Tag: Christian

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14 Our Gifts

Photo of stained glass window of a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit

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2nd Sunday ordinary time

Mass Readings
Reading 1 – Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm – Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10
Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Gospel – John 2:1-11

Today we’re going to talk about the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. In today’s Gospel, we hear the familiar story about the Wedding Feast at Cana. In the Gospel, they’re running out of wine. Mary, noticing the situation, goes to Jesus. Now this is really important because it underscores our understanding of who Mary is. What does she do? Mary, the first disciple, intercedes-she asks Jesus for help. Then she turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever he asks. This is important because of some of the questions and comments I receive. We Catholics do not worship Mary. We do not believe Mary has power on her own. Mary cannot save us. Only Jesus can save us. But Mary can help us. Why? But we believe we’re a community. We believe in the communion of saints – a community of disciples. So just like we can ask each other for prayers, we can ask our deceased family and friends for their intercessory prayers and we can ask Mary and the saints for their intercessory prayers.

Is this effective? Yes! But Jesus doesn’t simply provide some wine. No! the Gospel says that Jesus provided the best wine! God loves us so much that he will lavish us with his grace – with His blessings – with His gifts. That’s what we find the first reading today. In Isaiah 62, we hear that the Lord delights in you.

St. Paul tells us today in Corinthians that we as disciples of Jesus have gifts. Some receive very particular gifts. But these gifts are not for own sake. Our gifts are meant to be shared with the community. Now, another way of looking at this Gospel is that Jesus shares His gift with the community. So we too are called to follow Jesus’ example and share our gifts.

Ok, so how do I know what gifts and talents I have and how do I know God’s will for my life? Understanding ourselves, our gifts and our call is a process we call discernment. There are many ways to do this, and we usually hear about discernment at moments of change in our lives, but Pope Francis in his book, Rejoice and Be Glad, tells us we need to know if something comes from the Holy Spirit. Discernment itself is a gift that we should nurture over the course of our lives. Here is just very quick summary of what that process looks like: prayer, reflection, reading and good counsel.<1>

If we’re trying to understand our gifts, then we need to be attentive and reflective, that is to say, we need to try to understand through prayer and reflection what our gifts and talents are and how God might be asking us to use them. Part of this process includes seeking input from the people around you, like your family and friends, your spiritual director, or other staff or volunteers at your parish who know you. You see, our gifts will bear fruit and sometimes it takes looking at ourselves through the eyes of another person to help us see them.

Discernment is not just for the young and just for moments of big change in our lives. We should nurture discernment throughout our lives. Pope Benedict gives us a great example of discernment. In discerning it was time for him to retire, he taught us that where and how God calls us today might change down the road. Being open to God‘s will for our life means we need to have the courage to make adjustments in our lives from time to time.

By developing a better understanding of our talents and gifts, we are in a better position to share our gifts with the community. That’s what Scripture asks us to do. We need to go out in to the world, to be what Pope Francis calls missionary disciples sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, or as our psalmist says today, to proclaim His marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Homework! Inspired by the Eucharist and the Word of God proclaimed, let’s work on the following this week:

  1. Spend a few minutes in quiet this week and ask yourself what signs of God do you recognize in your life?
  2. How can you improve how you share your gifts with others at your current stage in life?
  3. Bonus homework: read about the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians Chapter 5.<2>

I think by doing our homework this week we might develop a better sense of our call as missionary disciples. May each of us come to know the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

<1> Francis. Rejoice and Be Glad: Gaudete Et Exsultate; Apostolic Exhortation. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2018.
<2> Galatians 5:22

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04 Second Sunday of Advent

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Mass Readings

Second Sunday of Advent 
Reading 1 – Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm – Psalm 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Reading 2 – Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Gospel – Luke 3:1-6

In today’s Gospel, Luke 3:1-6, we hear about John the Baptist. The reading tells us that he is the voice crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord…”

Why does God send John the Baptist ahead of Jesus?

Well, I think it ties well to what we discussed in last week’s episode, where sometimes Jesus is knocking on our door, but for whatever reason we don’t respond. So Jesus will try to come to us through other people. That helps me understand why John the Baptist was necessary then and why he so important to us today.

Who was John preaching to? Well, he wasn’t just talking to the establishment Jews who tolerated the Roman authorities and were tolerated by the Roman authorities. He was also speaking to the everyday person, people who were perhaps caught up in their own lives, going about their everyday routine. But he also preached to people who were caught up in their pious devotions. You know, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in pious devotion that we forget why we are praying. So John the Baptist was trying to get through to people by saying it’s God we’re supposed to be worshipping and it’s the Messiah we’re waiting for.

That’s a similar trap that I think many Christians fall into. I have experienced people so immersed in a particular devotion, but who clearly aren’t convicted as disciples of Jesus. Maybe you know the type. Perhaps that person is a real grouch or just plain mean or totally focused on themselves. In other words, there is no real transformation in their lives. Pious devotion isn’t about loading up your holy roller disco card. No, it’s about deepening your relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s about making a connection; having an encounter with Jesus, and that encounter should change the way we live our lives. If I’m not changing or growing in discipleship through pious devotions, then perhaps my acts of piety are a distraction. Maybe the voice calling out in the desert is trying to remind us that my piety should be oriented to Jesus – that it is Jesus who saves.

For others, perhaps it’s not piety that distracts us, but the busyness of our lives. What do I mean? Well, certainly, we can get caught up in our everyday lives and in the world around us. We wake up in the morning, and it’s all go, go, go, go! Then at the end of the day, we sit down and think, “Where did the day go?” Perhaps the voice crying out in the desert is trying to say slow down and appreciate the gifts God has given us. You can find Him in nature all around us; in the people we see every day; and in our friends and family. Maybe the voice calling out in the desert is trying to remind us that the rat race can’t save us. Only Jesus saves.

