His Word Today: Saints Peter and Paul

Saints Peter and Paul
Oil on canvas by El Greco, c. 16th century

Good morning everyone,

Today there is great rejoicing in Rome, for this is the liturgical Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

Saint Peter (also known as Simon) was one of the apostles.  According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified by the order of Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar sometime between AD 64 and 68.  He was crucified upside down at his own request since he thought himself unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus had been put to death.  His mortal remains were buried on the Vatican hill and soon afterward, the early followers of the Way built a chapel over the place of his burial.  That chapel has been re-built many times.

The present-day Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican stands over the spot where Saint Peter was buried.  Mortal remains believed to be his lie below the high altar inside that Basilica to this day.

Saint Paul, otherwise known by his Jewish name - Saul of Tarsus - was also an apostle, though not one of the original twelve, who taught the gospel of Christ in the first century AD.  He is believed to have lived between the years AD 5 and AD 64 or 67.

According to writings in the New Testament, prior to his conversion, Paul was dedicated to persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. In the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.  He travelled extensively through the known world proclaiming the Gospel, but he ultimately returned to Rome and spent two years living there under house arrest before his death.

Both Peter (cf Acts 12:1-11) and Paul (cf 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18) knew what it was to be bound and imprisoned, but all earthly attempts to silence them were unsuccessful.  Their martyrdoms continue to speak to us today as testimony to the fact that Jesus, who rose from the dead, has promised to prepare a place for each of us in the Father's house.  May these two faithful followers of Jesus intercede for us and may God grant us the grace to be fervent examples of faith for those we encounter.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Irenaeus

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, a Bishop who lived in the second century A.D (died about 202).  Saint Irenaeus was probably from Smyrna, a city in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey.  He was a priest of the Church of Lyon (France) but was actually in Rome while many of his brother priests were imprisoned under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180).  Following the death of Saint Ponthinus, the first Bishop of Lyon, it was Irenaeus who was chosen to succeed him.

As a Bishop, he spent much of his energy combatting Gnosticism (the belief that the material world was created by an act of God by which a divine spark was trapped within the human body).  To counter the doctrines of the Gnostics, it was Irenaeus who proposed three pillars for the orthodoxy of the Church: Sacred Scripture, the Tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles, and the teachings of the Successors of the Apostles.

The second Book of Kings describes the brief reign of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who ultimately surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-17).  God's people have known both times of suffering and times of prosperity.  Thanks to the persistence of heroes of faith like Irenaeus, the Church continues its reliance on three sources which maintain our orthodoxy.  Be proud of your faith today and ask Saint Irenaeus to help you to be firm in your convictions.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: The Law of God

Good morning everyone,

The episode that is recounted in today's first reading (2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3) speaks of the wisdom of God that is passed on to his people though the Law (which is also known as the Torah).  The Book of the Law is composed of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers.

As it was then, so in our days, the wisdom contained in these Books of the Bible are shared every time that we gather and read from them - as we are doing during the Masses that are celebrated in these weeks.  The guidance given in these pages is meant to help us to nourish our own relationships with our God, to strengthen us in our faith and to help us to be examples of God's love for the benefit of those we meet.

Pope Francis has - on repeated occasions - suggested that we should all carry a small copy of the gospels in our pockets or in our purses, so that we can read a few words of scripture each day.  These words will allow us to spend time with God every day and spending time in the presence of God will help us to learn about him and to grow closer to him.  The Law of the Torah might be a good place to start - so that we can get to know the person of God ... he has so much to share with us, if only we would come close to him and allow him to teach our hearts.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Pray with confidence

Good morning everyone,

When you pray, do you pray with conviction?  Do you pray with the certainty that God is indeed listening?  This is the difference between reciting prayers and truly praying: entering into a conversation with a divine friend who loves us, who cares for us and who always wants to help us.  When we pray with conviction, and if we are attentive, we will soon discover that our prayers do indeed reach the ears of someone who is listening.

Proof of this is found repeatedly in the stories that dot the Old Testament (and also the New Testament).  In the first reading for today's liturgy, we find Hezekiah, the king of Judah in the temple of the Lord and praying: Incline your ear, O Lord and listen (2 Kings 19:16), and a few verses later, the answer to Hezekiah's prayer is given: I have listened! (2 Kings 19:20).

When you pray, dare to believe that your prayers are heard, that someone (God) is listening, and that whatever you ask for will be granted, if it is for your good.  Then watch for the wonderful ways that God answers our prayers.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Follow the rules

Good morning everyone,

As we begin the final week of classes for elementary students, perhaps it is the teachers and support staff who are uttering their prayers this morning: Help us ... Lord (cf Psalm 60).  Help us to be patient with the students for a few more days; help us to be living examples of your love for them (and for one another).  Help us to always remember that you are the one who is our teacher.

