turn to Me.” The refrain for the song comes right out of our first reading today, “Turn to Me, O turn, and be saved, Says the LORD, for I am God, There is no other, none beside me, I call your name.” (Fr. John Foley, S.J. – Turn to Me) Isaiah tells us today that there is one God, who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. There is no other, and the best thing we can do is to turn to God, acknowledge our creator, and praise our God with all our heart. If we do this Isaiah tells us, we will be saved.
In our Gospel today from Luke (Luke 7:18b-23) we encounter a scene between Jesus and two of John the Baptist disciples who have been sent to ask Jesus if he is the one that they are waiting for or should they look for another. Jesus simply says look around, tell John what you see happening. “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” (Luke 7:22) In other words, actions are speaking louder than words, the one God that Isaiah has told us about in the first reading, has brought forth a savior for his people. And those who acknowledge him will be blessed. Each Advent we wait, but perhaps like John we know we have found the answer. We know that Jesus is the one to come and we do not have to look to any other. We just have to “turn and be saved…I call your name” for we know our God and are blessed in this knowledge. Have a blessed and holy Wednesday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” (Thomas Merton) I thought of this quote from Thomas Merton as I read our readings today. Zephaniah (3: 1-2, 9-13) reminds us that no matter how much we think of ourselves, there is someone greater in the life than humanity. And in our Gospel (Matthew 21: 28-32) Jesus confronts us with the question, what is more important the words we speak or the actions through which we live? Merton reminds us that it comes down to being grateful. If we are grateful for our live, for the people we encounter, for everything that is around us then we know something, someone is greater. If we have gratitude, then we are open to the wonder and grace of God. If we are grateful, then our actions will always be a positive response to what we are asked to do and whom we are asked to be. Thus, the key word for our journey through this Tuesday and every day is gratitude. May we truly be grateful for life today because that will make all the difference! Have a holy and blessed Tuesday filled with joy, mercy and gratitude everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Today’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-47) reminds us that Mary was truly a believer. Even though she did not know the full extent of her “yes” she proclaimed it anyway. She trusted in God. It was a trust that could be seen. Elizabeth saw it as Mary entered her home. For Elizabeth, Mary was blessed among women and her voice proclaimed the presence of God even to the baby in Elizabeth’s womb. Our God is not only a God of sight but also of sound.
Not having a clear vision of the road ahead is not always an easy way to live life. It demands trust, it demands faith, and it demands a sense of hope in all that one does. Mary certain defines this way of living. She did not know the implications of her “yes” but she had trust, faith and lived by an unrelenting hope. As Calvin Miller puts it in his book The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent – “We must look to Mary's example to know how to deal with the glorious impossibilities of God. Look how she turned the world upside down by making one simple statement.” Today we remember that Mary turned the New World upside down when she appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian convert, as a beautiful young woman on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 9, 1531. Just another reminder that if we trust, if we believe, if we live by hope we will encounter God most often when we least expect it but always when we are most in need! Have a holy and blessed Monday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: "Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord." St. James tells us. Even though the anticipation of Christmas is probably getting to us by now. We have been in and out of stores, fought the crowds, looked for bargains, and greeted the Amazon or UPS drivers many times yet not all the shopping or preparation is done. The tree is up, the decorations are out and we have caught the Christmas spirit. However, we must be patient, Christmas is coming but not quite yet!
There is a joy and happiness to the fact that Christmas is coming but we still have to deal with everyday life. There is still work to be done. The Third Sunday of Advent always seems to bring these two feelings together, the joy, the rejoicing and the anticipation of what is coming - Christmas and the patients and investment in everyday life that is needed because Christmas is not here yet. The mixing of emotions can be difficult and stressful. We can sometimes let one emotion overcome the others. Yet patience and joy are the essence of what makes life livable! In the Gospel today, (Matthew 11: 2-11), Jesus asks the questions, what are we looking for and what do we expect? He asks these question in reference to John the Baptist but also in reference to the living of life. If we believe, if we have faith, then what is it we are looking for out of life? What do we expect from our relationship with God? Can we find joy in it? Can we be patient and let the story, let the journey play out? Yes, Christmas is coming, it will be here in two weeks. Can we be patient, can we keep the joy alive, can we live in the moment? Can we rejoice in the hope the God is always near? Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone and don’t forget to give God a little time today! Today’s Thoughts: There is a very challenging quote from St. Oscar Romero that might help us reflect on our Advent readings today. St. Oscar Romero said, "Those who want to bear the mark of the Spirit and the fire that Christ baptizes with must take the risk of renouncing everything and seeking only God's reign and justice." Do we truly want to bear the marks of being a Christian people? Do we want to bear the marks of Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus from our readings today? Do we want to be a people of Life?
Both of today’s readings seem to highlight the prophet Elijah – the first emphasizing his miraculous deeds, and the second (in the person of John the Baptist), his murder by the powers that run the world. This might seem a strange emphasis just 2 weeks shy of Christmas, so it’s helpful to recognize that, like Elijah, Jesus was a prophet – in fact the last and the greatest of the prophets. We’ve called Him many things, “Savior”, “teacher”, “Son-of-man”, “Messiah”, but St. Luke, particularly, stresses that Jesus was first and foremost a prophet, the last in a line of individual prophets. Some describe a biblical prophet as, “one who comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.” We can be comforted by the words of Elijah John the Baptist and Jesus today, but they can also be disturbing words when put into the context of the words of Oscar Romero. Are we ready to bear their marks? Are we ready to live by their word? Have a holy and blessed Saturday everyone! Today’s Thoughts: Each time I read today's Gospel I think of the phrase, "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time!" I can also hear Jesus say, "But can I just please somebody!"
The fact is Jesus did please people, but his mission wasn't about pleasing people it was about helping, challenging, enlivening and gracing people. Sometimes these values of faith don't please in the way we expect. Life remains a struggle however if we come through the struggle – freedom and God's Love is waiting. There will always be people in life who don't like anything. We have met them, nothing that gets done or is suggested is ever right. We say black, they say white. Perhaps the challenge of today's readings is to not become one of these people. The voice of God comes to us in many different ways. Sometimes it is the voice of John calling for repentance and forgiveness, other times it is the voice of Jesus offering acceptance, compassion and love. The challenge is to let God's wisdom guide and direct us so that we hear God's voice when God speaks and act so that it transforms our lives! Have a blessed and holy Friday everyone. |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
May 2023
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