John the Baptist is once again at the center of our Gospel reading this weekend. He has moved from shouting “prepare the way of the Lord” to “behold the Lamb of God!”, then he admits that he did not, at first, recognize Jesus as “the Lamb of God”. And remember too that in the Gospel of Luke, after his arrest he sends two disciples to ask Jesus, “are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another?” There seems to be a certain amount of ambiguity as to John’s understanding of who Jesus really is.

​What is clear is that all of this happened in a particular time in a particular place to real people who actually knew this one called Jesus. God came to us, “Emmanuel”, and it all points to the need for us to be constantly looking for the way in which God continues to come to us and is present in every moment of our day, of our life. Much like the Magi we heard of on the Feast of the Epiphany, they saw the star, they looked up at the same night sky as all the rest of the people of the earth but they were the ones who “saw” because they expected to see something…their hearts were open to God, they expected God to be present in their lives. John the Baptist expected the Messiah to come and so he recognized him when at last he came.

Like John and like the Magi we have to look, expecting to see, expecting to find God present in the midst of our daily lives. Like them we too then will see, with expectant eyes, God’s amazing presence in the most surprising of places and moments of our everyday lives, even, or perhaps most especially in the broken moments of our lives too. Where did I last glimpse God’s presence in my life? Did I stop to savor it, or to share it with someone else?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

The Christmas Season officially comes to a close with the celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In the Jewish tradition water was seen as purifying and healing but John brings to the waters of baptism the concept of baptism as “an act of repentance” and thus Jesus, in choosing to be baptized by John, identifies himself with the sinfulness of humanity when he accepts this “baptism of repentance”. And it is in this very human act of Jesus humbling himself in repentance that his divinity is exposed. It is in this moment that Jesus hears the voice of God say you are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased!

Who among us doesn’t long to hear those words…to be proclaimed “my beloved…in whom I am well pleased”? And the fact of the matter is, that we are at our truest selves, the “beloved of God”. And yet we struggle with accepting that identity, perhaps because we feel unworthy, too broken or too unimportant in the scheme of things to truly be “the beloved of God”. We live our lives based on who we think we are, we make decisions and choose to do or not to do, based on who and how we identify ourselves in relation to the world around us. So coming to embrace the reality that you are the “beloved of God” greatly impacts your life. It is in and through our identity as the “beloved of God” that we become “grace” to the world around us. In accepting this identity we are transformed and all our relationships are transformed as well. When we begin to live out of the identity of being the “beloved of God” we begin to see the world differently and we begin to act toward ourselves and others differently…with less judgment, less selfishness and with more mercy. We begin to live with more openness to self and others and we become filled with more gratitude and generosity. Embracing that we are the “beloved of God” changes not only how we see ourselves and how we see others but changes what we give value to in life and what we believe to be important or unimportant in life…what we are willing to live for and what we are willing to die for. Standing in that place of grace, being the “beloved of God” changes everything!

Do I accept my true identify as God’s beloved child? What self-image might I have to let go of to more fully accept being the “beloved of God”…how might it change my life? May each of us pray for the grace to accept our truest identity, a beloved child of God?

Blessings to you all in the New Year,
Fr. Tim

The word epiphany comes from the Greek; meaning to “appear”…or to be “revealed”. In some cultures the feast of Epiphany is referred to as “Little Christmas” or “the Feast of the Three Kings”, and is the day of exchanging gifts with friends and loved ones. Regardless of what we call it, it is a day on which we tell the story of the arrival of the magi, or the three kings, who have come from afar to see the newborn king and to offer gifts.

Epiphany is a time of celebrating the acknowledgement of “a new beginning”…a time to celebrate the Reign of God bursting forth in the midst of creation! For sure we dwell for a while on the visit of the magi and the wonder of their journey…led by only a star that shown brightly in the deepest of the night sky. It is a time of wonder and awe…a time to allow ourselves to enter into the story and reflect on our own journey…our spiritual journey. For the magi the signs were in the heavens…a star that led them to Bethlehem, to a shabby little stable…where our God came among us as one of us. Perhaps the magi’s real wisdom was that they knew that they didn’t know everything… they valued learning, they looked for signs, they paid attention to dreams…they expected God to talk to them… they believed that they encountered God in their daily lives.

