Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. How appropriate that the first Sunday after celebrating the birth of Jesus we celebrate his family. We can see here the importance that God places on the role of the family, in sending His son to be born into one.

We are all part of a family. On Christmas day Fr.Robert talked about this very thing: Jesus, as God made man, grew up in a family. He learned a trade, how to be a carpenter, under his father, and I am sure learned many more things. As God though He submitted to family life. And we catch a glimpse of this in the Gospel, that they went back to their hometown, where Mary had grown up, “and the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.” They went back to a normal life, from what we hear. But before returning to Mary’s hometown Joseph and Mary present Jesus at the temple, to the Lord God. Having participated intimately with God in bringing forth this gift, this new life which they had been entrusted with, they offer this gift back to God. This is a model to us of entrusting what we have received as gift back to God, that it may become holy and set apart. In this we are shown that it is not the earthly things that truly matter, but rather the spiritual.

As believers, having received the gift of faith, we are faced with the choice of placing God as the King of our lives and our families, or not; in offering all that we have received back to God, or in responding with indifference, clutching to our own little kingdoms. This is what family is about, that family life can lead us to a deeper trust in God, a school of love towards others, and a movement towards becoming holy. It is a learning to live in God, our Creator, and all that He desires for us, in creating us to be happy and to be with Him.

We see a beautiful example of this faith in God in Genesis. We hear the story of Abraham and Sarah, who placed all of their trust in God, even above the needs and desires of their family. Even though we hear God’s response to their faith in making Abraham and Sarah the father and mother of generations, in receiving their son, Isaac, they go so far as to offer Isaac back to God by sacrificing him. What a powerful image to us.

Let us remember today the gift that we have received, that of our families, the opportunity to find our Creator in our daily activities and duties where He wants to be with us, and to offer the gifts we have received back to him as we look to the model and example of Abraham and Sarah, and also that of the Holy Family!

Scripture references taken from:

Genesis 15.1-6; 17.3-5, 15-16; 21.1-7

Hebrews 11.8, 11-12, 17-19

Luke 2.22-40

In the Gospel reading today John the Baptist gives testimony to God. When asked, “Who are you?” He didn’t respond with what we would expect, something like, “I am John the Baptist.” Instead he says what he is not, “I am not the Messiah.” He is asked further, “What do you say about yourself?” Again he makes no reference as to what we would normally expect someone to say, but again references Jesus, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.”*** John continues to point to the Lord, to the extreme of excluding himself. He is a witness to one who is greater than himself.

We see other examples of this humble witness in our other readings today. In the canticle from Luke** we hear Mary’s proclamation of praise, after being chosen to be the mother of God. Mary recognized the greatness that God was accomplishing through her and gave glory to him for that, and all that he would accomplish for generations to come. Further, we hear the prophet Isaiah* rejoicing in the Lord for providing for his people and setting them free from sin.

This reminded me of something a friend of mine would say: “There are two things that are important for us to remember; there is a God, and I am not him. When he told me this, at first I was like, “Well yes, of course.” But as I thought about it more I realized that this is the constant struggle for us. This is where most of our problems lay. So often we think that what we do and what we accomplish is our own doing. But when we recognize that what we have been given is from above we can be humble witnesses. And we begin by confirming, like John the Baptist, “I am not the Messiah.”*** Looking at his example, as well as Mary’s, we can see a living witness of what it means to live our lives for Christ. How would you respond when asked, “What do you say about yourself?”

Today, and during this season of repentance, we see this theme of recognizing and acknowledging how little we are before God and realizing our faults and feelings. But we also see this immense love that our God has for us, in wanting to provide for us and in wanting to draw us to himself, by sending his son to us, for us. He continues to work in our hearts and in our lives when we recognize that He is God, and we are not.

So as we celebrate this ‘Gaudete Sunday’ (Sunday of rejoicing), as we are over halfway through Advent, may we come with joy to celebrate and remember that our story is about a God who continues to pursue us, in His great love for us, no matter where we turn and no matter how far we turn from Him. Let us bear witness to this in our lives as we continue our Advent journey and as we go forth to our families, our community, into the world.

Scripture references taken from:

* Isaiah 61.1-2a,10-11

** Luke 1

*** John 1.6-8,19-28

1 Thessalonians 5.16-24

Last Sunday I wrote a reflection about the line in the gospel of Mark, “Keep awake. Keep alert.” Our answer  as to what this should look like, in our lives, comes in our reflection on the gospel today, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” John the baptist is preparing the Israelites for the coming of Jesus Christ, mainly by his example of humility and poverty(in the way he dressed and what he ate), but also by his words and actions. Upon reflecting on this I think about what areas of my life I would need to change in order to prepare the way of the Lord. I think the most important place to start is in our hearts; are there dark corners that we have hidden from the Lord? Do we need to seek His guidance and forgiveness. Our actions will normally speak from the condition of our heart. Then we can look to our families and our community, seeking forgiveness from those we have hurt, reaching out to the lonely, hungry, or sick, with compassion.

Looking to the depths of our hearts and also reaching out to others, especially in our vulnerability, can seem like a daunting task to undertake. But we can be reassured by the word of St.Peter, “Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace.” This is the way to peace. In opening our hearts to our creator, in seeking Him, we will find a peace there. He gives us this hope. But it needs to start in our hearts, because from there it will permeate and spread out in to all that we think, all that we do, and all that we say.

I was talking with our children, earlier this week, about preparing our hearts for the baby Jesus at Christmas. To get a visual image; our hearts are like little mangers into which we place the Christ-child, and all of the sacrifices(the hard choices we make and things we don’t necessarily want to do) are like a piece of straw. Each time we make these sacrifices we place a piece of straw in the manger of our hearts, so that the more we are mindful of making these sacrifices of reaching out to God and others the softer our manger will be when we arrive at Christmas.

So, as we reflect today on preparing the way of the Lord I encourage you to make those choices to open yourself to the Lord(and His work in you) and to others, to seek forgiveness, and to make those sacrifices that will prepare the manger of your heart to receive the Lord, and that ultimately will nourish your soul, that you may be “found by Him at peace.”

Scripture excerpts taken from:

2 Peter 3.8-14

Mark 1.1-8

Further reading:

Isaiah 40.1-5, 9-11

“Beware. Keep alert.”

I picture a billboard with flashing neon lights. Jesus is obviously trying to get our attention as we hear hear these words twice more, in the middle and again at the end again at the end of this passage; “Stay awake.”* Something important is happening: our salvation. God is reaching down to rescue us, to bring us to himself. Why does he repeat himself though? I figure it is because he knows that we are a distracted people; the prophet Isaiah talks about how, in our freedom, we so easily turn from God and harden our hearts. In the schedules of our lives we easily get distracted and over-complicate our lives. But our lives need not be complicated. We are only asked to do the will of God in every moment. Most of the time this is simply in the normal duties of life; in our relationships and responsibilities, in our families and friendships, with those we meet, living Christian charity.

The prophet Isaiah goes on to say, “No eye has seen any God, besides you, who works for those who wait for him.”* But the key here is that we are waiting! In this context it is used in reference to an action. Waiting for God is an action, an action we carry out in the duties of our lives. We also see here that God is working for us. St.Paul supports this in his letter to the Corinthians, as he knowledges that, “The grace of God has been given [us]… in every way we have been enriched… so that [we] are not lacking in any spiritual gift as we wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”* He has not left us on her own to figure it out. We lack nothing and he alone will strengthen us. He indeed, “tear[s] open the heavens and come[s] down,”* to our aid, if we but seek Him. He makes himself real to us, and visible to us in a couple ways; Through the sacraments(tangible signs of His grace): in confession we are able to heal and repair the separation caused by our faults and choices, and in the Eucharist, Christ’s very life in us. He also makes Himself visible in those around us. We meet Christ in each other(Matt 25.40).

As we begin our journey this Advent, let us reflect on our own alertness as we contemplate the mystery and the gifts God has given us to free us from distraction, to draw us closer to him, and help us to reach out to those around us. And if it helps, picture that flashing billboard “Keep alert. Stay awake!”

* Excerpts taken from the readings for the First Sunday of Advent:

Isaiah 63.16b-17; 64.1,3-8

1 Corinthians 1.3-9

Mark 13.33-37

“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night… let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake.”  1 Thessalonians 5.2,6

How often do we realize, that in light of eternity, we have such a short amount of time here on earth? And only a certain amount of time, different for each one of us. Yet to each of us it is given to accomplish what? The gospel of Matthew(25.14-30) will shed light on it for us; the parable of the talents shows us that to each of these three people was given a certain entrustment from their master. These ‘talents’ were theirs to do with as they pleased; on their masters return the first two doubling what their master had given them while the third, the one to whom was entrusted the least, hid his in the ground so as not to lose it. In the end he is the one who loses everything. This third may have done nothing wrong, however it was in failing to do something that his fault lay. In the same way we have each been given certain ‘talents’ with which to increase the kingdom; the blessings we have received, our vocation and our work, the gifts we have received from our creator. One a doctor, another a teacher, a father/mother, a gifted musician, a heart for service. We are to use our state in life and our gifts and blessings to increase in the world God’s great love and the glory of His kingdom.

As an example of this, I would like to highlight some verses from the book of Proverbs(31.10-13,16-18, 20, 26,28-31). The women in these verses remains vigilant in her ‘work’, gathering and keeping her lamp lit through the night. Directly after these lines we hear how she, “opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” This woman exemplifies for us what it looks like to be vigilant and to use our ‘talents’ in the right way.

So let us be vigilant, knowing not the day nor the hour when we will be called from this earth, recognizing that our time here on earth is, literally speaking, sacred. And let us ponder the blessings, gifts, and vocation that God has given us to increase His kingdom, that in our time we may find ourselves there with Him! May we not waste our time and our ‘talents’ ending up, with even what we do have, lost forever!

