MASS HOMILIES BY
FATHER JEROME MACHAR, OCSO, FOR CYCLE A IN THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
2007-2008
Click on the blue
links to access the homilies.
FAITH
Made to Be Fueled by God
HOPE
Sharing Hope (Second Sunday of Advent)
GOSPEL LIVING
The Challenge of Gospel
Living
HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit
(Pentecost)
LENT
The Fight Against Evil
Self-emptying of Lent
Surrender to God
EASTER
What Christ Conquered
LOVE
Allowing Ourselves to Be
Moved by Love
Love Made Tangible
Love of Neighbor
SALVATION
The Birth of the Savior
SELF-KNOWLEDGE
Accepting Correction
SIN
Myself, My Enemy
WITNESS
Being a Witness to Christ
Love of Neighbor
Friday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
James 2: 14-24; 26
Mark 8: 34- 9:1
I find the passage we just heard from the Letter
of Saint James rather daunting. "What good is it
for an individual to say that he or she has
faith, but has never done a single good deed?"
(James 2:14) Every Sunday, we profess our faith
in the Word who became flesh and lived in our
midst (Cf. Jn. 1:14). Recall these words
recorded in the Gospel of St. John. "God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). God
not only spoke of love, but He also manifested
His love. Through the mystery of the
Incarnation, God's love was made tangible. Our
Christian faith tells us that Jesus Christ is
the fullness of the Father's glory, the exact
image of His being, who sustains all things in
being by the power of His word (CF. Heb. 1:3).
God not only speaks of love and mercy; He also
does works of love and mercy through the life,
death and resurrection of His only-begotten Son.
Consequently, if our faith is real, it, too,
must be tangible.
Our faith in the Incarnate Word must be
transformed by the Word Himself. The author of
the Letter to the Hebrews gave us this
description of the Word. "Indeed, the Word of
God is something living and active. It is
sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating
the divide between soul and spirit, separating
bone and muscle. It judges our innermost
thoughts and exposes us for what we really are"
(Heb. 4:12). We believe in the Eternal Word of
the Father who is able to penetrate the human
heart. There is no vitality in a faith that is
devoid of mercy and charity. As we heard in the
first reading, "Faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is quite dead" (James
2:17). A careful reading of Sacred Scripture
shows us that the charity of Christ and the
compassion of His disciples were always intended
to manifest the loving-kindness of the Father.
This manifestation is significant. The Church
should never underplay the sense of good works
that point towards the love of God. After all,
Jesus did institute love of neighbor as the
first commandment for behavior among His
disciples, acting Himself as a witness of this
love. In the Acts of the Apostles we find an
account of how the apostles spoke of Christ. "He
went about doing good and healing all those
oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him"
(Acts 10:38). What a beautiful description of
Christ's life and ministry! Belief in the Word
and works of mercy are integrally bound
together.
The challenge for our day is to keep these two
aspects of Christian life in dynamic tension. We
must not allow ourselves to become so immersed
in contemplating the Word that we become blind
to the needs of the poor. On the other hand, we
must not become so consumed by concern for the
poor that we ignore contemplation. Christian
charity is rooted in the search for God. Our
search for God is expressed in love for one
another, especially for the poor. He Who has
first loved us (Cf. Jn. 4:10) has precedence,
both in the order of time and in the scale of
values. Out of the depths of His love, Christ
has called us to follow in His footsteps. The
only reason we can respond to His call is that
we have been moved by His love. I am reminded of
the words spoken by Jeremiah the Prophet. "O
God, you have captivated me and I let myself be
seduced by You. You were too strong for me and
you ravaged me" (Jer. 20:7). What powerful
images those bring to mind!
This theme was taken up by Pope Benedict in his
first encyclical. "The consciousness that, in
Christ, God has given himself for us, even unto
death, must inspire us to live no longer for
ourselves but for him, and, with him, for
others. Whoever loves Christ loves the Church,
and desires the Church to be increasingly the
image and instrument of the love which flows
from Christ. The personnel of every Catholic
charitable organization want to work with the
Church... so that the love of God can spread
throughout the world. By their sharing in the
Church's practice of love, they wish to be
witnesses of God and of Christ, and they wish
for this very reason freely to do good to all"
(Deus Caritas Est,#33). Service to our neighbor
makes demands of the heart in the decision to
desire the best for the other person, even at
the price of self-abnegation. Whoever dedicates
himself to service of others takes on the
opposite of reputation, power, and rank that
leaders and political entities claim for
themselves.
Pope Benedict encourages us: "My deep personal
sharing in the needs and sufferings of others
becomes a sharing of my very self with them: if
my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation,
I must give to others not only something that is
not my own, but my very self; I must be
personally present in my gift" (ibid, # 34). May
our faith be pure and open enough so that the
people who today are seeking and questioning,
can glimpse the light of the one God who loves
them and Whose power is the power of love. May
the Spirit harmonize our hearts with the heart
of Christ and move us to love all men and women
as He loves them. Amen.
May the Lord bless you and keep you today and
all the days of your life.
In Christ Jesus,
Father Jerome
The Holy Spirit
Pentecost Sunday
Vigil Mass
Genesis 11: 1-9
Romans 8: 22-27
John 7: 37-39
Today we are
celebrating the vigil of Pentecost. We gather
around the Table of the Lord in anticipation of
the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit just
as our ancestors in the faith have done
generation after generation. With the setting of
the sun we are given the promise of a new day
and of a new world. Since the day of our
Master's Ascension we have been awaiting with
holy longing a fresh outpouring of the Spirit
who proceeds from the Father and the Son to fill
each of us with the gift of repentance and
faith. We wait in hope because it is only in the
light of the Spirit that we can face the future
firmly grounded in the faith that is born of
God's love. In every age the Spirit breathes
where she will to bring men and women of every
race, language and people the good news of
reconciliation both with God and with one
another. The Holy Spirit is the cement that
binds the three divine Persons of Most Blessed
Trinity together in unity. All who are
enlightened by the Fire of the Spirit are drawn
together in unity of faith and the bond of
divine love. The Gift of the Holy Spirit makes
us members of the Church, which was founded by
Christ to be the place where His Father would
make His dwelling. The Church is at the same
time a spiritual communion, a mystical body
enlivened by the Spirit's manifold gifts, and
the sacrament of salvation for all humanity (cf.
