Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Mary, Mother of God, your greatness began at the first instant of your existence with the privilege of your Immaculate Conception. After Almighty God and the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, there is no being so great as you. It is true, you are a creature, and, therefore, far beneath the Supreme Being. But you are a creature so holy and so perfect that you are superior to all other creatures. God alone could make you so holy and so beautiful, and He did so to make you worthy of the dignity of being the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God, the Divine Word.

It was fitting that you, a Virgin Mother, should conceive the Man who was also the Son of God. It was fitting that you should be adorned with the greatest purity ever possible to a creature. You are the Virgin to whom God the Father decreed to givHis only Son–the Divine Word, equal to Himself in all things–that entering the natural order He might become your Son as well as His. You are the immaculate Virgin whom the Son Himself chose to make His Mother. You are the immaculate Virgin whom the Holy Spirit willed to make His Bride and in whom He would work the tremendous miracle of the Incarnation. The privilege of the Immaculate Conception was suitable to your dignity.

Mary, my immaculate Mother, help me to imitate your sinlessness by keeping my soul free from every willful sin by the faithful observance of God's commandments. Help me to imitate your fullness of grace by receiving Holy Communion frequently, where I shall obtain the sanctifying grace that will make my soul holy and pleasing to God, and the actual graces I need to practice virtue. Through prayer may grace fill my soul with the life of God and transform me into a living image of Jesus, just as you were.

Father, you prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy Mother of your Son. You made it possible for her to share beforehand in the salvation of your Son, Jesus Christ, who would bring life by His death, and kept her without sin from the first moment of her conception. Give us the grace by her prayers ever to live in your presence without sin. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent

Usually during Advent, we talk about getting our hearts ready to welcome Jesus. We consider the anticipation that filled the people of the Old Covenant as they awaited the Messiah, we rejoice in the actual birth of Jesus and we look forward to the Second Coming when “all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). Something different struck me this year as I reflected on the readings for Advent. Last week it was what are we waiting for really? This week I am overwhelmed by the sense of hope and joy that permeates the readings. The Prophet Baruch (5:1-9) revels in the fact that the people of Jerusalem “are remembered by God.” Although they strayed, were taken captive and exiled, God promised that they would return; and, what a magnificent homecoming they received! They didn’t just haplessly wander back into Jerusalem, they put on “the splendor of glory from God.” They were wrapped in a “cloak of justice.” They returned “borne aloft in glory as on a royal throne.” The ground was leveled before them, the gorges were filled and God led them home “in joy by the light of his glory, with mercy and justice for company.” It doesn’t get much better than this.

When John the Baptist arrived on the scene, he too proclaimed an entrance fit for a king with leveled mountains and hills, filled in valleys and a smooth straight road. John’s call to “prepare the way of the Lord,” is addressed to all of us – not just the people within hearing distance of him in the desert. When he proclaimed that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God, “he includes us, our families, our neighborhoods, our towns our country and our world for generation after generation. Like the children of Jerusalem, we should be “rejoicing” that we “are remembered by God.” Because God fulfils all promises. And, God’s salvation is universal. Not only does God include us in his plan for salvation he anoints each and every one of us to be prophets and proclaimers of the Good News.

This week as we strive to live our lives in a state of continual Advent, trying to look at the world through a God lens, St Paul has more words of wisdom for us. In his Letter to the Philippians (1:4-6, 8-10) St Paul reminds us that we do have a role to play in God’s plan for salvation. And, since we are part of God’s plan, God will continue to work through us “until the day of Jesus Christ.” He prays that our “love may increase,” that we increase in “knowledge and perception,” that we “discern what is of value” so we may be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ” and that we are “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” According to St Paul each one of us is in a “partnership for the gospel.” We are not passive observers. We have a job to get to. And so, we pray:

God our Father, 

we know today how to drill through mountains 

and level hills to build highways, 

but we have lost the way 

to each other's heart and to you. 

Let your Son come among us 

to make us inventive and daring enough 

to build roads of justice and love 

that help us encounter one another 

and you, our living God. 

