IMPOSSIBLE RESISTANCE

Luke 2: 22-40

O’ Lord, You are the daring and spectacular invitation who presents humanity with an opportunity never perceived before.

Lord, Your presence in this world has altered the direction of humankind and caused many to take opposing stands.

Praise the Ideal of Perfection!

O’ Lord, You were opposed in the era of Simeon & Anna and sadly the opposition has gained momentum.

Lord, it is impossible to resist Your draw and once embraced, it can never be released.

Glory to the Star of David!

O’ Lord, Your life began as a babe in a stable, magnified by three kings and transformed all history.

Lord, You remain the fulfillment of revelation who rescues us from ourselves and from the deceptions of the liar.

Praise to the Divine Liberation!

O’ Lord, You continue the divine work of the Father by liberating all those who focus on heavenly delights.

Lord, among Your many names you remain the Impossible Resistance to my longing heart and soul.

Glory to the Divine Appointment!                                            (The Pilgrim)

 

Who is Theophilus?

 St Luke addresses his Gospel to Theophilus - an person of historical ambiguity that many biblical scholars say was a close friend of St. Luke. I would like however, to propose a radical idea for your consideration: 

The name "Theophilus" is Greek in origin, and means "lover of God." Perhaps St Luke was not addressing his Gospel to someone he knew and was close to, but someone he did NOT know personally, but is a brother to in Christ. Perhaps "Theophilus" is meant to refer to the reader of the gospel, who is in search of the Truth, so that they may know God and love Him. 

Perhaps Theophilus is meant to refer to YOU, so that You may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

I too have decided,after investigating everything accurately anew,

to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,

most excellent Theophilus,

so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings

you have received.

May you know the certainty of our Lord's love for you.

                               - Theophilus

 

Do whatever He tells you.

 

With the celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord last Sunday, we closed the liturgical season of Christmas.

 

But in   Puerto Rico, Christmas continues. The Fiesta de los Reyes, the Epiphany that is older than the celebration of Christmas, is celebrated here in grand style. It is a national holiday and children receive gifts on that day.

     In the town of Juana Díaz, in the south of the island about 15 km east of Ponce, this festival has been celebrated in a special way for more than 100 years.   

    The celebration, which is attended by thousands of people from all over the island, begins with a   field Mass in the town square, celebrated by the Bishop of Ponce.

 

     People from the village dress up to represent   the different figures of the nativity scene. The Holy Family occupies a central place in the scene. Shepherds, angels, animals, all are present.

   The Kings, who always prepare for the celebration with a spiritual retreat and who have gone on a cavalcade through different towns on the island, arrive at the portal and, prostrating themselves, worship the newborn…

 

     … Old San Juan and   all the towns are still decorated with Christmas motifs: the Nativity scene, the kings and Christmas trees.

 

    The tradition is not only to celebrate the octave of the Epiphany, but also the “Octavia” that is,   the Octave of the octave of the feast of the Epiphany.

     Celebrating holidays is one of the most deeply rooted customs and traditions not only in Puerto Rico but in all places where Spanish is spoken.

 

     In the Gospel for this coming Sunday we find Jesus, his disciples and   Mary, his mother, present at a wedding celebration.

 

     With his presence, Jesus not only manifests his blessing on the marriage union but also lets us know the holy dimension of the celebrations.

 

    There is a   saying in English, “Jesus is the reason for the season” which is intended to remind us of the reason for the celebration.

 

     How many of us are aware of the true meaning of the feast of the Nativity? How many of those who gathered in Juana Díaz to celebrate the Three Kings were aware of the holy dimension of the feast?   Certainly the beginning of the celebration with the Holy Mass and the Nativity scene served to remind us of this.

 

     In the Gospel of this coming Sunday, to which we have already referred, Jesus performs his first miracle at the request of his holy mother. She tells the wedding servers, “Do whatever He tells you.”

 

     Today Mary tells each one of us, “do whatever He tells you.”  

 

     If we always seek to do the will of the divine master, we will have reason to celebrate all year long.

 

The Knight of Our Lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alone?