Ultimately the story of the magi is a story of encounter, an encounter of the greatest kind…an encounter with God. Am I open to “following a star”…to paying attention to the signs of God’s presence in my daily life? Where do I encounter God in the ordinary routine of my daily life, even in the midst of all the chaos of our national and international life? The magi came bearing gifts…what gift of self might I offer to God and others? Do I see and accept the gifts of those coming from foreign lands, like the magi who came from afar to honor the birth of Jesus?

I pray you all a most happy and blessed New Year!

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 that 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…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. 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.

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. 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 her/himself, The Creator of all things…visible and invisible…was “asking” her to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah. The whole idea that God would choose to become human, one like us, and enter into our world as a vulnerable and innocent child 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? Am I willing to risk, like Mary, and say “yes” to God not knowing where it will lead me…just trusting that God will walk with me on the journey? As I say yes to God, who am I being called to journey with?

Advent Blessings,
Fr Tim

This Sunday we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath...it is meant to mark the week as special…for centuries, in the west, the color pink has been associated with “joy”! This Sunday is called “Gaudete” Sunday…from the Latin “to rejoice”…for the Lord is near! The readings this Sunday have both a sense of expectancy and joyfulness. Isaiah tells us that the desert will break forth in bloom and we will see the splendor of God and the weak and the fearful of heart will be made strong. The blind will see, the deaf will hear and mute will sing…all the ransomed will return and there will be gladness and joy among the throngs of people as they enter Zion. Wow…what a vision of the Reign of God bursting forth on the earth! As we think about this vision of the Reign of God, and we look around at all the suffering and war and famine and injustices…our joyfulness can quickly turn to sadness and feelings of being cheated out of Isaiah’s vision of the Reign of God.

OR, instead of feeling cheated or sorry for myself, I can stand up and work to make that vision a reality. I can work to build up the Reign of God in the midst of the injustices and fear and violence by speaking out and standing up on behalf of the homeless, the immigrant, people of color, women, Jews, Muslims, members of the LGBT community, many of whom feel fearful and despised because of who they are and where they come from. Each one of us is called to be the voice of the prophet crying out in a wilderness, to lay down our weapons of war and destruction and to build the peaceable kingdom. As we reflect on “Gaudete Sunday” and its meaning let us commit to joyfully building up the Reign of God. What will I do this week to build up the Reign of God? Who will I stand with this week as I “prepare the way of the Lord”?

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 as they were to those who first heard them. John came from the desert crying out to the people, calling them to a moment of “metanoia”…literally “a turning around”. 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. He 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 not…not unless we are willing to step back, to sit down and to spend a moment reflecting on our lives and our relationships. We need to ask ourselves if we are “living” our discipleship.

The Scriptures for this Sunday 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 the “peaceable kingdom”. 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?

It is waiting to burst forth from within each one of us! The Reign of God burst forth every time we respond to a person or a situation in a Christ-like manner. Are we brave enough to “turn around” to answer the call of John the Baptist…to allow the love of God to soften our hearts and enlighten our minds? As Christians are we willing to really “live” the Reign of God through our daily actions? What would that look like…what would I have to change in my life for me to be a living sign to others of the bursting forth of the Reign of God in the midst of a fearful and wounded world?

Advent Blessings,
Fr Tim

This weekend we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent…the beginning of the church’s liturgical year…so Happy New Year! Advent is truly a “wonder-filled” season. We look to the dark, deep blue night sky…shimmering with a million stars, each one a reminder of the dawn of creation…of the promise of the long awaited savior. There is something about staring 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 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…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 fact that our God so deeply loves us and that God’s very self became human to prove 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 our sisters and brothers flee war and terror, they wander the earth in search of a home. And here in our own country many immigrants, people of color, women, Jews, Muslims, people of the LGBTQ community and refugees are fearful of being targets of hate crimes. 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 act in ways to make sure that all of our sisters and brothers feel respected and safe. Let us not allow this national moral 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 those feeling particularly vulnerable and fearful? How can I reach out to build bridges across the chasm of those who seek an inclusive and kind society and those who seek to exclude and demean “the other”? Let us “prepare the way of the Lord” through prayer and action!