We ask you this in the name of him whom we expect

and who is waiting for us, 

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Regret City

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. This is my annual "Guilt Trip.

I got tickets to fly there on "Wish-I-Had" airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my "baggage," which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was loaded down with a one thousand memories of "what might have been."

No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town. As I checked into the "Last Resort" Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event; the annual "Pity Party."

I wasn’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there. First, there would be the "Done" family; you know, "Should have," "Would Have" and "Could Have." Then came the "I Had" family. You probably know old "Wish" and his clan. Of course, the "Opportunities" family; "Missed and lost," would be present. The biggest family there would be the "Yesterday’s."

There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share. Of course," Shattered dreams" would surely make an appearance. "It’s Their fault" family would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly applauded by the "Don’t blame me" and "I couldn’t help it" committee.

To make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full well there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and subsequent "pity parties" Could be canceled by me!

I started to realize that I did not have to be there. And I didn’t have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I can’t change yesterday, But I do have the power to make today a wonderful day. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as being encouraging.

Knowing this, I left Regret City immediately, and didn’t leave a forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I’ve made in the past? Yes! But there is no way to undo them. So, if you’re planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel all those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: "Starting Again." I like it so much that I made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, the "Been forgiven" and the "We’re saved" are so very helpful. By the way, you don’t have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either.

That load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. Just thank God for salvation.

If you need directions, just look into your heart, and enter by "Grace way." No taxes or other cost. God’s Son paid the price, in full, for all sins and transgressions, a long time ago. Look me up if you’re ready for a total change in your life. I now live on "His Will Way."

Sincerely,

"Born again.”

Source Unknown

Spirit of Christmas

To catch the real meaning of the "Spirit of Christmas," we need only to drop the last syllable of the word, and it becomes the "Spirit of Christ." It beckons us to follow him, and become worthy of the blessedness which he promised to the most unlikely people-the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the meek, the seekers after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even the persecuted and the oppressed.

Faith

Find Joy

A senator once took Will Rogers to the White House to meet President Coolidge. He warned the humorist that Coolidge never smiled. Rogers replied, “I’ll make him smile.”

Inside the Oval Office, the senator introduced the two men. “Will Rogers,” he said, “I’d like you to meet President Coolidge.”

Deadpan, Rogers quipped, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch the name.” Coolidge smiled.

Blues musician Corky Siegel says, “Life is too important to take seriously.”

A sense of humor is essential. It is one of the most important means we possess to face the difficulties of life. And sometimes life can be difficult indeed.

I see people every day with big problems: relationships breaking apart, unemployment, serious illness. Not a week goes by when I haven’t talked with someone agonizing with a suffering friend, or people who are addicted or in deep grief. Without a sense of humor about my own life, I don’t know if I could survive. I take what I do seriously, but I try not to take myself too seriously. Like the New York City cab driver who said, “It’s not the work that I enjoy so much, but the people I run into!”

Here is an experiment: look for and find as much joy as possible for one full day. Try to enjoy the people you run into, the work you do, your leisure time and your relationships. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself – and take enough time to enjoy God. Try this experiment for one full day, and by evening you may be amazed to find yourself basking in the glow of a rekindled spirit.

It just takes a day to find joy along the way.

As Advent Unfolds

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life. (Psalm 27:4)

As Advent unfolds, we long for the Savior who will bring forth a new creation and present a kingdom of justice, mercy, and peace to the eternal Father. The Lord revealed His coming presence over time. When on earth, He revealed himself in various ways. Some, like these blind men, called out to Him as Messiah, the Son of David; others, like the woman who touched His cloak, had their quietly-held belief; Nicodemus came at night and the Centurion professed his faith at the foot of the cross.

Advent is about waiting, longing, searching for the Lord of my life, to have Him come anew, to grant me healing mercy and deeper faith. It is about needing a savior, my life's refuge, and the need of all people for a Savior: “Prepare ye, the way of the Lord.” The Lord reveals Himself in various ways, as presently now in the Eucharist, the Word, in prayer and in the communion of believers.

Cultivate patient waiting. What are the Lord's ways in your life? What message should we take to others?

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)