L. G. #8).
Civilizations
have come and gone, but unfortunately the greed
and avarice of mankind have not changed. Like
the tower builders we speak many words but
rarely communicate with one another. Conversely,
God, in His merciful kindness, has given us the
Holy Spirit so that we might be conformed to the
Eternal Word. The recipients of the Spirit, who
implanted the divine Word in our hearts, are
capable of growing in loving communion with all
the adopted children of God through communion
with the only-begotten Son. The wind of the
Spirit silences our ceaseless babbling. With a
gentle small voice, the Breath of God whispers
the Word of Love in the ears of our hearts. The
feast of Pentecost offers us an opportunity to
reaffirm our profession of faith and to renew
our commitment to proclaim God's marvelous works
to the ends of the earth. Unfortunately, some
ministers of the Word have turned the building
of the Kingdom into an industry for personal
advancement and wealth. Somehow they have
confused the glory of God with worldly success
and prestige. Like the tower builders they
devise plans to build magnificent edifices of
brick and mortar. However, God desires to build
a Temple of living stones united in the bond of
Love. Even as we exert our efforts to build the
city of man we are hindered by barriers of
alienation, anger and polarization. The product
of our labors is division. All the while, the
Spirit of God blows wherever She wills, as the
first fruits of the new heavens and the new
earth, where God's peace will reign and all the
children of Adam and Eve will live in justice
and love. The product of God's work is communion
and reconciliation.
Once upon a time
there was a man who took his Christian
commitment very seriously. He daily evangelized
the people around him. He tried, and tried, and
tried to change everyone he met. However, no
matter what he said to them, he couldn't change
them. No matter how clearly he refuted their
arguments, he couldn't touch their hearts.
Frustrated by his failure, he knelt and prayed.
As he prayed, he asked the Lord why his greatest
efforts were such total failures. The Lord Told
Him, "Change your heart, change your lifestyle,
change yourself. You will see the fruit." The
man listened to the word that the Lord had
spoken to him, and did what he was told. He
lived more for God, and stopped trying to change
the world around him. By living the way God had
asked and just walking with Him, the world
changed around him. The world saw the Fire of
Divine Love burning in him and could not deny
the works of God. So the world was changed by
Love in the end. The challenges confronting the
world today require a comprehensive and sound
knowledge of the truths of the faith. These
challenges also call for cultivating a mindset
that is confident in the profound harmony of
faith and reason, and prepared to bring the
richness of faith's vision to bear on the urgent
issues that confront modern society. We heard
the words St. Paul wrote to the Church of Rome.
"We know that all living things are groaning as
in the pains of childbirth, even until now"
(Rom. 8:22). The tears of the poor and the
suffering of the innocent affect each of us. The
anguish of the world makes our hearts ache for
the day "when we will take our place as the
children of God totally set free from our
bodies" (Rom. 8:23). We and all the members of
the human race long for that true freedom, which
is God's gift to all who are His children. It is
only in the power of the Holy Spirit that our
world will know genuine freedom, authentic
happiness, and the fulfillment of its deepest
aspirations.
Saint Paul speaks
of a kind of prayer which arises from the depths
of our hearts in sighs too deep for words, in "groanings"
(Rom 8:26) inspired by the Spirit. This is a
prayer that yearns for the fulfillment of God's
promises. It is a prayer of unfailing hope, but
also one of patient endurance. Through this
prayer, we share in the mystery of Christ's own
weakness and suffering, while trusting firmly in
the victory of his Cross. "For in this hope we
have already been saved" (Rom. 8:24). Those who
have hope must live different lives! (cf. Spe
Salvi, 2). Through the surpassing power of
Christ's grace, entrusted to us frail human
beings, the Church is constantly reborn and each
of us is given the hope of a new beginning. Let
us trust in the Spirit's power to inspire
conversion, to heal every wound, to overcome
every division, and to inspire new life and
freedom. May God send forth His spirit to
comfort and console us. May the Spirit counselor
strengthen us in hope. May the Paraclete give us
wisdom and courage to build up the kingdom until
the day of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
May the Lord send
forth His Spirit and grant you every good gift.
In Christ Jesus,
Father Jerome
The
Challenge of Gospel Living
April 25, 2008
Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist
1 Peter 5:5-14
Mark 16: 15-20
As we celebrate the feast of St. Mark, let us
reflect upon the meaning of the evangelical
life. What exactly is gospel living? I found
reflecting on rite of ordination of a deacon a
helpful answer that question. The Bishop hands
the Gospel Book to the newly ordained and says,
"Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you
have become. Believe what you read, teach what
you believe, and practice what you teach." The
Gospels were inspired by the Holy Spirit, the
same Spirit that made the waters pulse with
life, according the author of the Book of
Genesis. The Life-infusing Spirit guided and
directed the minds of the Evangelists so that
they rightly understood the message of salvation
and then the Spirit moved them to write it down.
The Breath of the Spirit was encapsulated in the
written text, to be released in the hearts and
minds of those who would read the inspired
words. The Psalmist proposes a verbal image of
the Spirit as it hovered over the great expanse
of the waters and made the heavens. "By the word
of the Lord the heavens were made and all their
starry host were born by the spirit [breath] of
his mouth" (Ps. 33:6). To live the Gospel means
to manifest the Spirit of God hovering over us
and making of us the New Creation.
The Lord Who speaks to us through the Words of
Scripture is the God Who called out to Abram.
"Go forth from your native land; leave your
kindred and depart from your father's house. Set
out for the land that I will show you" (Gen.
12:1). Gospel living challenges us to separate
ourselves from our native land and all its
enticements. As we follow in the footsteps of
the Master, we are called to leave behind the
comforts of family and friends. As the Children
of God we are to address the Creator of the
Universe as Our Father. Like Abraham, we must
detach ourselves from all that we hold dear and
valuable because "we are citizens of heaven and
it is from heaven that we eagerly await the
return of our savior Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20).
We are to live in this passing world with our
hearts fixed on the world that will never end.
Gospel living obliges us to avoid the
shallowness of secular society and plumb the
depth of divine love. Recall how Jesus told
Peter, "Put out into the deep water and lower
your nets" (Lk. 5:4). The Evangelical Life
demands more of us than merely sitting in a boat
and floating on the surface of the sea of life.
It is not enough for us to say that we are
Catholics. We must also let down our nets so as
to mine the depths of the mercy of God. We must
be totally transformed by the Word that has been
planted in the depths of our souls. Because we
know that the Lord cares for us, we can
confidently cast all our cares upon him (Cf. 1
Pet. 5:7). We have reason to trust that when we
bow in submission to the power of God He will
raise us up with His mighty outstretched arm
(Cf. 1 Pet. 5:6). Only in God's loving embrace
can we be set free from sin and guilt. Only
there, close to the heart of God, can we hope to
grow in virtue.
