Thoughts for today

     Just read an article by James V. Schall, S.J. at The Catholic Thing

    

     Today is the feast of John the Evangelist. In this upcoming year of the New Evangelization, we are reminded that the Good News still needs to be proclaimed. I particularly like this paragraph:

“We live in an era in which we want to hear of “new things” (rerum novarum). We cannot quite grasp that Christianity was not intended to evolve into something else other than what John saw, heard, and touched. The Catholic Church does not exist to come up with something “new” that no one ever thought up before. Of course, what it teaches and holds is precisely what no one ever heard before. But once we have heard it, we forget that its newness is rooted in the very being of God, ever ancient, ever new.”

     How can something old be new? How can memories from so long ago be considered an actuality in our present day? Well, James Schall puts it so well that it ‘is rooted in the very being of God’.

     God is eternal, but not in the way that means He lives in time and time has passed for Him and is moving forward. The concept is hard to think of, but God lives in ALL time. Our past is present to Him, our future is present to Him. Why? Because He created time, therefore time belongs to Him in its entirety – past, present and future.

     Time does pass for us and unfortunately we tend to forget those things that have passed some time ago. Maybe not forget the event, but forget the significance of the events.

     When Christ was born as human, He made known to us the importance of humanity and impressed upon us what He wished us to be. More than 2000 years later, many of us have assigned that miraculous moment as just a memory, or event in history and think that His story is one of many and not much different than other words printed in a book somewhere.

     We have to wake up and realize that the ink is still fresh! The miracle is still unfolding before our eyes and we only need to turn our gaze to Christ who rose from the dead and is with us always!

     How do we do that? By reading and listening to the Word with new eyes and new ears! No longer can we let the fallen world influence our thoughts and actions. Rise up and embrace Christ! Only through Him can we achieve the magnificence that God so wishes for us. That is why He is with us at all times, pouring His grace upon us and giving us the gifts we need when we need them. We only have to open and believe!

     May God bless us all this Christmas Season and bring us that newness of life!

Deacon Jimmy

Merry Christmas

Complacency

Just read an article on Archbishop Chaput (Catholic.org) about complacency being the enemy of faith. I think this article addresses some of the issues developing in many areas of our church. 

He said in his address, "The Church is community of faith alive in the present but also connected across the years through time." 

That is one statement that resounds in my heart. I was ordained a year ago as a Permanent Deacon by Bishop Sam Jacobs. When his hands were upon my head, I felt that I was connected throughout the ages to all the Deacons that had come before me, Permanent and Transitional. There was a feeling of awe as I realized that Bishop Sam was ordained from past Bishops who were ordained by the original Apostles given that power by Jesus Christ Himself.


Once we realize that connection from the past, we have to bring our faith into the full light of day. Those faithful from the past had a certain zeal for Christ. They were willing to die to make His message known. They faced lions in the arena, death by torture, stoning, burning, beheadings..... You get the picture.

What do we face today? Some offhand remarks, an offensive glance and maybe even a verbal confrontation to stand up for our faith. How do we respond? Do we back down? Do we shrug our shoulders and walk away? Why don't we have the strength to stand and speak up for our God?

There are many complacent Catholics who seem to pick and choose what is convenient and easy to do. You know the excuses (I've used them myself), "I don't have time for that", or "It isn't good for me at this time." No longer can we sit idly by and wait for someone else to take up the cross, we must act! 

We, as Catholics, have to stand up for our faith and profess our beliefs with zeal! How do we do that? By learning our Catholic roots all over again. 

In my homily this past weekend I asked the children to rip open those Christmas gifts as fast as they could and I asked the adults to watch them. With all the eagerness and excitement as those children open their gifts, we should open the gift which God has given us with the same amount of fervor. Let us tear into our bible once again! Read the stories of the Saints who went before us. Watch the examples of our good priests who care for us and bring us the Eucharist with humility and compassion. Listen to the strong and steadfast words of the bishops who inspire us. Pay attention to the Pope who is Peter's successor, he is truly being molded by the Holy Spirit to give us hope in this world that is becoming technologically advanced but descending into primitive immorality.

My Christmas wish this year is that all who call themselves Catholic can reignite that spark from the past within their souls and set this present world on fire with all the zeal and passion they can muster so that we can have a future of goodness and peace.

God bless you all!
Deacon Jimmy

1st week of Advent

The 1st Sunday of Advent went very well with the new translation. I hope you read carefully the new wording and were able to see and even feel the richness of these texts. In some areas it was a little awkward, I know, but we will get used to it and the beauty of the translation will become more evident during this Advent and especially in the Christmas Season.

Sometimes in life we just have to speak in a language that is proper to the occasion. You know, at the ballpark watching a game, we might use a louder voice and ask the referee 'kindly' to clean his glasses so he can see. Or watching a movie at a theater, we will whisper to the person next to us about how the scene that just took place could never happen in real life.

So it is in worship. When we come to mass, we aren't at a game or a movie, we are in the presence of God the Almighty. We come to the liturgy to touch the throne of God and plead with the Heavenly King to have mercy on us, to let Him know how much we love Him and how truly sorry we are for having offended Him by our sins.

The language we should use would be a courtly language. That is what the original Latin language was meant to be, an elevated language of worship to lift our hearts and voices at the same time. 

So, for the next few weeks, study the words - immerse yourself in the liturgy and you might be able to pray differently and even see the world differently through the eyes of a child of God!

God bless and have a great day!
Deacon Jimmy