Reflection for the Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus 2022

Blessed Be His Name!

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

How does it feel to be 101 years old? Pretty good I think, echoing Bishop Bernard’s message at our celebratory Holy Mass of Thanksgiving this past October.

Indeed, another year is dawning as we will hear in our recessional hymn. That hymn reminds us of all we must do as we enter our second centenary. We can repeat with the hymn our very heartfelt request to the Father, that the year and century ahead will be a time of working and waiting with God. A time of learning, trusting, mercies, faithfulness, graces, gladness, progress, praise, service, and training all while leaning on our Father’s breast as we anew prove His presence right here in our community.

It is a special grace that we begin our new century with the celebration of the Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus which fell on the first Sunday of this new year, 2022.

Anew – that is a word we will focus on in a very particular way for years to come. We together have spent the last decade in a lot of hard work building up this parish, strengthening it, readying it. Now is the time for the next great step.

We are indeed strong and ready to undertake a great mission – making the Holy Name of Jesus known once again by our evangelistic efforts.

I can recount some of what I used to encounter growing up. The Name of Jesus was well known and was respected. In fact, we understood each other often in relationship to the church or other place of worship we attended. 

For example, walking into a Synagogue, I knew what to do. The last time I walked into one and asked for a Kippah/Yarmulka, the Rabbi was surprised, perhaps not expecting that sign of respect. In my church, people who came for special events like weddings and funerals, even if they were not Catholic, knew to stand, sit, and kneel at appropriate times. That does not happen much anymore. The Name Jesus does not elicit respect, not out of disrespect or meanness, but rather out of a lack of knowledge. So, we have work to do.

We are called to the work of the first apostles and disciples. We are asked to bring the light of Jesus’ Holy Name into every corner of our world. We are to offer hope by our witness to the Holy Name of Jesus. It really is not difficult. We have the grace of God with us; that gives us confidence. Speak of and spread Jesus’ Holy Name as a personal mission. Welcome people to experience Jesus in simple discussions. Try this key: Ask people what matters to them, then discuss how God fits into that in our lives. If we do this, we will bless His Name.

Bible Study for the First Week of Christmas 2021/2022

This week’s memory verse: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33
  • 12/26 – Ephesians 4:11-12
  • 12/27 – 1 Corinthians 3:11
  • 12/28 – 1 Peter 2:4-5
  • 12/29 – Acts 2:42
  • 12/30 - 1 John 1:7
  • 12/31 – 1 Corinthians 14:26
  • 1/1 – Psalm 127:1

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, we stand in the light of Your presence. Grant that I may work diligently at building Your Kingdom here and now.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds 2021

And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child

At our three Holy Masses of Christmas we saw references over and over again to Jesus as the light of the world, the light of heaven breaking into the world to change it forever.

We can certainly see how the Lord’s love and mercy have changed us. We no longer live in fear. Our life is eternal, the gates of heaven and all its light are opened to us. We have forgiveness of sin, we have a new relationship with God and to each other.

We who were once strangers and afar off are bound together in a new family, the family of the Church. We are given two important missions by God that spread the light of Christ.

Our first mission is to grow in our personal sanctification, to become more like Jesus, to walk better in His ways. We receive power and strength to do that through the many graces we receive both sacramentally and in living our everyday walk of faith.

Our other first mission, for it is equal to the necessity for sanctification, is to build the Kingdom of God right here and right now.

On Christmas 1919 Bishop Hodur addressed his congregation and spoke of the gap between the very materialistic view of the world, a world only concerned with bodily needs and wants, and the Savior Who came to build up both the body and the soul. He called this materialistic focus an illness, for the worldly do not perceive the wholeness God offers us in Jesus. They limit themselves by their deafness to His word and way.

Jesus pointed to the Kingdom and called us to build. We are to call people out of where they are, out of deafness, to what they can be, not only as individuals, but as a society.

This is the example we celebrate today on this very special Solemnity in our Holy Church – the Humble Shepherds, the Ubogich Pasterzy.

The Shepherds whose life was limited to the care of earthly material things, their flocks and pay and duties, encountered heaven. They met Christ Jesus their Lord and Messiah, God. They met Him as we meet Him each time we come to Holy Mass, participate, pray through the Eucharist, and receive Him. They were left with the same choice we all have. What will I do for my sanctification and for the building of the Kingdom?

The Shepherds set forth to announce and build the Kingdom. In the world’s eyes they remined poor, but in God’s eyes they became whole and rich. Let us decide to as well, as we renew our commitment to God’s mission for us. 

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Nativity 2021

The people who walked in darkness
        have seen a great light;
    upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
        a light has shone.

Some of you may know that I like Bluegrass music, a very American expression of roots music. I couldn’t spend a Christmas without listening to Ralph Stanley’s, “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’.”