This is where things start getting challenging.
Just when we think we have done enough, the
Eternal Word says, "Go deeper!" Over the years
we have grown so accustomed to the weight of our
cares and concerns that we can't imagine what
life would be like without them. Actually, the
thought of being free of them frightens us. Let
us turn our attention to the words of Jesus to
Jairus. "Do not be afraid; just have faith" (Lk.
8:50). It takes courage to live the Gospel life,
to have faith. G.K. Chesterton penned this
insight into courage.
"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It
means a strong desire to live taking the form of
a readiness to die. ‘He that will lose his life,
the same shall save it,’ is not a piece of
mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece
of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers.
It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a
drill book. The paradox is the whole principle
of courage; even of quite earthly or quite
brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may
save his life if he will risk it on the
precipice. He can only get away from death by
continually stepping within an inch of it. A
soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut
his way out, needs to combine a strong desire
for living with a strange carelessness about
dying. He must not merely cling to live, for
then he will be a coward, and will not escape.
He must not merely wait for death, for then he
will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must
seek his life in a spirit of furious
indifference to it; he must desire life like
water and yet drink death like wine" (G.K.
Chesterton).
Is it any wonder that Jesus' farewell gift to
His disciples was peace? "I am leaving you a
gift - peace of mind and heart. My peace is not
like the peace the world gives. Therefore, do
not let your hearts be troubled. Don't give in
to fear" (Jn. 14:27). Christ has called us, not
only to welcome the Kingdom of God into our own
lives, but also to put our lives at its service,
leaving everything behind and closely imitating
his own way of life. Let us turn to Jesus! He
alone is the way that leads to eternal
happiness, the truth who satisfies the deepest
longings of every heart, and the life who brings
ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world.
May the Lord be with you today and all the days
of your life,
Father Jerome
Made to Be
Fueled by God
April 16, 2008
Wednesday of the
4th Week of Easter
Acts 12: 24- 13:
5
John 12: 44-50
Throughout the
Paschal season we have been reminded of the
saving power of God's love and mercy. Each
Sunday, we renew our baptism, recalling how
through water and the Holy Spirit we were
grafted into Christ and made members of His
Body, the Church. Recall these words taken from
the Letter to the Galatians, "Every one of you
that has been baptized into Christ have put on
Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Not only have we put on
Christ, but in a very real way God has also
clothed Himself with us, uniting us to Himself
by an indissoluble bond. Recall these words
taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. "They were
looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called
their God. Actually, it was God who prepared the
city for them to dwell in" (Heb. 11:16). In his
book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis put it rather
well when he wrote, "God made us, invented us as
a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on
gasoline, and it would not run properly on
anything else. Now God designed the human
machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the
fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the
food our spirits were designed to feed on. There
is no other. That is why it is just no good
asking God to make us happy in our own way
without bothering about religion. God cannot
give us a happiness and peace apart from
Himself, because it is not there. There is no
such thing" (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity [New
York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Paperbacks
Edition, Nineteenth Printing 1975)] pp. 53-54).
We have been made
by God and for God. We are to live in a manner
proper to our redeemed nature as Children of
God. The author of the Letter to the Philippians
put it this way: "I don't mean to say that I
have already achieved these things or that I
have already reached perfection. However, I am
striving to take hold of that for which Christ
Jesus took hold of me" (Phil. 3:12). When Jesus
was crucified, He stretched out His arms to take
hold of and to draw to Himself all those whom
His Father loves. The scandal of the Cross gave
rise to the first fruits of the new creation.
The weakness of God gave us strength. The death
of God gave us eternal life. Christ died for our
sins and He rose for our justification. The open
tomb has become our gateway to everlasting life.
Where Jesus has gone we hope to follow. Through
His wounds our wounded nature has been healed
and through His confinement to the land of the
dead we have been set free from guilt and sin.
While we are not fully transformed, we keep our
eyes on the kingdom that will never end. Through
the sacraments of initiation we have inhaled the
breath of eternal life. With the ears of our
hearts, we can hear the Word of Divine Love and
with the assistance of grace we can conform our
lives to the wisdom of Christ's teaching. With
our lips we can announce the Words of
Everlasting life. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit we will be able to hold fast to the One
who has first grasped us. In that loving
embrace, we hope to be guided to the Mercy Seat
of the Father. When we were baptized into the
Christ our names were inscribed in the Book of
Life. "Let whoever has ears listen to what the
Spirit is saying to the Churches. To those who
prove victorious I will give a portion of the
hidden manna. I will also give a white stone
upon which will be inscribed a new name that is
known only by the one who receives it" (Rev.
2:17).
The stone on
which we find our true name is Christ. Recall
these words taken from the first Letter to the
Corinthians: "All of them drank the same
spiritual drink, for they all drank of the
spiritual Rock that followed them and the Rock
was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4). This image is
beautifully expressed in the forty-ninth chapter
of the book of the Prophet Isaiah, "Can a woman
forget the baby at her breast or feel no pity
for the child she carried in her womb? Even if
these were to forget, I will never forget you.
Look, I have engraved your name on the palm of
my hand" (Is. 49: 14-16). We have all eaten of
the same Spiritual Bread and the Bread is
Christ, Who said, "I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never hunger and
whoever believes in me will never thirst" (Jn.
6:35). Faith tells us to look beyond the
physical elements we see for through them we
encounter the living God. While we hold in our
hands a piece of bread we are being grasped by
Christ. As we gaze upon the Sacred Cup, we see
therein the Blood of Him Who gazes at us and
loves us. We will hold in our hands the very
Lord who has our names engraved on His hands.
May He truly be the Light for our path and the
Food for our journey. May He sustain our souls
until we safely reach our heavenly homeland.
May the Lord be
with you today and all the days of your life,
Father Jerome
Accepting
Correction
Tuesday of the
3rd Week of Easter (April 8, 2008)
Acts 7:51- 8:1
John 6: 30-35
As I considered
the readings for this afternoon's liturgy, I
found myself identifying with the members of the
Temple authorities in Acts. As painful as it is
to admit, words like "stubborn," or having an
"uncircumcised heart," or "resisting the Holy
Spirit" seem to describe the attitude of my soul
at times. I suspect that some of you can relate.
This is where the rub comes in. None of us likes
being told that we are hardhearted or stubborn,
no matter how true the observation. Whenever
stinging words of criticism are uttered, someone
or something has to die. We have a choice as to
which it will be: either we will choose to snuff
out/silence the messenger; or we will put to
death some part of our ego. Moments of fraternal
correction are moments of grace and redemption
if we cooperate with them.
