Ash Wednesday ...

"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return"

We will hear these exact words from the priest as he places the sign of the cross on our forehead with the ashes.
In this moment, the words are very serious, very solemn. However,as we hear in St. Pauls' words, "see now is the acceptable time, see now is the day of salvation", these words are encouraging.

Today is the day in our lives when we can say these are acceptable times for us to change ourselves for the better.

We must not only think of Jesus' suffering and death and our own death, but we must focus on Jesus on the cross, and His message.

This time of lent is not just a time to rid ourselves of our sins but rather a time to build a relationship with Jesus.
This why the prophet Joel says to "rend your heart not your clothing".
Clothing is our sins, and our heart is the mirror of our soul.

We are not just a body we have a spirit and, today when we are called to do penance and to renew our love to God we must see how our soul looks.

Is this not a fact, that our life dictates to our soul?

The less time we have for God in our life, as St. Paul says, "the less time we have to be reconciled to Him".
When we reconcile we are open to God's love to God's will.

The moment the symbol of the cross and ashes is placed on our foreheads, we begin the time of alms giving, prayer and fasting. This means it is time to do work in ourselves, as we call to Jesus "Help us in this time of lent bring us closer to You, our families,and to each other in our Holy Family Community".

I wish for you and myself, that after this lenten season our sins and our weaknesses will be the dust, and all the good we do will be the stability on our road to heaven. The stability of the road is like a cross, the sure way to a better life on earth and in eternity (heaven).

Fr. Thomas

humble resignation ....

I cannot sleep tonight ... I am too much excited by the shocking decision of the Pope Benedict.

One of many thoughts coming tonight:

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is only a beginning of the Calvary of the Church. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ was founded by Christ Himself on the Cross. The Renewal of the Church, wounded so strongly by liberals and perversities of some priests, bishops and even cardinals ... must come through the suffering, persecutions and purifications. Only those who love the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ in an unconditional way, will be able to go through the persecution.

The chaff must be sifted ... And this is the only one way of sifting. The chaff and rubbish can not resist the persecution and will be sifted in the hour of Ultimate Truth. Come Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Power, Spirit of Consolation and Spirit of Courage. Come Holy Spirit and renew the Face of the Church of Christ deformed so much by human perversities and sins. Amen ....

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C

Peter, and some of the apostles, were trying to catch fish all night, but their efforts produced no results. Then, Jesus appeared and everything changed.

Is this not the case in our own life when we try but our effort alone is not enough? Because,first of all, we must ask for God's help. Of course . Without God's help, or intervention our bigger efforts will produce no results.

The close associates of Christ did nothing, but they wanted something.

Of course, this does not mean that we should just wait for God's help and sit patiently waiting for His intervention.

Today's gospel shows us these truths:

First, we must be truthful. Christ loves us as we are. He knows the truth about us and our weaknesses. Let us be open for God's action in us.

Second, we must have perserverance. We can never be resigned or give up.
Sometimes we imagine that God's tasks are beyond our capabilities. It is then that our work is not effective.

Third, we must be mindful or obedient like a Christian. An obedient Christian is to have trust in God.

We must relinguish or abandon our agenda and have faith that God has a better idea or vision for our life.

Simon and his companions, after a successful catch, abandoned their nets full of fish and went and followed Jesus.
It was the first step toward the unknown but they had everything they needed.
They left everything behind and they were obedient to christ.

How many times have we lost OUR sense of direction?

How many times have we felt God is "kidding us" or is "pulling our leg" for not realizing OUR plans.?

How did you feel then? ..

After our emotions settle we start to see another direction or purpose a better direction we see Gods direction a higher purpose.

Because when we have lost everything we can profit more we profit with just God. .
Fr. Thomas

4-th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Often, people waste their energy on anger and rudeness.....why not use that energy to foster politeness...honor.. and love?

The fact is, that mutual anger towards each other builds more problems in our life.

In todays gospel, the citizens of Nazareth, "were filled with rage. They got up, drove Jesus out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built".
But Jesus peacefully walked away from them and disappeared into the crowds.

Christ could have answered his enemies with anger and hatred, but He did not. Christ is the "sower of love". He taught us how to love.

Many of our ideas and life plans are wasted because they lack love.

St. Paul writes about this in 1st Corinthians: "If I speak in the tongues of human beings and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

Who am I then? Why do I waste my energy? Does this "wasting" teach us what St. Paul states in his letter? Do we have another idea,...a preconceived notion?

St. Thomas says, "love is a thirst for the general good of other people".

A beautiful Japanese proverb says, "one polite word can warm three winters"

This hymn of love allows us to understand our place in the world, because we do not live here alone.....all around us are people who we can interact with in love,...by loving them.

In Nazareth, Jesus did not give any signs or do miracles because they lacked faith....but He tried to bring them to God thru the prophets.

If we do not offer our love to Jesus Christ ....we are rejecting Him. Our life will have an empty place. ......However, He will still be waiting for us.

We never know.... by whom or... through whom God comes to us to strengthen our faith in Him.
Fr. Thomas

3 Sunday in Ordinary Time - C

After 40 days of fasting Jesus returned from the desert to Galilee to the city of Nazareth. It was a very important time for Him. … A time of prayer, and a time of fasting, but, first of all a time of communion with Our Father. After that, he started his public ministry, in the synagogues, and in the temples, teaching His experiences of communion and love of His Father.

He wants to show us that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, and that He has a special place in God’s plan of salvation, as in the reading from the prophet Isaiah:

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”

 As a child of God I have a special place in His plan of salvation. Through the sacrament of Baptism we have been selected and anointed to participate in God’s plan of salvation. Especially today, because of misinformation in a very secular world we must be more peaceful, more loving, and more giving of ourselves to others.

We must give to the world the good news through our hands, through our hearts and through our words. Everybody can carry on in their daily life God’s Essential Elements but, first we need to take the time in the “desert” of our lives, to meditate to communion with God and to assure ourselves that we are children of God and our vocation is to spread the good news of salvation of Gods plan for all of us.

Fr. Thomas

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.