Focus Verses:

Proverbs 31.10-13,16-18,20,26,28-31

Psalm 128

1 Thessalonians 5.1-6

Matthew 25.14-30

We hear today, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, that we are each God’s temple; 1 Corinthians 3.9-11, 16-17. Do we truly believe this? Are we conscious of this, in our daily lives? And are we living like we are temples of God? Reflecting on these questions lead me to think, ‘What is the purpose of a temple?’ Two things come to mind; firstly, that a temple is a physical place of worship and prayer, a place to give thanks to God. Secondly, the temple is a place of encounter, where God is truly present. This is something very powerful to say then, that our bodies, as temples, are physical places of worship and prayer and they are also physical dwelling places of God.

In the gospel of John(2.13-22) we see Jesus casting out the animals from his temple, which had become a marketplace, a place where money is god. Jesus’ zeal shows us that we also have fallen short. At times, we are not so different from the moneychangers when we have allowed our own selfishness, greed, gossip, lies, or judgements of others to dwell in our hearts. To show God’s glory we need to be aware that we are broken, but allow God’s living water, His sacraments and holy scripture, to renew us from the inside and remind us that we are meant for glory. The way I see it, when we give thanks to God and give Him praise throughout our daily activities we are also creating a dwelling place for Him to live in us and cleanse us by His very presence. This is a great gift that we have, as people of the new covenant, a gift we can easily take for granted. We need to remind ourselves that in the old covenant(or Old Testament) God’s dwelling place was the temple, in the very heart of the sanctuary, only accessible to priests. However, in the new covenant(or New Testament) God has sent His Son(and His Spirit) to us, that He may be present in our very bodies, in the sanctuary of our hearts. What a huge gift. He makes himself so present to us.

Today as we come to this great sacrament, as Jesus gives himself to us, let us be mindful that He enters the temple of our bodies to make us a holy dwelling place of His love and His glory. May His living water flow through us and be life for us, and for the world.

We were just reading this beautiful homily for All Souls’ Day from the Apostolic Administrator, and Madonna House priest, of the Diocese of Whitehorse and wanted to share it with all of you.

You will find the homily here.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” -Matt. 11.29-30

Lamentations 3.17-26

Psalm 103

1 Corinthians 15.51-57

Matthew 11.25-30

When I think of a yoke, I do not think of it being easy or comfortable, but Jesus doesn’t promise there won’t be suffering or pain involved. Reflecting on the times that I have carried particular burdens, when I have been able to journey through them with a friend the load seems to be lightened. In a similar way, Jesus is saying, “Let me carry your burden with you. You will find peace and rest.” I think so often we can get easily caught up and focussed on our burdens that we lose sight of what Christ has to offer. There is insight into this: “[God] has hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and has revealed them to infants. We can look to children and learn from them. I figure they have one resilient quality in particular that sheds light on this topic, trust. They trust that all will be provided for them, without even thinking about it. Why? Because of the love that they are shown by their parents/grandparents/loved ones. It is this image of love and total care that allows them to be in this state, and this relationship mirrors God’s relationship with us; He cares for us immensely so that we might be like infants and have a total trust. We are reminded in Lamentations what this trust breeds: “But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” (Lam. 17.21-23) So my trust of the Lord, when it is deeply rooted, leads me to hope. And this hope will lead us to the yoke that will bring us peace.

As we celebrate this feast of All Souls we remember our loved one who have passed on, but we ALSO remember Jesus has swallowed up death, by his death. Thanks be to God, who gives us victory over death, through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15.57) Amen.

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96
1 Thess. 1:1-5ab
Matt. 22:15-21

In the gospel reading for our Sunday service today Jesus admonishes the Pharisees and the Herodians and, although they have approached him with a trap, Jesus refuses to humiliate or even force their allegiance to him, but rather invites them to, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” A theme continued from the gospel from last Sunday(Matt. 22:1-14), that of Jesus inviting us. Today Jesus invites us to embrace our total belonging to God, who has called us each by name.

Just as the image of Caesar stamped on the Roman coin indicates that the coin belongs to Caesar; the image of God stamped on every human being asserts that each one of us belongs to God.

God has chosen us, and is inviting us to make a choice; we have the freedom to live for Him and the choice of what to do with the life that he has given to us. Belonging to God enables us to mirror His compassionate concern for the good of human society and the well-being of all. When our lives are given to Him He is able to show himself through us and work through us.

We are faced with many difficult decisions and choices, especially as believers living in today’s modern world, but we must remember that every part of our life belongs to God. What better way is there to repay to God what is truly His than by the words of St.Paul, as he encourages the community in Thesselonica to continue in their work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today the Catholic church celebrates World Mission Sunday, in recognition of the truth that every Christian shares in the mission of the church: to spread the good news of the gospel by our lives and by our actions. I would invite you today, and this week, to pray especially for the missionary work of the people of God and to consider your part in spreading the good news of Christ.

A Prayer to give God my whole being

Lord Jesus,
I give you my hands to do your work.
I give you my feet to go your way.
I give you my eyes to see as you do.
I give you my tongue to speak your words.
I give you my mind that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me,
your Father, and all mankind.
I give you my whole self that you may grow in me,
so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work in me.