Christmas Day 2012: Reflection

(Is 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14)

There is something fascinating about the hands of an infant—especially when they reach up and grasp the outstretched fingers of a doting adult. Although the child will not be able to speak for months, through their hands, they are able to express one of our most basic needs; the need to belong, to touch and be touched. Most of us find it easy to respond to this need and to do so eagerly. Caressing a baby in our arms seems to soften even the most hard-hearted among us.

Why is it that we are so ready to love and be loved by an infant? Perhaps it is because of their absolute innocence. Maybe it is because we love that which is fresh and new. It is probably both of these—and more. But I think it is also a matter of being drawn into a love that demands very little from us. It’s easy to love an infant—to hold and lavish attention on someone without any commitment. It makes us feel good and there are no strings attached (except, of course, if you are the parents).

And so, we delight in the feast of Christmas. We gaze lovingly at the infant Jesus and wish that we could just pick him up and hold him and love him.

My brother and sisters, sometime during the weeks of the Christmas season, go to the crib scene in church or in your home. Reflect on the mystery of God’s loving patience and then look at those outstretched hands that seem to demand so little from us. They are the same hands which, as they grow older and before they are folded in death, will demand a great deal from us. They are the same hands that commanded the sea to be calm as he and his disciples were being tossed about on the stormy sea. They are the hands which, when laid upon the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, or the withered limbs of women and men broken and in need, brought sight, hearing, and wholeness. They are the hands that took bread, blessed it, broke it, and said, “Take and eat; for this is my body.” They are the hands which, when fastened to a cross, embraced every woman, man, and child whoever lived and whoever would live, in one supreme and selfless act of blessing and redemption.

My brothers and sisters, by all means, take the hand of the infant Savior into your hands. But as his hand grows larger and his grip grows stronger and the wood of the crib becomes the wood of the cross, do not pull back. Rather, tighten your grip and savor the unimaginable peace and joy that comes with total commitment—not just a warm and sentimental Christmas moment—but total commitment to the eternal Son of God.


– Fr. Anthony Criscitelli, T.O.R.


(Originally printed in According to Your Word - Reflections for the Advent & Christmas Seasons; See http://franciscanfriarstor.blogspot.com/2011/11/according-to-your-word-reflections-for.html)

Christmas Reflection: Saturday after Epiphany

(I Jn 5:14-21; Jn 3:22-30)

“I must decrease, the Lord must increase” (John 3:30), in order “to know the one who is true. . . . Jesus, the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn 5: 20). From the moment we rise and shine to the moment our heads set on the pillow, we are called to name and claim the presence of the Lord in our lives. When we do so, our appreciation of the Lord increases in the experiences of living and in our encounters of meaning. Our Christian journey involves developing the virtue of humility—the discovery of Truth. When we know the Truth, any falsehoods we have deflate and awareness of God inflates.

Our inspiration for the day finds its source in John the Baptist’s dialogue with his disciples. John claims, “I am not the Messiah, but I was sent before him” (Jn 3:28). John explains that he was sent before the Lord to proclaim and make ready the coming of the Kingdom Messiah. John recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and says, “Jesus must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).

Although we arrived after the Lord’s coming, our response is the same as John’s. As we celebrate this day, may we recognize and respond to the presence of the Lord in every experience of life. What a challenge! In our awareness of the Lord this day, let us allow the Lord to increase in our lives, and bear the fruit of discipleship and authentic living— love of God and neighbor— through word and deed.

The door of this day opens us to fruitful experiences of our Messiah, as will the door of death open to eternal life. Lord, we pray that we may be aware of your presence in the moments of the day, in our work, our play, our prayer, our relationships, our eating, our exercise and our sleep. As we do so, may we continue to build your Kingdom of Love.


– Fr. Rod Soha, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: Friday after Epiphany

(I Jn 5:5-13; Lk 5:12-16)

Saint Luke, in the Fifth Chapter of his Gospel (vs. 12 - 16), tells us of the miraculous cure of a leper, who when asked by our Lord what he wanted, replied: “If you want to, you can heal me.” Our Savior emphatically answers: “Of course I want to. Be healed.” Having cured the man, Jesus instructs him to go to Jerusalem and show himself to the priest as proof of his having been restored to health. Jesus tells him to make the required offering and cautions him to tell no one of this miraculous healing.

The Gospels tell us that in many instances of cures and visions those who were beneficiaries of our Savior’s power were told not to reveal them to anyone. Peter, James and John, who witnessed the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor, were commanded by our Redeemer not to tell the vision to anyone until after His Resurrection from the dead. We might ask ourselves why.

