Dear brothers and sisters,
The first day of the New Year in the liturgy of the Church we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We bless God for Mary, who bore for us the Child she named Jesus, the Savior. On this special day at the opening of the New Year in the first reading from the book of Numbers we receive best wishes from God for New Year. When God spoke to Moses and said: "This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel". God starts this New Year with blessings for us. For this New Year we need to remember May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace. The third blessing concludes with the wish granting us peace. The Church listens very carefully to this voice of God today on the first day in New Year and celebrates: World Day of Peace. Pope Francis in message for the celebration of 53rd Word Day of Peace reminds us: "Peace is a great and precious value, the object of our hope and the aspiration of the entire human family. As a human attitude, our hope for peace is marked by an existential tension that makes it possible for the present, with all its difficulties, to be “lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey”. Hope is thus the virtue that inspires us and keeps us moving forward, even when obstacles seem insurmountable". Speaking about hope, we can observe the life of Mary, Mother of God, she teaches us how we can improve our Christian hope. Christian hope is what we should look for every day because hope is not only for this present world but much more for the future. We need remember that especially on this day, when we look back at the end of the year at what has happened throughout the year . The New Year which is coming needs to be full of hope. Mary Mother of God and our mother teaches us to follow the voice of God and that is the best way to build up hope in our life. "The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity". The Church teaches us that God has placed happiness in the heart of every man. At this point we need ask ourselves. Has this happiness been truly placed in my heart? Or maybe I think in different way: I search for that special something which I am unable to find, This situation is explained in the beautiful words of St. Augustine: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” Yes, God hast made us for Himself. We are created by God and all our life we are looking for God. This New Year which starts with God, Jesus Christ and with His Mother, Mary Mother of God, can be a good opportunity to be closer to God, dedicate our time, our talents and our needs to God. Because only in God can our heart find rest. Let me finish with another very popular and beautiful quotation from St. Augustine. Late have I loved Thee, O Lord; and behold, Thou was within and I without, and there I sought Thee. Thou was with me when I was not with Thee. Thou didst call, and cry, and burst my deafness. Thou didst gleam, and glow, and dispel my blindness. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for Thy peace. For Thyself Thou hast made us, And restless our hearts until in Thee they find their ease. Late have I loved Thee, Thou Beauty ever old and ever new.
1 Comment
Dear brothers and sisters, The first Sunday after Christmas in the liturgy of the Church we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The reason for this is that the Holy Family of Nazareth is the model for all who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. Today we are called to meditate on the message of God who is with us, Jesus Christ, was born for us and grew up in a regular, normal family. That means Jesus, our God, understands our family life. In the gospel according Luke we find an episode immediately after the birth of Jesus. "The shepherds hastened to Bethlehem, where they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger". At this point we can ask: Why did the shepherds went to Bethlehem? "The shepherds made haste, partly no doubt from human curiosity, in order to see this great thing that had been announced to them. But surely, too, they were driven by their joy on hearing that now, truly, the Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord had been born, the one so long awaited - and they would be the first to see him. How many Christians make haste today, where the things of God are concerned? Surely if anything merits haste - so the evangelist is discreetly telling us - then it is the things of God". (BXVI) The shepherds were invited to visit the Holy Family and find Jesus the New born child. Today when we celebrate the Holy Family we are invited to visit the Holy Family and even better we are called to invite the Holy Family into our life. Because the Holy Family is for us the example of how we can live, this desire is expressed in today's opening prayer which we have heard before the reading: "help us to live as the holy family, united in respect and love". The opening prayer reminds us that there are two essential elements in family life: respect and love. Of course we know that respect and love are the elements of natural social life. That's true but today the Church helps us remember that respect and love have special importance for the family and sacramental marriage. The Church teaches us: "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life (...) has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized". (CCL1055) Sometimes, especially young people ask what is the true meaning of marriage and love. Pope Francis in apostolic exhortations Amoris Letitia explains what is marriage: "At the centre we see the father and mother, a couple with their personal story of love. They embody the primordial divine plan clearly spoken of by Christ himself: “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female?” (Mt 19:4). We hear an echo of the command found in the Book of Genesis: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Gen 2:24)”. "In speaking of marriage, Jesus refers us to yet another page of Genesis, which, in its second chapter, paints a splendid and detailed portrait of the couple. First, we see the man, who anxiously seeks “a helper fit for him”. The original Hebrew suggests a direct encounter, face to face, eye to eye, in a kind of silent dialogue, for where love is concerned, silence is always more eloquent than words. It is an encounter with a face, a “thou”, who reflects God’s own love and is man’s “best possession, a helper fit for him and a pillar of support”, in the words of the biblical sage (Sir 36:24). Or again, as the woman of the Song of Solomon will sing in a magnificent profession of love and mutual self-bestowal: “My beloved is mine and I am his… I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine". But we know very well that marriage is not only a love story but very often a big challenge and story of daily sacrifice. Even the Holy Family were not free these troubles and problems. We remember the reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Joseph decided to divorced Mary informally. Only the intervention of angel changed Joseph's decision. After the birth of Jesus the Holy Family don't have a easy life. Today's gospel speaks about the escape into Egypt of Holy Family. "The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him". At this point we can observe that God looks after this special family. If God protects Holy Family, today He can protect our family. We need only ask for this protection and we need to be able to hear the voice of God who gives us instructions like He gave Joseph in today's gospel. Saint Joseph is for us an example to follow, his capacity to perceive the divine and his ability to discern, is necessary today for us, for our daily life. Only a man who is inwardly watchful for the divine, only someone with a real sensitivity for God and his ways, can receive God's message in this way. Today celebrating the Holy Family from Nazareth we ask this special protection for our family. We ask for the gift of love for all families but especially the capacity of forgiveness because without this gift it is impossible to build a true family where we can find respect and love. Dear brothers and sisters,
After 24 days of Advent, today we celebrate with great joy the Nativity of our Lord. Today's entrance antiphon reminds us: Let us all rejoice in the Lord, for our Savior is born to the world. True peace has descended from heaven. Yes, we can rejoice because our Lord, our God Jesus Christ is with us. A few day's ago on Fourth Sunday of Advent we heard that the name of our God is Emmanuel a name which means "God is with us". Today we can see this prophecy is true: God was born for us, God is with us. Today we are called to accept God, Emmanuel, in our life. This acceptance is really the most important decision in our life. Isaiah, the prophet, speaks about this: The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone. If we accept the Lord in our life we can truly live. No more in the darkness caused by our sins and our problems but in a great light and this light is Christ who shows us the true meaning of human life. The prophet Isaiah uses four special names for God who born for us and became man. These illustrate for us the importance of Christmas. "For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. What does Wonder Counsellor mean? Sometimes we find ourselves in situations when we need help and especially counseling from other people. We know that we have questions which no one can answer. Only God is able give us the answer for the most important questions in our life, questions like: What is the meaning of my life? where have I com from and what is there after this life? God who became man, was born like child for us, is the Wonder- Counsellor. What does Mighty-God mean? Where is the power of God if there is injustice in the world, pain and illness? How is it possible speak today about Mighty-God? Especially in the context of Christmas when our God becomes for us a child, powerless child. This is logical because God wants change our life but not with power and force but simply with His love. The Prophet Isaiah speaks about God who is coming and uses the expression Eternal Father. This expression reminds us that Jesus is the Son of God "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven". God the Father sent Jesus because He loves us. He first loved us and today when we celebrate this mystery we are called to respond to this love. How can we respond? We respond in three ways, first by loving each other, second when we discover the presence of God in our life and third when decide to chose Him as our savior. God never wants be an intruder and he comes today to us like a child. If I want to, I can accept my God but I can refuse and make no space for Jesus who is coming. This decision is one of most important choices which we need to make. The prophet Isaiah speaking about God, who is coming, uses the expression