​As we gaze upon the manger on this Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph it is easy to be filled with a warm and fuzzy feeling, and that is not a bad thing, — it is wonderful; however, let us not forget how difficult the trip, how cold the night and how frightening the circumstances…giving birth in an animal barn!

Let us reflect on the reality that God’s very Self became human and was born into a family, not in a palace grand, but in a lowly manger. When I reflect on the Holy Family my mind turns to the very real and very human struggles they faced…not only having to give birth in a stable but the fact that they had to flee to Egypt to avoid Herod’s execution of the children of Bethlehem and the surrounding region.

It is almost unconceivable to think that God was made a refugee and had to flee to a foreign country from where he was born to avoid becoming a victim of genocide.

And that ultimately Mary would have her heart pierced when her Son would be executed by the state. And so Mary too understands the suffering of mothers and fathers who have lost children to war, violence and sickness. So as we celebrate the Holy Family let us know that our God understands the struggles of human families and that “God is with us”…Emmanuel…in the midst of our struggles.

Let us know that God journeys with the migrants, refugees and immigrants of this world, just as we are called to do.

So as we draw near to them, we draw near to God! As we advocate and work to help our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers, we do so with Christ who knows first hand their struggles and who works with us and shares with them on their journey.

What struggling families might I be able to reach out to in order to ease their struggles? How might I be Christ to those who struggle in life?

Somewhere in the story of the Holy Family there is a message for us today about those who are made refugees; those who are driven from their homeland by war and violence and poverty, seeking safety and a better life for themselves and their children.

In a country that more and more shuns refugees and immigrants I wonder if we would have received Joseph, Mary and Jesus? Over and over again in the Gospels Jesus warns us that our treatment of others is in fact our treatment of God! Jesus told his followers that when we welcome the stranger we welcome him! And likewise, when we turn away the stranger we turn away Christ!

We, as a country, so often invoke the name of God…but do we as a nation really understand the implications of proclaiming that “we are one nation under God”? Do our elected members of the House and Senate really understand that? Do they show it by the laws they enact or those they block from becoming law?

How many millions of people fall though the economic safety net of this country and are forced to exist, not live, in unbelievable conditions because of the callousness and political aspirations of our elected officials in Congress and those who elect them?

As we celebrate the feast of the Holy family and fix our eyes upon the peaceful manger scene, let us never forget that this family we gaze upon was once driven from their homeland and made refugees in an alien land.

As we, as a country, fight for economic and social reform and comprehensive immigration reform I believe that the reality of the Holy Family’s struggles may be fertile ground for further reflection.

Estimates say that during the 20th Century well over 50,000,000 people died because of acts of genocide at the hands of political leaders, rival tribes and oppressive nation-states.

And wars and genocide continue…think of Ukraine, Sudan, Palestine and Israel, Ethiopia and what looms on the horizon for the war-wearied people of those countries. Still today people seek refuge from genocide as well as poverty, famine, and corrupt governments.

Traditionally we hear the Gospel telling the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fleeing Herod’s execution of all of Bethlehem’s young children. As we ponder their flight into Egypt, fleeing the certain death of their infant child, I cannot help but marvel at the concept that our very God, having become human, was being hunted down to be killed — even as a helpless infant!

Somewhere in this story there is a message for us today about those who are made refugee. Those who are driven from their homeland by war and violence and poverty, seeking safety and a better life for themselves and their children.

There is a message that the infant Jesus is telling us, but are we listening?

Christmas blessings,
Fr. Tim

This is the time of year when it seems that everyone sings of peace on earth and good will toward all! Pope Paul VI proclaimed: If we want peace we need to work for justice. In this season of dreams, of peace and good will, we are called to work for justice!

Advent is a strange season in some ways -- a season of hopes and dreams, a season of promises fulfilled and of promises yet to be fulfilled, a season of the Reign of God that which is bursting forth and at the same time not yet fully here. And yet, wars rage and the world lay in such suffering and strife but our God is with us, even in the midst of all this tragedy.

Advent is counter cultural on so many levels. In a season when it seems the whole world begins to spin ever faster we are called to slow down, to spend time in prayer and reflection, to spend time thinking about the deeper realities of our lives and our relationships with family, friends and those around the world -- especially those who are in situations of suffering and loss.