Perhaps others get too caught up in the world they build for themselves. Society tells us that we are kings of our own castles. Being a king means I should ask, “what’s in it for me?”

This is a great challenge especially for Christians living in the United States. For example, someone might say, as people have said to me, “Well, the tax law has changed, so I’m not getting the same tax benefit for my donation. I will not be able to give money to support your ministry helping orphans in Honduras through Friends of Los Niños.” Or they try to justify themselves and say, “I’m really upset about the scandal rocking the Church today so I’m not going to give to my parish and I’m not going to give to the diocesan capital campaign.” But our Christian faith tells us we are not supposed to be kings dripping with wealth, but stewards. We’re supposed to take care of our gifts and wealth for the building up of God’s kingdom, not to own wealth for our exclusive benefit.

Perhaps the voice crying out in the desert is saying don’t get so caught up in the world, don’t stubbornly try to control the world around you. My 401k, my bank account, my stock portfolio can’t save. Only Jesus saves.

Homework: Nourished by the Eucharist and by the Word of God proclaimed, ask yourself:

  1. How attached am I to my possessions? Am I too quick to make excuses why I can’t make a donation to charitable causes this year?
  2. Is my faith the best kept secret, a private devotion, or am I willing to share my faith with others?

I think by doing our homework this Advent season, we might be better able to hear the voice crying out in the wilderness and recognize the opportunity to have an encounter with Jesus Christ, an encounter that leads to transformation, transformation that leads to salvation.

Ok, does everyone understand the homework? So, are you going to do your homework? Well, good! For a copy of today’s reflection, head over to our website, https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/. May each of us this Advent season come to know the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen

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03 Immaculate Conception of Mary

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Mass Readings
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading 1 – Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm – Psalm 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
Reading 2 – Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12  
Gospel – Luke 1:26-38

Mary remains one of the most controversial figures in the Christian world today. Sadly, she is a source of division within the greater Christian community. So before we get rolling, let’s clear up a few of things. First, today we celebrate Mary’s conception, not Jesus’. This confuses people often as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception so close to Christmas. Second, we venerate, we honor, but we never worship Mary. Honoring Mary is part of the Christian tradition. Mary was honored from the earliest accounts. Perhaps as early as within 200 years of Jesus dying do we find writings referring to Mary as Theotokos or Mother of God. Now if people are writing about Mary this way in the first two years, that means people were probably referring to her as “Mother of God” well before that. The Orthodox tradition in its liturgy honors Mary. Even Martin Luther acknowledged Mary as a Mother of God, and so too then does the Lutheran World Federation. Without using too broad a brush, this practice of honoring Mary is not specifically Catholic.

Alright, now that we cleared that up, let’s jump in to today’s Gospel, Luke 1:26-38. The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary and he says to her, “Hail, full of grace!” What does that mean?

One way to look at grace according the theologian Fr. Michael Himes of Boston College is that it’s God’s love outside the Trinity. Now this is a very helpful definition in reflecting on today’s Gospel. You see, Original Sin disrupts our relationship with God in a fundamental way. So, the tradition holds, that God needed to prepare Mary for her mission if she was willing to accept God’s plan for her life. So at the point of her conception, God freed her from the stain of Original Sin. This meant that rather than be disoriented away from God, she was able to fully receive God’s grace or God’s love. Being filled with God’s love meant that she was able to receive Jesus and bring him into the world. Jesus then is the love of God that fills Mary.
Now this did not make Mary supernatural or superhuman. Rather, Mary is able to love in the most human way possible – without any perceived ideas and without any conditions. Her love without the stain of Original Sin is fully human.

Gabriel goes on to tell her, “Do not be afraid, Mary…” Ok, let’s stop here for a minute.
So, who is Mary? Well, given the culture at the time, she was probably a teenager, perhaps an older teen, and she was betrothed to an older man named Joseph. So this angel appears to her. Scripture doesn’t give us a lot of detail here. Perhaps the angel came in all the splendor and glory of the kingdom of God, glowing and shining and radiant. Or maybe the angel came in the form of a human dressed in ordinary clothes. We just don’t know, but either way I have to wonder what my reaction would have been as a teenager if an angel had appeared to me and said God needs you for a mission. To be honest, I think I would have freaked out!

But Mary didn’t freak out. Instead she says in today’s Gospel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Ok, timeout. If Mary had been caught pregnant out of wedlock, if Joseph had handed her over, she probably would have been stoned to death, not to mention the shame and scandal that she would have brought on her family. Her life was on the line, but she says very bravely, “ok”, “according to His will, not mine”. Wow!

We honor Mary today because of her yes. She was the first disciple – the first person to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Did she keep quiet about it? No! She had to tell Joseph. She goes on to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. She can’t keep the Good News to herself. So the model, the image of Mary is not someone shrouded and bowed and quiet, but someone who courageously says, “YES”, and who goes out and faces a hostile world even under threat of death. Now that’s discipleship!

Homework: Nourished by the Eucharist and by the Word of God proclaimed, ask yourself:

  1. Am I willing to say yes to God, your will and not mine?
  2. Is my faith my best kept secret, or am I willing to share my faith with others?

I think by doing our homework this Advent season, we might be better able to re-energize our discipleship and go out into a world that desperately needs to hear a message of hope.

Ok, does everyone understand the homework? So, are you going to do your homework? Well, good! For a copy of today’s reflection, head over to the website, www.deaconrudysnotes.org. May each of us this Advent season come to know the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen