Second Sunday in Ordinary Time year C

In Cana of Galilee,does Jesus wish to fascinate His disciples with His extra ordinary abilities or does He wish to please the people at the wedding by saving the best wine for the last?
Of course Not.

Jesus never used His power as a gimmick. He never wanted to call attention to Himsels His miracles always taught a lesson, but they were never to be a form of entertainment or of sensationalism. . This was His first miracle and the people were astonished.
However, there was more to come.

Every time Jesus focused on the actual man and saw in him what was needed to bring him to God.

Mary invited the servants to obedience to Jesus, and by the servants following Jesus?s request, they in turn, show us, that for our salvation we need trust and humility. If the servants had refused to follow this invitation Jesus could not have performed His miracle.

God needs our cooperation and acceptance for salvation. He never forces us against our will.
God will do everything for us but, we must make an effort to receive His grace and use it wisely, therefore, giving back to God.

These efforts are: faith, trust and obedience.

In today's Gospel, we are like servants, to be obedient to God, to have faith in God, and to trust in God.

And by doing these things, Jesus will do miracles in us and change us like He changed the water into wine.

Fr. Thomas

BAPTISTISM OF CHRIST

Long ago, it was once said: If we put a rock in the water it is wet. But, If we cut the rock in half inside it is dry.

When we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus we wish to come back to the moment of our own baptism when we received the responsibility a being a Christian. It is this moment when the priest says: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit by pouring water on our head.

This water not only cleanses us from original sin, but from this moment forward we are able to call God – Our Father. On the day of our Baptism we began our journey with God and in faith. The water of Baptism continues to nourish our souls in a better and deeper knowledge of God.
We must choose to nourish our soul or it will be dry like a rock.

Will our soul continually be fertile enough to receive the words of God and to grow in faith and love of God?

In today’s Gospel, God says to Jesus after Baptism : You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.

The same words God says over us on the day of our Baptism.
Can He still say the same words?
You are my child my Beloved?
Fr. Thomas

Baptism of Jesus – Jan 13

Long ago, it was once said: If we put a rock in the water it is wet. But, If we cut the rock in half inside it is dry.

When we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus we wish to come back to the moment of our own baptism when we received the responsibility a being a Christian. It is this moment when the priest says: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit by pouring water on our head.

This water not only cleanses us from original sin, but from this moment forward we are able to call God – Our Father. On the day of our Baptism we began our journey with God and in faith. The water of Baptism continues to nourish our souls in a better and deeper knowledge of God.

We must choose to nourish our soul or it will be dry like a rock.

Will our soul continually be fertile enough to receive the words of God and to grow in faith and love of God?

In today’s Gospel, God says to Jesus after Baptism : You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.

The same words God says over us on the day of our Baptism.

Can He still say the same words?

You are my child my Beloved?
Fr. Tom

January 6th - Epiphany of the Lord

The Wise Men … who were they? Who ARE they?

In the ancient world the wise men were the scientists, people with certain knowledge, and a huge influence on the daily life of the population as well as on the political and religious life of the state. They were actually "active" in the domain of -what we call today- natural sciences. Their knowledge was much more superior to the average person and even much more superior to the knowledge of the political leaders. They explained the dreams and events of life using their astronomical and mathematical knowledge.

In the catholic tradition, following the Gospel of St. Matthew, “After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east asking, 'Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage',” (Mt 2,1-2) we are talking about the Wise Men. Although, later in the Middle Ages under the influence of the Psalm 72,10 “the kings of Tarshish and the islands will pay him tribute. The kings of Sheba and Saba will offer gifts; all kings will do him homage, all nations become his servants.”.. Here, the name of kings is used. We don't even know how many of them were present at the stable in Bethlehem. Nevertheless, the tradition of celebrating the feast of God's revelation - the Epiphany, is actually older than the tradition of celebrating Christmas itself. It was known already in Egypt in the third century and in Rome in the fourth century. The Nativity of Christ was celebrated together with the visit of the Wise Men, the Baptism of Christ in Jordan and the first revelation of the divinity of Christ in Cana of Galilee.

However, what is more important is the meaning, the signification of this solemnity. We are living in a world of the large and overwhelming moral and religious relativism. We have lost our point of reference, our heads and our moral compasses are deregulated. In this world -like in the time of Jesus- we need some firm and well-founded not volatile rules and principles. We can easily replace the truth by feelings,"doing right" by "feeling good". This is why we need God's revelation as an ultimate, an unchangeable, unalterable truth. This is what we receive in Jesus Christ. He will tell about Himself -later in the Gospel of St. John- "I am the TRUTH, I am the WAY and I am the LIFE". Jesus Christ is for us... (especially for us, for His disciples)... the TRUTH, the WAY and the LIFE) … or.. is He not? As long as I have my personal, private truths,... which are far from Jesus,... as long as I have my individual and isolated ways of life, where Jesus has nothing to say, as long as my life is not aligned with the life of my Saviour … I am not a disciple of Christ, I have no right to call myself Catholic or Christian. Jesus said even stronger: "You will know the TRUTH and the TRUTH will make you free".

