JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

I am coming to you to celebrate an interesting Providential event.  Our parish has just finished a weeklong symposium type of event comprising of presentations and conferences about Church doctrine and how it affects our Catholic life style.
During this time we suspend our Faith Formation Sessions for children and ask the parents to come instead.  They have a choice of some 15 different topics to  choose from, Monday through Friday.  This event finished Friday and today we are listening to the story of the finding of Jesus in the Temple.  For those of us who have been going to Sunday Mass for decades, it is almost predictable what the homily will be about.  It will focus on Jesus, of course, and make some remarks about the relationship between Him and His mother and His Heavenly Father at that moment.
I want to bring you to a different perspective.  I am asking you to think of the life that Jesus had at home with regards to His religious upbringing.  Jesus must have been blessed with the kind of parents who taught Him about God and the Law as is required of all parents per Deuteronomy 6; 4 - 9.  His parents taught Him well enough to cause Him to be able to ask the right questions. At 12 years old He was able to chat with the doctors of the religion and have enough religious background to ask the right questions.  We as parents have the exact same obligations that Mary and Joseph had.  Do we teach our children well enough to allow them to ask the right questions in religion class?  Oh, wait a second, let me ask, "Are we curious enough ourselves to participate in learning events that will allow us to learn and to be able to ask the right questions at the right time?"  I have to tell you that I can honestly say that a large number, nay, a very large number of parents do not prepare their children well enough to ask the right questions when the moment arises.  That same very large number of adults neglect to feed and enrich their own religious faith enough to ask the right questions.  These same adults are the ones who often complain about the Church not providing the opportunity to learn about the faith and then do not appear when an opportunity that is advertised months in advance arises.
Don't shake your head in disgust or anger at my words.  I know whereof I speak.  I have been experiencing this for years, directly as I am the one organizing the events.  So, today, if you read this before participating at the Holy Eucharist, think of the story from the point of view of Mary and Joseph's responsibility to instruct their child per the command of Yaweh and the point of view of our responsibility to do the same.  If you are married, and if you have children who are baptized, you have heard this told to you at least twice.   Once at the final blessing of your marriage ceremony and once at the moment of baptism of your child(ren).
Don't only think of it, bring it into your conversation to those whom you think could profit by hearing it.
It's been a long time since I have written here.  But I haven't gone away.  I have to come back now and then to remind you why you will not cry at my funeral.

MORE CHRISTMAS TAKE-AWAYS -- FROM ASIA? EGYPT?

SEEK - ASK - ACT - CHANGE YOUR WAYS

This year, I got more out of the Three Kings story than I ever did before.  It is connected to a well prepared homily delivered by a young priest.  It astounds me when I am confronted by the truth that the Divine Mysteries continue to challenge the Faith of the righteous to achieve deeper and deeper understandings of the same immutable reality Who is Our God.  It moves me to think that I could be a prisoner of my own comfort with the grace of Faith as I use it in my habitual behavior to come to understand God more deeply and more clearly.
It is enlightening to see that God's grace of light seeps through different cracks in the minds and hearts of disciples who have different points of view about the world that God creates around us. It is always interesting to come to a point of clarity about the valid expressions of faith of a person less than one half my age.  In this last case, he is only .33 of my age.  The miracle of Christmas Grace manifested in him on this given Sunday is still shaking me and I do not know when it is going to stop.  If ever.  
To begin with, he was straightforward and forceful in his opening statements.  He was expounding on the truth that the three individuals in the story were seekers.  They were curious and they let their curiosity help them to learn.  He exhorted the faithful sitting before him to seek deeper knowledge and understanding of the Loving God.  Attending church is not enough.  You have to go out of your way to expose yourself to the reality of God in the Bible, in other books, in conferences offered by the parish management.  We must be curious enough to follow the light.  The light of the grace of Wisdom.  The Star that leads to the vision of God.

Then he moved on to accede to the point of insecurity in what was being pursued in our lives.  The insecurity that dims the light of Faith.  It is in this time of dimness that we have to ASK.  Pull off the road for a minute and inquire.  The answer may or may not be the exact fit for the grace that God has in mind for us, but it will be an encouragement to get up and continue on our way.  In the response we will learn something.  In the response we will feel the satisfaction that we had the strength to trust someone else.  In the case of the Three Seekers, the answer was not totally truthful, but there was enough truth in it to set them on their way again.  The insecurity of the darkness was dispelled.  The light came back and they reached their goal.  

Finally, lesson number three for me.  This is the one that doesn't want to let go.  There is a very deeeep lesson in the decision that the Three Seekers made to take a different way to go back home.  They sought the source of the light.  They asked for help when they needed it.  When they had found what they sought, it was so great that they espoused it to their very depths.  The light spoke to them as it had spoken to Joseph.  Like Joseph, they listened.  They came to satisfy themselves.  They left to satisfy God.  They ACTED.  They took the road that the light showed them, not only as they sought but as they were fulfilled as well.  They learned that they had done the Will of God, and they loved it and decided to follow it.  They did not leave by another way to escape from Herod.  They left by another way because that is what God told them to do.  It was their "fiat" as much as Mary's had been; as much as Joseph's had been.  Isn't that what we are called to do?  It sure is.

