Knowing

1 JN 2:3-11

Beloved:
The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. 
Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him. 
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. 
The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 
And yet I do write a new commandment to you,
which holds true in him and among you,
for the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining. 
Whoever says he is in the light,
yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. 
Whoever loves his brother remains in the light,
and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. 
Whoever hates his brother is in darkness;
he walks in darkness
and does not know where he is going
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I am a person that knows a lot of stuff.  That does not make me special, it means that I have had some education and the knowledge that has been discovered by those that came before me has in part been instilled in me.  It is safe to say that if I were to be sent back to the 1700's and ended up in Salem Massachusetts that I would have been arrested and tried and hung for being a warlock because I have knowledge of things that they could not even dream about.  Can you imagine if I told them about a light that used no fire?  Or what if I told them about a power source, such as radium, that had the potential of powering the light that used no fire forever.  Oh, they would hang me alright because they could never understand things that they had no inkling about. If you were to send me back to Europe, in the time of DiVinci, he would understand some of what I was speaking about and he would consider me a genius.  Yes, I have a lot of knowledge but so what? 

I know a lot about Jesus and his life and his Church and how to live a good Christian life but again if I do not do it, then what good does all of this knowledge do for me?  It not only does me no good because if I know it, I am responsible for it and should incorporate it into my life.  This is what John is telling us on the chilly December morning.  It is not enough to know about Jesus, you must know Jesus and follow Him by carrying your cross too. 

The poor souls need your help.  Please pray for them today. 

A Storm In Bethlehem

Gospel MT 2:13-18

When the magi had departed, behold,                                                          

the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,      
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,  Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.


At the time of the birth of Jesus, Bethlehem was a small and very insignificant town. The name means House of Bread and Jesus was born in a stable and his crib was the manger, the place where the animals would go to get their food. We think of the place as silent, innocent, a great place to be born and raised.  Then enters king Herod, an evil despot whose whole mission in life was to keep his job as king.  You can imagine the rage that built up in him when he realized that the magi were not coming back to tell him where to find the so-called new King of the Jews.  But, he had a solution.  He did not know who, but he did know where.  He dispatched his soldiers and told them to kill every boy-child two years of age and younger.  Herod felt that this would surely end the reign of this upstart who had designs upon his throne.  And so it happened as he commanded.  We are not sure how many boys were killed that day but we know that the child that would one day die for our sins upon a cross was able to escape to Egypt. 

These boys were the first martyrs for they were victims of a persecution against Christ. These children died in place of the Christ child and in doing so saved His life. Herod was satisfied with the blood spilled in that little town and was sure that his reign was safe.  Of course, his rule was never in any danger from the Gentle Child.  Jesus did not come to rule a physical kingdom but rather He came to rule our hearts.  Our hearts must ache when we think of the blood spilled over the ages in the name of Christ. He did not come that we might shed blood in His name, no,  He came that we all may be one as He and the Father are one and learn to live as one people with one God and Father above and heaven as our inheritance. He prayed for this unity at the Last Supper. 

What we learn from the slaughter of the innocents is that we should always be ready to defend and explain our faith and we should do this without thinking of the consequences.  In this world today there are many like Herod who do not want the truth of the Gospel spread and like Herod, they will reach into their bag of tricks and do what they can to stifle the growth of the kingdom.  But we walk into the future, whatever it may hold, secure in the knowledge that God has already won the ultimate victory.  

Merry Christmas - Or Is It?

First of all, let me say, "Merry Christmas" for today a savior has been born for us, it is Christ the Lord, Jesus Christ the Lord.  We celebrate this day because it marks the point in history that the promise made to us that God would send us a savior was fulfilled. That is news of great joy.  

Unfortunately, it did not happen as our sentimental songs suggest in the silence of winter when everything was cold and people hunkered down inside their houses. We cannot even calculate with much certainty the year of the birth of Jesus.  