 All I want is to be left alone!  What I would pay for some silence!  We seem to think we have this desire to be alone.  And there are many reasons for this.  We live in a very noisy and busy world.  It seems the time between the traffic light changing and the car honking behind us has been reduced to a millisecond.  Our phones are constantly drawing our attention.  God forbid, someone tries to actually ask us a question when we are looking at our phones, we are thrown for a loop..  We long to be alone.  We long not to be around anyone.  Or so we think.

Times of quiet and solitude are important.  I applaud those who have chosen a contemplative life of prayer.  We see what a great sacrifice that is.  Because while we enjoy silence, and while we enjoy solitude, we are not made for that.  We are made to be in relationship with others.  We are made to connect with others.  We are made for love.  How do we know this?  Well, we believe we are made in the image and likeness of God.  The image and likeness of God is not one of being alone.  It is one of being in community.

In the Book of Genesis, we see God referring to himself in the plural.  In Genesis 1:26,  God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”   For all time, God the Father  has been in communion with the other two persons of the Holy Trinity; the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Father and the Son are always in being with one another, and the love between them is constant.  That love is the Holy Spirit.  The mystery of the Trinity is not just some challenge of faith, meant to be figured out.  It is rather a reality.  For indeed, God is love itself. If we are made in his image and likeness, we too must be in loving relationship with one another.  It is very simply how we are made to be.  And so while a culture of division and anger towards others often sadly seems normative, it is actually inhumane.  We are not meant to be that way.

As we witness the Baptism of the Lord, we have one of those few moments in Scripture when all three persons of the Trinity are presented.  The Father speaks, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  He is speaking to Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity.  The third person comes down in the form of a dove.  One God, but not a lonely God, a God of three persons.

When we are baptized, we are not meant to just be in a private relationship with God.  We are meant to share in that divine life, that communion of three persons, and bring that into the world - a world so in desperate need of love.

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, we can change. Perhaps tonight, we might want to wait for our family members to eat dinner together.  Perhaps, the next time we speak to the clerk in the grocery story we might ask how their day has been.  Perhaps the next time we are in Church, we can truly offer someone God’s peace.

We really do not want to be alone.  Made in God’s image, we cannot be alone

- The Servant

 

 

The Epiphany of Our Lord

Matthew 2:1-12

 

When I graduated from elementary school (just a few short years ago) our graduation song at Mass was “The Impossible Dream” from the play “Man of La Mancha.”    If you’ve never heard it I suggest you give it a listen, as it is a profoundly inspirational song about always doing the right thing, no matter what the cost.  I’ll not take up precious space by repeating all the lyrics (which can easily be found on the internet) except for the last line – a line which, in very dramatic fashion, exhorts us “To reach the unreachable star!”

 

That song at that time in my life had a profound effect on me and seriously informed my faith – and continues to do so.  Every year since then the depiction or image of the Star of Bethlehem at this time of the year immediately brings that song to mind.

 

I have come to imagine that each of us has a Star of Bethlehem deep inside us.  A star which is there to guide us to the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace – Our Lord.  However, each of us must choose to follow that star.  Deep down inside we know it is there, and we know where it leads, but perhaps we choose not to follow.  Perhaps we do not see that star too clearly because the star is obscured by the clouds or the fog in a hectic world.  Perhaps there are other stars, other “shiny objects” which distract us and lead us astray.  Perhaps we simply choose not to follow the star because the journey seems too long, too perilous.  Perhaps we’re too busy.  In short, there are so many reasons why that star seems “unreachable.”

 

The journey the magi took was not an easy one.  It was long and perilous.  It took them away from their lives and livelihood.  Yet they undertook the journey to pay homage to Jesus, the newborn king.  And they paid him homage with the gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense.  When we choose to follow that star within us we pay homage to Jesus, too, but we do so with the gifts of our time and our talent.  When we contemplate following Jesus it often seems like we have too much to lose – yet, in truth, we have so much to give.

 

Yes, the star seems “unreachable” but, as we’re told in Matthew 19:26, “…with God all things are possible.” 

 

“The Impossible Dream” is not so impossible after all. 

 

“Call Me Ishmael”