His Word Today: Saint Raymond of Penyafort

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates and prays with Saint Raymond of Penyafort, a Spanish Dominican Friar who lived in the 13th century (circa 1175 - 6 January 1275) who was responsible for compiling a collection of canon laws which remained an integral part of the Church's law until the 20th century.  He is considered the patron saint of lawyers, especially canon lawyers.

As a canonist, it was Raymond's responsibility to embody the heart of the Shepherd who was moved with pity for the crowds because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34).  It is the heart of Jesus that always demonstrates the merciful love of God.  Inspired by his example, his faithful followers constantly seek out those of our brothers and sisters who are lost, disoriented or in need of help and inspired by the Lord's example, our task is to respond to the needs of others so that we can bring them to encounter the merciful presence of our Saviour.

Today, we ask Saint Raymond to pray with us, imploring the Lord to show us his face in the faces of our brothers and sisters, and inspiring us to do as he did: to respond to the needs of others with love and mercy.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint André Bessette

Good morning everyone,

The gospel passage for today's Mass begins by informing the reader that Jesus heard that John had been arrested.  Perhaps because he was afraid for his own future, he withdrew to Galilee (Mt 4:12).  In fact, it was from that place of seclusion that he began to preach and say: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Mt 4:17).

Many words of wisdom have been uttered from places of seclusion and from the lips of those who appear to be the most unassuming people, including a simple man who lived in Montreal, Quebec in the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th.  Saint André Bessette simply welcomed guests who came to visit.  With an intense devotion to Saint Joseph, he continually strove to point out that the holy man who stood in the shadows, who was often forgotten in favour of his holy son and his beloved wife, should be remembered at all times.

Today, the Church remembers and prays with Saint André.  We are thankful for his devotion and his insistence on pointing out the presence of yet another example of faith who withdrew from the limelight, yet continues to intercede for us.  May Saint André too continue to pray for all of us, and help us to seek out those who - even in our day - continue to place others in the limelight, so that we might thank and celebrate them for their devotion and faith.

Have a great day. 

Find your star

One of my childhood memories of Christmas was the manger scene that would be set up in every house that we would visit.  Among the most elaborate was the one that was set up in my grandparents’ home.  To the eyes a child, that scene was an absolute wonder.  It covered half of a ping-pong table and included what seemed to be an entire village of buildings in addition to the stable.  There was a magical quality to the figurines.  Each time we visited during the weeks leading up to Christmas, there were more and more parts of the village set out upon the table, and the little people seemed to move from one part of the scene to another, including the wise men who would begin their journey on the very edges of the scene and slowly make their way toward the crib until the Epiphany, when they would finally arrive.

While Saint Luke’s gospel recounts Jesus’ infancy narrative, it is Saint Matthew who tells us the details of the visitors who came from the east.  They searched for the child who had been born king of the Jews, for they had observed his star at its rising (Mt 2:1-2) and wanted to pay him homage.

Saint Matthew wrote his gospel in order to help Christians who had been converted from Judaism to preserve the details of the life and ministry of Jesus.  It is significant that Matthew is the only one of the gospel writers to tell the story of the visit of the Magi.  Perhaps he wanted to demonstrate the fact that Jesus was born and lived among us, not only so that Jews could learn about him, but in order that all people would be able to hear the good news that God came to his people.  The light of faith was always intended to be spread throughout the world – even to its farthest ends, and therefore we must understand the visit of the Magi as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: Arise, shine he says, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! (Is 60:1).

Guided by the light of a star, the wise men set out in search of the child.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy (Mt 2:9-10).  The same gift of joy that was shared with the shepherds when the angels told them about the birth of the child was also shared with these visitors from afar, and this same gift of joy is also shared with each one of us if we – like the Magi – are willing to set out in search of Jesus.

How their hearts must have burned with joy as they knelt before the infant king to present their treasures.  That overwhelming joy was also present in the heart of Saint Paul after he had encountered Jesus, so much so that he set out and travelled extensively in order to share the good news with many who were not of Jewish origin.  Because of his zeal Gentiles have also become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph 3:6).

Today, all of us are once again little children gathered around the manger scene.  There is a part of us that will always marvel at the way that the little figurines seem to move, and there should always be a part of us that stands in awe when we realize that we are all sharers in the promise of eternal life because Jesus came to live among us.

His Word Today: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Good morning everyone,

Today, the scriptures place us - along with some of the disciples - standing beside Jesus as they ask him: Rabbi, where are you staying and they hear him answer: Come and see (Jn 1:38-39).  This is the same question that we too must constantly ask of the Lord.  In our thirst to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must ask him every day to show us the place where he dwells, and we must constantly trust that he will invite us to walk along with him - to come and see the places where his mercy needs to be demonstrated, where his words of compassion need to be uttered, where he himself is being neglected and needs someone else to speak out.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who is remembered especially in the United States of America today, reminds us that our interior life of prayer and relationship with God is nothing but the continuation of our Saviour's life within us.  At times, we may be tempted to think of an interior life - of prayer, of contemplation, of communication with Jesus - as simply a life of prayer, but if we open our hearts every day to the presence of God in our lives, we will soon discover that it is God who continues to act in and through us.