Part of this season’s story is about a young girl living in a male dominated world where women were treated as property, but she breaks free from the bonds of obscurity and insignificance and becomes the heroine of the greatest story ever told. A young girl named Mary said “yes” to an impossible proposition; “yes” to what must have seemed totally absurd. Imagine yourself in Mary’s place: a heavenly visitor telling you that God, The Creator of all things…visible and invisible…was “asking” you to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah, the very Son of God!

The whole idea that God would choose to become human -- one like us -- and enter into our world as a vulnerable and innocent baby is almost too much to comprehend.

And yet she said “yes”. And, her yes changed the world forever! To this very day right now, her yes is still changing the world because the Risen Christ is in our midst! Because of her yes we can profess “we are the Body of Christ!”

What is God calling me to say yes to as a member of the Body of Christ? As I say yes to God, can I say yes to welcoming immigrants and refugees? Yes to supporting the women and girls who are assaulted and abused by the misogyny that is the very fabric of almost every culture in every country?

Can I say yes to refusing to participate in racism and bigotry in my words, actions and thoughts? Can I say yes to reaching out in love to even those who have hurt me or whom I have hurt?

Am I brave enough to risk it all like that young girl, from a dusty little backwater town, some two thousand years ago and say yes to God and to what God has in mind for me? Am I willing to risk, like Mary, and say “yes” to God, in the midst of the war, fear and suffering of this world, not knowing where it will lead me…just trusting that God will walk with me on the journey?

As we ponder these questions, as Christmas is upon us, let us pray for peace in the very land where this Christmas miracle of the incarnation unfolded; where today over twenty-three thousand people have been murdered in criminal acts of warfare, in barely twelve weeks time!

​Let us write and call our political representatives and call the White House and demand bolder action be taken to end the bloodshed. Let us put our faith into action and demand justice for the innocent lives lost in this war and call for international intervention to save lives and end the bloodshed on all sides. This Christmas may the Prince of Peace bring peace to Palestine and Israel. Lord hear our prayer!

Advent blessings,
Fr. Tim

Today we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath as we celebrate Gaudete Sunday – Gaudete from the Greek: to rejoice. And so we add a new dimension to our Advent waiting -- joyfulness!

And from the prophet Isiah we hear an early version of Mary’s message, “My spirit rejoices in God my savior” because the One Who was, Who is and Who is yet to come, is on His way! In Mary’s case she was carrying the long awaited One for his first appearance amongst us, as one of us!
But for us, our spirits rejoice in God our savior for Christ has come and will come again! But how can we rejoice in the midst of all the problems of our own lives, not to mention the immense suffering and tragedies unfolding in the world around us in the midst of wars and threats of more wars that are ravaging and destroying so many people’s lives?

Joy, in the midst of the sorrow and suffering of those grieving the loss of their loved ones? It all seems a bit much! Yet that is precisely what scripture is calling us to -- be joyful in the midst of our anger, in the midst of our fear and trembling, to trust in God understanding that in the midst of all of our fear and worries, God is present with us. Present with us in the midst of our suffering and loss, and loving us through it all! For we are God’s beloved! That is our core identity: the beloved of God!

John the Baptist proclaims the coming of the Messiah. But, in truth the messiah he was proclaiming was not the messiah that all the people and religious leaders of the day thought was coming – no, One much greater was coming. God’s very self, in the flesh; Emmanuel…God with us! And for that we rejoice because in the midst of all of our brokenness and suffering and grief and fear, we are deeply and passionately loved by God, just as we are!

And so on this Gaudete Sunday we rejoice in being perfectly loved and perfectly forgiven! How can I share this amazing “good news” with others this Advent season, and throughout the year?

Advent blessings,
Fr. Tim

REPENT! Prepare the way of the Lord! These words of John the Baptist echo down through the centuries and are as pertinent to us today as they were to those who first heard them in the Judean countryside almost two thousand years ago.

John came from the desert crying out to the people, calling them to a moment of “metanoia”…from the Greek, literally meaning “a turning around” -- changing one’s direction in life. The Voice of John the Baptist cries out to us in the midst of the rush and chaos of the Advent season, calling us to a conversion of heart.