Saint John Chrysostom and other Doctors of the Church in their sermons and writings offer the following opinion. Christ wanted the people to receive the truth of His message by the power of His word and their spiritual and intellectual acceptance of Him as the Son of God and the Promised Messiah. Too many were fascinated by our Lord merely because they saw or heard of miraculous cures or reports of crowds of thousands having been fed in deserted places by the multiplication of bread and fish.

During His crucifixion His enemies taunted Him mockingly: “Come down from the cross, then we’ll believe in you.” Didn’t they believe Him when He changed water into wine, cured lepers, restored sight to the blind, raised the dead to life, cured paralytics, expelled demons? Saint Bernardine of Sienna comments on this Scripture passage: “Even had our Savior come down from the cross, His enemies would have exclaimed: ‘What are you going to do now, so that we might believe you?’”

Secular magazines and publications take an almost imbecilic delight in reporting visions and miracles, the stranger the better, and the numbers of people who flock to these sites. The saddest thing is that the greatest miracle takes place in their parish churches where Christ renews at Mass the offering He once made of Himself on Calvary. In Holy Communion Christ Who called Himself “the living bread come down from heaven” gives Himself to His believers in this Sacred Banquet. He assures us: “I am with you all days.” He is present in our tabernacles; our churches are truly the house of God and gate of heaven. Our faith in the Holy Eucharist is solidly based on Christ’s own word. This is His greatest gift to us— this miracle of His love— the gift of Himself.


+ Fr. Adalbert Wolski, T.O.R. (1931 – 2012)
 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Christmas Reflection: Thursday after Epiphany

(I Jn 4:19-5:4; Lk 4:14-22)

After Jesus read the passage from Isaiah, he said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” That Scripture passage is fulfilled in our hearing whenever and wherever we practice the love of neighbor that is delineated by St. John in the first reading. When John tells us that we are to love one another, he is not offering us an option. We can’t claim that we love God and at the same time reject or hate our brothers and sisters. Mahatma Ghandi once pointed out that Christianity is beautiful as it is proclaimed in the Gospel, but not as it is lived by Christians. In other words, we must show by our actions what we profess with our lips. You and I who claim to be Christians are the only Gospel example that some people ever see. The love of God and neighbor is a tremendous challenge every day. It's so easy to say that we love God, but not so easy to see God in one another.

If we do not do so, we are effectively denying our faith in the Incarnation we are celebrating in this season. “The Word was made flesh” means that God dwells in our humanity, that God is present in the people all around us— even in the people we dislike the most or the people we can't seem to get along with on a day-to-day basis. Our love for the God we cannot see is revealed to others in our love for those whom we can see— the people we encounter each day.


– Fr. Adrian Tirpak, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: Wednesday after Epiphany

(I Jn 4:11-18; Mk 6:45-52)

As we approach the end of the Christmas-Epiphany season, the apostle John, in today’s first reading, continues to discuss God’s love for us and our duty to share this love with others.

John reminds us that, “No one has seen God. Yet if we love one another God dwells in us and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1John 4:12). What a very important thought to keep in our minds as we continue to be His disciples in the world today. John declares that the Holy Spirit we received at baptism guarantees our union with God. Our awareness of God living in our hearts will help us not to be afraid of God.

Love truly has no room for fear. We also pray this is our experience of the love relationships in our lives—that love is always without fear. This same theme of freedom from fear occurs in our Gospel reading from Mark. This passage is also appropriate for this special week after the Epiphany, a Greek word that means an appearance. Jesus appeared to all the world by means of the Feast of the Epiphany to proclaim to everyone that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus appears to the apostles as they battle a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus tells them not to be afraid but to have faith. Is not that what we come to celebrate today? Our faith in Jesus, a faith without fear, a faith that calls us to action and love of our sisters and brothers. A faith that knows no bounds, a faith that brings us ever closer to Jesus, the Lord.

Resource: Alert to God’s Word, Cassian A. Miles, O.F.M. (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1971.)


– Fr. Terrence Smith, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: Tuesday after Epiphany

(I Jn 4:7-10; Mk 6:34-44)

“Beloved, let us love one another
because love is of God.”
(1Jn 4:7)

Observe the “1-3-5 Rule” today.
Tell one person, directly, that you love them. Call, or write, to 3 people and tell them you love them. E-mail 5 people and pass along this same, infinitely valuable message.