Our God has always been a patient teacher.  Ever since the first days when he walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, he has always been trying to teach us how to live and love as he does.  How many times have we been the ones who have chosen not to follow the rules (cf 2 Kings 17:5-18), preferring to think that we can change the rules to suit ourselves or that we can make up the rules on our own with little if any regard for the wisdom that the teacher wanted to impart?

We can turn to the Lord and ask for help; our prayers will always be heard and the help will always be given.  Perhaps today, we can look back over the past little while and be thankful for the lessons that we have learned from our heavenly teacher.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if all students could?

Have a great day.

Secrets revealed

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist.  Other than Jesus and Mary, John is the only one whose birthday is recorded in such detail in the Bible, and celebrated with such solemnity.

Long before John played his part on the stage of our story of faith, the prophet Isaiah had said: The Lord called me from birth; from my mother’s womb he gave me my name (Is 49:1).  These words were fulfilled when the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah ... and said to him, Do not be afraid, ... your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John (Lk 1:11-13).

The angel went on to describe the great joy that this son would bring to the elderly Zechariah, his wife and many others (cf Lk 1:14-17).  As proof of the authenticity of the gift that God was offering, he took away Zechariah’s voice until the time of his son’s birth (cf Lk 1:20).

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.  Her neighbours and relatives ... rejoiced with her (Lk 1:57-58).  After all, she was not a young girl and she had lived for many years without knowing the blessing of a child.  I wonder how often Elizabeth and Zechariah had wondered about whether the Lord had abandoned them.  How often had they prayed for such a blessing?  Had they resigned themselves to the fact that perhaps God was not listening to their prayer? How often does this still happen to couples today?  Yet there is still reason to hope.

All Jewish males are circumcised at birth.  The custom at the time was to name a newborn child eight days after his birth, at the time of his circumcision and, it was also the custom that a child would carry on the name of his or her parents, grandparents or someone else in his or her family.  Therefore, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but when they asked the question, his mother answered: No, he will be called John (Lk 1:60).  This was something unheard of, a new name that was to appear in Zechariah’s family tree, and it was confirmed by Zechariah himself when he asked for a tablet and wrote: John is his name (Lk 1:63) and everyone was amazed.

The story of the Birth of John the Baptist reminds us that God is always at work within us, doing wonderful things: finding fresh and new ways to speak to us, and we in turn must be courageous enough to tell others about the encounters we have had with Him.  Each time that we meet the Lord, it is a new beginning.  Each time we encounter Him, he fills us with joy.  Sometimes, he reveals himself to us in hidden ways and it takes us a little bit of time to understand the gift that he has given us, but in time, he will show us how that gift is to be used so that we can refresh the tired and dejected hearts of our brothers and sisters with the joy of our faith.

John the Baptist heralded the coming of Jesus in a way that had never been done before him (cf Acts 13:22-26).  In our day, Jesus needs us to do the same by finding new and fresh ways to tell others that He is alive, living among us.

His Word Today: Not again

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever noticed how often we seem to change our minds?  Sometimes it seems as though we are thirsting to follow in Jesus' footsteps at one moment and in the very next breath we are distracted by something else and find ourselves drifting in another direction.

I think that God's people have always had to face this temptation.  The Book of Chronicles says today that although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the Lord, the people would not listen to their warnings (2 Chron 24:19).  They heard the word of God, their hearts were filled with joy, even to the point of overflowing and bursting, yet throughout history (and our own lives are testimony to this truth), as soon as we lose sight of God in our lives, we start to slip backwards, falling into selfishness and becoming more and more absorbed in the cares of the world.

Thankfully, we can rely on the Lord's promise: Forever I will maintain my love for my servant (Psalm 89).  Today, in your prayer, let these words resound in your hearts.  Listen to them with your ears, but allow these words to find a home deep within you so that you can rest in them, in the promise that God's love for us is forever.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Something precious

Good morning everyone,

The portion of the second Book of Kings that is prescribed for today's liturgy (2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20) describes yet another episode of competition and fighting for places of prestige and honour among those who are our ancestors in faith.  People went to great extents to overthrow the leaders of their time, and equally cunning measures were also called for in order to safeguard the rightful claimants to those places of respect, even to the point of hiding infant children within the walls of the Lord's temple (cf 2 Kings 11:1-3).

Once again, these chapters, which form a part of the living history that we continue today, are meant to remind us of the great lengths to which people have been willing to go in order to protect the treasure that has been entrusted to us ... and this is the same for us today.  We who have discovered the treasure of our faith, and who come to recognize it day after day in the relationship of love that Jesus invites us to realize, are indeed privileged.

Like the saints who are recognized throughout history, and like the holy people who we all have known, we too are called to continue the living tradition of faith that has been passed on to us.  It is a precious tapestry woven out of the experiences of others, bound together by the love that we have heard about in the scriptures and come to experience in our own lives.  Give thanks today for the precious treasure of our faith, and pray for the courage to be a willing example of faith for others.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Good morning everyone,

Today's first reading (Sirach 48:1-14) focuses our attention once again on the person of Elijah.  Known and revered for his holiness, Elijah was granted the special privilege of speaking words that were like a flaming furnace (Sir 48:1) and of ultimately being enveloped in a whirlwind (Sir 48:12) and taken into heaven at the end of his earthly life.  Such dramatic images make the history of God's people truly something to behold, but what is even more compelling is the fact that the lives we are meant to live in relationship with our God are just as compelling.

