Lent begins on Wednesday.  I invite us this Lent to reflect on Christianity as the “Way.”  That is what the first Christians called their movement, as we hear in Acts of the Apostles: their faith commitment was following Jesus on the “Way.”
 
Over the centuries the Church developed rituals and customs and, unfortunately, these became the focus for many: being a good Christian meant going to Mass, abstaining from meat on Fridays, saying the rosary, etc.  The concept that it is following Jesus’ Way of being, imitating Him, was lost.
 
To follow Jesus on the Way means that we treat other people as He did.  We don’t condemn the woman caught in adultery, but do our best to help her live a better life.  We are like the good Samaritan, who goes out of his way to help an enemy in need, and the father of the prodigal son, who is waiting to forgive someone who has humiliated him.  We take our five loaves and share with those in need.  And so on.
 
Being a Christian is a way of life, a way of reacting to situations and relating to people in which we think of more than ourselves.  It is living and interacting as did Christ.  The more we can do that, the more “Christian” we are in fact, not just name.
 
A good analogy for us is Bartimaeus, the blind man siting on the side of the road.  Once he was given sight by Jesus, we are told that he “followed Jesus on the Way.”  In other words, he got more than his physical sight: he was given the spiritual insight to know how to live his life.
 
My friends, we all have spiritual blind spots.  It is so easy to “practice” our faith, while not following Jesus on the Way.  I invite us to use Lent as a time of asking Jesus to improve our spiritual sight, so that, when we celebrate Easter on April 20th, we will be better at living out lives for others, as we follow Jesus “on the Way.”
 
Church sign: Lent is spring training for Christians. See you on opening day (Easter).

Our first reading this weekend is part of the dramatic story of the relationship between King Saul and David.  Saul was searching for David to kill him out of jealousy: David had been very successful in battle and the people were praising him too much for Saul’s fragile ego.  Saul was sleeping when David came upon him.  Instead of killing him, as he was urged to do by others, David simply took proof that he had the opportunity and thus was able to convince Saul that he was not out to overthrow him and peace was restored.
 
This is a perfect example of the Gospel message to love your enemy and do good to those who persecute you.  How was David able to respond this way?
 
First, David had self-control.  The natural, human reaction would be to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to get rid of someone who was trying to kill you.  But David was able to handle his emotions: he controlled them, they didn’t control him.
 
Second, once David controlled his human reactions, he was able to have mercy and forgiveness.  If he thought only of himself, he would have killed Saul: he would be safer and he would become king.  That would be a great win, if David thought only of himself.  But he was able to think of the other and act in a loving way.  It was a win-win: Saul was spared and David was a more honorable person.
 
My friends, David was living as Jesus tells us to in our Gospel: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…Do to others as you would have them do to you…Stop judging and you will not be judged.  Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven.
 
This is not easy.  We will never be perfect at doing it.  But, we need to always be striving to improve.  I invite us to reflect on how we are doing and then ask God to help us grow.  God bless.
 
Church sign: When you hold grudges, your hands aren’t free to catch blessings.

In an article entitled “The American Fairy Tale,” Dr. Darold Treffert presented five ways that people search for happiness but that actually lead to mental illness:

• Things (the more you have, the happier you will be)
• What you do (the more you produce and earn, the happier you will be)
• Being the same as others (happiness is fitting in and being accepted)
• Having no problems (happiness is being carefree)
• Having electronic gadgets (happiness is losing myself online)

 
His point is this: when we look for happiness and meaning in life through these means, we are ultimately doomed to failure. 
 
Luke makes the same point in his presentation of the Beatitudes in this weekend’s Gospel.  He says woe to those who rely on being rich, on satisfying their physical needs (who are filled now), on being carefree (who laugh now), on fitting in (when all speak well of you).  As Dr. Treffert said, relying on these things for happiness is a dead end.  They might bring happiness in the moment, but in the long term they lead to emptiness.
 
It does not mean having money is bad.  We need to take care of our needs.  We need to have meaningful relationships and belong to groups.  The problem is when they become our number one priority, rather than trust in God and awareness of the needs of others.
 
The Beatitudes are a blueprint for a Christian life.  They invite us to use the gifts God has given us, the gifts of life, time, talent, and treasure, not only for ourselves, but also for the welfare of others, especially those most in need.  When we can do that, we will be more authentically happy, both now and in eternity.  That is the wisdom of the Gospel.  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: The only time you should look in your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure they have enough.

Baptism is a commitment to be a disciple, to bring Christ to others by what we say and how we act.  But it is so easy to make our faith about me and God and give ourselves a “get out of jail free” card on the discipleship obligation.  “I am a sinner…I am nobody…It is the work of priests and religious….I don’t know how…I am not capable or worthy.”  These are some of the excuses that are used.
 