John the Baptist announces the breaking forth of the Reign of God in our very midst. But can we hear him amid the cacophony and the clamor of our busy and overscheduled lives? I think it is very difficult unless we are willing to step back, to sit down and to spend a moment reflecting on our lives and our relationships…and ask ourselves how are we living our life in Christ?

The Scriptures during Advent speak of a new time for the people of Israel, a time of great hope…a new reign that is breaking forth. In this new world, mercy and justice will flourish and the wicked and unjust ones will be banished forever. But as we look around it seems as if we are a long way off from a “peaceful Reign of God”. Wars rage and political unrest swirl around us like the biting winds of a cold December night. Millions of our sisters and brothers desperately seek refuge, with no home in sight. Terrorists strike the innocent and fill us with fear. It all seems so bleak.

Where is the Reign of God bursting forth? I believe the answer is that the Reign of God is waiting to burst forth from within each one of us! The Reign of God bursts forth each and every time we respond to a person or a situation in a Christ-like manner.

Are we brave enough to “turn around,” to allow ourselves to have that “metanoia moment” and answer the call of John the Baptist; to allow the love of God to soften our hearts and enlighten our minds?

As Christians how do we “live” the Reign of God through our daily actions? What would I have to change in my life for me to be a clearer living sign to others of the bursting forth of the Reign of God…bringing love, mercy and forgiveness into a world so full of anger, violence and fear? Let us prepare the way of the Lord this Advent season by spreading love, mercy and forgiveness in our families, in our schools, in our communities and in the world around us!

Advent Blessings!
Fr. Tim

Happy New Year! No, I’ve not lost it! I say it every year as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, which is the beginning of a new church liturgical year.

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

For me there is something about staring up at the night sky; something awe inspiring and spiritual in nature. It calls us to look beyond ourselves; to look more deeply into the miracle of creation; to look more deeply into the miracle of human life and of this planet we live on, and the awe inspiring, ever
expanding universe that this little blue planet spins within.

Advent is a time to “make time” -- in the midst of all the commercialism, in the midst of all of chaos that we call “the holiday rush” -- a time 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…to shake us loose from the ordinariness of our daily lives and allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the awe and wonder of the Incarnation.

The Incarnation: the fact that our God so deeply loves us and that God’s very self became human to manifest 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 of the earth and for the very earth itself!

This Advent we find ourselves in the midst of enormous multiple humanitarian crises, as our sisters and brothers flee war and terror around the globe, 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 work to make sure that these immigrants and refugees, and all who wander the earth in search of finding safety and finding “home,” that they will be taken in.

Let us not allow fear to rule our lives, but rather let the love of Christ rule our lives! Let us together make our Advent preparation time a time of work and prayer for peace...for an end to all forms of violence and assaults on human dignity.

Let us commit ourselves to not rush into Christmas but to “live Advent” and allow ourselves to become the gift that others most need. To become people of peace with open hearts for all
those who suffer and are in need, called and able, by Christ’s grace, to love them as we love ourselves. Then we will truly be ready to celebrate Christmas, when at last it arrives, with hearts full of love for Christ and hearts full of love for the least of our sisters and brothers.

Just as the Holy Family was made refugee by the tyrant Herod, so too, people of Palestine and Israel, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan and Ukraine, all sisters and brothers of ours fleeing violence and war, let us work to make sure they find peace and a free home land! How can I make sure my voice is heard amidst all the vitriolic anti-immigrant hyperbole?

Let us not allow the immensity of the crisis paralyze us and convince us we can do nothing, for in Christ we can do all things. Let us ask ourselves, what can I do this Advent to help those most in need?

As I open my heart to the love of God this Advent season can I also open it to the hungry and the unhoused and speak up on their behalf? How can I reach out to the lonely and forgotten
who have no one to care for them or help them?

This year let our Advent gift to the world be a promise to work for and pray for peace. What could be of greater value for a world plagued by religious and political divisions and torn apart by terrorism and war. Through prayer and action on behalf of the poor, the suffering and the least among us, let us “prepare the way of the Lord”! And in this Advent season let us pray for the grace of Christ to become more loving, kind and generous persons seeking to accept others as they are, just as God accepts them. And let us seek to become instruments of healing in our families, our community, our schools and our world.

Advent Blessings!
Fr. Tim