Our egos can play
tricks with us, as we well know. Even when we
know the correction offered is true, we want to
protect ourselves from any assault. Like the
authorities in the Synagogue at Capernaum we
want to check the credentials of the one who is
objecting to our behavior. "What sign will you
do, that will make [me] believe you?" All the
while thinking we are being cute in silencing
our opponent. Actually, we are only hindering
the movements of grace and frustrating our
spiritual growth. I will close this short
reflection with a prayer attributed to St.
Augustine. Please close your eyes and open your
hearts to the words of this noble saint.
I beg of You, my
God,
let me know You
and love You
so that I may be
happy in You.
And though I
cannot do this fully in this life,
yet let me
improve from day to day
until I may do so
to the full.
Let me know You
more and more in this life,
that I may know
You perfectly in heaven.
Let me know You
more and more here,
so that I may
love you perfectly there,
so that my joy
may be great in itself here,
and complete in
heaven with You.
O Truthful God,
let me receive
the happiness of heaven
which You promise
so that my joy may be full.
In the meantime,
let my mind think
of it,
let my tongue
talk of it,
let my heart long
for it,
let my mouth
speak of it,
let my soul
hunger after it,
let my flesh
thirst after it,
let my whole
being desire it,
until such time
as I may enter through death into the joy of my
Lord,
there to continue
forever, world without end. Amen.
May the peace of
the Risen Lord be with you all,
Father Jerome
Machar
What Christ
Conquered
March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday
Acts 10: 34, 37-43
Colossians 3: 1-4
Or
1 Corinthians 5: 6-8
John 20: 1-9
Today we stand in the light of the Paschal
Candle to celebrate Christ's victory over sin
and death. Through the observance of Holy Week
we accompanied our Savior from the triumphal
entry into Jerusalem to the entombment of His
lifeless, tortured body. We watched as the
anointing oil was poured on His head and ran
down His beard until it soaked into the collar
of His robe. Then we stood idly by as the
playful soldiers pressed the crown of thorns
into His scalp. We were in the Upper Room where
Jesus blessed and broke the bread that He had
changed into His Sacred Body. The next day, we
stood outside the praetorium as the Romans tied
Him to the pillar with the intention of breaking
Him under the lash. Alongside with the
disciples, we drank from the Cup of Salvation
that Jesus had poured and blessed. Then we stood
beneath the cross in the shadows as the soldier
thrust the lance into His side and opened the
fountain of love and mercy. We watched and
prayed outside the garden as Jesus underwent His
agony. Then, last night we kept sacred vigil in
the garden, watching and waiting for the Morning
Star to rise from the tomb.
During those long hours of sadness and grief,
while the body of the Lord of Life was confined
within the tomb, He Who is Light from Light
descended into the depths of death and darkness.
There, in the land of the shades, life and death
engaged in mortal combat. There, the Giver of
Life put to death the power of death by dying
once for all. Christ vanquished hell by entering
it. Today, the universe was shaken to its very
foundations. The Light from Light dispelled the
darkness that had tried to overpower Him. St.
John Chrysostom put it this way:
Hades was in turmoil having been eclipsed.
Hades was in turmoil having been mocked.
Hades was in turmoil having been destroyed.
Hades was in turmoil having been abolished.
Hades was in turmoil having been made captive.
Hades grasped a dead body, and encountered God.
Hades seized earth, and encountered heaven.
Hades took what it saw, and was pillaged by what
it did not see.
Today, we stand in amazement as we peer into the
empty tomb. Like Mary Magdalen and the other
women, who came to anoint the body of the
Crucified One, like the Apostles Peter and John
who came running at the word of the women, all
Christians bow before the tomb in which Jesus'
body had been placed after His crucifixion. The
time for tears and sadness is ended. As we hear
in the Sequence for Easter: "Death and life have
contended in that stupendous combat: The Prince
of life, who died, reigns immortal." The Lamb
that was slain has transformed the instrument of
death into the Pathway to Life.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus has become
the life of all who had died. In His meekness,
Christ has humbled Satan's pride. In His
humility, Christ has destroyed the tyranny of
death. The grave had closed its mouth on the
dead body of the Savior only to be burst asunder
by the living God. Christ descended into the
realms of darkness and death and called out to
all those who had been held captive: "Awake, O
sleeper, and rise from the dead, and [I] will
give you light". The Father has made Him who
handed Himself over to death the Lord and giver
of eternal life. Yes, life and death were locked
in combat and Life and Love were victorious. In
Jesus all is once again oriented to life -
everlasting life.
Through Baptism we have been united to Christ in
His death and resurrection. If we have been
raised with Christ, let us seek what He seeks:
to bring about the glorious reign of His Father.
With the weapons of love, God defeated sin and
death. The Eternal Son, who emptied himself to
become the obedient servant to the point of
dying on the Cross (cf. Phil 2:7-8), has
conquered evil at its roots. By so doing He has
laid open the path of return to the Father.
Jesus is the Gate of Life who this day has burst
the gates of hell. He is the Door of salvation,
opened wide for all, the Door of divine mercy,
who sheds the light of glory on the human race.
The Risen Christ is the path of hope along which
we can advance towards a world that is more just
and mutually supportive, in which the blind
egoism of the few will no longer prevail over
the desperate cries of the many. Recall the
words of St. Paul. "Therefore let us keep the
Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of
malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8).
Since we have died and been buried with Christ,
our life is hidden with Christ in God (Cf. Col.
3:3). May the mystery of Christ's victory soften
the hardness of our hearts so that we might see
all men and women as God sees them. It is the
Father's desire that we enter into the glory of
His risen Son. The whole of creation is filled
with the splendor of the Resurrection because
"the brightness of the eternal King has
vanquished the darkness of the world" (Easter
Proclamation). Gathered around the Table of the
Lord, may we enter into the joy of the Kingdom
and enjoy the bounty of the Lord's goodness. The
victory of Christ gives us courage to build
pathways of reconciliation with God and with one
another. Today there is no need for feelings of
guilt or resentment because forgiveness has
risen from the grave. May the joy of today's
feast resonate in every Christian heart, and let
the message be heard from East to West:
Christ is risen!
Because Christ is risen Satan is defeated.
Because Christ is risen all creatures in heaven
and on earth rejoice.
Because Christ is risen the human race has been
redeemed.
To Christ, the risen Lord, be glory, honor and
power forever and ever. Amen!
