When we prioritize authentic relationship with God and neighbor, we open our lives to “magi moments,” those grace-filled times when we catch a glimpse of God’s plan and are drawn deeper into his mystery.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were united in their unwavering commitment to God’s will. They loved one another deeply because their first love was God. This God-centered, divinely inspired, charity is the key to peace and harmony in every family.
May this sacred celebration renew our spirits and deepen our love for one another.
Lessons and Carols is a traditional Christian service that combines scripture readings and festive hymns to celebrate the story of Christ’s birth.
By preparing our hearts to receive Jesus as John did, we ready ourselves to become generation-changing saints too: where the world clamors for retribution, we show forgiveness; where there’s an appetite for darkness, we bear the light; and where there’s hatred, we love like John.
What I’d offer is that we’re meant to be living lives of eternal purpose. What do I mean by that? I mean that, here and now, we are meant to be about God’s work in the world. As humans, made to be God’s image bearers, we need to be about the work of bringing earth to heaven (as priests) and bringing heaven to earth (as kings).
As it relates to fatherhood - in its manifold conceptions - it’s probably best to start with God as Father. From there, we can say that all fatherhood is related to God; that our fatherhood is real and good inasmuch as it reflects and embodies God’s fatherly love. In that sense, I pray and strive to be worthy of the name.
That Jesus’ faithful followers can be identified with the Eucharist is remarkable. It also just makes a lot of sense. The Council of Trent declared that “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
In the Gospel author’s account of the first Christian Pentecost, we should see - 50 days after the new and definitive Passover - that the Apostles’ being filled with the Spirit and bringing people to trust and follow Jesus is like the bundle of wheat offered to God as a sign of the abundant harvest to come.
I’ve noticed, further, that Lent (spurred on, I believe, by fasting) dredges up - and makes more apparent - our sinfulness. If you’re there, then I’m in good company: My own venturing out into the desert with Jesus has yet again helped me to see that I am self-referential, self-indulgent, and selfish.
Whatever you do, do it for God. Don’t do it because you’re tough and can handle more; don’t do it to be bolder than someone else; don’t do it so you can tell others about it; and don’t do it because it benefits you in some other way. Do it, whatever it is, because you love and trust God. The reward will be beyond your imagining.