Christmas Reflection: Monday after Epiphany

(I Jn 3:22 - 4:6; Mt 4:12-17, 22-25)

“As the liturgy of this Christmas-Epiphany season takes a turn toward emphasizing Jesus’ public ministry, it is clear that he is actively engaged in teaching and healing— he speaks and his words have effect. By word and deed, he reveals the reign of God. But this is only part of the story. The same gospel that presents his message and that recounts his activity also recounts that he spent whole nights in prayer, and that he withdrew to quiet places to commune with the Father in heaven.

Even this Messiah-Lord had to have quiet times on earth so that he could experience the tranquility of spirit necessary for his deeds, actions, and activity. This offers a paradigm and model for us. . . . Our common witness to Christ must include presence, action, and prayer. Does it?”


– Kevin W. Irwin, Advent/ Christmas: A Guide to the Eucharist and Hours (New York: Pueblo Publishing Company, 1986), 290.

Christmas Reflection: The Epiphany of the Lord

(Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12)

“O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star,
grant in your mercy, that we, who know you already by faith,
may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”


– Opening Collect for the Solemnity of Epiphany, Roman Rite

Christmas Reflection: January 7th

(I Jn 5:14-21; Jn 2:1-12)

“We have this confidence
in God:
that he hears us
whenever we ask for anything according to his will.”
(I Jn 5:14)

“But besides the praise of God, the Church in the liturgy . . . expresses the prayers and desires of all the faithful; indeed, it prays to Christ, and through him to the Father, for the salvation of the whole world. The Church’s voice is not just its own; it is also Christ’s voice, since its prayers are offered in Christ’s name, that is, ‘through our Lord Jesus Christ,’ and so the Church continues to offer the prayer and petition that Christ poured out in the days of his earthly life and that have therefore a unique effectiveness. The ecclesial community thus exercises a truly maternal function in bringing souls to Christ, not only by charity, good example, and works of penance but also by prayer.”

– General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, 17.

Christmas Reflection: January 6th

(I Jn 5:5-13; Mk 1:7-11)

John the evangelist tells us how important it is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. He writes to those who do not believe. To show us, the evangelist brings in the testimony of the Spirit, water and blood. Also the testimony God gave on his own Son’s behalf at the baptism of Christ by John the Baptizer. You recall that as Christ came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. The heavens opened and a voice came from the heavens: “You are my beloved Son; on you my favor rests.” Again at the transfiguration of our Lord, God spoke: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

This is divine revelation. If we do not believe these revelations, we call God a liar. God gave us eternal life and this life is in the Son. Those who possess the Son, possess life. Those who do not possess the Son of God do not possess life. How important it is to believe! Jesus Christ is to be number one in our lives.


+ Fr. Vincent Spinos, T.O.R. (1924 – 2008)
 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Christmas Reflection: January 5th

(I Jn 3:11-21; Jn 1:43-51)

Don’t you wish you could have been there ... could have seen the disciples in person? Or even Jesus himself? I hear people say that every once in a while. Wouldn’t it have been something to meet Peter or to have a conversation with Matthew? What if we could go back in time and listen to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? We do this with a sense of healthy curiosity and perhaps the idea that it would be easier to believe the Gospel if we could have seen the Gospel events unfold before our very eyes.

However, I’m not convinced that seeing the disciples first-hand would make the Gospel any easier to believe. In fact, seeing the disciples might just make the Gospel more DIFFICULT to believe! Remember, the disciples were more “crusty” than “upper crust.” They weren’t very educated— or well groomed—or outwardly impressive. In other words, they were pretty common folks. So, can it really be that this rag-tag bunch of uneducated fishermen was in touch with the deepest truth and faith in Jesus?

Most everyone has a soft spot in their hearts for fairy tales. There’s just something about a fairy tale's reversal of expectations that captures our attention. There’s something fantastic about finding out that the frog is really some handsome prince, or that the ugly duckling is the one that grows into the most resplendent swan. Fairy tales are stories of transformation, and that’s exactly what happened to these simple people we call disciples. If you took the disciples and brought them together into one room, you’d never in your wildest dreams guess by looking at them that this weak-looking pack of ordinary folks could change the world. But that’s exactly what they did! The disciples changed the world because it was to them that the truth of salvation was first revealed in Jesus Christ.

That’s why Jesus called them in the first place. If you’re going to save the world, you’ve got to start somewhere. And if in the end you’re going to save the world through humility, gentleness, compassion and sacrifice, it makes a whole lot of sense to begin with a bunch of people who couldn’t get much more humble if they tried! The messengers fit the message! In fact, over the course of his ministry if Jesus had any significant struggles with his disciples, it was the struggle to keep them humble and ordinary. Every time a couple of them began a power struggle or argument among themselves about who was the greatest, Jesus brought them back down to the street level of service.

And that’s the bottom line, I believe, to being a follower of Jesus. To be transformed into a humble, gentle, compassionate person who continues Jesus’ mission of service, who continues washing our sisters’ and brothers’ feet. This is what our faith calls us to— the realities of a very real and sad world. But, helping one person at a time, we continue the mission of Jesus and his rag-tag bunch of ordinary, but brilliantly transformed disciples.


– Fr. Blase Romano, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: January 4th

(I Jn 3:7-10; Jn 1:35-42)

“Today’s first reading expresses the contrast between holiness and sin. The contrast motif continues throughout these verses with Christ pitted against the devil and holiness contrasted with sin. When placed in this dualistic framework, the reality of Christian truth stands out clearly— in Christ, we who have been saved from our sins are to lead holy lives, rejecting sin and abiding in Christ. This gift of salvation is therefore not an individual possession; it endures in the Christian community whose chief characteristic is love for each other. The holiness referred to in this reading should not be understood as the moral perfection of each member of the body; the state of being like God is given to the church as a whole so that God’s love and salvation can be experienced in the Christian community. This Christmas season is a time of annual renewal in love— of God’s love for us in Christ and of our love for each other. Empowered with God’s love, we must choose Christ over the allurements of the devil and holiness over attachment to sin.”


– Kevin W. Irwin, Advent/ Christmas: A Guide to the Eucharist and Hours (New York: Pueblo Publishing Company, 1986), 251, 252.

Christmas Reflection: January 3rd

(I Jn 2:29-3:6; Jn 1:29-34)

John the Baptist tells us that when he first saw Jesus, he did not know who he was. When John finally recognized Jesus it was through the power of the Holy Spirit and his life of humility and self-discipline.

We come to know Jesus in the very same way. First, through the bountiful gifts of the Holy Spirit and our invitation to live a life of holiness, consisting of the virtue of humility, surrender to God’s will, and self-discipline. When we have found Him, we, like John the Baptist, will point him out to others by living a Spirit-filled faith and humble way of life. By our holiness, we will cry out to others what we believe as John did, “There he is, there is the Lamb of God!”

In Jesus, John saw the true and only sacrifice which can deliver us from sin. When he said that he did not know Jesus, he was referring to the hidden reality of his Divine Nature. But the Holy Spirit at that moment revealed to John the true nature of Jesus, which was Divine. John bore witness to this mystery by proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God.

May the Lord Jesus Christ fill us with the power of his Holy Spirit and allow us to increase in faith, truth, knowledge, and love of God.


– Fr. Patrick Seelman, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: January 2nd

(I Jn 2:22-28; Jn 1:19-28)

Many commentators renounce any effort to find a logical arrangement and progression of thought in the internal structure of 1 John. Most biblical scholars hold that this epistle can be divided into three groups of remarks, preceded by a prologue and concluded with an appendix. The prologue holds to the principle of communion with the Father and the Son. Communion with God is walking in the light: the antithesis of light is darkness; the antithesis of truth is the lie. The author stresses the necessity of confession of sin and keeping the commandments and also of abstaining from the world and rejecting false teachers. Living as children of God is to bear witness to the truth.

The author of 1 John wants to confirm that the tradition that has been communicated to the community is authentic. He indicates that the anointing with the Spirit that came upon the community is God’s confirmation of the message’s authenticity. The author emphasizes that the Christians must hold onto the tradition they have received if they want to remain in authentic communion with the Son and in the Father.

The lack of structure in 1 John leads some scholars to suspect the book is a compilation of a didactic and a homiletic composition. In its literary form and purpose it lacks some of the marks of the epistles: it has no name of the sender or receiver and certainly no formulae of greeting or of conclusion.


+ Fr. Aloysius Hankinson, T.O.R. (1924 – 2006)


Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Christmas Reflection: January 1st - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

(Num 6:22-27; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21)

CHRISTMAS

Because the cross
became a tree;
because the rock
became a door;
we celebrate
return to birth,
we kneel upon
the humble floor.

For this our shepherds
sing their hymns;
for this our Wise Men
travel far:
because the cross
became a tree;
because the stone
became a star.

– poem by Jean Burden;

offered for reflection by Bro. Didacus Wilson, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: December 31st - Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

(I Jn 2:18-21; Jn 1:1-18)

“Silence can open a door
on a new dimension of reality.
In silence we find ourselves
in open country.”

