Parish Bulletin Article: "Seven days to Christmas!": 12-17-17

            Only seven days until Christmas Eve!

We had some fun events last weekend.  We had a tasty brunch at St. Columban with a craft and baked sale after their Mass.  Then, after Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas we had a delicious lunch with spaghetti and our St. Thomas Aquinas School students sang a few songs to prepare themselves for their concert later that week.

Please continue to discern and pray for stewardship—time, talent and treasure—as Advent is a perfect time to get ready for Christmas.

I mentioned last weekend as a way to support St. Thomas Aquinas.  To our parishioners there, I asked if we could together shovel the sidewalks around our parish and school.  If we can have 10-15 parishioners, we could save money through your time instead of paying with a contract to someone else.  We can take another step forward together with our family.

For all parishioners, please come on Tuesday evening for worship, prayer, and confession at St. Thomas Aquinas.  We will have a wonderful time towards the last days to prepare your heart for Christmas.

Finally, I am proud of all of you.  I am pleased that all of us are continuing to grow with conversations, relationships, and community events.  Let’s keep building our whole family as this shows depth to walk together with both Advent and our friendship with Jesus Christ.

God Bless!  

Knights of Columbus' Music and Thoughts

On Thursday, December 14th, our Knights of Columbus' brothers and their family members gathered together.  They asked me to walk through some ideas as we get ready for Christmas.

Listen to this talk and music here.

Students getting ready for Jesus: Thursday, December 14th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Some verses for your back pocket: Wednesday, December 13th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Running

“They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles' wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.”

Lives, jobs, missions, vocations

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves. 
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Our Lady's Visitations: Tuesday, December 12th, 2017 (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Our Lady’s visitation to Elizabeth

·      After the annunciation

·      Visited Elizabeth—who too was pregnant

o   “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe

·      December 9^th, 1531 visited Juan Diego

·      Visited for a whole culture

·      8 million people were converted to Jesus Christ

And where are we now?

·      Advent—13 days!

·      How does Our Lady visit you?

Friendship: Monday, December 11th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

“And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. 
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.” 

·      Friendship!

·      Who are your friends?

·      They were also clever

·      Several times Jesus affirmed such intuition and creativity

Spiritual and physical

·      Spiritual: “As for you, your sins are forgiven." 

·      Physical: “Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'? 
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." 

The Bible as a Library...check it out in Advent: 2nd Sunday in Advent

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

The Bible is the best book in the whole world

·      Most copies, most read, best author

·      Interesting to me why it isn’t on secular “Non-Fiction Lists”

In Advent, our readings through the liturgy is organized amazingly throughout the Scriptures

·      Kind of like a librarian organizing all the books

·      Our Church has organized different books within the Bible to hone into the season

For instance, we listened to the beginning of the Gospel according to Mark

·      “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths."

·      Prepare the way of the Lord…historical time and that is where we are in Advent

Isaiah

·      “Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.”

·      Sins are expiated: atonement!  Forgiveness!

As we walk through the last 16/15 days before Christmas, God gives us comfort, tenderly, proclamation

·      Confession is our way to receive physically and spiritually comfort, tenderly, service and forgiveness

·      I will be serving for confessions in Orr: Tuesday, and Cook: next Sunday

·      Confessions: Normal times, call

·      Big event will be on Tuesday, 19^th and my brothers are doing this for you

Parish Bulletin Article: "Parish Event during Advent": 12-10-17

I hope that each of you can make it to a powerful event during Advent.  Advent is a season to open your hearts to listen, pray and discern how to receive your deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  And why not do this a few days before Christmas?

We will be gathering on Tuesday, December 19^th at St. Thomas Aquinas parish.  This will begin at 6:00pm including a talk from Hannah Milani—a great faith formation coordinator in Virginia.  A few years ago she taught our kids through a Tutus Tuus retreat and now she is an amazing evangelist and disciple to follow her mission from Christ.

We will also be able to pray with praise and worship music with Justin Kostecka.  His talents—guitar and vocals—will set up a beautiful situation in God’s house, especially when Jesus Christ will be our central image through Eucharistic Adoration.

During this evening I hope that you can bring your sins into the light of our Savior.  I pray that dozens and dozens of you, brothers and sisters, will come back to our King and soak in his forgiveness, mercy and love.  Whether you haven’t been to a confession last week or decades ago, you are only a few days away and a few minutes into a 100% forgiveness event to confession.  And yes, we will have other visiting priests to support your sacrament to your King.

Please come to this event, as it will only prepare your heart to get ready for Christmas!

God Bless!

Mary in the story of God's rescue plan: Friday, December 8th, 2017 (Immaculate Conception)

Listen to the homily here.