Our readings this weekend present three persons who were not worthy.  In the first reading Isaiah is called and he protests that “he is a man of unclean lips.”  In the second reading, Paul calls himself the least of the apostles, because he persecuted the Church.  Then in the Gospel, Peter tells the Lord to depart from him, for he was a sinful man.  But God did not accept their excuses: Isaiah’s lips were purged, Paul was knocked off his horse, and Peter was told he would be a fisher of people.
 
The point is this: no one is perfect.  God uses imperfect, sinful people, like you and me, to bring about His Kingdom.  We need to do our best to live Gospel values in all we say and do. I know I have mentioned how much I enjoyed the column “The Perfect Assist” in the Catholic Digest in which people shared how one small act that someone did brought them to Jesus or back to Jesus after a long absence.  Most of the time, the person who did the act had no idea of what happened because of it.  The point is it is God’s work, not ours.  We simply have to show up and be willing, as Isaiah says at the end of our first reading: “Here I am, Lord, send me.”  God will do the rest.
 
Church sign: The point of your life is to point to Him.

For some reason, Simeon sticks in my mind these days. In Luke’s Gospel, we are told that Simeon was waiting in the temple to meet the Messiah, before his death.  In modern parlance, we might say that his “bucket list” consisted of meeting with the Savior of the World!  After he held the child, he exclaimed: “Now, Lord, You can let Your servant go in peace…for I have seen your Salvation…”
 
It makes me wonder what is on my bucket list.  I don’t consciously have a bucket list, so one way to find out is to examine my values and actions: these will indicate what is really important to me, what I am striving for.
 
How do I spend my time?  How much do I give to God in prayer and consciously being in His presence?  How much do I spend helping others? On necessary daily tasks? On indulging my wants?  Is having a strong relationship with God on my bucket list? Being helpful to others?
 
How do I spend my talents?  I taught English language and grammar at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee before theology and ordination: am I willing to use that skill by editing materials for others?  As a priest, I am able to bring comfort to the sick and dying by bringing the sacraments to them: am I willing to be inconvenienced to do that?  Is helping others as best I can something on my bucket list?
 
Finally, treasure: I have a certain amount of resources available for my use.  How do I use it?  Am I using it just for myself or am I helping others?  Am I trying to secure my future or do I trust in God.
 
I invite us to spend some time this week reflecting on what our true priorities are in life, as reflected by how we spend the time, talent, and treasure that the Lord has given us?  Are we happy with what we see or do we need to make some changes. And as we struggle to grow as disciples, let us support each other in prayer.  God bless.
 
Church sign: Be content with what you have, but never with what you are.

This year our Gospels during Ordinary Time come from Luke and we start out with Jesus coming to His hometown, shortly after being baptized in the Jordan River.  He enters the synagogue and presents what could be called His mission statement, what His ministry would be about.  As opposed to being a kingly power, as the Jews expected, Jesus made it clear He was here to help those in need.  He would “bring glad tidings to the poor …liberty to captives…recovery of sight to the blind…free the oppressed….and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”  In short, Jesus came to help us and free us.
 
All of us need to be freed from the burden of sin and our failings.  We need to be freed from our spiritual blindness.  Jesus is there for us: we simply need to turn to Him.  In one sense, that is what the jubilee year, opened by Pope Francis in December, is about.  It is based on a longstanding Jewish custom that every 50 years was a jubilee year in which debts were forgiven and land that had been lost was transferred back to its original owner.  This prevented the rich from getting richer at the expense of those who were vulnerable. 
 
The jubilee year is a good opportunity to grow closer to the Lord, especially by letting go of anger or resentments from the past.  We all make mistakes; we all need to be forgiven.  As the Lord is ready to forgive us, we also must forgive others.  I invite us to make this jubilee year a special time of growing in our ability to be forgiving, loving followers of Christ.
 
My prayer is that, when the jubilee year is over, we will all be
better at letting go of grievances and forgiving others.  After all, God forgives us!  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: The comeback is always stronger than the setback.

St. Paul had his hands full with the Corinthian community.  The coastal city had merchants from all over the world and the early Christian community, in addition to being a mix of Jews and
Gentiles, had many different ethnicities and lots of differences and disagreements.  In his letters, Paul was attempting to bring unity to the community.
 
In our second reading this weekend, Paul is emphasizing that the Holy Spirit gives special gifts to each person and all these gifts are equally important.  From a human perspective, we tend to rank gifts and talents: some are much more important than others.  But Paul is saying that ALL the gifts are needed and important.
 
The same applies today.  Our human way of thinking would say that my role in our community is more important than the roles that others play.  But the reality is that all of our roles are crucial.  Take the Sunday Mass, for example.  I might stand in the front and lead the congregation, but what kind of service would we have without a lector, a musician, a cantor, choir members, participants to sing and pray as a community, hospitality ministers to welcome people and answer their questions, a family to bring up the gifts, etc.  It is when we all work together, using the talents God has given us, that the community and its liturgy come alive.  It is not just the priest: it is all of us, every single one.
 