One example of such a compelling life is found in Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.  Born 9 March 1568 not far from Brescia (in Northern Italy), Luigi (as he was known at the time, was from an aristocratic family.  The first-born of seven children, he was in line to inherit his father's title and status as Marquis.  In preparation for this eventuality, he received military training from an early age, but he also received an education in languages and in the arts.

By the age of 8, Luigi had already witnessed the death of two of his brothers, and himself contracted a kidney disease.  Recovering from his illness, he began to read about the saints and to spend much of his time in prayer.  In 1580, he met Cardinal Charles Borromeo who celebrated the Sacrament of Communion with him for the first time on 22 July of that year.

Having read a book about Jesuit missionaries in India, Luigi felt strongly that he wanted to be a missionary.  He began by teaching catechism to young boys in his hometown of Castiglione during the summer months.  He also visited the Capuchin Friars and the Barnabites in the Dutchy of Montferrat where his family spent the winter months.  Perhaps during those visits, he was further enticed to consider a religious vocation.

In 1581, Luigi began to seriously consider joining a religious Order.  He considered the Capuchins but he had a Jesuit confessor at the time and decided to join that Order instead.  His mother was happy about his decision but his father was furious because this would have changed his hopes and dreams for his beloved son.  It wasn't until November 1585 that Luigi renounced all rights to inherit his father's fortune and title, choosing instead to lead a life of asceticism.  On 25 November of that year, he was accepted as a Novice in the Society of Jesus.

Throughout his Noviciate and studies in philosophy, he continued to suffer from kidney disease as well as skin disease, chronic headaches and insomnia.  It was in 1587 that he took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and then began his studies in theology.

In 1591, a plague broke out in Rome and the Jesuits opened a hospital to care for those who were stricken by the disease.  Aloysius volunteered to care for the sick and the dying, washing and feeding plague victims and preparing them to receive the Sacraments.  Though he persisted in this work, he privately confessed to his spiritual director that he was revolted by the sights and smells of such work.

Eventually, his exposure to the plague victims resulted in his own contracting of the disease.  A few days before his 23rd birthday - on 3 March 1591, Aloysius was bedridden by his disease.  Over the next few months, he rallied but eventually, he died on 21 June 1591.  He was buried in the church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in Rome (Sant'Ignazio).

Even today, many centuries later, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga continues to inspire many young people to discover the gift of their faith.  May he also encourage them to say yes to the Lord's invitation to follow in his footsteps: to be close to his people and to reach out to them with gestures of love, always caring for the wounds of Christ in the visible and invisible wounds of others.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Holy Moments

Good morning everyone,

Today, the scriptures recount the moment when Elijah completed his earthly journey and continued into heaven (cf 2 Kings 2: 1, 6-14).  Anyone who has had the privilege of being present at the bedside of a loved one in his or her final moments of earthly life knows that those final moments are indeed a blessing.

It often happens that hearts are opened to one another in a way that they have never been opened throughout entire lifetimes.  Joys and sorrows shared are remembered with grateful hearts, reluctances and hesitations are often explained in the sacred space created when life's limits become evident ... most of the time, but not always.

All moments of life are meant to be sacred, shared with loving companions who know us deeply, love us tenderly and help us to walk in humility with God and with others.  May the prophets of scripture - Elijah and Elisha - instruct our hearts so that we can grow in our awareness of this grace.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: A change of heart

Good morning everyone,

The scriptures are filled with the adventures and mis-adventures of God's people.  This week, we have read the story of Ahab whose wife Jezebel even went so far as to falsely condemn someone to death so that her husband could gain physical possessions.  Today, the scriptures continue, and we see that when Ahab realizes the error of his way, he repents: He tore his garments (as a sign of his shame) and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh as a mark of repentance for his sin (1 Kings 21:27).

Even in our day, many people may be tempted to think that they don't have to answer for their actions and words, but the truth is that we are all part of one family: God's family.  If only we could realize how precious this reality truly is, perhaps we would look at life differently.  Living in relationship with Jesus, and with our brothers and sisters, we come to realize that each person who we meet has something to offer us - a smile, a pleasant word, some kind of encouragement or help - and that we too have it within our power to make other people's journeys through life a little bit better.

Even if we have not always realized this truth, it is not too late to ask our loving God to reveal it to us, beginning today.  Ask for that grace and prepared to be pleasantly surprised.  Prepare also to have your heart filled with an overwhelming desire to be generous with your talents and gifts: this is the natural response to the awareness of goodness in our midst.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Rooted

Good morning everyone,

We live in a society that preaches a very interesting message: all will be well if you can be rich, if you can look good ... but there is an important factor that is missing in this message ... that we need to always understand ourselves in light of our ancestors: what they have done for us, how much they have sacrificed, the true value of the treasure they have bequeathed to us.

