I believe that there are two types of people in this world: those who like surprises and those who don’t. I, for one, do not like surprises. And I think the reason why is that the surprise usually doesn’t end well for me. Let me give you a perfect example.
It was a cold, crisp December morning as I ventured down the stairs to follow my weekly routine of watching Saturday morning cartoons. A commercial came on the air, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen…it was the Big Jim Sports Camper. It was the coolest toy ever! It included a boat, camping gear, and a bunch of manly accessories that a boy could only dream about. I swear that I heard angels singing when it came on the TV; and at the moment I knew, that is what I wanted most for Christmas. Read More
“Love God greatly; be always united to God; do everything for God; love everything for God.” ~St. Gerard Majella
While on retreat, my lodging accommodations found me in the St. Gerard hermitage. This was quite ironic as this is also my middle name. In my room was a little booklet with novenas to St. Gerard. Admittedly, I did not know much about him, other then he is known as the patron saint of pregnant mothers. (Apparently, my mother prayed to him when she was trying to get pregnant with me – which is where my name derived.) And reading about him was very timely as his feast day is October 16th.
I read this little novena book cover to cover and discovered many things about St. Gerard. He was so attracted by God that his whole life was immersed in the greatness of God, surrendering completely to him. He strived to make everything he did an act of love for God. And he had the gift of recognizing the presence of Christ in the faces of others. That is certainly a gift that we need to pray for in our own lives.
St. Gerard was all about living God’s divine will. He had a sign on his door that read: “Here the will of God is done.” If you were to summarize his life-long intention, it would be with this phrase: to always please God in whatever he did. This should be our goal as well.
Whatever tasks or duties that we undertake, these should all be done cheerfully. We need to change our mindset and truly believe that everything we do should give delight to God. According to Gerard, no matter what comes our way, even when the worst things happen, we need to accept it as God’s will (even if it doesn’t seem to be) and try to make it into something joyful.
We pray that we are able to know and love God, to do everything for God, and have the strength to carry out his will each and every day. Make us always aware that no matter what we do, it matters to God. May we want nothing for ourselves but strive to want what God wants for us. Amen.
I’d like you to imagine this scene. You are in grade school standing with a group of your friends on the school playground. Two people emerge as captains and begin picking their teams. You stand there, waiting for your name to be called and to be chosen. What are some of the emotions that are running through your mind? Is it excitement in anticipation of your name being called? Is it anxiety and the stress of waiting? Is it doubt that maybe you don’t feel like you’re worthy of being chosen? Or is it fear, thinking to yourself, “Please don’t let me be picked last.” Finally, you’re picked. What were you feeling? Was it relief that you landed on a team? Were you hesitant because you weren’t sure of what was to come? Or were you filled with exuberance, ready to jump in and get started? I remember one time in grade school, there was a boy named Billy who had absolutely no athletic skill at all, and neither captain wanted him on their team. Eventually he was the last kid standing. When he was finally chosen, he didn’t reluctantly mosey over to his team because he was last. He was filled with such joy and excitement that he began yelling at the top of his lungs, “Woo hoo! Yeah! Alright! Let’s do this!” The rest of us kind of looked at each other in complete shock because we had never seen anyone so excited to be chosen. Read More
With Christmas fast-approaching, I wanted to share this true story that I discovered from many years ago as I was sifting through some of my older writings. My prayer is that each of you will experience the true meaning of Christmas, discovering the true peace and joy of the season.
Halloween is an ancient Celtic festival that dates back some 2,000 years ago when the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. It was believed that on the night of October 31st, the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Ghosts? That’s pretty scary!
What else do we find scary? According to a recent Internet poll: spiders, snakes, clowns, death, heights, falling, and fear of the unknown, just to name a few scary things.
As Catholic-Christians, we frequently find ourselves doing other scary things such as: talking behind each other’s backs, seeking revenge for something that was done to us, treating others unfairly, judging others because of who they appear to be in our eyes, neglecting to look out for those in need, not standing up for what is right – doing things that we think will disappoint God.
