Sisters and brothers in Christ, one of the things that we were taught in Diaconal Formation is to "train" our replacements in the ministry that we are involved with. This frees us to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to where God is leading us next.
This is Jesus' message in today’s Gospel when he summons the Twelve, prepares or trains them "to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness," and then he sends them out to do what he needs them to do to share the Good News with others.
We are called to do the same with our Catholic faith, particularly for parents who are the leaders of their domestic church, their family. One of the greatest legacy that parents can leave to their children in their Catholic faith, because their Catholic faith will help them face the joys and sorrows of life with faith, hope, and trust.
With Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we will never feel alone or abandoned. Why would we not want to share this hope with others so that they might feel the love of God through faith.
[Saturday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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Sisters and brothers in Christ, Jesus asks us a very important question in today's Gospel: “Do you believe that I can do this?” For the blind men, to believe that Jesus could heal them is to believe in their hearts that Jesus is who he claims to be - the Son of God. They believe with faith that Jesus is the Son of God and that he can heal their blindness and so, when he touches their eyes, he says "Let it be done for you according to your faith," and heals them of their blindness. Their faith in God, in His Promises, and their belief in His healing powers restore their sight.
Jesus came with signs and wonders to those who have faith to see them and hear them. The question for us is, what would our answer be if Jesus were to ask us, "Do you believe that I can do this?" Is our faith in God where it needs to be to respond to Jesus and say, "Yes, Lord, I believe you can heal me according to your will." If it is not, then this season of Advent is a blessed time to deepen our faith and strengthen our relationship with our Lord and our God who loves us and desires what is best for us.
Like the blind men, may our eyes of faith, clouded by life's experiences, be restored during this season of hope, peace, joy, and love as we await with joyful hope the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and give God praise and thanks for the gift of the Incarnation. As so, with hope, we turn to our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church - particularly the Eucharist and Reconciliation - so that our faith is restore and we can lead others to Jesus.
[Gospel for Friday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - MT 9:27-31] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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Sisters and brothers in Christ, Jesus asks us a very important question in today's Gospel: “Do you believe that I can do this?” For the blind men, to believe that Jesus could heal them is to believe in their hearts that Jesus is who he claims to be - the Son of God. They believe with faith that Jesus is the Son of God and that he can heal their blindness and so, when he touches their eyes, he says "Let it be done for you according to your faith," and heals them of their blindness. Their faith in God, in His Promises, and their belief in His healing powers restore their sight.
Jesus came with signs and wonders to those who have faith to see them and hear them. The question for us is, what would our answer be if Jesus were to ask us, "Do you believe that I can do this?" Is our faith in God where it needs to be to respond to Jesus and say, "Yes, Lord, I believe you can heal me according to your will." If it is not, then this season of Advent is a blessed time to deepen our faith and strengthen our relationship with our Lord and our God who loves us and desires what is best for us.
Like the blind men, may our eyes of faith, clouded by life's experiences, be restored during this season of hope, peace, joy, and love as we await with joyful hope the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and give God praise and thanks for the gift of the Incarnation. As so, with hope, we turn to our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church - particularly the Eucharist and Reconciliation - so that our faith is restore and we can lead others to Jesus.
[Gospel for Friday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - MT 9:27-31] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
Sisters and brothers in Christ, as with any relationship, certain actions are required by those in the relationship for it to grow and thrive. I cannot merely say that I am in a marital relationship with my wife and not fulfill my responsibilities as a husband - to love my wife, to help her get to heaven, to support her in any way I can.
It is the same in our relationship with God, through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. We cannot merely say that we know of Jesus, we must be intentional in growing our relationship with our Lord and our God, not only in words but through our actions, namely discerning his will and following it.
Jesus is very adamant about this in today's Gospel, saying: ""Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." He explains, saying: "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. . . And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand."
Going back to my marriage analogy, the vows that a man and a woman make on their wedding day get their meaning when they are lived out by the couple as husband and wife. We find meaning and purpose in the words of God when we not only hear them but follow them in our daily lives.
This is important for us hear and follow Jesus in this life so that we are prepared to follow him in life-everlasting. And so, this Advent season, let us prepare ourselves to receive our Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and lead others to an encounter with Jesus so that they, too, may come to know Jesus intimately through their own personal relationship with him.
[Gospel for Thursday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - Mt 7:21, 24-27] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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My sisters and brothers in Christ, Jesus' Sacred Heart is "moved with pity" for love of us. We are "the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others" whose image of God in us is distorted by sin. Jesus came, and is here present with us today, to heal us of our afflictions but we must be willing to come to Jesus and be healed by him.