In ancient Israel, this sense of rootedness was made evident in the land that was passed down from one generation to another.  The same plot of land often remained in the same family, being farmed by some and providing pasture for livestock belonging to others.  In this context, we see the drama unfold between Naboth and Ahab in today's first reading (1 Kings 21:1-16).  Ahab is rich and thinks that his money should be able to buy him more land, so he approaches Naboth and begs him: Give me your vineyard for my vegetable garden (1 Kings 21:2).  By asking such a question, Ahab demonstrates plainly that he has no regard for the sacredness of the land that had belonged to Naboth and his family.  By comparison, Naboth is very well connected to the land that is his birthright.  He denies Ahab's request quite plainly: The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage (1 Kings 21:4).  In fact, Naboth lost his life for his land.

Jesus took Naboth's commitment to yet another level when he encouraged his disciples to offer no resistance to one who is evil (Mt 5:39) ... in fact, Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles (Mt 5:41).  Only someone who is well connected to his or her roots, someone who knows where he or she has come from, can be free enough to give so freely.

Have a great day.

Sowing seeds

We received word this week of the sudden death of Monsignor David Cresswell, a priest of our diocese.  Monsignor Cresswell has served various parishes throughout our diocese since his Ordination in 1963, including Our Lady of Fatima in Elliot Lake and Saint James the Greater in Blind River.  For the last sixteen (16) years, he has been living in Coniston and exercising his priestly ministry among the parishioners at Saint Paul the Apostle parish.

The work of a priest is to live among the people of God, doing as Jesus did: scattering seeds on the land (Mk 4:26).  In various parishes throughout the diocese and during the time he spent in Gualan, Guatemala (from June 1965 until March 1971), Monsignor Cresswell scattered the seeds of faith.  Like the farmer in the gospel, he never knew whether those seeds would take root, but he continued to share the gift of his own faith with those he met, always encouraging them to discover the love of God in their own lives.

This is how it is for all of us.  Our task is to sow seeds.  We sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed sprouts and grows, we know not how (Mk 4:27).  It is God who inspires within our hearts the desire to know him and it is He who continues, night and day, the process of helping the seeds that we have planted to grow.  Like good gardeners, we are called to care for the seeds of faith that are sown in the hearts of those we encounter: to water them regularly with our prayer and to help them to grow through the example of our faith.

Saint Paul tells us that we must always be courageous in this task (cf 2 Cor 5:6).  It takes courage to speak about God to those around us, and it takes even more courage to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), yet this is what we strive to do every day.  We must never allow the lights of this world to blind us to the truths that we have discovered, otherwise, we will run the risk of losing our way.  Instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, knowing that heaven is our ultimate goal, our true homeland.

At some level, we all know this to be true, but we still face the temptation to doubt when we look around us and see that there are less and less people choosing to associate themselves with organized religion.  When we are tempted to doubt, it might help to take a step back and to remember that this is God’s church, that he is always at work, planting and transplanting the tender shoots (cf Ez 17:22) of faith he has planted within our hearts so that others can also come to know and love Him.

The funeral Mass for Monsignor David Cressell will be celebrated at Saint Paul the Apostle parish in Coniston on Wednesday morning, June 20 beginning at 10:00am.  May the Lord who called him to serve as a priest in this Diocese now welcome him home and grant him the gift of eternal life in His presence, and may the members of his family and those who are saddened by his sudden departure be comforted in the knowledge that the day he has longed for has finally come to pass.

His Word Today: Seek guidance

Good morning everyone,

It seems that at all moments of life, we need to seek guidance from time to time.  When we are children, we look to parents and other adults who are significant to us.   As we grow, we look to peers, colleagues ... all along, people of faith learn that it is possible to look to our faith to gain the wisdom that we need.

Evidence of this truth is found in a passage taken from the first Book of Kings (1 Kings 19:11-16).  Elijah came to the mountain of God ... to a cave where he took shelter (1 Kings 19:9).  There, he encountered the Lord and said: I have been most zealous for the Lord ... but the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant ... I alone am left, and they seek to take my life (1 Kings 19:14).  If Elijah had expected the Lord to change his mind and send him off to another destination, he may have been disappointed because the answer to his prayer was: Go back, take the road back to the desert near Damascus ...  (1 Kings 19:15).

Like Elijah, we too must always remember to go in search of the Lord when we are in need of guidance.  Even if he does not answer our prayer right away, we can remain persistent in our expectations, for he will never turn his back on us.  Instead, he will always listen to our prayers and will offer guidance.  Then it is up to us to follow his advice.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Trust

Good morning everyone,

Today's scripture reading, taken from the first Book of Kings (18:41-46) reminds us of the importance of trust in any relationship, but most especially in our relationship with God.  Elijah had already provided proof of the presence and power of God when he had called down fire upon his offering in the sight of all those who had refused to change their ways and worship God (1 Kings 18:22-39), but he had to go further in order to convince the skeptical crowd.