– Morton Kelsey

As this year ends, and a new year is on the horizon, give yourself the gift of twenty minutes of silence today.

Christmas Reflection: December 30th - Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

(I Jn 2:12-17; Lk 2:36-40)

The author of this passage from John's first letter is addressing many in the Christian community who have experienced the forgiveness of the Father. Those who have experienced and accepted the forgiveness of the Father have in this way also strengthened themselves against the power of the evil one. In having been forgiven, they have experienced the love of the Father and His Son, Jesus.

John also warns those who have been forgiven against following and loving the things of this world. “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father in not in him.” So, the writer of this letter is telling us that we must not waste time loving “the things of the world.” By this he means that we must not be influenced by what is against God. That is all those things in the world that are contrary to the following of the Gospel. We must live our lives entirely in the presence of the Father and His Son, Jesus, if we are to gain eternal life. Only in renouncing all for the sake of Christ will we be in the love that is of Christ.


– Fr. Donald Frinsko, T.O.R.

Christmas Reflection: December 29th - Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

(I Jn 2:3-11; Lk 2:22-35)

God is light. God is that light, that perfection and love which we strive to follow and emulate. While perfection for us may not be attainable, that does not mean that we should not strive for it. God has given us the means to do this. God has allowed us to see this love and perfection in His only Son, Jesus. Jesus has given to us this great gift of an example. Yet we must choose this gift. We must decide not once but always to follow Jesus and to follow the commandments which He has given us.

Simeon, Anna, Mary and Joseph all had to make that decision to follow God. God did not reward Simeon and Anna because they were in the temple. No, God rewarded them because of the faith that they nurtured and put into action. Their faith was rewarded by seeing the Son of God.

Mary and Joseph, while family, were not automatically brought into faith in God. They had to make that decision. They had to make a choice to believe in God. They had to make the choice to follow God.

Do you recognize the hand of God in your life? Do you choose to see the good that God does for you? Do you choose to do this good for others? Your love of God, your faith, is not just an activity of the mind but is an outward activity to others. Pass it on!


+ Fr. Robert Juroszek, T.O.R. (1959 – 2010)


Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Christmas Reflection: December 28th - Feast of the Holy Innocents

(I Jn 1:5-2: 2; Mt. 2:13-18)

“If we walk in light,
as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another.”
(I Jn 1:7)

“ ‘A cry was heard at Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation:
Rachel bewailing her children;
no comfort for her,
since they are no more.’ ”
(Mt 2: 18 —quoting Jeremiah 31:15)

From 1973 through 2007, an estimated 48,000,000 abortions were performed in the United States. This is an average of about 3,800 abortions that are performed in the United States every day.

As of December 28, 2011; 1,277 death row inmates have been executed in the Unites States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In addition, the Innocence Project reports, “Seventeen people have been proven innocent and exonerated by DNA testing in the United States after serving time on death row” (http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/The_Innocent_and_the_Death_Penalty.php).


In this season of light and life, spend some time in prayer today for those whose lives are no more.

Christmas Reflection: December 27th - Feast of St. John the Evangelist

(I Jn 1:1-4; Jn 20:2-8)

John, John, John. Whether my name was called endearingly by my mother many years ago or mischievously today by one of the friars, I like to hear it. One who can name me usually knows me. Naming and knowing me gives me an identity which is unique and precious.

Today’s gospel never uses the name John. John the evangelist had a greater purpose than honoring one disciple. He calls the disciple with Peter “the one Jesus loved.” That is the disciple I want to be. The reality is that I am… and so are you.

Mary Magdalene is the beloved disciple who first came to the tomb and found it empty. Peter is the beloved disciple who heard the news and later became the head of the new Church. Yet the beloved disciple who outran Peter is even more special. Why? Maybe because he was given the talent and the athleticism, but particularly because of the faith that made him fleet of foot. Jesus’ love in him literally lifted him along the path to the tomb.

St. Francis must’ve been fairly fleet of foot, because we know people were always chasing him. “Why are they all running after you?” one of his brothers asked. I think it was because they saw a man who was radiant with love and they wanted some of it for themselves. Francis

made God visible to all of his time when they had thought it was only possible to find the Lord in clerical garb or behind cloistered walls.

Long before the Middle Ages when Jesus’ first disciples were experiencing a new life with him, they were compelled to share it. In John’s letter we read “Our purpose in writing you is that our joy may be complete.” Today I am called to believe: “John, you are the beloved disciple; share it with others to make your joy complete.” I hope you will hear God’s call of the beloved and share that joy with those you meet today.


– Bro. John Kerr, T.O.R.