In those three Wise Men we can see all those who are searching for the truth, all those who are able to consecrate a lot to find the ultimate sense and meaning of life, to find Jesus Christ in His revelation. God's will is, to be with us (Emmanuel), God's will is, to reveal Himself to those who would like to know Him. He is not hiding; He is not playing any kind of games with us. He is ready to be known, and... to be loved. The only necessary condition is the honest willingness to know Him. The readiness to abandon my truths, my ways and even myself so to know more and more of God in His divinity.

He even become Man - Jesus Christ, and was known as the child of Mary, to be... more accessible, more available, more approachable.

In the Gospel of St. John Jesus says: "And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Where am I with my personal duty of knowing God? Am I following the way of the wise men or maybe I am rather with Herod? Afraid of, in panic, scared of Jesus?

New Year 2013

At the very beginning of the New Year we would like to turn to the Blessed Virgin,... Mother of God, .... to pray together with Her for  peace in the world.... but also for  peace in our families and,.. in us. 

Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "Each New Year comes with an expectation of something better, an expectation of a better future for all, so that everybody can realize his/her desire of a happy and peaceful life.
 
But, we can ask,..could it be true, could it be real this happiness and peace? Yes, it could,.. with one condition,.. that I become the witness and the agent of peace and hope. This peace and hope are the gifts of God and they can become a reality as long as I live according to the will of God, following His will as I pray in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done".

I can become an agent of peace and hope as long as I am full of peace of God, coming from the sacrament of reconciliation.

I will be the instrument of peace and hope, if I bring this peace and truth to my brothers and sisters living in disarray and stress,,, living in lie and disorder.

The New Year....-we are beginning today-... is a new opportunity given us by God to become blessed, saintly and happy as long as we follow His will and His "project" prepared for us for this New Year.

We have to accept the simple but fundamental truth that our faith is a vocation,... . a call to be a child of God. As well, to follow  our great God's plan for us, and, like Mary, who decided to be the "servant of God"  who brought us Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world by Her obedience to   God's vocation. She became the Mother of God for us, and she can ask and intercede for us, because She is also our Mother.
 
Let us pray today through Her intercession for the happiness for ourselves and for our families, for   peace in the world and in us, but also let us pray for the grace to be the true witnesses of God's love and the agent of peace and hope in our disoriented and confused world.

Holy Family Sunday – December 31, 2012

“Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Fathers house?

But they did not understand what he said to them”.

Mary and Joseph didn’t understand much about what was going on in their life since the visit of the Archangel Gabriel. Since the moment of the Annunciation, followed by the nativity of Christ in a very strange and unusual environment, the threat from King Herod, their hasty escape into Egypt, their new life in a strange country, and then finally their move back to Nazareth, Mary and Joseph must have been very confused. All of these events must have been for them a kind of surprise and a big shock, as well as moments of constant questioning: “What the heck is going on with our life?”

Certainly, all those circumstances could have been a cause of mutual frustration and misunderstanding. All this could cause quarrels and mutual criticisms, grudges, resentments and bitterness. This Family was really going through very serious difficulties in their life. And yet they didn’t finish in a disaster, in a divorce, in any kind of bitterness and mutual accusations. It was rather the opposite - a strengthening and intensification of their mutual love, mutual understanding and closeness in their family life. Despite of all the difficulties and problems, despite the fact that they were a very poor family, without means and without a future (from the human point of view), despite the fact that they were living a very basic and austere life, they didn’t end up in resentment and mutual hostility. Why? It was certainly because of the fact that Mary and Joseph were people of constant prayer and deep faith, but also because of the fact that Jesus was constantly with them. They were living in the constant presence of Jesus. Can you imagine what could happen with and in our families if we allowed Jesus to be present in our daily life?

Today’s Feast of the Holy Family shows us that faith and prayer have to be the most important elements of our family life. Our families are in trouble; our contemporary families are in deep jeopardy just because we do not allow Jesus to be present in them. Our faith, prayer, and the presence of Jesus in our families is restricted or limited to the scarce moments of Sunday Mass, or perhaps even less.

Prayer is supposed to become our daily companion and the source of answers for our questions: how to solve the problems, how to be a good father and good mother, a good husband and a good wife.