There had been a severe drought in all the land, yet Elijah urged King Ahab, saying: there is the sound of heavy rain (1 Kings 18:41).  There was not a cloud in the sky, but Elijah did not let this stop him from believing.  Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, crouched down and put his head between his knees (1 Kings 18:42), praying, hoping and trusting that what the Lord had said through him would come to pass … and it did!

Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Our God is the God to whom Elijah prayed, in whom he trusted.  Our God has never turned His back on His people.  Our God has always loved us and has always been willing to provide for us.  Do we call out to Him when there are droughts in our lives: when we find it hard to believe, to trust, to love?  Do we sit and wait for Him to answer, all the while trusting that He is there?  He will never turn his back on us because he loves us and wants only the best for us.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Anthony of Padua

Today, the Church celebrates one of the most beloved of the Saints.  He is beloved because he always managed to find a way to stay close to the people he served.  His heart was always open and he was constantly looking for ways to help simple ordinary people understand a very simple truth: God loves us!

Fernando Martins started out in life just like all the rest of us.  He had a mother and a father who loved him, and because they were relatively wealthy, he could have had anything he desired.  Yet, at the age of fifteen years, he asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra (which was the capital of Portugal at the time).  There he studied theology and Latin with the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, an Order of priests who followed the Rule of Saint Augustine.

Fernando was eventually Ordained a priest as one of the Canons Regular and served as guest master for some time until he was introduced to Franciscan friars who settled in a small hermitage outside Coimbra.  His ongoing conversations with the Franciscans allowed him to draw close to them and eventually he felt a calling to leave the Canons Regular and to become a Franciscan, taking the religious name of Anthony, after Saint Anthony of Egypt, a third-century religious hermit.

Saint Anthony’s constant curiosity inspires us to be like Elijah.  In the first reading for today’s Mass, the Lord tells him: Go out and stand on the mountain (1 Kings 19:11).  Standing there, Elijah made himself vulnerable, but he had to do that in order to experience the gift that God had prepared for him.  We too are standing and making ourselves vulnerable.  We have come to celebrate the Eucharist.  In this place, we hope to meet the Lord and to discover the gifts that he has prepared for us today.  It was his ability to make himself vulnerable that allowed Saint Anthony to constantly go out and to follow the path that the Lord was pointing out.

Inspired by the zeal of his Franciscan brothers, he travelled with them to Morocco where he began to spread God’s word.  However, he became extremely ill and was sent back to Portugal.  As Providence would have it, his ship was blown off course and he ended up in Sicily instead of in Portugal, and from there, he travelled to Tuscany.  He continued to pray and to study as he recovered there from his illness.

Anthony earned a reputation as a beloved preacher because he was very learned, but he also had a gift for explaining the mysteries of God with language that could be understood by everyone.  If he were here with us today, I wonder what he would say about the gospel passage that we have heard (Mt 5:27-32)?

The sin of adultery is one that few people will admit to, but we live in a society that has become extremely promiscuous, so I am sure that if he were here, Saint Anthony would not shy away from the subject.  Perhaps he would use this occasion to say to us that sometimes people need to be shocked into realizing the great treasure that has been entrusted to us: the treasure of our faith.  Many people, perhaps even some who you and I know personally, seem to find all kinds of excuses to deny the fact that they need God in their lives, or they prefer to speak with Him one on one rather than participating in the life of a local parish.

The problem with this individualistic way of thinking is that we become increasingly concerned with our own interests and content ourselves with that which is pleasing to us.  In the meanwhile, we run the risk of cutting ourselves off from other people and we become deaf to their cries for help.  It is at such times that we need to be shocked into realizing that we need one another in order to make it through this life.

Jesus used some very graphic images to make his point.  He spoke about tearing out an eye (Mt 5:29), and cutting off a hand (Mt 5:30) if they should cause us to sin.  Perhaps we don’t need such drastic measures, but maybe we need to ask Saint Anthony to pray with us today, to help us understand with our minds and our hearts how much our God loves us.

If we can begin to experience God’s love in our lives, if we can begin to experience the tender and loving way that our God listens to us when we speak with him, if we can begin to experience the way that our God is always present to us, inviting us to come close to him and always ready to help us ... maybe we in turn will also be inspired to listen compassionately to others.  Perhaps we will want to tell others how important it is that we spend time together, sitting around a table and enjoying good food, talking with one another about the everyday joys and worries of life.  If we can learn to trust one another with our stories, we can also learn to trust in God.

Let us ask Saint Anthony to pray for us today, so that the Lord will soften our hearts and make it possible for us to learn how to trust in Him, how to trust in others, and most of all to believe with all our hearts that God loves us.

His Word Today: Give always

Good morning everyone,

Today, the scriptures focus our attention on a widow in a small town called Zarephath.  She would never have been known to us except for the fact that she was courageous enough to extend hospitality to him.  Her husband had died and she was living alone with her son.  This would have been a difficult situation, but she was doing what she could - gathering sticks in order to prepare a small meal with the last of her provisions.

