Happy New Year! ...no, I’ve not lost it…today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent…the beginning of a new liturgical year in the church’s calendar.

Advent is truly a “wonder-filled” season. We look to the deep blue night sky…shimmering with a billion stars, each one a reminder of the dawn of creation, of the promise of the long awaited savior.

There is a wonderfulness in gazing up at the night sky… something awe inspiring and spiritual in nature, it calls us to look beyond ourselves. Advent is a time to “make time” in the midst of all the commercialism, in the midst of all of the chaos that we call “the holiday rush.” We are called to slow down, to stand back and to reflect…to take time to allow the wonder of the Great Christmas Event to settle into our souls.

It is a time meant to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and to allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the awe and wonder of the Incarnation -- the fact that our God so deeply loves us, and that God’s very self became human to show forth that love to us.

That love is for you…just as you are! This amazing love is for all of God’s creation, for all peoples and for the earth itself!

This Advent we find ourselves in the midst of one the largest humanitarian crises in recent memory as we struggle through the war and devastation in Gaza, Lebanon, South Sudan and Ukraine…and so many other places. And, in the midst of horrible civil strife, poverty and a deep sense of hopelessness, our sisters and brothers flee these wars, violence and terror; they wander the earth in search of a home.

As we reflect on the wonder and awe of God’s amazing love for the earth and all humanity let us raise our voices and our hands to make sure that these refugees and immigrants, and all who wander the earth in search of finding “home”, will be taken in. Let us not allow fear to rule our lives, but rather the love of Christ!

Just as the Holy Family was made refugees by the tyrant Herod, so too these sisters and brothers of ours flee violence and war, let us work to make sure they find a “home,” too! Let us not allow the immensity of the crisis to paralyze us and convince us we can do nothing -- for in Christ we can do all things.

What can I do this Advent to help in the midst of these humanitarian crises? As I open my heart to the love of God this Advent season can I also open it to refugees and migrants and speak up on their behalf? How can I make sure my voice is heard amidst all the vitriolic anti racial justice and hate speech? This year let our Advent gift to the world be a promise to work for and pray for peace and justice.

What could be of greater value for a world plagued by religious and political divisions and torn apart by terrorism and war…than to pray and take action for peace and justice, in that we will “prepare the way of the Lord”! “And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 5a)

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

Since 1969, by decree of Pope Paul VI, the end of the liturgical year has been punctuated by the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (previously known as “the Feast of Christ the King”). The raising of this feast status to a “Solemnity” and the expansion of the title points to a deepening of the understanding of the cosmic nature of the “Christ Event” and its impact in, not only human history, but of its impact on all created reality!

Perhaps “Sovereign of the Universe” would be a less patriarchal title and convey the same reality. Today throughout the church we focus not just on Christ’s sovereignty over all creation but on Christ’s love for each of us and indeed God’s love for all of creation.

The second reading helps to hone the true image of “this Sovereign”…the glory is to be given to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by the giving up of his very life. And if we listen closely, we can hear the echo of the Good Shepherd in Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel…“everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to my voice.” And so we listen to Christ’s voice in our lives and make Christ the sovereign of our lives. Not as one who lords it over us but as the One who came that we might have eternal life; the One who remains in us and we in Christ…who was, who is, and who is yet to come!

This understanding of Christ as Sovereign of the Universe holds the power to draw us into the enormity of the mystery of the Divine act of creation itself, a holy and selfless act of Love…and we are the progeny of this ever expanding, ever creating Love. Just as the universe is ever expanding so too this Divine Love is ever expanding and encompasses all of creation.

In a world with far too many despots and tyrants who rule by force and fear, we are called to build up the Reign of God, that all creation might flourish and blossom. This is a Reign built on love and mercy, not violence and intimidation.