The same is true for the parish in general.  Where would we be
without the excellent office manager and communications expert? Our finance team?  Our faith formation team?  Our liturgy and
music planner?  Our scrip and receptionist volunteers?  I don’t have the talents necessary to do all these ministries.  No one has the talents to do them all.  We each have to use the gifts that God has given us and work together, so that our community can be alive and
vibrant, with spiritually fulfilling liturgies.
  
God has given each of us talents that can be used for the community.  Are you using and sharing your talents with the community?  It is important that we don’t just take, but that we give back through our God given talents.  That is what will make our community alive and vibrant.  That is what it means to be the Body of Christ.
 
Church sign of the week: Waiting for something to turn up?  Start with your own shirtsleeves.

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  With this feast, we end our celebration of Christmas and begin Ordinary time.  In fact, this is also the first of the 34 Sundays of Ordinary time. This feast is very appropriate for this transition, because, as we hear in the Gospel, Jesus received the call from His Father to leave His life of 30 years with His family and begin His ministry. In one sense, His “hour had come.”
 
Notice what we are told: After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him… Jesus was praying.  So often we are told that He goes off by Himself to a deserted place to pray.  He did it before He selected His apostles, His “inside” team.  He did it in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus needed the help and guidance of His Father and He took the time to be quiet and listen.
 
We need direction in life and God wants to and will give it to us.  But we have to give Him the chance. The way we do that is by spending quiet time, sharing our concerns and struggles, but then being quiet and listening.
 
Our lives are very hectic.  We rush from one thing to another. Our phones and the internet are always calling for our attention.  Let’s make sure, in the middle of all the noise and distractions, that we are giving the Lord the time and attention He needs in order to guide us.  That way, we will never get lost.  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: Exercise daily: walk with the Lord!
 

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, the
manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah to the whole world through the three Magi.  His manifestation to the Jewish people was through the shepherds.
 
In a homily resource I use from a Fr. Tony Kadavil, I found the following:
 
In 1895, Henry van Dyke wrote the story, “The Other Wise Man," telling of a fourth wise man called Artaban. Our hero is not mentioned in the Gospel because he missed the caravan. He got to Bethlehem too late to see the Baby Jesus. But Artaban did make it in time, using one of his gifts for the newborn King, to save one of the Holy Innocents by bribing a soldier. For 33 years Artaban searched for Jesus. He did not find Jesus, but all the while the fourth wise man used the precious gifts he had brought for the King to feed the hungry and help the poor. Then one day in Jerusalem Artaban saw the "King of the Jews" being crucified. He started to offer his last gift for the King, a great pearl, to the soldiers as ransom for Him. But then he saw a girl being sold into slavery to pay family debts. Artaban gave his pearl to buy freedom for the girl. Suddenly the earth quaked as Jesus died on the cross and a stone struck Artaban. Dying, he heard a Voice saying: "When you helped the least of my children, you helped me. Meet me in Heaven!" Artaban, the fourth Wise Man, had been making God present in his community for years by helping others. God asks each of us on the feast of Epiphany to be a fourth Wise Man by becoming God’s epiphanies, making His love present in the world around us by our acts of love and kindness.
 
God has given us many precious gifts of time, treasure, and talent.  We are called to use these to manifest His love and concern to the world around us. How are we doing?  How can we do better?  A good reflection at the beginning of a new year.  May 2025 be a happy and healthy one for you and your family, as you share God’s gifts with those around you. God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: The meaning of life is to find your gifts. The purpose of life is to give them away.

Christmas is a time when we come together and celebrate as a family, so it seems appropriate that we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas.
 
We don’t know too much about the family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus except that they were refugees for a while, they carefully followed the precepts of their religion, and Joseph was a simple carpenter who lived with his family in Nazareth. But it must have been a good family, because we are told Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
 
Family is important for shaping the “wisdom” of a child, not the book learning, but how to find true meaning in life. Some examples: how do parents settle differences? Do they argue and scream at each other? Do they throw things? Or do they discuss their differences, either coming to an agreement or agreeing to disagree in a way that is manageable?
 
Are the parents honest? If the family sees someone drop a wallet, do the parents pick it up and give it back to the person or do they take the money out of it? Are the parents truthful or always telling “little white lies”?
 
How important is faith in the life of the parents and the family? Does the family pray and attend Mass regularly?  Do children see that parents are happy and at peace because of a strong relationship with the Lord? Or is religion a perfunctory and marginal part of family life?
 
Many more examples could be given, but the point is made: while children ultimately decide for themselves how they will live life and what is important to them, what they see and absorb growing up has a profound influence on them.
 
As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, let us pray for all families, especially parents, that they may model true wisdom for their children. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless our families and help our parents impart true wisdom to their children.
 
Church sign: If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.