The Rock: Thursday, December 7th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

The rock

·      Sermon on the Mount parable

o   Before Peter’s confession

·      “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.”

o   The foolish

·      Isaiah

o   “Trust in the LORD forever!  For the LORD is an eternal Rock.”

God’s House…our Catholic Church!

How do we serve others like Jesus did?: Wednesday, December 6th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

“Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others.  They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.” 

“Jesus summoned his disciples and said, ‘My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.  I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.’" 

How could they eat?  Do they buy their own food?  Were people paying Jesus Christ?

·      Nope

The disciples themselves were in awe and “normality”: "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?" 

And how did Jesus answer?  Fed everyone

Instead of asking questions to Jesus Christ like the disciples—like our budget, our school, our community, our economy—why don’t we see Jesus Christ who divine and offer providence to us?

Gifts from the Holy Spirit: Tuesday, December 5th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Foreshadow for the gifts from the Holy Spirit

·      “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.”

o   Piety

·      Isaiah before John the Baptist, before Jesus, before the Holy Spirit upon those who were baptized

·      And at the other side of the story is us

Charisms

·      What have you received?

o   Wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, fear of the Lord?

Jesus heals: Monday, December 4th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Powerful reading for all of us

·      And also through this Ritual: the Anointing of the Sick

Centurion approached Jesus

·      Centurion = Roman military officer in charge of 100 soldiers

·      Most important soldiers in the legion

·      He wasn’t Jewish!

Jesus said that he would meet his son and his response:

·      “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

·      And what do we say with elevation of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ at Mass?

o   “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

Jesus concluded

·      "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."

Opening your hearts to our Savior!

Begin Advent to wait with Jesus, Mary and Isaiah: 1st Sunday in Advent

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Welcome Advent!

·      Shortest Advent we can have

·      Three weeks and two days and Christmas comes

·      Ad-vent = arrival on the way

·      Pray, silence, Jesus Christ

In another different time and a different place Isaiah prophesied:

·      Centuries before Jesus Christ

·      BC = Before Christ

·      “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.”

o   Jesus wasn’t even born yet

o   And they were waiting for their Messiah…their King

In another different time and a different place: Jesus speaking to his disciples

·      “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be watchful!  Be alert!  You do not know when the time will come.’”

·      After Jesus’ birth, before Jesus’ death

·      And Jesus was speaking about another level when he would come back to earth

And between these events there was another time and another person: Mary…watchful and alert 

·      Nine months before the story that we know about

·      Annunciation

o   Fiat: let it be to me according to your word

·      We don’t know the actual date—today we remember it on March 25^th—why?  9 months away from Christmas

·      While we know the story, how often do we think about Christmas throughout the year?

o   Mary did!

o   Joseph did too and protected her and her son

We begin the story again

·      Advent, Christmas, Easter

Now place yourself in different times and places

·      The Israelites needed to be watchful and alert to prepare for their Messiah, their king

·      Disciples needed to watch and be alert

·      Mary was watchful and alert

o   And she said, “Fiat” to do God’s will

o   To bring Jesus Christ into the world

To you, listen in your heart:

·      “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.”

As we walk through Advent, do you watch…do you be alert…to know that Jesus Christ did

Parish Bulletin Article: "Learn about Advent": 12-3-17

            We welcome to a new year through our liturgical calendar and we begin it with Advent.

            This evening I recollected what Advent is, and how we should prepare ourselves toward Christmas.  To do so, I checked out the website from our United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and here is a succinct teaching for our new season:

“Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or "to come to") is the season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas.

The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.  The final days of Advent, from December 17 to December 24, focus particularly on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas).”

Take some time to learn more about Advent.  A great way to do this is to walk with your family that will assist you and your children.  Here are some great questions to be reminded or grow this season:

·      Why do we use a wreath?

·      Why do we see the color purple at Church or at home?  Why are there three purple candles and one pink/rose candle?

·      Why do we have a manger?

·      Why do we have Christmas trees?

Finally, we will be walking through Advent until the evening of December 24^th.  At that point we will begin Christmas, not for just one day, but eight!

Let’s have a powerful Advent!

God Bless!

Do you imagine what stuff here will be gone?: Tuesday, November 28th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Jesus prophesy with the Temple

·      The planet?

·      Stuff?

·      Changes?

Different place in the future

What do we give away?: Monday, November 27th, 2017

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Philadelphia

·      Young gal ran out of gas

·      Homeless man used his last $20 to help her

·      She then began a GoFundMe page with over $325,000

The widow

·      No name

·      Two small coins

·      Jesus said:

What do you give away?