So in the midst of reflecting on the sovereignty of Christ in our lives let us pray for and work actively towards solutions that help to end war and violence and famine. Let us fight for an end to systemic racism and all forms of bigotry and misogyny. And, let us open our hearts and homes to immigrants, migrants and refugees and fight for their human rights…thus following Jesus’ clarion call in Matthew 25, and in doing so build up the Reign of God here and now!

Let us not be ruled by fear or violence or self-interest but rather let us be ruled by the love of Christ and his call to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves! Let us act from this place of love as we work to actively build a more peaceful and just society, where all people are welcomed and valued, as children of God.
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Blessings,
Fr. Tim

As we move towards the end of the liturgical year the readings turn towards “the end of days”. One day the world will end...Christ will return…and the great judgment Mathew 25 depicts will take place where those who cared for the poor, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned will be separated out from those who did not. But when will this day of reckoning come?

Some Christians routinely (and wrongly) announce the return of Christ…they seem to forget that Jesus clearly said that no one, not even “He”, knew when the world would end -- only His Father!

And yet they continue to claim to know the date and time. Remember the “Jesus is coming on May 21st” billboards that dotted the highways some years ago? A perfect example of some Christians believing they have some special inside knowledge as to the end times, forgetting that Jesus clearly said no one will know the hour nor the day.

Today’s Gospel is not about “knowing” when Christ will come…but rather about being ready when Christ does come! So, the question is: am I ready?

At the center of the readings this weekend is a message of total reliance upon the mercy and love of God. It is about keeping our hearts and minds open to God’s presence within us and within our daily lives and in the world around us!

As I said last week…God’s love for us as individuals is both lavish and passionate; it knows no bounds and it is the very reason for the incarnation of our God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the manifestation of God’s magnanimous love for us and through Him! God’s love and forgiveness was, and continues to be, freely poured forth upon each of us and indeed upon the entire world.

The psalmist reminds us that God is our portion and cup, our inherence and therefore our hearts are glad and our souls rejoice…for we are God’s beloved!

By keeping God at the center of our daily lives we indeed will be ready if the world were to end in our times. Because of the love and mercy of our God we need not fear “the end” for we will be transformed into beings that shine like the stars in the heavens!

This is true in the dark times and the struggles of our lives, keeping God at the center of our daily lives helps us navigate these times and keep centered and feel empowered by the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us and guides and guards us even in the darkest of our days.

Through Christ we have inherited eternal life and each of us is a part of “the great cloud of witnesses” who gives glory to God, and we give that glory by living out our discipleship and loving God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves.

When and where do I most feel the presence of God in my life? How do I actively engage in keeping God at the center of my life? How do I best show my love of God and neighbor?
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Blessings,
Fr. Tim

God’s love for us as individuals is both lavish and passionate; it knows no bounds and it is the very reason for the incarnation of our God in Jesus Christ. Jesus was the manifestation of God’s magnanimous love for us, through Christ, God’s love and forgiveness was freely poured forth upon the entire world.

We are the recipients of this love and forgiveness and today’s readings beg the question of us: how do we respond to this love and forgiveness which is so lavishly poured out upon us?

The old woman, a widow, who throws two, almost worthless copper coins into the temple coffers, under the doubtless sneers of the temple guards and temple priests, causes Jesus to proclaim her actions as heroic because she gave not from her excess but from her “want.” She gave all she had to live on, to God. She surely gave from her love for God all that she had to give. It was a great sacrifice that she was making out of her love for God.

In all honesty I feel a bit like the old woman with two, almost worthless, copper coins to offer in the face of giant political money machines funded by billionaires… on Wednesday I got up and I looked at my phone and my stomach sank, my eyes welled up, and my heart hurt, I feared for the future of millions of people living in our country, that will have their dreams snatched from them and their lives turned upside down. I feared for what lay on the horizon for our nation.

I made a cup of coffee and headed out into the parking lot and looked at the hundreds of people milling around, and as I stopped to talk with some of them my worry deepened.
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As the morning wore on, over 900 families came to our food pantry, several hundred lined up for Matt 25 for clothing and the line for the Gabriel project snaked down the steps and around the side of the building…and I thought back to onslaught of the pandemic and how we went from 250 families on a Wednesday at our food pantry to over 700 in the blink of an eye, with absolutely no idea of how we would be able to feed all these people. We put a call out to the parish and it spread to the wider community, and suddenly the fishes and the loaves multiplied and we were able to meet the needs of our sisters and brothers.

In the midst of the darkness, we became a light; in the midst of chaos and fear your very best inclinations and those of our neighbors shown forth…and we responded to our sisters and brothers with love and compassion.

We welcomed the stranger, we fed the hungry, clothed the naked and put our discipleship into action, all the while caring for the safety of each other. And that is what we will continue to do, standing with the poor, the immigrant and the refugee. We will continue our fight for racial justice and call out misogyny wherever we see it. We will continue to fight for meaningful and compassionate immigration reform and welcome the stranger as Matthew 25 demands we do!

We will continue to engage in national political debates as it is our moral imperative, as Pope Francis has said “because it seeks the common good”…because we seek the common good!

“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 3b-5)

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

So what is the greatest commandment? “Loving God with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself,” which Jesus agrees is worth more than all burnt offerings and all sacrifices put together and that there is no commandment greater than this!

A very powerful statement to be sure, but it seems we still haven’t got it! We still put all kinds of rules and regulations and pious practices ahead of this one, clearly stated, commandment. Even though Jesus was so very clear about it, it seems that we still insist on putting all these other rules and regulations ahead of this one straight forward commandment.

Imagine if we were to order our lives around this singular commandment -- imagine how the world could be. Imagine if we focused on truly loving God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves, if that was the singular organizing principle of our lives! Imagine if it was the singular organizing principle of our church by which every other single rule, practice or regulation was ruthlessly judged. Imagine if all of our public and social policies were organized by this singular principle!

Our whole world view would change…we would see migrants and immigrants and refugees not as strangers and threats, but as sisters and brothers. We would see the poor, the needy and vulnerable not as taxing on our resources, but as family in need and respond to their needs out of love for them.
Our primary motivation would no longer focus on just me and my needs, but would look to God and to my neighbor. Suddenly the wellbeing and safety of “the other” would take on a whole new significance in my life and in the building up of “the Reign of God” here on earth!

So, my stance on issues like just war theory, euthanasia, abortion, equal access to education, just wages, racial justice, affordable housing, equal access to healthcare, compassionate care of the elderly, infirmed and mentally ill, would all be shaped by my love of God and my love of neighbor, knowing them to be sisters and brothers.

If all these issues were viewed solely through the lens of this one commandment of loving God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves, it would call me to learn to let go of all my biases.
Imagine the social and political impact it would have in our country and around the world if all Christians, or even if just a majority of Christians, began to work towards building up Jesus’ vision of the Reign of God!

And of course imagine the impact it would have on the church itself, if all the priests, deacons, nuns, brothers, bishops and cardinals used this commandment as their primary lens through which they exercised every aspect of their ministry -- it would be transformative! Clericalism and careerism would be replaced with servant leadership which would bring about an end to the ongoing leadership scandal in the church that Pope Francis so often de-cries.

Within our country all our political discourse would radically change -- poverty, racism, misogyny and the marginalization of others would not be tolerated…imagine! Jesus did...No, he commanded that it be so! This is his vision of “the Reign of God”, and it is the challenge that Jesus places before us as his disciples…for us to put love of God and love our neighbor first, before all else!

What would my life look like if I set aside any resentments or​ pettiness I might have and choose to accept and love people just the way they were regardless of how wrong I might believe them to be? How do I best show my love of God and my love of neighbor? What might I need to change in my life to make Jesus’ commandment more fully the standard by which I live?
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Blessings,
Fr. Tim