Indeed, He is risen! Alleluia
Peace and blessings upon all,
Father Jerome
Surrender to God
March 10, 2008
Monday of 5th
week of Lent
Daniel 13: 1-9,
15-17, 19-30, 33-62
John 8: 1-11
In a
world of sham pretence and cosmetic appearance,
we have to be vigilant. Since the information we
get through the media is often superficial,
incomplete or misleading, we have to resist the
temptation to jump to quick and unfounded
conclusions. Because what we read is not always
accurate, we must be willing to reserve judgment
until the whole truth comes to light - I know
this will make for boring conversations! This
demands an interior conversion to the love of
God, so that we might come to know the Truth Who
alone can set us free. We must be willing to
conform ourselves to Christ Who died so that we
might live as heirs of the Kingdom of the Father
in Whom there is no falsehood. This sacred
season of Lent challenges us to be open to the
truth. Anyone who refuses to accept this
challenge runs the risk of closing in on himself
or herself. The danger of such self-absorption
is demonstrated in the story of the two judges
who sought to destroy Susanna because she
refused to surrender to their seductive
advances. Prayer, fasting and the other
disciplines of Lent are guarantees of openness
to others. Those who free themselves for God and
the fulfillment of His will, open themselves to
others, to the brothers and sisters who knock at
the door of their hearts and ask to be heard,
ask for attention, for forgiveness, and
sometimes for fraternal correction.
Do we
allow ourselves to burn with the fire of
uncontrolled passion or are we consumed by the
fire of divine love? When we sublimate our baser
drives and act out of love of God, we manifest
the truth of our being: we have been created not
for ourselves but for God and our brothers and
sisters (cf. 2 Cor 5, 15). Every time when, for
love of God, we show compassion for our neighbor
in need, we discover that the fullness of life
comes from love and all is returned to us as a
blessing in the form of peace, inner
satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven
rewards every charitable act with His joy. What
is more: Saint Peter includes among the
spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness
of sins: "Charity," he writes, "covers a
multitude of sins" (1 Pt 4:8). As the Lenten
liturgy frequently suggests, God offers sinners
the possibility of being forgiven. The act of
sharing with the poor what we possess disposes
us to receive the gift of reconciliation and
forgiveness. I feel compelled to focus my
attention on those who are overwhelmed by the
burden of sins they have committed and feel far
from God. Even though your sins are great, do
not be fearful; never despair of God's mercy and
love for you. Recall the words of God recorded
in the Book of the prophet Isaiah. "Though your
sins are like scarlet. They shall be made white
as snow. Though you be stained red as crimson, I
shall make you as white as wool" (Is. 1:18). By
reaching out to others through almsgiving, we
can draw closer to God. Acts of charity can
become the instruments for authentic conversion
and reconciliation with the Lord and with our
brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Conversion is above all a grace. It is a gift
that opens the human heart to God's infinite
love. Because of His loving kindness and
merciful love God anticipates our desire for
conversion and supports our efforts toward full
adherence to his saving will. Indeed, the sole
delight that fills the human heart is the one
that comes from being loved by God. Conversion,
therefore, means listening to the words of Jesus
and surrendering to His grace. "I do not condemn
you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more"
(Jn. 8:11). If The Lord forgives us, who can
condemn us; it is God who knows the deepest
longings of the human heart (Cf. 1 Jn 3:20). Let
us surrender to the love of God and allow Christ
to take possession of our hearts. During these
last days of Lent let us humbly repent of our
sins and conform our lives to the teaching of
the Master. Straining to claim the prize, let us
return with Christ to the Father. Allow me to
close with a few lines from an oasis song:
Lord, you have
come to the seashore,
Neither searching
for the rich nor the wise,
Desiring only
that I should follow.
O Lord, with your
eyes set upon me,
Gently smiling,
you have spoken my name,
All I longed for
I have found by the water,
At your side, I
will seek other shores.
(John Paul II,
Rise, let us be on our way, page 100)
May the Lord be
your food for the journey through Lent.
Peace and
blessings upon all,
Father Jerome
Machar, OSCO
The Fight
Against Evil
Saturday of 2nd week of Lent
Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20
Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
The season of Lent is a time of particular
commitment in the spiritual combat that pits us
against the evil present in the world, in each
one of us and that surrounds us. Throughout
these sacred days we are exhorted to look evil
in the face and dispose ourselves to fight
against its effects; more than that we are to
contend against all its causes, right up to its
ultimate cause -- Satan. We are not at liberty
to excuse ourselves from the task by unloading
the problem of evil onto others, onto society,
not even onto God. By undertaking the
disciplines of Lent we endeavor to recognize our
own responsibility for the wrong that we do and
consciously take it upon ourselves. Tim Madigan
made this observation when he received a coveted
award in journalism. "We're journalists; we're
not stenographers. We have the duty to let our
outrage show through when we come across
injustice. We need to let our compassion show
through for other people's suffering. And we
need to let our awe show through at the glory of
life. We have as much responsibility to
celebrate life and the goodness of it as we do
to root out evil" (I'm Proud of You, pg. 72).
As Disciples of Christ we are
obliged to celebrate life in all its forms and
give thanks to God for all the goodness of it.
We are stewards or administrators of the goods
of the earth. Wealth and worldly goods are not
our exclusive possession. They are given to us
as a sacred trust. We may not be able to do away
with poverty; however, we can come to the aid of
the poor people Providence brings to our doors
or into our lives. The words of Saint John take
on the tone of a ringing rebuke: "How can God's
love abide in a person who has the world's goods
and sees a brother or sister in need and yet
refuses to help?" (1Jn 3:17). Our responsibility
toward those who suffer poverty and abandonment
is a duty of justice and not simply an act of
charity. With the prophet we call upon the Lord,
"Dear God, come and care for your people. With a
shepherd's crook lead your flock to green
pastures" (Mic. 7:14). Having uttered this
prayer, we must then act in the name of the Good
Shepherd. Not only are we to pray for the poor,
we are also to care for them. The disciple is to
be concerned with God's greater glory. Jesus
warns: "In this way, let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good works and
give glory to your Father in heaven" (Mt 5,16).
Everything is to be done for God's glory and not
our own. This understanding must accompany every
gesture of help to our neighbor. If, in
accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our
goal God's glory and the real well being of our
brothers and sisters, looking rather for a
return of personal interest, we place ourselves
outside of the Gospel vision.