If we are to believe the Scriptures in this matter, which I most certainly do, we find that the shepherds were tending their flocks by night.  They would not be doing this in the cold winter months, the sheep would be penned up, close to home.  So it is certain that if you would travel in time back to what you calculated as the birthday of our savior, you most likely would miscalculate and not find what you are looking for.

The Romans had a feast to their sun god and it was on the 25th of December which they called  "the feast of the unconquered sun  or Sol Invictus."  It came right after the longest night of the year and celebrated the triumphant return of the sun.  We Catholics co-opted this holiday and that is why we celebrate Christmas in winter.

Some make a big deal about this and say that the Church has corrupted itself by taking on this pagan holiday and converting it to a Christian one.  But in the long run, the pagan holiday disappeared as all things that are false will and we celebrate arguabily the second greatest day in history.  I say second greatest because I think Easter, where death is destroyed is more important but hey, without Christmas, we would not have a reason to celebrate Easter. 

Miguel - The Littlest Christmas Angel

The Archangel Michael, chief of all the Angels, had summoned him. When Michael called, you listened.  Of course being an angel, obeying was the natural thing to do, you could think of nothing else to do. Yet, Michael never summoned an angel to his presence without some serious purpose. Miguel, known to the others as “Little Mike” trembled a bit. Yet he was happy in spirit at the summons. He knew that he was about to be given a very important assignment.  Over the last two thousand years (as humans counted time) the angels had been preparing for some very important event. He had been told that he would play some part in it, as would all of the heavenly host. Gabriel, the Father’s special messenger, had even gone to earth and spoke in person to one of the humans, her name was Mary.  Now Miguel did not know what the conversation was about, but because of all the activity he knew The Father was going to do a wonderful, marvelous, miraculous work and he, Little Mike, was going to play a major role in it.  He thought that maybe he would be set among the choir of angels that had been practicing singing triumphs and glory songs over the last hundred years or so.  Perhaps his exceptional musical gift had been finally recognized and he would be placed as director of the heavenly choir!  He felt unworthy but he knew he would accept the assignment humbly. As he traveled to the place where Michael awaited he passed the huge hall where the Angelic Choir was in rehearsal.  He heard the words, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of goodwill.”  He took up the song and even embellished the counterpoint a bit. Once he was in charge, the choir would sound even better than it does now! One of the choir angels, just slightly older then Miguel floated over and smiled lovingly at Little Mike. The angel, not unkindly, told him to be off, that he was singing flat.   Humph! Miguel thought, what does he know, he obviously does not know good music when he hears it. But he realized he was keeping Michael the Archangel waiting, this was not a good thing.  He scurried along and soon he arrived outside of what humans might call the Great Hall, the place where the Father was. At the ornate golden door, Michael stood holding his shining golden spear in his hand. This was the very spear he had used to defeat the disobedient angels so many eons ago. The Archangel caught site of Miguel and he smiled at the young angel.  Miguel immediately felt at ease in the presence of Michael.  Michael spoke.

“Well, Little Mike, are you ready to do your duty?”

Miguel swallowed, stood to attention and said, “The Father commands, I obey.”

“Good.  I had to really do some talking to get you this job. Some say that you are too young to do it properly. After all two thousand earth years is but a moment in the presence of God.  I said that anyone named after me has to be strong and tough enough to do this job correctly for the glory of God.  So, reluctantly at my urging, the committee approved you to be the one. I hope you appreciate the assignment.”  Michael stopped talking for a moment.  Miguel took this as his cue.

“Yes sir, I will be happy to take over the lead of the Heavenly Choir.  I knew my talent would be recognized eventually.  I will work hard and the choir will sing better and better each day.  Thank you for the chance and for such an important assignment.”

Michael roared with laughter. “You, lead the heavenly choir! I think not young one. Your musical talents are minimal; your singing voice is squeaky at best. No, the choir is certainly not the place for you. The assignment I have for you is much more important than that.  When you hear the triumphant Glory Song played you will go to point 1225 in the heavens.  There you will find and hold a small insignificant star very steady.  You will remain there until you are summoned back. Understood?”