Yet no matter what we do, how we act, what we say, or who we betray, God is always looking at us with great mercy. God loves us no matter what. God is always with us, encouraging us to keep moving forward and to keep striving to live the gospel each and every day. God wants us to understand that although we may not be perfect in our eyes, we are made perfect in God’s eyes.
When the darkness of this world envelops us and we feel like we have been left alone, abandoned or forgotten, let us remember that nothing or nobody will ever separate us from the love of God.
That’s not scary; that’s praiseworthy!
When I train lectors, I always stress the importance of loving Scripture as it helps us to proclaim better and deepen our relationship with God. And that is really the message in our first reading from Nehemiah.
I love Scripture because it has the power to make us realize that we often fail in our attempt to live as Jesus taught us; yet, it fills us with hope in order to keep trying.
I love Scripture because it is living and breathing, constantly making itself just as relevant today as it was when it was first written.
I love Scripture because it reminds us of how we are to care for each other, despite our differences; to love all our neighbors especially those in need.
I love Scripture because even though we may not always understand it, there are many individuals out there who can help us decipher its meaning in our lives.
I love Scripture because it teaches and trains us in righteousness so that we are equipped to perform good works in the world.
And I love Scripture because it allows us to celebrate in the joy and strength that is offered to us when we open ourselves up to God’s living word on a daily basis.
May we always strive to be lovers of Scripture. For as Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
A veil is an article of clothing that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies and is prominent in many forms of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Veiling continues to play a role today especially in wedding customs where it’s used to hide the face of the bride so that the groom would not see her face until after the ceremony. Then the new groom would lift the veil hiding the bride’s face and kiss her.
Sometimes it feels like you and I are walking around with veils covering our faces. We go through the motions of life not clearly seeing due to the many temptations of our modern culture like power, wealth, success, adulation, etc. – everything in relation to “me.” When we wear this veil, we become disoriented, disillusioned and lost, and we cannot see where we are heading.
St. Paul tells us that a veil lies over our hearts, but when we turn to the Lord, that veil is removed. It reminds me of that beautiful image we often see of St. Anthony of Padua holding the infant Jesus in his arms. When our veils are removed, we can experience the power of Jesus in our lives. When we gaze upon the face of Christ, we will find joy, happiness, comfort, peace, love, and the true light that shines out of darkness.
It’s time to remove the veil that hides us from seeing Jesus. Let us put aside the darkness that the world draws us into and allow the joy that comes from living with Christ permeate our lives for all to see. Let the unveiling begin!
My father passed away in 2014, and there are still so many days when I miss him dearly. About a year ago, I was at a busy shopping mall when I noticed a man from a distance that looked exactly like my dad. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and since this man was far away, I needed to get closer to see if it was really him.
As I made my way through the crowd, my heart began beating rapidly. I began sweating and my mind was racing with fear and questions. As I approached, he turned around, made eye contact with me and then vanished into the crowd. It wasn’t him, but the similarities shook me to my core.
As I walked away, I felt deeply troubled, and I wondered what would I have said or done if it was indeed my father.
Today, we hear how the disciples thought that they saw a ghost because Jesus had died, and now he was standing right in front of them again – very much alive. (Luke 24:35-48) They had so many questions on their minds. Their hearts were filled with uncertainties and they began doubting themselves, their faith, and their mission. Jesus appeared and gave them peace, reassuring them that everything was going to be just fine.
Our lives are filled with so many questions, problems, and struggles. We get scared and often find ourselves lost. It is during these times when we need to remember that Jesus is right here with us. All we have to do is reach out to him in prayer and he will show us the way.
Jesus is offering us his peace. If we accept this peace, Jesus will open our minds to His word; and that Word will guide us and give us the courage to overcome whatever darkness comes our way. May God’s peace lead us to the brightness of each new day.
When I was in junior high, my mother asked me one day to clean my room. I decided to go all-biblical on her because we had just talked about today’s gospel in religion class. I said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” (Kids – do not try this at home!) I honestly didn’t know how quick her reflexes were or how strong she was until that very moment when her hand quickly smacked across my face. That was not a joyful experience.
Something that was a joyful experience happened a few years later. I bought my parent’s a wall calendar – and their reaction was truly priceless. It was called “Nuns Having Fun,” and it was filled with a variety of images of fully-habited nuns doing fun things. There were nuns in bumper cars, nuns on roller coasters, nuns having snowball fights, nuns skeet shooting, and on and on. My favorite was a group of nuns running in the ocean, arms up in the air with the biggest smiles on their faces! It was a really goofy calendar, but it brought up a great point: the Christian life isn’t a life of suffering, but it’s a life of joy!
And we can see this in our Gospel today. A lot of things are going on. It is Jesus’ first public miracle and it really kicks off his public ministry. It also shows us the deep relationship that Jesus had with his Mother. And the transformation of water into wine reminds us of the Eucharistic imagery that we experience during the Mass. But one detail that is overlooked is that Jesus was doing all this at a wedding feast! This is no small thing. Jesus lived a life of joy – and he actually went to parties! (OK, so he went with his mom, but still!) It shows us that Jesus wasn’t a stranger to the good and fun things in life. It’s important for us to remember that the good things in our lives are gifts from God.
There are two distinct parts in our gospel that I want to point out: one, Before Christ; and another, After Christ. The first scene that St. John describes is one of emptiness, and the second, on the contrary, is marked by abundance. And what brings about the difference between these two time periods is key: it’s the intervention of Jesus.
The marriage feast had come to a complete stop because they ran out of wine. Wine is a symbol of celebration and happiness. No wine meant that they had no joy. There were experiencing emptiness!
Mary noticed this, so she turned to Jesus for help. Though he initially hesitated, Mary trusted that Jesus would make everything right and instructed the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” The rest, as they say, is history. Jesus changed water into wine and saved the hosts from disgrace.
But of course, the point isn’t just the wine. The wine is a “sign.” As we look at our own lives, we can’t help but notice that the wine always runs out. Whatever the gains, life always brings losses. We grow up and we grow old. We have children (sometime in pairs). Children grow up and lose their innocence. Parents see their kids leave home (and sometimes come back again). We find jobs; and sometimes we lose jobs. We work and work and work until one day, we find ourselves facing retirement. Our body parts eventually lose the battle against gravity and we lose hair where we want it and gain it where we don’t. Aches and pains become more frequent, so we moan in despair. And no one gets out of here alive. Add all the technology you want, but our human resources eventually come to an end. That’s the bad news.
The good news – the great news: the resources of God never run out! New energy springs out of weariness, new opportunities emerge from failure, and new hope arises in the ashes of doubt and despair.
Jesus asks the servers to fill the six empty stone jars with water. (Interesting fact: six is a symbol of chaos, imperfection and evil.) When they drew out some of the water, they discovered that it was the best wine! The party could continue! There is abundance, order and celebration – all because of the intervention of Jesus.
The question for us is how do we keep our water jars filled?
We first must continually invite Jesus into our lives. We need to pray daily and believe that God is always right by our side guiding us every step of the way.
If we trust Jesus, our wine – or our happiness – will never run dry because when we realize that God is our first love, the wedding feast never ends.
And that superior quality of wine that he transformed is the quality of life that we will find in and with Jesus. We no longer feel abandoned because we are espoused to a God who gets involved in our lives by entering into it constantly so that he can share in our little and big joys.
And this brings me back to my original point: that the good things of life are gifts from God. God gives us so many good things and so many causes for joy for a reason – to draw us back to him. They give us little hints about what true communion with God will be like. Jesus didn’t just change water into wine to keep the party going, but to draw us into the mystery of God’s power and love. And what greater love does our bridegroom have for us then his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. As we approach this altar today to receive Jesus, let us thank God for our earthly joys, and to remember that when we entrust our lives to Jesus and do whatever he tells us, we will discover an abundant life that is overflowing with love, happiness and immeasurable joy!
© 2024 Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker. All rights reserved.