What worries were going through her head as she gathered those sticks?  Was she worried, scared or resigned to the fact that she had only a handful of flour left in her jar and a little oil left in her jug (1 Kings 17:12)?  With all these thoughts rolling around in her head, a stranger arrived on the scene and asked: please, bring me a small cupful of water to drink (1 Kings 17:10).  What was he asking?  Did he not know that there was a drought, that her water jar was running low?  Yet, he went further: Please, bring along a bit of bread (1 Kings 17:11).

The man who was asking questions was a stranger to her, yet the code of conduct of the time demanded that she extend hospitality to him.  To do that, she had to really stretch her heart so that she could give away the little that she had.  Sometimes we feel the same way - our bodies and souls are thirsty for refreshment and rest, yet at that particular point, someone else calls out to us for help.  We need to dig deep in order to find the strength to give out of our own emptiness, yet if we do, we are often rewarded beyond our dreams: we find that there is always enough flour in our jars and enough oil in our jugs.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Barnabas

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Barnabas, one of the earliest Christian disciples who was well known in Jerusalem.  Barnabas was actually born in Cyprus and of Jewish origin.  The Acts of the Apostles tells us that news about the early Christians reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch (Acts 11:22).

Barnabas was overjoyed to find faith in the early Christians at Antioch.  He rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart (Acts 11:23).  From Antioch, he travelled to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch where the Christian community was already established.

Barnabas and Paul established a wonderful friendship and encouraged many by their own example to follow in the footsteps of the Lord.  Give thanks today for the people in your life who are examples of faith for you, and ask the Lord to strengthen this gift in your heart so that you in turn can share it with others.

Have a great day.

Look Forward in Faith

Week after week, this community gathers to celebrate the Eucharist.  Every time we do, the Lord is present in our midst: gently and lovingly caring for our needs and feeding us with special food.  It’s important that we never lose sight of the history that is behind this special food.  That’s the reason why we read a part of our faith history at every Mass.

Today’s first reading places us at the moment when Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden ... and they hid themselves (Gen 3:8).  What follows is a reflection of the reaction that every one of us encounters when we know that we’ve done something wrong.  Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree that they were not supposed to touch and so they hid themselves from God’s presence.  What’s interesting is that God comes looking for them.  The Lord God called to the man and said to him: Where are you? (Gen 3:9).  Our God always comes looking for us.  Even when we may be ashamed of our actions and prefer to hide, He will always come looking for us, because he loves us.

The conversation that takes place between God, Adam, Eve and the serpent is very revealing.  Have you ever noticed that when we have done something wrong, we are always quick to blame someone else for our own mistakes?  Why does it always seem so much easier for us to point blame at others rather than owning up to our mistakes?  Adam blamed Eve for giving him fruit from the tree (cf Gen 3:12) and Eve blamed the serpent for tricking her into eating the fruit (cf Gen 3:13).  The devil is always at work, trying to deceive us, but that’s not the end of the story.

In the gospel, we find a moment when Jesus had returned home (cf Mk 3:20).  Home is supposed to be a place where we can relax, enjoy a meal and refresh ourselves before continuing on the journey of life. Even in that place though, the crowd came together ... so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat.  Did his human emotions get the better of him?  Maybe he was grumbling – wouldn’t we? – so the people were saying that He has gone out of his mind (Mk 3:21).

Almost immediately though, it seems that Jesus regained his composure, and we see the real lesson of today’s scripture passage.  Jesus invites us to gather around his table, to share a meal with him.  In this place, we are nourished and refreshed and the food that he gives us helps us to continue doing his work: the work of recognizing God’s loving and merciful presence in our world.  God has always wanted to live with us, to walk with us in the garden (cf Gen 3:8) and to help us to live in peace and harmony with one another.

The devil is always present, trying to deceive us and to take away the gifts of peace and harmony, replacing them with discord (cf Mk 3:24-26).  Thankfully, God us much smarter than the devil: he knows all his tricks and catches him at his own game, every time.

Jesus has invited us to gather in this place.  He reminds us today that even though the devil is always at work, He is there to protect us.  We have come to believe this because we know that the one who raised Jesus will raise us also with Him and will bring us into his presence (2 Cor 4:14).  Let us give thanks for this great gift.

His Word Today: the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Good morning everyone,

Saint Paul's words to Timothy sound as though they were written just yesterday: For the time will come, he says, when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth ... (2 Tim 4:3).

Even if this appears to be the case, we must always proclaim the word ... be persistent in doing so (2 Tim 4:2), and we must constantly seek out the occasions when we encounter hearts that are receptive to the Word.  We cannot do this alone.  Instead, we must call on the assistance of those who have gone before us, and who better to help us than our heavenly mother?