Miguel was crushed. He hung his head and softly said, “I don’t understand. That star is as far from heaven and the Joy of the being with the Father as you can get, and it is so small that it hardly needs anyone to hold it up, a gentle breeze could blow it out. Am I being exiled?”

Michael was as close to anger as an angel could get as he said, “Hmm, Perhaps you are too young to do this task. If you are not up to it, Little Mike just say so, I can find another.   I only ask one question. Why are you questioning the Father’s wisdom?”

Miguel was brought up short.  “Oh, Michael, perish the thought of me questioning the Father or even you. Of course, I shall gladly do what you order.  I will be the best star steadier of all time.”

Michael smiled again and warmly said, “I knew you would see it that way.  Now, off with you young one. Be ready at a moment’s notice.”

He left Michael’s side and spent the next nine months practicing holding stars steady, big ones, little ones, bright and dim ones, he steadied them all. Then one night he heard the sound he had been waiting for, the sound of the heavenly choir beginning to play and sing the Glory Song.  Without another thought, whoosh, he went to the appointed star and with great love, he wrapped his little arms around it and with even more love he held that star very steady indeed. His home in Heaven was but a distant dot on the horizon of the universe but the place where the humans dwelt was in plain view. He could faintly hear the heavenly choir singing their song of joy and triumph. 

He gazed at the Earth and saw that the light from his star was illuminating a small cave. There the woman he recognized as Mary was cradling a newborn child as Joseph looked on.  There were common shepherds there and they were kneeling in front of Mary and the Baby, and now Miguel realized that the Father had indeed wrought a marvelous, wonderful, glorious work as he recognized the Babe in the manger, it was the Father’s only Son, sent to earth.  He was seeing the age-old promise of the Father being fulfilled. His little heart marveled at what love the Father had for the humans! Miguel, still holding the star steady noticed that the beams of light from his star came to rest directly on the head of the Holy Infant. 

His heart was filled with heavenly joy he sang as loudly as he could blending his squeaky voice as best as he could with those of the choir he could just hear in the distance, “Glory to God in the Highest, Peace to men of Good Will!”  And so it came to pass that what appeared to be the smallest job was really a most important one that brought a great reward for both Miguel, the Littlest Christmas Angel, and for the humans, the Father’s beloved ones upon the earth. 

He Is Like A Refiner's Fire

Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

But who will endure the day of his coming?

And who can stand when he appears?

For he is like the refiner's fire,

Do we really want this thing to happen? I mean Malachi tells us that the Lord is going to be like a refining fire.  You know, when you mine silver or gold a lot of things can contaminate the end product which makes it worth a lot less than it could be.  So the refiner builds a fire, not just any fire, but one that is so hot that it melts the gold or silver and burns away the imperfections in it. The end result is pure, uncontaminated, the best that it can be. 

I know that Protestants and even some Catholics do not believe that there is such a place as Purgatory. But this reading from Malachi, what else can it mean?  If we take the proposition that God is Holy and that nothing unclean or unholy can be around him, doesn't it make sense that He would put into place a way for the dross to be burned away so that his faithful child, one that died in His friendship, could prepare him or her self to be with Him in heaven?  But, did not the sacrificial death of Jesus redeem us fully and give us a ticket to enter the pearly gates?  Yes, Jesus died for our sins and they are all forgiven but what justice would there be, for example, if you were a thief and you stole and then you were "saved" and your sin was forgiven, the person you stole from would still be out the money unless you repaid him. 

Every sin we commit has two effects on our soul. In the case of a serious sin, also called mortal sin, it breaks the relationship between God and his child. In the case of a minor offense, called a venial sin, the relationship is not broken but there is an obstacle between Father and child.  The relationship is still there but there is, for lack of a better word, a bump that needs to be smoothed.  For us Catholics, we have the assurance that our sins are forgiven when we confess them and accept the mercy of God in the confessional.   The sin is forgiven for sure but the attachment to that sin, the temporal satisfaction required to remedy what we have done is still there.  We can satisfy this temporal satisfaction by prayer, fasting, giving alms while we live.  Now if we die and we have an unforgiven mortal sin on our soul, there is no hope for us, we will end up in hell with the devil.  If the mortal sin had been rectified in the sacrament of confession, but we never satisfied the temporal requirement to purge it from our soul, we will have to do so after death.  It is the same for venial sin.  The time for making up for temporal things is while we are on earth.  While we live we can sacrifice and do penance and satisfy the obligation.  Once we have died, we will need to go through the refiner's fire which we call Purgatory.   We ourselves will choose to go there for we will know that we are not ready for heaven.  Does this sound like a fairy tale?  Here is another example.  You and John were the best of friends, you went to school together and all through life you kept up your friendship.  One day you were called to John's bedside as he lay there dying.  He calls you close and confesses that in second grade he was the one that stole your pencil, the one with black lead on one side and red lead on the other.  He stole it because he wanted to annoy you. You cherished that pencil.  As he takes his last breath, you tell him how much you hate him for stealing that pencil.  Some years later, you die and you never gave up that hate for John for stealing your pencil.  John is now among the other saints in heaven in the presence of Almighty God.  If you were admitted to heaven with this hate on your soul, what would you do when you saw John for the first time in heaven.  Most likely you would at least have a bad thought or two about him and you would be causing hate to enter heaven and that is an impossibility.  What is God to do with you?  The sin is a minor matter and not worthy of hell, but He cannot admit you to heaven because you are attached to the sin and sin has no place in heaven.  God in His mercy allows you to choose to go to the refiner's fire, to have all of the dross burned out of your soul after which you will be allowed to enjoy heaven forever.   God is that merciful.   So, Purgatory is real because God's love for us and His desire for us to be with Him is real. 

Can you avoid Purgatory?  Sure you can and some of us do avoid Purgatory.  We can do this by living a worthy life, confessing our sins regularly and to do penance for them by sacrificing our time, talent, or treasure in doing some worthy cause.  You see, when you move out of yourself and see how others live, you can be more charitable and loving.  This will help you remove the residual stains on your soul.  God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for your sins.  He opened the doors of heaven for us so we can live in peace and security with Him forever. 

Humility

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;             
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever."

Our wait for Christmas cheer to chase away the gloom of the long winter nights, cheerless cold and damp are coming to an end and the Church presents to us the words of the Virgin Mother of God.  In this prayer of Mary, we hear things that help us see how great she is and how humble she is.  She proclaims how great God is, she calls Him her savior.  How can God be the savior of Mary who was born without original sin?  Did she even need a savior?  The answer of course is, "Yes, Mary needed a savior."  I have addressed this in this blog before, but just to refresh our minds I will show how Mary could be both sinless and still require a savior.  

We must remember that God has always been and He will never have an end.  He is the one absolute in the universe He created from nothing simply by willing it.  He lives outside of the constraints of time and space and lives in the past, the present, and the future (as we see it) all at once.  The Mother of the Son being sent to Earth could have no taint of sin for in effect she would be carrying God inside of her for nine months, in effect, being a tabernacle or perhaps we could call her a human Holy of Holies as she was where God on earth was dwelling. No sin or evil can be in God's presence and that is why the Mother of God needed to be free of the taint of sin.  This was granted to her by God based on the merits of His Son dying on the cross for the sins of man.  God the Father could see this happening clearly and preserved Mary from sin.  Where we were drawn out of the pit of original sin, our bodies bruised by the fall, Mary, was carried over the pit and her soul received no injury from Adam's sin. 

Mary's life was both the same as any other young virgin in her neighborhood.  She would have been taught how to be a homemaker and would have been given the skills to turn a house into a home.  On the other hand, Mary would be quite different than her contemporaries.  From her conception, which came about in the normal way through the passion her mother and father had for each other, her soul would be pure white and this soul would take up residence in her and she would be turned towards God from the first day of her life to her last breath on earth.  She had in her the same free will that all of us were born with but she would be more inclined to say "Yes" to the things God asked her to do.  She could have refused the job of being the Mother of God but was not likely to. 

Well, this is all very well and good for Mary but what does it mean to ordinary people like you and me?  True, we were born under the shadow of original sin and we bear its mark in our soul to this day. This original sin of Adam, however, was removed by our baptism.  On the day of our baptism, we became sinless and we too could use our free will to live in the way God wanted us to live but all of us eventually had moments of weakness where we turned away from God.  This is the difference between us and Mary.  She was, from the day of her conception, able to use her free will to do the things that God asked of her without thinking of herself.  We on the other hand very often look to our own comfort and our own ambition because we exercise our free will to satisfy the "me" that resides inside of our soul.  Mary's first thoughts would be how to serve "thee." 

So in a matter of days, all of our planning for Christmas will bear the fruit of the effort we put into it. The real question will be, have we converted this holy day into a commercial feast or have he taken time to consider what Christmas really means?  

Have you lost someone you love to death recently?  A mother, father, sister or brother?  Perhaps a grandparent has passed away or maybe a close friend?   It is possible that they went right to heaven but maybe not.  We cannot judge the soul of another person, only God can. Purgatory is a place of preparation where the vast majority of us will begin our eternity as we purge those things that are incompatible with the Glory of God.  I am not saying this to be mean, just reminding you of what might be.  I would urge you to pray for the poor souls in purgatory, by name if you think someone you love is there. Your prayers will not be wasted because if the soul you are praying for is not there, the prayers will be applied to another.  Please, in these closing days of Advent, wrap a beautiful present for someone in Purgatory and pray for them.  They will be your forever friend if you do so.   Remember where they are today you someday also you may be. 

Hope In The Darkness

Our soul waits for the LORD,

who is our help and our shield,

For in him our hearts rejoice;

in his holy name we trust. 

Do you see it in the picture above?  No, not all of the bleak darkness!  Right there, in the center - a small pinprick of light. That small bit of light is growing larger and as it does it chases the darkness that surrounds it away.  There is a power in the darkness that causes us to be afraid.  Things can hide in the darkness that can spring out and hurt us. Sometimes the things that we think are in the darkness paralyze us even though there is nothing there.  Darkness is a real thing, it lives in itself, it is not the lack of light, darkness is darkness and it has a power all of its own. They speak of the speed of light yet darkness travels at the same speed for where light is no more, darkness reigns.

 We are approaching the end of our Advent journey.  December 21st, the Winter Solstice, marks the day that the darkness has full sway and night is as long as the day.  Our souls too may be in a dark place, a sad place, a place that is forlorn, cold, and forbidding.  Yet we see that the darkness is being banished, that the light is chasing it away and all we have to do is wait and pray and soon the darkness will be gone and all will be light. 

One thing that will chase away the cold darkness is a lantern with a candle burning cheerfully bright. There is such a lantern and it burns in the sanctuary of your church and deeply in your heart.  It shouts out in the darkness, "Here is light, here is love, come and be in the light of Christ."  The darkness has no power at all when Christ is present. If you are trapped in a dark place, call on Jesus to light and warm your soul, to comfort you in your grief, to lift you up and strengthen you. Just ask for His light and He will come to you and you will place your head on His chest and your heart will beat as one with His.   

The poor souls in Purgatory are always joyful for they know that soon, perhaps very soon, they will be elevated to heaven to be in the presence of God, Jesus, Mary, and all of the saints.  They can be released early if you pray for them earnestly. Please pray for them today.  Pray for those who have died before you. Mother, father, brother, sister, grandfather or grandmother, aunts, and uncles, all might be in need of your prayer.  But what if they are already in heaven? Your prayers will be applied to other souls in need of help.  Remember:  As they are, someday you may be.