Lent, precisely because it invites
people to prayer, penance and fasting,
represents a providential moment to revive and
strengthen our hope. Prayer is the primary and
foremost weapon with which to face the struggle
against evil. Without the element of prayer, the
human 'I' ends up by closing in on itself and
the conscience, which should be the echo of the
voice of God, risks being reduced to a mirror of
the self. In the same way, interior dialogue
becomes a monologue that gives rise to many
forms of self-justification. Like the
self-righteous brother in the parable, we choose
to go hungry rather than sit at table with our
repentant brothers and sisters. Languishing for
lack of love, the first-born failed to recognize
his brother and rejected the love of the father.
In a word, like Esau, he gave up his
birthright. It is love that forms and holds
together our deepest and most lasting identity.
It is love that unites us to one another. It is
love that resists the drift into what in the end
fails and crumbles. God holds us in his love and
fortifies us with His grace. The call to be
totally devoted and attached to God heart and
soul, far from being a call for a mere emotion
or a mood, is in fact an injunction requiring
all-embracing, constant and active love of God.
The invitation to repent is therefore a spur to
return to the arms of God, our loving and
merciful Father, to trust him, to entrust
ourselves to him like adopted children, brought
to the newness of life in Christ.
May the Lord be your food for the journey
through Lent.
Peace and blessings upon all,
Father Jerome
Self-emptying of
Lent
Thursday of 1st
week of Lent
Esther c, 12,
14-16, 23-25
Mathew 7: 7-12
The
holy season of Lent affords us an opportunity to
deepen our commitment to living the Gospel. The
disciplines of Lent are intended to free us to
ponder the mysteries of the faith that we were
taught since the days of our youth, especially:
"God had such a great love for the world that He
gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who
believed in Him would not perish but enjoy
eternal life" (Jn. 3: 16). Throughout these
sacred days we can plumb the depths of God's
merciful love. The purpose of fasting and bodily
mortification is to draw us into an experience
of the poverty of our being. In this evening's
first reading we heard how "Queen Esther was
seized with mortal anguish and in that weakened
state she cried out to the Lord" (Esther C: 12).
In order to unite herself to the pain and
anguish of her people, Esther undertook a period
of fasting and prayer. In an age that revels in
the notion of entitlement and demands instant
sensual gratification, it might be good to
ponder the message this great queen received
from her uncle Mordecai before beginning her
fast. "Do not suppose that, because you are in
the king's palace, you are going to be the one
Jew to escape. No; if you persist in remaining
silent at such a time, relief and deliverance
will come to the Jews from another quarter, but
both you and your father's whole family will
perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to the
throne for just such a time as this" (Esther
4:13-14).
Throughout the days of Lent, holy mother, the
Church encourages us to lay aside our presumed
entitlements. We are instructed to postpone
sensual gratification and take up the various
disciplines that can bring about interior
renewal: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Only by
allowing ourselves to be hungry and by slowing
or interrupting the flow of input to our minds
can we hope to get in touch with our core
poverty. It is important that we strip off all
our accumulated creature comforts. It is
necessary that we reduce the amount of sensory
stimulation we enjoy. Only then will we be able
to hear the cries of the poor and forgotten.
Through self-denial and spiritual austerity we
will be able to live in the freedom that comes
with the obedience of faith. "Taking off her
splendid garments, she put on garments of
distress and mourning. In place of her precious
ointments she covered her head with dust and
ashes" (Esther C: 13). Esther laid aside all the
pomp of her royal rank and donned sackcloth and
ashes, tangible signs of her mortal plight. All
her hopes and joys were reduced to a heap of
ashes. Her weakness made her strong in faith.
Her emptiness made her receptive to the awesome
wonder of God's saving power.
Let us pray: O
Lord, you alone are God. Do not abandon us. Hold
us close to Your heart so that we may live this
day in tranquility and peace. Deliver us from
all bondage of Ego so that we might better do
your will without stumbling and without stain.
Let us see Your face in times of distress. Save
us from the attacks of the evil one because of
your boundless and ever-faithful love. Bring us
to the eventide of our lives victorious over all
temptation so that we may praise you, the
Eternal God who governs all things, forever and
ever. Amen.
May we look
forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual
longing. (RB 49.7)
Father Jerome
Myself, My Enemy
Friday of the 3rd week of Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 11: 1-4, 5-10, 13-17
Mark 4: 26-34
Qoheleth penned these familiar lines. "There is an
appointed time for everything, and a time for
every affair under the heavens: a time to be
born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a
time to uproot the plant; a time to kill, and a
time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to
rebuild; a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a
time to lament, and a time to dance; a time to
scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a
time to embrace, and a time to shun embraces; a
time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to
keep, and a time to throw away; a time to rip,
and a time to mend; a time to be silent, and a
time to talk; a time to love, and a time to
hate; a time to wage war, and a time to make
peace" (Qo. 3:1-8). The object of the spiritual
journey is to become aware of the seasons of the
soul. Four years before his death, Saint
Augustine spoke these words to the people of his
diocese. "We are all mortal, but no individual
can be sure of his last day in this life. In any
case, in childhood we hope to reach adolescence,
in adolescence we aspire toward adulthood, in
adulthood toward middle age and in middle age we
look to reaching old age. We are never sure we
will get there, but that is our hope. Old age,
however, is not followed by another stage of
life toward which we can aspire; its duration is
unknown. I arrived in this city in the vigor of
my life, but now my youth has gone and I am an
old man" (Ep. 213,1).
The author of the Second Book of Samuel notes that the time
for fighting had come and King David found
himself embroiled in a struggle of another sort.
The enemy that he grappled with was his youthful
desires and unchecked passions. David learned
that the military enemy was more predictable
than the spiritual one that besieged his heart
and soul. David betrayed the trust of a man who
was faithful to him and then to conceal his sin
brought about the death of that innocent man.
During this time of combat, the great king did
not know his real adversary and consequently he
brought about the death of a man whose only
crime was that he remained faithful to the vows
he made to the Lord. Remember the words God
addressed to Cain. "Why are you so resentful and
crestfallen? If your heart is pure, you can hold
up your head; but if not, sin is a demon
crouching at the door: his urge is toward you,
yet you can be his master" (Gen 4:6-7). In a few
days we will be entering into the sacred season
of Lent, a time for us to plant the seeds of
virtue and to uproot the plant of sin from our
lives.
During the days of Lent we will be afforded the leisure of
pondering our lives and considering who we are.
Like the king, we will find ourselves to be
hostages of our passions. Often we act before we
even think about what we are doing. The next
thing we know, life has started controlling us
and we begin to sink deeper and deeper into
hopelessness and despair. We are afforded the
season of Lent to assess how deep into the
quagmire we have sunk. In order to be set free
we must first admit that we are trapped. Though
we are in chains, Christ can set us free. Though
we have grown old in sin, Christ is ever young.
Saint Augustine preached these words to the
congregation that filled his cathedral. "Don't
refuse to be young again united with Christ,
even in an old world. He tells you: Do not fear,
your youth will be renewed like the eagle's
youth" (cf. Serm. 81,8). In the days that lay
ahead let us entrust ourselves to the living
Christ and find in Him the way to life. Julian
of Norwich shares this insight. "Sin is
necessary, but all will be well, and all will be
well, and every kind of thing will be well. In
this naked word 'sin', our Lord brought
generally to my mind all which is not good, and
the shameful contempt and the direct tribulation
which he endured for us in this life, and his
death and all his pains, and the passions,
spiritual and bodily, of all his creatures . . .
and yet this was shown to me in an instant and
it quickly turned into consolation" (Showings
(long text)). May the Lord free us from all of
our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
May the Lord bless and keep you all the days of your life.
In His name,
Father Jerome
Being a
Witness to Christ
Second Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 1:
1-3
John 1: 29-34
The Christmas
candles have burned themselves out and the last
pine needle has been swept from the carpet. This
year's yuletide celebrations are little more
than a memory. At the beginning of Ordinary
Time, it would be good for us to take a few
minutes to reflect on the season just ended.
What exactly was all the fuss about? Throughout
all the hustle and bustle, what were we
commemorating? In the First Letter to the Church
of Corinth St. Paul wrote, we "have been
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours"
(Cf. 1 Cor. 1:1). Through the mystery of the
Incarnation, the Word of God that has been
uttered from all eternity came into the world to
be our advocate, our guide and our redeemer.
When the Son of God took flesh and became the
Son of the ever-virgin Mary, the Holy One of
Israel Who dwells in unapproachable light became
visible and tangible. Through Jesus of Nazareth,
the Creator of the Universe has come close to
His people, to all people. When God became a
man, the long-awaited hope of Israel was
fulfilled. God the Father has called each of us
by name, making us sons and daughters in the
Son. When the Son stretched out His arms between
heaven and earth in the everlasting sign of the
New Covenant, we were ransomed from darkness and
death and brought into the Kingdom of Light and
Life. Because of His great love and compassion
God chose to restore humankind to its original
dignity. Listen to these words taken from the
Book of the Prophet Isaiah. "You are my servant.
In you will I manifest my glory" (Is. 49:3).
Through the
obedience of the second Adam the disobedience of
the first Adam has been undone and we who were
born in sin have been made righteous in the
Father's sight. God who created the human race
from the dust of the earth has recreated us from
the lanced side of His beloved Son Whom He
raised from the dead. Because the Only-begotten
Son became our brother, we have been called to
be holy; holy as the Father Himself is holy.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism we have become
disciples of Him who gave His life for us as an
acceptable sacrifice to the Father. In the
beloved Son, we are called to love as we are
loved. The knowledge that we have been blessed
in the loving kindness of God the Father gives
us a sense of confidence and awe. In the risen
and glorified Son we have been predestined for
an enduring and unchangeable glory. I am
reminded of a verse found in the First Letter of
St. Peter. "Without seeing Him you love Him.
Even though you have never seen Him, you believe
in Him and you rejoice with an inexpressible joy
that has been touched with glory" (1 Pet. 1:8).
God Who formed us in our mothers' wombs has made
us heirs of the Kingdom in the Son. Having been
so gifted, we should cultivate the habit of
righteousness according to the faith and love of
Christ.
Through the
sacraments of initiation - Baptism, Confirmation
and Eucharist - we have been grafted into Christ
and united to one another in the bond of love.
Called together by the Word and united in the
Sacrament of the Eucharist, we join our hearts
and voices in praising the God and Father of us
all. In the unity of faith and the bond of
harmonious love, Jesus Christ is sung and the
Father is glorified. Despite all the wonder and
bliss suggested by that last sentence, we should
pause here for a moment. The truth of our
situation is that we are not always living in
harmony. Actually, we frequently look for
excuses to isolate ourselves from one another.
We harbor resentment against the Bishop or we
choose to ignore the Magisterium of the Church.
Whenever we do these things, we are not living
in accordance with God's will for us and we
cease to live in the bond of love that unites us
to Christ. Such a thought might make you feel
uncomfortable - it should. Humbly admitting that
we don't always get it might even cause us to
squirm. However, it is comforting to hear John
the Baptist admit that even though he was sent
to be a witness to Christ, he did not recognize
Him at first. "I had no knowledge who he was,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water to
me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit descend and
remain, he is the one who will baptize with the
Holy Spirit'" (Jn. 1:33). St. Matthew suggests
that John wrestled with doubt even as he awaited
execution. "Are you the one who is to come or
should we look for another?" (Mat. 11:3)
To those who
admit their doubt and confusion God grants the
light of faith. In our darkness, Jesus can
become the Light of the Nations. In our
sinfulness, the Lord Jesus becomes the Lamb of
God who takes away our sins. We cannot come to
full knowledge of Christ by our own efforts --
not the kind of knowledge that leads to
recognition, faith and discipleship. We come to
know "the Son of God" by revelation from God, as
did John. He saw the Spirit descend on Jesus
like a dove and he heard the voice of the One
who sent him to testify to Jesus. John saw,
heard and responded to the gift he was given by
bearing witness to Christ. While we may not get
voices from heaven to point out Jesus' presence
in the world, we have known individuals who bear
witness to their faith and who lead us to
Christ. Like John the Baptist, our faith starts
with a gift from God, but that gift comes
through very ordinary witnesses. When we have
received this revelation we are then called to
give witness to what we have seen and heard. A
friend sent me these few lines written by
Abraham Joshua Heschel.
If a poet and a
pious man
Should confer and
exchange views,
The poet would
say:
"All he lives, I
say";
And the pious man
would know:
"All he says, I
live."
May the good Lord
bless and keep you.
In His name,
Father Jerome
Allowing Ourselves to be Moved by Love
Tuesday after
Epiphany
1 John 4: 7-10
Mark 6: 34-44
We
have been created to love God and to love our
neighbor. You might say love is a part of our
nature as it came from the hands of God. We have
been created in the image and likeness of God
and God is love. This being so, a person who
refuses to love is acting contrary to his/her
nature, is not being human. As we heard from the
First Letter of St. John, "Beloved, let us love
one another, because love is of God, and
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows
God" (1 Jn. 4:7). Here is something to keep in
mind, especially when imaging a "perfect" world.