If faith and prayer are present in our homes, if Christ is present in our families, we can face the most difficult moments and the most challenging situations in our life and be sure that we will stay united and victorious throughout all harsh and ruthless moments of contemporary life. Where Christ is, there will be mutual understanding, love, strength and building up of our family life. Our family then, following the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, will truly become the Family of God.

And this is exactly what we, the pastors of this parish, wish sincerely to all FAMILIES today on the Feast of the Holy Family , the patron of our Parish: My OUR parish be composed of Holy Families, following the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Christmas Eve - 2012

As every year the Faith or the tradition guided us today to the church, to take part in this Mass.

As every year we are listening to the story of the Nativity of Christ among us.

As every year in our way through the year we are once again celebrating Christmas.

We are sending to our friends and relative the same Christmas wishes, sometimes singing the same Christmas Carols.

Apparently everything the same, repeated every year in the same or similar sequence …

But only at our tables there is somebody lacking, and instead of the person who should be there … there is an empty place …

And I? I am a little bit older, maybe a little bit more clever more modern, more eloquent and at the same time more tired, more busy, and –let us be frank- weaker and more fragile.

And what about God?

Throughout centuries the same, unchangeable, unalterable, eternal. With every Christmas He is becoming one among us, Emanuel - God with us. Is He closer to me, every year? Am I closer to Him every year?

For centuries the same Triune God: the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, trying constantly to offer me a deeper faith, more authentic love and stronger hope. He is striving to have a place in my life.

And what about the world?

Throughout centuries and millennia more beautiful, more attractive, more tempting and trying to overwhelm me, trying to take over on my faith, my love, my hope and finally my life. The world is constantly trying to separate me from God, to delay me in my journey to Bethlehem, to distract me so that I have no time, no possibility to meet the newborn Christ. The world is trying to distract me and to defend to listen and to see that He is weeping over the world, becoming more and more Godless.

But we are here today, we came to the crib, to kneel down and recognize Him as a Son of God. We are coming today to the church to worship and to meditate this mystery of God's love. We are coming here to the source of this love, to get something from this unutterable Mystery of God's Love. We are coming to ask Him to be a constantly present among us, so that the world through its sins does not fall away from His Love. We are coming to ask Him also for ourselves, so that we don’t fall away from His love. Let us pray for the intention that in our world we can see more God's presence in our brothers, so that God don’t weep over the inhuman world.

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C

Christmas is almost at the gate.

In our homes virtually everything is ready. We have prepared what is needed for celebrating this feast in a lovely and beautiful way.

We are also most probably ready.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  We will be celebrating the most beautiful and appealing feast of the new life. God will become a member of our human family. This historical fact which took place in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, is even now, two millennia later, a special and extraordinary sign. A sign of God's love and unalterable decision to invite everybody to join Him in heaven.

Since our childhood days, we remember only the good and warm things which happened in our lives.

Beautiful Christmas trees, colorful and bright decorations, snow, crèche, visiting members of our family, relatives, specially prepared food, presents and carols … all this is somehow connected with Christmas.

But, we know that all these elements are secondary and nonessential, as long as we do believe that God coming to us in this Divine Baby is the most import_ant reason for the season. And let us be frank, it is difficult.

We aren't becoming sentimental and emotional in celebrating Christmas, but rather cold and dry in keeping Christ in Christmas.

It is difficult because we, the citizens of the twenty first century, have to prepare a place in our daily life for somebody whom essentially we don’t know. We are not able to touch him, to talk with him, to see him. Moreover, God is choosing us to be the witnesses to His Son. He would like to touch others, and be heard by others through us, through the intermediary of our lives. It is because He chose us as His disciples, as His witnesses. Is it possible?

Obviously, if we pass this time of Christmas at the table or in front of the TV screen it will be impossible to be the witnesses to the newborn Christ. We will be celebrating a jolly feast, but we will not get anything deeper from Christmas.

Let us rather see the celebration of the nativity of Christ as a mystery of the new life, a birth of a new member of our family, as a birthday of our Best Friend. Let us find a little bit more time for our families, for God, for prayer, for adoration, just for being human. Let us learn how to see Him in our daily life, how to see His presence in those who are in need, in the normal, even the smallest events of our daily life.

We can give to ourselves the best present, the best gift. We can receive Christ into our life, into our families, into our homes and schools, and into our hearts.

And this is the Birth of God, the Birth of Christ in me.

Second Sunday of Advent – Year C

Let us just imagine a following situation. You got a possibility of organizing a huge marketing operation. You have unlimited financial means and possibilities, but you have to organize the promotion or marketing of faith or religion. You can go wherever you wish, to the schools, molls, public places, halls, shops and theaters just wherever you wish to say only one fundamental truth: "who was and constantly is Jesus Christ? The main object of the marketing is Jesus Christ.

But, an immediate question arises: Is it not too risky? It seems to be not a very good idea, not at all.

Firstly because, you will have none of the very attractive promotions and new products to offer, rather the old stuff, repeated for last 2 thousand years. Packaging is also rather not very attractive, since it is mainly composed by 10 commandments and some old fashioned moral teaching which seems to be not very popular.

Secondly it seems to be a difficult task to get your attention. Many will rather say: "I have too much to do and too much to care for, so I don’t have time for this kind of operation". Others will be rather too shy or intimidated to publicly speak about their faith. Even if we can find a group of volunteers who will be able to go and to perform this kind of marketing company, the effects could be somewhat mediocre, because who would like to listen to, who will be interested at all in this, Gospel message? The presence of the disciple of Christ preaching His Good News on the streets and in the public places will be intimidating or even offending and finally this idea will be classified as a fiasco and too idealistic to be performed in our laicised world.

We get used to the situation that God is tightly closed in the tabernacle and the most comfortable way of expressing our faith is on Sunday in the church and not in our daily life.

And in today's Gospel John the Baptist in a very simple but straightforward (direct) way is calling

"Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.

Every valley shall be filled

and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

The winding roads shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth,"

Prepare the way of the Lord, but what for? Do these words have any sense and meaning 20 centuries later? What does it mean "Make straight the paths of your life"?

Is Jesus not present in my life? Don’t I come for the Mass every Sunday (o, maybe almost every Sunday)? Do I not convert twice a year during Advent and Lent penitential services, confessing sincerely my sins? Do I need more? What for do I have to convert or to change my life? If I seriously admit that I need a conversion is it not to admit that I am living a messy and disordered life.

What for do I have to convert or to change my life if I think it is good, comfortable and fitting me perfectly?

The answer for this question is only one: I have to convert from my style of live and accept the way of Christ because I cannot and will not save myself, because He is the Saviour and the Redeemer and without Him I am unable to reach Heaven. I have to "make the crocked way of my life make straight", because otherwise they will lead me nowhere. I have to fill our every valley of my greediness and to level every mountain of my pride, because otherwise my selfishness and my pride will devour and destroy me. I have to convert because only Christ is able to liberate me from the slavery of sins. Without Him I can do nothing.

I Sunday of Advent

What is the meaning of Advent?

Can we say that today for many, Advent is limited only to the colorful streets, lampions and preparation of Christmas decorations, sumptuous displays in the shops and promotions in supermarkets and molls? For many contemporary, Advent means rather hours spend in hunting the Christmas gifts and presents. Will I be far away from the truth if I dare to say that although the season of Christmas is the season of light (what we can see on our streets and in our supermarkets) indeed internally for many among us it's the time of darkness or spiritual darkness, religious emptiness?

What is the deepest sense of all this?

Do you remember the Advent last year? Did it not look like this year in more or less the same way? Despite of the fact that since last Advent we became certainly wiser and more skilled, more involved in a different aspects of our daily life, can we say that also in our relationship with God we are better, deeper, more sincere and more honest? Or should we rather say that we did not progress, that for many years now we are living rather a kind of stagnation? And after Christmas with our faith will share the lot of the Christmas decorations, it will go to the storage room till next year?

At the beginning of this Advent we have to find a serious answer for a question: "what am I waiting for?" Because if this Advent will be for me once again (or once more) the time only for gifts and presents and external colorful lampions it is true that I will be afraid and frustrated when Jesus is talking about the inevitability of His final coming, I will be frustrated and scared, I will be afraid. And if I am afraid I will run away from Him, I will despise Him, I will run into the superficiality of colorful decorations. They are beautiful and cheering but if this is only the meaning of Advent and Christmas … let us be frank it is empty and superficial.

We have to know that the one of the most dangerous words for our spiritual life is the word "tomorrow". This word tries to convince me that I still have a time, plenty of time for confession, for prayer, for liberating my busy life for God. But in reality with "tomorrow" mentality I will never be able to say to God COME LORD JESUS. This is why today at the beginning of Advent we are receiving from God one more chance, one more opportunity to deepen our personal relationship with Emmanuel, with GOD WHO IS WITH US. It is the time when I suppose to prepare not only my house, to ornate and decorate not only the front doors of my apartment, to cleanse not only my flat but first at all to prepare my heart to accept God whenever He comes.

It will certainly cost me more than only external preparations but it will be certainly more successful and more rewarding if I have the courage to do it.

Advent is the time of preparation but first and foremost the internal preparation to meet God in so many different ways. He is coming in the manger; he is coming in His Word, Body and Blood during the Mass, He is coming also in my neighbour, in a poor, the needy, and starving. He is coming in so many ways. Am I ready to meet Him, do I wait for Him, or simply I DON’T HAVE TIME?