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Like yesterday's celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today's commemoration reminds us that Mary has an immaculate and maternal heart that is always ready and willing to welcome us, to listen to our pleas and she will always find a way to help us carry out her Son's desire.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: the Sacred Heart

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  This devotion focuses on the constant outpouring of love and compassion from the heart of Jesus upon all his beloved children.  This devotion was introduced by a French nun by the name of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque who received a series of apparitions of Jesus between 1673 and 1675.

It is also the World Day of Prayer for Priests.  Saint John Paul II introduced this Day of Prayer in 2002.  All Catholics are invited to pray today for the sanctification of priests: to remember them in prayer and thanksgiving, and to ask God for the grace that they may continually rediscover the gift of their own ordination and experience the joy of the mission entrusted to them.

It is fitting that the prophet Hosea speaks of God's love for his people with the words: When Israel was a child I loved him ... I took him in my arms ... and loved him (Hos 11:3-4).  Today, we should pray for the grace to be aware of this grace in our lives.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: No chains

Good morning everyone,

All mothers know that if their children are in danger, they will do anything in their power to bring them back to safety.  To varying degrees, this willingness to put ourselves on the line is also true for everyone: depending on the degree to which we love the person who is in danger.

Saint Paul wrote to his beloved disciple Timothy speaking about Jesus in this way.  Beloved, he says, remember Jesus Christ ... such is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of chains, like a criminal (2 Tim 2:8-9).  Paul's conversion was dramatic, but he had come to understand that Jesus is willing to go to any length in order to save his beloved children.  Paul came to understand this truth because his love for and commitment to Jesus had been nurtured through the example he found in the apostles and in other disciples of Jesus, to the point where he could endure even prison because he knew that the word of God is not chained; it is free, active, at work in the hearts of all believers and even in the hearts of those who doubt it's power.

Have you known people who are so committed to their faith that they would willingly suffer rather than deny it?  What about you?  Has your faith been strengthened through the example of others?  Do you take time to listen for the still small voice of Jesus who is always ready to instruct your heart?  Have you discovered the wisdom that comes from His words ... they are not chained, they are free and they continually invite us to discover the joy of being his disciples.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Accentuate the positive

Good morning everyone,

A wise person once told me that the most effective way to help others to improve is to accentuate the positive.  This principle works for teachers - of all disciplines - who choose to focus on what their students do well and it works in all cases where mentors and pupils walk side by side.

The same was the case when Saint Paul wrote to his apostle Timothy, pointing out to him at the very beginning of his letter that he was grateful to God ... as I remember you constantly in my prayer, night and day (2 Tim 1:3).  From this point of departure, Paul shared some practical advice about how Timothy and his companions could set about living their faith.  This is what we all must do.

Be aware today (if you can) of the people who look to you for guidance and wisdom.  Be attentive to the ways in which you encourage them to recognize within themselves the successes they have achieved.  In light of those successes, it seems as though even their most challenging situations tend to improve, and the world around us is that much of a better place.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Boniface

Good morning everyone,

Saint Peter reminds us today that we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).  This is the hope that we strive to proclaim through our words and actions every day.

Today, the Church celebrates one example of a holy man who did just that: Saint Boniface, lived in the 7th and the early part of the 8th century.  It is believed that from an early age, Boniface, who was given the Christian name of Winfrid (or Winifred) when he was born, was educated in a monastery somewhere near to present-day Exeter (England) and was later instructed by the Benedictines at another monastery not far from Winchester.

Winfrid became a priest at the age of 30 and later wrote a Latin grammar (known as the Ars grammatica).  Following the death of Wynburth of Nursling - around the year 716 - Winfrid was invited to succeed him but he declined the invitation and soon afterward set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia (along the border of present day Netherlands and north-western Germany).

Winfrid's first efforts at evangelization around Utrecht were frustrated by a war that was being fought so he returned to his monastery in Nursling but returned to the continent the following year and went directly to Rome where Pope Gregory II gave him the name Boniface and appointed him as a missionary Bishop for Germania.  He was therefore appointed as Bishop for a territory that - at the time - had no Church organization.  In fact, it was he who first determined the structures of dioceses within the territory of that land.

In 754, Boniface returned to Frisia along with a group of others.  There he baptized a great number of people and summoned a general meeting for the purposes of celebrating Confirmation which was to take place at Dokkum.  Those who came to meet him though, were not his converts but rather a group of armed robbers who killed the aged Archbishop - he was 79 years old.

Today, let us ask Saint Boniface to intercede for us, to help us to be zealous ambassadors for Christ, never shrinking from opportunities to share the joy of our faith with those we meet.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Precious faith

Good morning everyone,

When we love someone, we want immediately to give them gifts, the most precious of gifts.  The same is true of our God.  We are so beloved by Him that He has given us the most precious gift he can give; we call this gift grace.  Grace is more precious in His eyes than any tangible treasure.  By means of this grace, we have also received everything that makes for life and devotion so that we may come to share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).