There will always be suffering crying out for
assistance and consolation. There will always be
loneliness needing companionship. There will
always be hunger and poverty demanding
charitable outreach. However, there can be no
toleration of a poverty that denies an
individual what is needed for a dignified life.
We must fight the temptation of letting some
government agency take care of all these needs.
In his encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope
Benedict wrote: "The State that would provide
everything, absorbing everything into itself,
would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy
incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which
the suffering person -- every person -- needs:
namely, loving personal concern. We do not need
a State that regulates and controls everything,
but a State which, in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity, generously
acknowledges and supports initiatives arising
from the different social forces and combines
spontaneity with closeness to those in need"
(#17).
All
who have been baptized into Christ have been
grafted into His Body, the Church. The Body of
Christ is alive with the love enkindled by the
Holy Spirit. The Church continues the ministry
of Christ who did not simply offer people
material help. He reconciled them to His Father
and forgave their sins. Because He offered them
the one thing that really mattered He enabled
them to become fully human. They could once
again live in the freedom that was theirs as the
beloved Children of God. Through the mystery of
the Incarnation God came into the world to seek
out, find and bring home His wandering sheep.
The hidden God came out of the realms of
inapproachable light and manifested the depths
of His loving kindness. When the Word became
Flesh, the Father made all things new. Do we
have time and space for God? Do we allow Him to
give us hearts that can be moved with pity?
Wherever
people receive Christ there grows silently a new
spiritual dwelling place, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of God. As we
recognize the darkness of the closed world in
which we live, the mystery of the Incarnation
tells us that God does not allow himself to be
kept out. He comes to us in the Barque of Peter
and shows us how to care for one another. All
those who have come to know His love are
commanded to love others as they have been
loved. Through the word of the Gospel, God
speaks to us, and in the sacred liturgy the
light of Christ enlightens our lives. The light
of the world and His message call us to
surrender the narrow circle of our desires and
interests and make His dream for the world our
own. Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of
God, is first and foremost a responsibility for
each Christian. We show that we have responded
to His call by opening the world to truth, to
good, to Christ, to the service of those who are
marginalized and in whom He awaits us. All
people who allow themselves to touch God's heart
are drawn to Christ's love, thereby becoming one
body with him and forming a new humanity. Those
who place their will in his become the City of
God and make the world radiant with glory that
shines on the face of Christ. To Him be praise,
honor and worship both now and forever. Amen.
May God bless
and keep you throughout the New Year,
Father Jerome
Machar, OCSO
Abbey of the
Genesee
-------------------------------------
Love Made Tangible
Fifth day in the
Octave of Christmas
1 John 2: 3-11
Luke 2: 22-35
In a meditation
for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, Ephraim the Syrian wrote:
"On this day in which He who was Rich became
poor for our sakes, let those who are rich
invite those who are poor to sit with them at
table to partake of a sumptuous banquet. On this
day a priceless and precious gift was given to
us, even though we had not even thought of
asking for it. Let us be prodigal in our giving
to all who cry out to us in their time of need."
When the Eternal Word of the Father took flesh
in the womb of the ever-virgin Mary, He became
the Sacrament of encounter with the Living God
for all who would receive Him. In Christ, God's
love became tangible. Out of the depths of His
compassionate love, the only-begotten Son
humbled Himself so that the children of Adam and
Eve might be raised up in glory. The
outstretched hands of the infant-savior offer us
the undeserved gift of divine mercy and grace.
The immortal God
who took to himself our mortal human nature has
given us access to His divine nature. Throughout
this holy season we recall how the Father of
Lights sent forth His Son into the gloom and
darkness of our world to make us children of the
Light. The victory of light over darkness, of
life over death, was foretold by the Creator of
the Universe at the beginning of time. Today,
God Who is ever faithful and true is offering us
the gift of His Beloved Son. Our ability to come
to Christ is a result of the sovereign work of
the Holy Spirit to open our blind eyes to the
nearness of God and to regenerate our stony
hearts so that we warmly embrace the Christ
child.
The tranquil
scene of the manger awakens in us many memories
and sentiments. As we look at the child and His
parents, Mary looks at us and says, "Don't be
afraid. Take Him into your arms. Look into the
eyes of God." As we bow low and reach into the
crib to pick up the baby, we are reminded of the
words St. Paul wrote to Timothy. "Here is a
saying you can depend on and deserves full
acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Tim.
1:15). As we gaze into the eyes of our newborn
savior we find ourselves swimming in deep pools
of divine mercy. As we cradle His little body in
our arms we feel the consolation of being
nestled against the heart of God.
Scripture tells
us that Simeon was a just and devout man. He
devoted his life to watching and waiting for the
promised consolation of his people. In the
muffled cry of Mary's nursing infant Simeon
heard the voice of God. Responding to the voice
he heard with the ears of his heart he welcomed
the entry of God into His Temple. When the old
man entered the Temple, the Lord of the Temple
had already pitched His tent in Simeon's heart.
All the while he sought God in faith and
devotion God was seeking him in love and
compassion. This noble old man had been touched
by God and empowered to announce the long
awaited arrival of Wisdom, the Sun of Justice,
and God-With-Us. During this season as we turn
our thoughts to the mystery of the incarnation,
may we be open to the action of God's mercy and
surrender our lives to His love and will. May
the newborn savior grant us grace upon grace to
run on the path of God's commandments until our
hearts overflow with the inexpressible delight
of love.
May God bless and
keep you,
Father Jerome
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The Birth of the Savior: Vigil Mass of Christmas
Isaiah 62: 1-5
Acts 13: 16-17,
22-25
Matthew 1: 1-25
This
evening we heard a reading from the book of the
Prophet Isaiah. This man of God was sent to
announce words of comfort and healing to a world
that had grown tired, weak and old. Isaiah
called out to the people who had wandered so far
from God that they were no longer irrigated by
currents of heavenly grace or fertilized by the
living Word. This prophet entered the Lord's
vineyard, which had become a stagnant pool. God
sent him to sing again the song of salvation to
the people who had once danced before the pillar
of divine light but now were tormented by
phantoms of the darkness and death. He was
ordered to tell this people who were lost in the
valley of gloom that they would once again take
possession of the land flowing with milk and
honey. In the midst of the chaos and confusion
of the world could be heard a gentle hush of
silence. In that brief moment of silence God
uttered His Eternal Word. That Word has saved us
all. Him before Whom