After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk. 1:14-15) The words above are the first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. How are we to interpret them? Clearly the words evidence the reality that occurred when God was incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. If God is incarnate, then “this is the time of fulfillment”; all of the prophecies have been fulfilled. And if Jesus is present, then the Kingdom of God is present, since the Kingdom is present where the King is present. But what about the middle part “repent and believe in the Gospel”? There are different ways to understand the words “repent and believe in the Gospel. They can be … [Read more...]

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” (Jn. 1:35-36) In the readings this weekend, we have a lot of “naming” going on.  John calls Jesus the “Lamb of God”: John's disciples call Jesus “Rabbi”: Andrew refers to Jesus as the “Messiah (the Christ)” when he speaks to his brother, Simon; and Jesus calls Simon “Cephas (Peter).” It almost sounds like pledge week at a fraternity house where everyone gets a new nickname! But what we're dealing with has both theological and practical implications. In the Bible - and in real life - names are important. In William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, the lovers have a dialogue about their own names. It begins with Romeo hearing Juliet call his name: “O Romeo, Romeo, … [Read more...]

“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.” (Mt. 2:9-11) Why were the “wise men” wise? Were they wise because they knew the movements of the stars in the sky? Were they wise because they understood the seasons of the year or the movements of nature? What made them wise? The word for “wise men” is a Greek word that we transliterate as “magi.” The magi were interested in trying to understand the created world, but they searched for more. The magi might have been smart because of all of their knowledge of the physical world, but wisdom is … [Read more...]

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16 ) Although the Feast of the Holy Family fell last Friday, I think that this season is a good time to reflect upon our family lives, and to examine whether we're being good family members. When we contemplate the Holy Family, we note the fact that when Jesus became man – when the Word became flesh – He became flesh as a little child within a family. That was a divine choice; because Jesus could have chosen any way he wanted to manifest Himself. He could have arrived on earth as a 33 year old adult or an 80 year old man. But Jesus was conceived and began his existence in Mary's womb, and was born as … [Read more...]

The shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.” (Lk 2:15-18) Christmas can carry with it a lot of nostalgia for many of us. The season brings back memories of past Christmases, and might be particularly difficult for those who've recently lost loved ones. We might remember the happy times that we had, and we might be filled with a little heartache. It's interesting that the word “nostalgia” is formed by two Greek words, νόστος … [Read more...]

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32a) A few Saturdays back I was praying the Rosary with a small group at 11:00am in front of the abortion clinic on St. Charles Avenue near Louisiana (in what was once a Protestant church), and I got yelled at by a Fundamentalist. Although I'm used to experiencing taunting while I'm praying there, I'm not used to being yelled at by a fellow “Christian” because I'm praying the Rosary. One would think we could take a moment to set aside differences in a mutual effort to pray for an end to abortion. The point of the man's rant was that I was “glorifying” Mary by saying the “Hail Mary.” He was yelling at us “Mary is dead. Why are you … [Read more...]

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:23) As I looked at the readings for Mass this weekend, I had a little sense of “déjà vu.” They seem to be very similar to the readings from last Sunday. Both Sundays have readings from Isaiah, and both have Gospels about John the Baptist. It shouldn't really be a “surprise” since this is a season when are remembering the first coming and preparing for the second coming. The coming of the Messiah was something eagerly anticipated by the Jewish people. His coming was to be a time of great rejoicing (Gaudete!) It represented the intervention of God into the affairs of men. No longer would they be hungry or thirsty or … [Read more...]

[John the Baptist said:] “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mk. 1:7-8) One of my favorite books by Archbishop Fulton Sheen is called “Life of Christ.” It's a book that explores the life of Jesus using a great deal of reason and human history. As a seminarian I recall being taken in by the first words: History is full of men who have claimed that they came from God, or that they were gods, or that they bore messages from God - -Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Christ, Lao-tze, and thousands of others, right down to the person who founded a new religion this very day. Each of them has a right to be heard and considered. But as a yardstick … [Read more...]

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” (Mt. 13:33) One almost hopes that Jesus would announce His Second Coming simultaneously through a text message, Twitter, Facebook, a Google News Alert, PSA's on all of the broadcast and cable television stations and talk radio. Because if that were the case, He'd be bound to reach 90% of the world population who are immersed in technology through tv, radio, the internet and cell phones. But I don't think that's the “watching” that Jesus is calling us to engage in. In fact, I don't really think he's talking about our using our “eyes” at all. Jesus says “watch!” as the last word in this Sunday's Gospel. And that word comes from the Greek word γρηγορεῖτε (gregoreite) really has … [Read more...]

Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” (Mt. 25:34-36) What does it mean to be “king”? The word calls to mind different images for each of us. Some of the older parishioners might recall King George VI, the father of the current Queen Elizabeth of England who died in 1952. For younger people, the word king might call to mind something completely different. One person might think of Rex, the King of Carnival. Another might think of using the word as being a superlative, like “Elvis … [Read more...]