It seems beyond our comprehension even to try to grasp all that our God has given us.  How can we ever repay Him for such generosity?  Saint Peter tells us that we can begin by doing our very best to make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love (2 Peter 1:5-7).

All this sounds like a very tall order indeed.  Luckily for us, God is not only the giver of these gifts; He will also help us to bring them to fulfillment.

Have a great day.

Food for the journey

During these first two weeks that follow the celebration of Pentecost, we celebrate two truths that are central to our faith.  Last weekend, we focused on the Trinity and this weekend we turn our attention to the most precious gift that our God has given us: his own Body and Blood.

Today’s first reading, taken from the Book of Exodus, reminds us that God has made covenants with his beloved people since the time of Abraham and Moses.  The Israelite people, our ancestors in faith, were instructed in the ways of God (cf Ex 24:3), just as we are instructed from week to week so that we can grow in his wisdom.  It was the custom of the time to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to God as a sign of our worship (cf Ex 24:5) and the blood taken from the animals who were sacrificed would permanently mark the altars and the people as a pledge of their willingness to be faithful to the established covenants (cf Ex 24:6, 8).

Remembering this chapter in our history, we still refer to the elements of the sacrifice we witness upon this altar as the Body and Blood of Christ.  We believe that through the invocation of the Spirit and the words of consecration, simple gifts of bread and wine are transformed permanently into divine gifts of Christ’s Body and Blood.  Every time that we gather to celebrate this sacred meal, we are participating in the meal that he shared with the apostles in the Upper Room, when he took a loaf of bread ... blessed it, broke it and gave it to them, saying to them: take, this is my Body (Mk 14:22).  The Blood of the sacrifice that Moses spoke of is also present, but now it is present in the form of wine that is transformed when the priest repeats the words Jesus spoke to his disciples: This is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many (Mk 14:24).

Once bread and wine are consecrated in this way, we believe that they are no longer mere earthly elements, but rather the gifts of our God given to nourish the hearts and souls of his beloved children.  We do not need to gorge ourselves on this special food, as we might at a Christmas or Thanksgiving banquet.  Instead, just a little taste is enough to fill us with the divine food that we require for our journey in faith.  In an age when so many are obsessed with eating healthily, receiving this special food is one way that we can eat for the sake of spiritual health.

Having been strengthened by this nourishment, and with the assurance that we are never alone, but rather that Christ who offered himself without blemish (Heb 9:14) is present with us at every step of this journey, we are sent out into the world week after week so that we can put our faith into action.  Each day, Jesus uses our hands to reach out and to touch the hearts of those who are in need.  He uses our feet to walk in this world alongside those who are lonely, disheartened and in need of encouragement.  Our ears he uses to listen attentively to the pleas of those who have no one else to listen as they share the adventures and challenges they face.  Nourished with his Body and Blood, Christ looks compassionately through our eyes upon those who are distanced and alone, and he uses our hearts to communicate his deep abiding love.

His Word Today: About prayer

Good morning everyone,

Even for the most disciplined among us, spending time in prayer can sometimes be a challenge. There are constant temptations and our minds (which thirst for peace and quiet, yet at the same time seem to battle against idleness) appear not to allow us to enter into the stillness that we seek.

Saint Jude offers a few words of advice:  Beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.  Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 20-21).

If we seek daily even to merely be aware of the love God has for us, and if we set our minds and hearts on waiting expectantly for an awareness of the Lord's mercy, we will soon find our experience of prayer is infinitely enriched.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Justin

Good morning everyone,

Today, the first letter of Peter reminds us: do not be surprised that a trial of fire is occurring among you (1 Peter 4:12).  Trials by fire have been the test faced by many who have come before us, including many of the Saints.

One example can be found in the life of Saint Justin, whose liturgical Memorial is observed today.  Justin was born around the year 100 A.D into a pagan family. Justin himself stated that his initial studies left him unsatisfied due to their failure to provide a belief system that would provide enough inspiration for him.  Some time later, he chanced upon an older man who engaged him in a dialogue about God and spoke about the testimony of the prophets as being more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers.

Moved by the man's argument, Justin renounced both his former religious faith and his philosophical background, and chose instead to re-dedicate his life to the service of the Divine.  His newfound convictions were only bolstered by the ascetic lives of the early Christians and the heroic examples of the martyrs whose piety convinced him of the moral and spiritual superiority of the Christian doctrine.  As a result, he decided to travel throughout the land spreading his knowledge of Christianity as the true philosophy.  

His travels took him to Rome where he started his own school in philosophy.  During the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Justin was denounced to the authorities, tried along with six of his companions and beheaded.  Though the precise year of his death is uncertain, it can be reasonably dated between 162 and 168 A.D.

The experience of Christian martyrs, including Justin shows us that many have endured trials for the sake of their faith, so why should it be any different for us?  Choosing to be a disciple of Jesus, we must be prepared to accept not only the joy that is his promise but also the ridicule and judgement of those who may not comprehend the reasons for our faith.

Have a great day, and pray for the intercession of Saint Justin today.