HERE'S WHAT I TOOK AWAY FROM ALL I HEARD OVER THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

The Lamb was born, so the shepherds came for Him

Did you ever think of it that way?  Who else gets to be at the birth of a lamb?  Besides the ewe, I mean.  No one.  The shepherd is the midwife.

Shepherds?  Those stinky,smelly, oily, sweaty smelling. never-take-a-bath kind of people get to hear the angels singing before anyone else?  Of course.  It had to be the shepherds.  They were on the job.  They didn't have to be awakened.  They were there, watching, waiting, ready, ever vigilant.  Again, who else?

Who else would be simple and accepting of a lighted sky, sweet music and a comforting invitation to not be afraid?  Uneducated, simple field folk would be happy to have a change in the nightly routine.  They would not ask questions.  They would not run back to the Scriptures to find out who this really could be.  No way.  Let's go.

Finally, it fits the pattern.  God reveals Himself to those who have the least tendency to doubt and the greatest tendency to let their curiosity run free. From Genesis to Revelation, the simple and the curious get the call, and always with that suave invitation, "Do not be afraid."  It's the call that the marginalized wait for.  God and the Godly are the true fit for the marginalized.  The shepherds didn't just happen to be there that night.  They were always there.  On the job.  The fields, the sheep, the birds, the stars and the moon are all that they had.  That one night though, they had a special Lamb to care for and they knew just how to do it...generously and without fear.  

Like the Pope said, "A true missionary smells like sheep."  

Come to think of it, that's perhaps why most of them are celibate!

So, that's one of my "take-aways" from this Christmas.  Be a shepherd.  God loves those who smell like sheep.

OUR MOTHER IS WEARY FROM HOLDING THE ARM OF HER WEARY SON FROM STRIKING

“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”  Then Isaiah said:

Listen, O house of David!  Is it not enough for you to weary people, 

must you also weary my God?  (Isaiah 7; 10-14)
Je ne demanderai rien, je ne tenterai pas Yahvé.  Il dit alors : Ecoutez donc, maison de David ! est-ce trop peu pour vous de lasser les hommes, que vous lassiez aussi mon Dieu ?
Respondió Ajaz: «No la pediré, porque no quiero poner a prueba a Yavé.» Entonces Isaías dijo: «¡Oigan, herederos de David! ¿No les basta molestar a todos, que también quieren cansar a mi Dios? 

The reading from Isaiah brought me back to Our Lady at Guadalupe and at La Salette.  It is so true that very often we get sick and tired of the way we treat one other.  We also come to a point when we resemble Ahaz and we say, "I am at the end of my rope trying to tell these people how to be righteous.  I'm sure that even God and his angels are out of patience already.  Why should I go back to them and make them all the more tired.

Mary at Tepeyac tells Juan Diego, "You are the one I have chosen.  You go talk to the bishop.  I need a place from which to instruct the people the Will of God."  

Juan Diego followed her counsel.  The bishop asked for a sign, and he got one.  In the end, Mary and Her Son prevailed.

At La Salette, Mary tell us that she is getting more and more tired of holding back her Son's angry arm.  She is afraid that He will run out of patience and strike us with terrible things.  Already the crops are beginning to fail.  As in Mexico three hundred years earlier, Mary herself is the sign.  Mary herself can speak in straight and direct terms about the feelings of her Son and the measure of his patience.  

The readings from Scripture to the Catholic Faithful of the world today underline the authoritative continuity of the work of God among His people.  He is always with us.  He is always patient.  He is always frank. He is always supportive and strong in His guidance.  It matters not whether His sign came 1,000 years ago, or 600 years ago, or 300 years or yesterday.  It remains the same sign.  The sign of total sacrificial love that will never end.  We hear it so often.  We see it daily.  Why don't we spend more time pleasing God with our sacrificial love?  Talking about gifts at the time of the year, we should be offering Him a decisive and continuous gift of our dynamic response to His invitation to follow Him and to help him in the mission of winning people's hearts over to him.

FRANCAIS

Cette lecture d'Isaïe me ramène à Notre-Dame de Guadalupe et à La Salette . C'est tellement vrai que très souvent nous tombons malades et fatigués de la façon dont nous nous traitons les uns les autres. Nous arrivons également à un moment où nous ressemblons Achaz et nous disons: « Je suis à la fin de ma corde en  essayant de dire à ces gens comment être juste. Je suis sûr que même Dieu et ses anges sont déjà à bout de leur patience. Pourquoi dois-je revenir à eux et les rendre d'autant plus fatigué.