Advent Blessings,
Fr. Tim

Given the current state of our national politics as well as the state of politics around the globe we may be filled with anxiety and fear, not sure what to do or where to turn. Our sisters and brothers of color, Muslims, immigrants, refugees and women and many others all feel vulnerable and at risk in the rising tide of racist, misogynistic and bigoted violence and rhetoric, and the fear of the enactment of laws that may force them from their homes and tear apart their families. Many feel they are no longer safe to simply walk down the street or take public transport.

We are called by our discipleship to stand with them and make sure that all those who feel vulnerable and threatened know that they are safe with us and that we stand with them. We are called to reach out to and to raise up all those who feel threatened. It is our Baptismal call. Just as Jesus went to the margins, so too we must guard the most vulnerable in every way we can. We need to make known our stance and we need to do so bravely and peaceably. Whether we do this through public protest, through legal actions, through prayer or through personal reaching out to those who are being targeted, we must, each one of us, find ways to stand up and against all forms of racism, bigotry, xenophobia and misogyny.

Today we celebrate Jesus Christ as the Sovereign of the Universe. So let us not despair, let us recall that regardless of how
corrupt the world might look Christ is at work in the world…and that Christ works in and through US! Let us take his earthly life as the model for our lives and follow his command to build up the Reign of God by loving and protecting all of our sisters and brothers as well as the earth itself! Filled with the Holy Spirit what concrete action can I take this week to show my support for all those who are feeling fearful and vulnerable? What movement or organization can I join with to
fight against racism, bigotry, misogyny and xenophobia? How will I live my discipleship of Jesus Christ this week?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

If I was ever to be accused of being a Christian could I be convicted? Would anyone recognize me as a disciple of Jesus by the way I live my life….would I ever be handed over to be imprisoned and tortured because people thought I was a disciple of Jesus…? Jesus clearly tells his disciples that it will not be easy for them…for us! Jesus tells them that they need to be prepared because some of them will be hated and handed over and some put to death, all because of his name! But not a hair on their heads will be destroyed because He will secure them! And he said to them that by perseverance they would secure their lives! So Jesus tells the disciples that they have an active role to play…they have to preserver in the struggle of their discipleship and their proclamation of the Good News! Jesus makes it clear that it is no easy thing to be a disciple! The costs are great…even one’s life may be demanded of them!

How do I live my discipleship…how is it evident in my daily life that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ? How far am I willing to
go in living out my discipleship? In “Matt 25” Jesus lays out what discipleship really means…and what the costs really are! So as we, as a nation, debate healthcare, WIC, SNAP, immigration reform, DACA and a multitude of other social issues where are my priorities as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Does my discipleship shake me from my “comfortableness?”

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

“For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” I chose this quote from Dag Hammarskjold to be on the memory card from my religious profession. It speaks of a profound gratitude to God and an openness toward God and towards whatever lies ahead in life and in death. November is traditionally a time in which we remember the dead. In some cultures people set up little home altars on which they place photos and mementos of their loved ones who have died and gone ahead of us to that which we call the afterlife, heaven. We do not know what lies ahead but yet we are part of it, promised resurrection through our Baptism.

As we careen towards the end of the liturgical year and towards Advent, our readings turn toward “the last things”. This is not meant to cause us to be gloomy or sad; on the contrary, it is meant to offer us an opportunity to reflect on the transitory reality of this life in the context of the gift of the promise of eternal life. While none of us really knows what it will be like, and the speculation has made for good reading over the centuries, some theologians today talk of it as something analogous to a glorious and knowable uniting, a joining with God in a new and spectacular way, beyond our wildest hopes and dreams! Heaven! Down through history this belief of the resurrection has motivated many people to stand up and resist oppression and evil, not unlike in the first reading.

What do I believe about heaven and the afterlife? Do I fear death or dying? If I built a little home altar whose photos and mementos would I place on it? What oppression and evil do I need to stand up to?

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim