As my Christmas greeting to you this year, I wanted to send out the lyrics from one of my songs that I wrote back in 1984. I pray that you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. May the spirit of the season remain with you throughout the entire year. May God bless you always!
Deacon Allen
Photo Credit: http://kathyschiffer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/The-Annunciation-John-Collier.jpg
Our Gospel today was “the Annunciation”, the same Gospel we used for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Very often, you will see Annunciation in a painting or stained glass window, and it’s depicted with one striking detail: Mary, holding in her hands or reading an open book. One artist has said this is to show Mary reading Isaiah, learning that a virgin would give birth to the savior. Another artist said that it shows her devotion to The Word – the Word that she would one day bring into the world as Jesus Christ.
However you interpret this, it remains a compelling way of thinking of Mary, especially as we near Christmas, and as we think more deeply about The Word Made Flesh. And as we reflect on today’s Gospel, I want to focus on one word in particular that recurs in this passage. It’s a word Luke uses again and again in the story of the Nativity, three times alone in just this short passage. That word is: “Behold.” In literal terms, it means: “to see,” or “observe.” But in scriptural terms, it goes much deeper. Read More
It’s been three weeks since my father passed away – and life hasn’t been the same. I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster without a safety harness, and the journey has been very bumpy, to say the least.
Honestly, I am an emotional wreck! At one moment, I appear to be fine; but then suddenly, I am not. I cry quite frequently, and it often strikes without warning. It is very difficult to explain, and I cannot even tell you how, when, or why it happens. I can’t even define what triggers these emotional outbursts. It just happens at will.
And my mind is constantly moving in multiple directions at warp speed. I find it very difficult to sleep; and when sleep comes, it is a very light sleep at that. I worry. I’m trying to be there for my mother to help as much as I can. There are phone calls to make, financial decisions to be made, and on and on. There is just so much to do!
To be completely honest, I am filled with fear. I’m afraid of how my mother is taking all of this. I’m afraid of not being able to help her when she needs me the most. I’m afraid of letting her down in her time of sorrow and need. And, I’m afraid of living the rest of my life without my father near me. Read More
I was running errands the other day, and when I walked into one of our local stores, I heard these familiar words of this Christmas song:
“Haul out the holly; put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stockings, I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas, right this very minute, candles in the window, carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas, right this very minute. We need a little Christmas now.” Read More
A young woman from another country was working, as many immigrant women do, caring for the children of an upper-middle class family. One day she heard the children yelling and screaming in another room. She spoke English well enough, but she hadn’t yet mastered some of our expressions. So as she entered the room intending to restore order, what she meant to say was, “What on earth are you doing?” but instead she said, “What are you doing on earth?”
That’s a great question especially after hearing today’s Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30), and it’s a question that we must ponder from time to time. What are we doing on earth? Read More
A few years back, I experienced one of the many “God moments” in my life as I was on my way to work. The day before, I was hearing some nasty rumors of major job layoffs coming at my office location. It sounded like it was going to be a bad one. So naturally, I began to worry. At the time, I was the “new guy” in the group, so my thinking was that I would surely be the first one to go. My sleep was restless that night, and from about 3 am on, I was wide awake thinking about this potential job loss.
The next day on my way to work, I was saying my morning prayers in the car, and I asked God to calm my mind. I prayed that I was able to trust in the Lord at all times and not to worry about things out of my control. Deep down I knew that God would take care of me and guide me – as He always does. But it sure would be nice to have a sign, just to be certain.
Due to traffic issues, I took a slightly different route than usual. There, I passed a church that had a sign out front that read, “Don’t Worry – It May Not Happen.” It was like getting hit in the head with a 2 x 4. God was giving me a sign. And I couldn’t help but to praise and thank Him for allowing me to see the light! (And no, I wasn’t let go from my job!)
Are you looking for a sign from God? Then pray that you remain open to seeing God in the every day moments of your life – and you too will see the light!
I can still remember that horrific day as if it were yesterday. When my boys were very young, we were at the shopping mall when I suddenly noticed that one of them had gone missing. And I was experiencing a number of feelings: fear, anxiety, worry, helplessness, and desperation. I began to search everywhere, even in the silliest places. I was not going to leave any spot unsearched. And I even remember crying out to God, “Do whatever you want with me, Lord, but let me find my son and let him be safe.” In a matter of moments, I found him – and I gave him a gigantic hug and let him know how much I loved him. Then, I thanked God for allowing him to be found safe and sound. Read More
We took our eldest son out to dinner last night for his birthday. The restaurant that he chose had a Texas/western-style atmosphere, so you can probably imagine what the feel of the place was like. As we were being escorted to our table, I noticed a sign over the area where the restrooms were located that read “Outhouse.” I smiled to myself about this and instantly had a flashback to my mother’s side of the family who lived on a farm that had an outhouse in their yard, since they did not have indoor plumbing when I was young. And then, my mind took off in a completely different direction.
On Sunday, we typically spend some quality time with the Lord at Mass. We gather around the Lord’s table to praise and thank God for the many blessings in our lives. We bring our sin-fullness that we accumulated during the week and ask for God’s forgiveness and ask that we are strengthened for the week to come. We sing and pray with our fellow parishioners as we gather to hear God’s word spoken to us and to move us. Basically, we are worshiping “inhouse” – or in God’s house. Then, we are sent out after Mass to go out into the world; to take what we had just heard and to spread the news to those whom we meet on a daily basis. We are to live the Gospel and to be Eucharist to others. We are to strive to imitate Jesus by loving our neighbors as ourselves, and to treat others with the respect and dignity that they deserve. We are to live “outhouse” and not keep Jesus to ourselves.
As this week begins, I challenge all of us to leave the comforts of the “inhouse” and take the good news of Jesus Christ to the “outhouse” so that all can experience the love that God has for each one of us.
Back in the 1990’s there was a TV show called, “Hercules: the Legendary Journeys!” It featured the dashing Hercules, who went from town to town protecting innocent villagers from monsters, thieves, or the whims of the gods. There was also a movie called “Hercules” that came out this past July. Now, don’t feel bad if you don’t remember the TV show or you didn’t see the movie, because my homily won’t hinge on any plot lines. You don’t need to remember Hercules and his bulging muscles and flowing hair or any of the cheesy monsters. You just need to remember this one thing: the Greek gods were portrayed as detached beings who cared very little about the men and women below. Read More
Pic : www.lsa.umich.edu
Today’s Gospel (Luke 6: 27-38) is difficult to hear – and even more difficult to carry out. There’s a bunch of things in there that will free us and allow us to live the way that Christ intended for us to live. Jesus is providing us with this message of love and how we need to treat others. Honestly, the road to truly loving one another is not easy, but it’s a road that we are asked to walk every day.
Mother Teresa once said:
“Love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is no love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.” Read More
© 2024 Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker. All rights reserved.