Over the past couple of months, I have been meeting and talking with spouses who either want a divorce or their spouse wants a divorce. In all of the cases, the other spouse is not willing to come "to the table" and talk about it. It is a very difficult situation to find oneself in. My heart is moved with pity for them and so I pray for them and their marriages. In the same way, Jesus cannot heal us if we are not willing to turn to him out of humility and with contrite hearts.
However, we do are willing to turn to Jesus in our time of need, we will find that he is waiting for us with open arms, especially his Real Presence in the Eucharist. This Advent season, if you are hurting in any way, or you know someone is hurting in any way, come to Mass and be in the loving Presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Abide in his Sacred Heart and allow Jesus to come to you, love you, and embrace you in such a way that will make you whole again. That is all Jesus wants, to heal us and restore us to wholeness.
[Gospel for Wednesday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - Mt 15:29-37] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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Sisters and brothers in Christ, we learn two important lessons from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in today's Gospel. Lesson #1 is to rejoice in the Holy Spirit. Lesson #2 is give praise to the Father, Lord of heaven and earth. These two lessons are important because they remind us that we depend on God and everything we have - our time, talent, and treasure - is a gift from our Father in heaven.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we took our goddaughter and nephew to see "Moana 2". After we left the theater, our nephew thanked us several times for taking them to see "Moana 2" (our goddaughter did as well). There was a "childlike" genuineness to how he said it that made me realize that he was grateful for more than us taking him to the movies but for spending that time with him and his sister, and that warmed by heart.
I think this "childlike" gratefulness is one of the things that we adults have lost in our relationship with our heavenly Father. We are too focus on our own accomplishments and achievements that we forget that we could not have done any of it if not for the grace of God. The gifts of our time, talent, and treasure are from God and we are but stewards of these gifts. And so, it is important for us, during this season of Advent, to give God praise and thanks for His greatest gift to us - his Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the same way that the disciples were blessed to see and hear from Jesus, we are blessed to hear the Word of God and receive the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass. Let us share this tremendous gift with others and invite them to come to Mass with us this Advent season as we prepare for Christmas and the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[Gospel for Tuesday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - Lk 10:21-24] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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Sisters and brothers in Christ, in today's Gospel, we hear these familiar words spoken by the centurion: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed."
Familiar because during Mass, when the priest raises the Body and Blood of Christ and says, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him to takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." We respond with, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."
In our response, we confess two things. First, we are not worthy to receive the Eucharist; however, out of love for us. our Lord Jesus Christ gives of himself - Body and Blood - for us. And so when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we remind ourselves of our much God loves us and we strive to live a life worthy of His sacrifice on the Cross for us and our salvation. Second, we believe in the healing power of the Eucharist to heal us - body, mind, soul, and spirit. There is no other healing more powerful than the Eucharist and so we come to Mass to receive Christ's Body and Blood and be healed.
Finally, the Eucharistic Prayers and our responses during Mass are so beautiful. I would encourage everyone to listen attentively to the Eucharistic Prayers as they are being proclaimed by the priest (in persona Christi) and respond with intentionality and faith, hope, and love. And when the Body and Blood of Christ is raised up by the priest, I would encourage everyone to gazed upon the Eucharist and allow Jesus to fill our hearts with his love.
[Gospel for Monday of the First Week of Advent (Year C) - Mt 8:5-11] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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My sisters and brothers in Christ, on the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, we light the Prophecy Candle to remind us that our reason for HOPE is same reason for the season: our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
We have HOPE because Jesus is present yesterday and today and tomorrow. We have HOPE because God entered into human history in the INCARNATION to save us. We have HOPE because Jesus is present to us today in the EUCHARIST at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have HOPE for tomorrow because Jesus promises to be with us until the end of the age.
Advent is a season of waiting and preparation. As we wait for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we also prepare ourselves for his Second Coming. We must be "vigilant" and pray unceasingly to keep our hearts from becoming "drowsy." This is how we keep Christ in Christmas for ourselves and our families. Advent helps us to keep the true meaning of the Christmas in our hearts and gives us the strength to share the hope, peace, joy, and love of Jesus with others, even in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season around us.
[Gospel for First Sunday of Advent (Year C) - Lk 21:25-28, 34-36] #gospelreflection #Catholic #diakonia
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