Today, let us give thanks for the gift of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and let us ask the Lord to open our eyes to the wonders that he continues to accomplish in and through us every day.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Looking forward

Good morning everyone,

The gospel passage for today's Mass cites the words of John the Baptist at the moment when he set eyes on Jesus: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29).  Echoing the moment when he leapt in his mother's womb, John's excitement at seeing Jesus is now expressed in words with a marvellous understanding of the mystery of God's love at work in our world.

Behold the Lamb of God, he says.  Jesus is God's lamb, the one who trusts implicitly in his Father and is willing to follow him as a lamb follows a shepherd.  Jesus can and does teach us how to follow our Father, how to listen for his word - which is spoken in the scriptures and in the depth of a prayerful heart - and he teaches us how to trust the voice of the Shepherd who has the power to take away the sins of the world and lead us all to the joy of his kingdom.

We have not arrived at that joyous reunion yet.  However, even as we look forward to the joy of that moment, we can already discover the joy of looking forward to it, and we can anticipate it with expectant hearts even as we live out the life that God grants to us while living here on earth.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

Basil and I were both in Athens.  We had come, like streams of a river, from the same source in our native land, had separated from each other in pursuit of learning, and were now united again as if by plan, for God so arranged it.

I was not alone at the time in my regard for my friend, the great Basil.  I knew his irreproachable conduct, and the maturity and wisdom of his conversation.  I sought to persuade others, to whom he was less well known, to have the same regard for him.  Many fell immediately under his spell, for they had already heard of him by reputation and hearsay.

What was the outcome?  Almost alone of those who had come to Athens to study he was exempted from the customary ceremonies of initiation for he was held in higher honour than his status as a first-year student seemed to warrant.

Such was the prelude to our friendship, the kindling of that flame that was to bind us together.  In this way, we began to feel affection for each other.  When, in the course of time, we acknowledged our friendship and recognized that our ambition was a life of true wisdom, we became everything to each other: we shared the same lodging, the same table, the same desires, the same goal.  Our love for each other grew daily warmer and deeper.

The same hope inspired us: the pursuit of learning.  This is an ambition especially subject to envy.  Yet between us, there was no envy.  On the contrary, we made capital out of our rivalry.  Our rivalry consisted, not in seeking the first place for oneself but in yielding it to the other, for we each looked on the other's success as his own.

We seemed to be two bodies with a single spirit.  Though we cannot believe those who claim that everything is contained in everything, yet you must believe that in our case each of us was in the other and with the other.

Our single object and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it.  With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions.  We followed the guidance of God's law and spurred each other on to virtue.  If it was not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and rule of discerning right from wrong.  Different men have different names, which they owe to our parents or to themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements.  But our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians.
(Sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop; Oratio 43, in laudem Basilii Magni, 15, 16-17, 19-21; PG 36, 514-423)

The Act of Pondering

Throughout the Advent period, the scriptures introduced us to the people who played various roles in the story that is unfolding during the time of Christmas.  First there was John: the one who prepared the way; then we met Mary and through her, we also met Joseph and others who were part of their respective families.  During the Christmas season too, we are invited to see the nativity through the eyes of all those who were there.  We have already heard about angels who appeared to shepherds in the fields.  Today’s gospel passage speaks of the visit of the shepherds who went with haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger (Lk 2:16), but in the context of today’s liturgy, the shepherds’ visit allows us to focus on Mary.

On this day, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary who we recognize as the Holy Mother of God.  Today, we also commemorate the fifty-second World Day of Peace.  Saint Luke tells us that Mary was contemplative.  At the moment of the Annunciation, she treasured the angel’s words and pondered them in her heart.  All mothers ponder!  Pregnancy itself invites such an attitude, as an expectant mother is increasingly conscious of the new life that is growing within her so it should not surprise us to hear that Mary treasured the words she heard and pondered them in her heart (cf Lk 2:19).

For generations – even before the time of Mary – the words of Aaron’s blessing had been spoken on a daily basis in all Jewish homes.  Both Mary and Joseph had heard these words from the days of their childhood.  Mary probably pondered the words of that blessing too: May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Nm 6:24-26).

Perhaps on many occasions even during her pregnancy, she had pondered these words.  Perhaps she had wondered all along the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem how it was that God was blessing her and her beloved Joseph.  Perhaps she marvelled at the way God was caring for them – keeping them – by finding a place for her to rest, and then shepherds surprised them by bursting into the cave and telling them about a message they had heard from a choir of angels.  Could it really be true that God was blessing all of humanity?  Yes.

God kept Joseph and Mary safe throughout all that ordeal.  Despite all the obstacles, God orchestrated the safe delivery of Jesus.  In spite of the shadows that were looming, God’s face shone on their little family.  Mary saw God’s face in the face of her son as he suckled.  She saw God’s face in Joseph’s eyes as he gazed in wonder and joy upon the son he had been invited to care for, and she saw God’s face in the other-worldly joy of the shepherds.

Aaron’s blessing spoke of the gift of peace.  The shepherds had spoken of angels who had sung a song of peace.  Dear brothers and sisters, the nativity invites us all to ponder – like Mary – the wonderful truth that when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son (Gal 4:4) to bring us the gift of his peace.