Prince of Peace. Every day when we celebrate the Eucharist we repeat Jesus' words: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you". Today the world generally, every person and especially the family needs peace. The peace which only God, Jesus Christ can give us. The peace of Jesus is a peace that the world cannot give. In gospel according to Luke we read: "Glory to God in the highest, and or earth peace among men with whom he is pleased". According to the evangelist, the angels "said" this. But Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually a song, in which all the glory of the great joy that they proclaim becomes tangibly present. (Benedict XVI). The celebration of Christmas every year reminds us who is our God: Wonder-Counselor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Today we are called to open our life, open our hearts to God who is coming. "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction". This person is Jesus Christ who born for us, for our salvation. The Emmanuel - God is with us.Dear brothers and sisters,
Today's first reading starts with an imperative from God addressed to Ahaz. The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said:"Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself". Why this story important for us during Advent? Because during the reign Ahaz, the King of Israel and during the life the prophet Isaiah people felt abandoned by God. They lived with faith but they had a problem recognizing the presence of God. I think today we are in a similar situation. Yes, we are Catholics, we are people who believe but sometimes we ask: God, where are you? Today a few day's before Christmas we are called to answer this question: where is my God? Is He here in the Church or even better is He in my heart or maybe have I lost my God? As we are so busy preparing for Christmas we can lose sight of God. Today God repeats to us this same imperative addressed to Ahaz in the first reading: "Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself". Ahaz received the promise and the sign: It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means "God-is-with-us". Today we are called to discover once more, that it is true that God is with us. Even if some times I stray away from my God, even if sometimes I'm not able be sure of presence of God in my life. But God's promise to Ahaz and today God's promise to us is that He is Emmanuel: "God-is-with-us". What does "God-is-with-us" mean? It means God knows everything about our life, all our successes and failures. But today's gospel speaks about another aspect of God's presence in our life. God shares our human nature, He know our problems and our doubts. Matthew speaks with all honesty in today's gospel: This is how Jesus Christ come to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorced her informally. The story of how Jesus Christ came to be born may cause problems, it raises some doubts, with the temptation not to do God's will. Therefore, Joseph had made up his mind to divorce Mary informally, because he does not want to cause Mary public shame. Pope Benedict speaks about that and wrote: "The designation of Joseph as a just man extends far beyond the decision he takes at this moment: it gives an overall picture of Saint Joseph and at the same time it aligns him with the great figures of the Old Covenant - beginning with Abraham, the just". After the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream Joseph changed his decision because he was open to God's voice, he was open to God's will. The angel came to Joseph in a dream. Once again this shows us an essential quality of the figure of Saint Joseph: his capacity to perceive the divine and his ability to discern. Only a man who is inwardly watchful for the divine, only someone with a real sensitivity for God and his ways, can receive God's massager in this way. And an ability to discern was necessary in order to know whether it was simply a dream or whether God's messenger had truly appeared to him and addressed him. Today we are called to discern God's will, this is only possible if we listen carefully to the voice of God. In life we can meet different difficult situations and especially in these situations we are called to realise what God's will is. When we are afraid, when we don't have peace we need to remember the voice of the angel from today's gospel: "Do not be afraid". Don't be scared take on this task, one that might well arouse fear. "Do not be afraid" the very words that the angel of the annunciation had spoken to Mary. Today, during our difficulties God speaks to us: Do not be afraid. Because our God is a God who is very close to us, His name is Emmanuel "God is with us". If I discover that this true, if I want to be able to listen carefully to the voice of God I can't be silent and don't speak about my God. Today before Christmas the world, our country, our society and our community need to receive the message that God is with us. We heard about this in the today's second reading, were St Paul wrote: "From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures". Today Paul can't preach the Good News to the world in person but we as living Christians, we are called to speak about Christ who wants to be born in our life. That is today's challenge for us: Do I want to open a space for God and speak about God? Because today's world needs God and needs people who trust in God. |
Archives
March 2020
Categories |