Last weekend, my wife Stephanie and I along with our pastor took a group of 11 teens to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Today, I wanted to share with you our experience of this powerful three day pilgrimage. Read More
Advent | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 3
On the Inside; On the Outside
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
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
I am passing along a beautiful blog post from my friend Fr. Tom Zielinski from the St. Anthony Spirituality Center in Marathon, Wisconsin. As we are in the home stretch of the Advent season, let his words fill you with joy and anticipation for the Lord’s coming…
“Acceptance” is a word that is becoming more important for me during Advent. We have the usual words of waiting, longing, desiring, expecting, which are all very appropriate for this season. But with the Second Sunday of Advent, the word and idea of acceptance stood out for me in the Sunday readings. The word itself was not there, but the idea was. Read More
Have you ever had a song just pop into your head out of the middle of nowhere? And it was a song that you haven’t heard in years? Well, that happened to me a couple of days ago when the song “Like a Rock” from Bob Seger entered my brain. And what a great tie-in with today’s Gospel (Matthew 7:21, 24-27). Here are some of the lyrics:
My hands were steady; my eyes were clear and bright.
My walk had purpose; my steps were quick and light.
And I held firmly to what I felt was right. Like a rock.
Like a rock, I was strong as I could be. Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me.
Like a rock, I was something to see. Like a rock. Read More
God and a man are walking down the road. The man asks God, “What is the world like?” God replies, “I cannot talk when I am thirsty. If you could get me a drink of cool water, we could discuss what the world is like. There is a village nearby. Go and get me a drink.”
The man goes into the village and knocks at the door of the first house. A beautiful young woman opens the door. His jaw drops, but he manages to say, “I need a glass of cool water.” “Of course,” she says smiling, “but it is midday. Would you care to stay for some food?” “I am hungry,” he says, and your offer of food is truly kind.” He goes in and the door closes behind him. Read More
How do you express your joy? Do you clap your hands, laugh loudly scream out, or react with a gesture? In our Gospel today, the infant John “leaped for joy.” John, in his mother’s womb, expressed an emotional and physical reaction.
Elizabeth experienced a jump in her womb and Luke relates it to John’s recognition of Jesus. This beautifully captures the emotion and feeling of that meeting between the two pregnant women. Read More
My wife and I have been holding hands for more than 26 years. And I can still remember being a scared college student, reaching for her hand for the very first time. Would she grab it? How would she react? What would it feel like? Read More
“It’s one thing to talk about the gospel, but it is quite another to live it. It is one thing to preach about Christ, but it is another to follow in His footsteps.” Angel Abrea
As a society, we always seem to be doing something at sometime. And as we are well into the holiday season, there is even more hustling and bustling in our lives. Whether it’s Christmas shopping, or planning holiday party menus, or house cleaning for guests, or school concerts, or baking cookies, or home decorating, or writing Christmas cards, or… Read More