Marie à Tepeyac dit a Juan Diego, " Tu es celui que j'ai choisi . Tu iras parler à l’évêque. J'ai besoin d'un endroit pour instruire le peuple a propos de la volonté de Dieu."

Juan Diego a suivi son conseil. L'évêque demande un signe, et il en a obtenu un. En fin de compte, Mary et son fils ont prévalu.

À La Salette, Marie nous dit qu'elle est de plus en plus fatiguée de retenir bras de son Fils. Elle a peur qu'il sera à court de patience et nous frappera avec des choses terribles. Déjà les récoltes commencent à diminuer. Comme au Mexique trois cents ans plus tôt, Marie elle-même est le signe. Marie elle-même peut parler en termes simples et directs sur les sentiments de son Fils et la mesure de sa patience.

Les lectures de l'Écriture sainte aux fidèles catholiques du monde aujourd'hui soulignent la continuité autoritaire de l'œuvre de Dieu parmi Son peuple. Il est toujours avec nous. Il est toujours patient. Il est toujours franc. Il est toujours favorable et fort dans sa direction. Il importe peu que son signe a apparu il ya 1000 ans, ou il ya 600 ans, ou 300 ans ou hier. Il reste le même signe. Le signe de l'amour sacrificiel total qui ne finira jamais. Nous l’entendons si souvent. Nous le voyons tous les jours. Pourquoi dépensons-nous pas plus de temps a plaire à Dieu par notre amour sacrificiel ? En parlant de cadeaux à cette époque de l’année, nous devrions lui offrir un cade décisif et continue de notre réponse dynamique à son invitation de le suivre et de lui aider dans la mission de tourner le cœur des gens à lui.

ESPANOL

La lectura de Isaías me trajo de vuelta a la Virgen de Guadalupe y en La Salette. Es tan cierto, que muy a menudo nos cansamos de la forma en que tratamos a los demás. También hemos llegado a un punto en que nos parecemos a Acaz y decimos: "Estoy al final de mi cuerda tratando de decirle a esta gente cómo ser justos. Estoy seguro de que hasta Dios y sus ángeles son al fin de la suya paciencia ya. ¿Por qué debería volver a ellos y hacerlos aún más cansado.

María en Tepeyac le dice a Juan Diego: "Ères tu el que yo he elegido. Serás tu a ir a hablar con el obispo. Necesito un lugar desde el que instruya a la gente de la Voluntad de Dios. "

Juan Diego siguió su consejo. El obispo pidió una señal, y él obtuvo uno. Al final, María y su Hijo prevalecieron.

En La Salette , María nos dice que ella es cada vez más cansado de retener el brazo enojado de su Hijo. Ella tiene miedo de que él se quedara sin la paciencia y nos herirá de cosas terribles. Ya las cosechas empiezan a fallar. Al igual que en México 300 años antes, la misma María es el signo. María misma se puede hablar en términos directos sobre los sentimientos de su Hijo y la medida de su paciencia.

Las lecturas de la Escritura a los fieles católicos del mundo de hoy subrayan la continuidad autorizada de la obra de Dios entre su pueblo . Él está siempre con nosotros. Él es siempre paciente. Él siempre es franco. Siempre es de apoyo y fuerte en su dirección. No importa si su señal se produjo hace 1.000 años, o hace 600 años, o 300 años o ayer. Sigue siendo el mismo signo. El signo del total amor sacrificial que no tendrá fin. Lo escuchamos tan a menudo. Lo vemos todos los días. ¿Por qué no pasamos más tiempo agradando a Dios con nuestro amor sacrificial ? Hablando de regalos en esta temporada del año, deberíamos le ofreceremos un regalo decisivo y continuo de nuestra respuesta dinámica a su invitación a seguirle y ayudarle en la misión de ganar los corazones de la gente hacia él.

...GO, MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS...

Luke 14; 12-14

Yesterday, 11/4/2013 I was participating in the daily morning Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when Luke's Gospel came shouting out at me,

"12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

I sat down and realized that I had felt something that I had not yet heard in my life.  I knew that there is more to the meaning of the word "nations" than what constantly enters our mind.  It suddenly struck me that there are several "nations" all around us. It suddenly struck me that we walk around surrounded by borders of many descriptions, each one separating us from the "nationals" living on the other side.   

If you think that was a deep trip, it really got to me when I realized that I know a lot of "foreign" people, as in French, Spanish, Australian, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Canadian, Filipino, Japanese and of course, Mexican.  That didn't make me as happy as it normally would because it was accompanied by the consciousness that I could never in my most strenuous efforts think of such a rich list of truly poor people with whom I have an on-going relationship.  Yes, that is one border that I have not yet crossed.  Here I am, a child of Mary at La Salette who tells me every day to "make this known to all my people" and I walk around only inviting my friends and relatives into my life with great gusto, just like the pagans do.  If I don't fix that in my life, you will have reason to cry at my funeral.