Advent

Advent, a time of waiting!  For what are we waiting?  The Scriptures tell us that we are awaiting the Messiah, who will be our refuge in time of weakness, a shelter from storms and distress, a shade from the heat; that we await the day when guns and warships will be no more--weapons will be turned into plowshares--and all will be one, all will be welcome and all will be equals. Everyone's needs will be met. There will be no more sadness, no more oppression, no more deprivation where the rich are made richer and the poor poorer.  In what ways are we preparing for this day when God will make us all one in Christ Jesus? For me to be on that holy mountain, what part do I play in the here and now?

Mother Frances Streitel

On March 27, 2010, Mother Frances Streitel, foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, was declared "Venerable" by Pope Benedict XVI. This ecclesastical decision to bestow the title of "Venerable" on Mother Frances confirms that she followed in the footsteps of Christ in an heroic degree. This also means that she can be presented as a "candidate" for beatification, which the congregation is in the process of doing.  Already as a little girl, known then as Amalia, she was drawn to Christ, wanting to unite herself with the suffering Christ. She would look for ways to suffer with Him but more importantly, as a nine year old,  she pondered the Scripture passage: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself" (John 12: 32).

The incredible gift called the church

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John Lateran.  You may wonder why we celebrate a building. Sounds strange. You may even be turned off! However,  we are not celebrating bricks and mortar but that we are  celebrating the living stones called the Church.  Yes, each of us, at baptism and confirmation, became a Temple/Building of the Holy Spirit. Like cement poured for the foundation of a house, the gifts of the Holy Spirit--fortitude, counsel, understanding, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, and wisdom--were poured into us. This "living cement" of our faith, hope and love" is growing.   We are becoming "shelters" into which others are welcomed, loved, appreciated, uplifted and made whole. Yes, we are living "pillars", "architectural phenomena" that bring hope and beauty, healing and grace to those whom we encounter. We are  "temples/buildings/the church" put together by Christ's love. Out of us flows life-giving water and through us the fire of God's love transforms the world around us. What a feast worth celebrating!

Doing what seems impossible

Today we celebrate the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, both apostles.  We know, therefore, that these two men knew Jesus intimately. Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is key to our baptismal call to carry out the mission of the Church to share the faith.  Both Simon and Jude suffered through Jesus' passion and death and witnessed Jesus' resurrection and ascension (He appeared to them in person in the upper room and they were present in Galilee when Jesus returned to His Father to send them the Holy Spirit).  From being frightened men, they were transformed into human beings of tremendous courage who stood up for their faith even to the point of martyrdom.  As Christians, you and I have been given the same faith. We have the power through the Spirit to make a difference in a world of secularism, materialism, and paganism. We can change the world through the power of Christ's resurrection and set it ablaze with the Spirit's fire of the first  Pentecost. If we do not believe in these powers, St. Jude, the patron of impossible cases, certainly can intercede for us.