In Donna Ulisse’s Bluegrass album “All The Way To Bethlehem” you find a distinct focus on Jesus as the light of the world. In her music she walks us through the entire journey of God’s light coming into the world, from the Annunciation to the Visitation, Joseph’s dream, the journey to Bethlehem, the lack of lodging, Mary’s moment with the Baby Jesus, just she and He, the Angels’ proclamation, the star, the visit of the shepherds, and so much more. 

Tonight, all of heaven’s magnificent light broke into the world. All of God’s glory entered as a tiny sliver. That sliver came not to remain so, but to grow and spread. That light immediately began to grow and reveal Itself – from Mary, to Joseph, the shepherds, the Maji, the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the Samaritan towns, to the great sacrifice that delivers on all of God’s promises and opened all of heaven’s light to us. That light continues in the Holy Spirit who dwells in us so that we might be that light in the world. That is our charge, this day and for the ages to come.

Today we are limitless. We do not just recall the Light entering the world, we celebrate it. We proclaim it in song and in our time together in worship. We gather in our homes with friends and family around and tokens of our love for each other. We then take that light and spread it in limitless ways.

Today we recall and perhaps shed a tear or two for what was. That is ok. The next step, the next emotion and commitment must be to smile for what will be. In the end that is what this night is all about – a journey All The Way To Bethlehem – and returning with a smile for what will be, and our part in that work of light. Therefore, let your smile shine and your words as well – as we once again go forth to introduce a dark and tired world to the great light that is ours in Jesus the Lord. 

Bible Study for the 4th Week of Advent and the Solemnity of the Nativity 2021

This week’s memory verse: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

John 13:34

12/19 – Psalm 40:10-11

12/20 – John 13:35

12/21 – Psalm 16:11

12/22 – Matthew 19:19

12/23 - Matthew 5:43-44

12/24 – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

12/25 – 1 John 3:23

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, You speak for us at Your Father’s right hand. Pray the Father to grant us a life lived with the same love You have shown us.

Reflection for the 4th Sunday of Advent 2021

Love.

Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.

This Advent we focus on the promises of God. We have provided a handy follow along book of reflections and devotions covering thirty promises of God broken down under the categories of hope, peace, joy, and love. This final week we reflect on God’s promise of love.

Remember that promises from God are things we can absolutely count on. We have perfect assurance that God’s promise of love will be fulfilled. We know this more so because God has shown us by His outward action that His love is perfect and all giving.

St. Paul is reflecting on that very fact in today’s Epistle. He calls our attention, once again, to the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, came to once and for all consecrate us – that is to make us holy and pleasing to His Father. He would do this, not through the sin offerings of people, which God did not delight in, but through the love offering of Himself, the perfect sacrifice as willed by the Father.

It is key for us to focus on the value of offerings. You see, the sin sacrifices of people could never compensate God for what they had done. Rather, its key metric was in the way it forced people to evaluate, in a tangible way, the cost of what they had done. 

Now if a person were really dedicated to loving God, they would say the cost is too high. I must rather turn away from sin and by doing so, not suffer the cost consequences. But the people never did change, they got caught up in paying to play. Their hearts remained hard, not like the hearts of flesh God wished them to have. For them, it boiled down to an equation in the Law.

To change the equation, to fully carry out the will of the Father, His Son, Jesus, had to step up and say yes. He had to give His love totally to the Father in sacrifice. By doing so He carried out the Father’s will for us. 

Jesus carried out the Father’s love mission. He destroyed the old equation of cost sacrifices and says to us, come, live in my love. St. John’s repeats Jesus’ words: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

The choice is clear. We have met our God Who gave Himself as sacrifice. We cannot pay, there is no option for that, so we must choose to dedicate ourselves to Him, to live in His love. If we make that choice, we are among those made holy by God’s perfect love gift.

In the face of God’s love, Mary served, Elizabeth proclaimed, and John leapt. In the face of God’s love, we must also serve, proclaim, and leap, not to pay, but as sign of love in our consecrated lives.

Bible Study for the 3rd Week of Advent 2021

This week’s memory verse: My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.

Psalm 71:23
  • 12/12 – Romans 15:13
  • 12/13 – James 1:2
  • 12/14 – Psalm 16:11
  • 12/15 – Proverbs 17:22
  • 12/16 - Romans 14:17
  • 12/17 – 1 Peter 1:8
  • 12/18 – Psalm 4:7

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, You speak for us at Your Father’s right hand. Pray the Father to grant us a life filled with His joy. Grant that we live contentedly in Your Father’s promise of joy.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Advent 2021

Joy

Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

This Advent we focus on the promises of God. We have provided a handy follow along book of reflections and devotions covering thirty promises of God broken down under the categories of hope, peace, joy, and love. This week we reflect on God’s promise of joy.

Remember that promises from God are things we can absolutely count on. As such, we have absolute and perfect assurance that God’s promise of joy will be fulfilled.

As I began reflecting on this Sunday and its readings and gospel, the song: “I’ve got joy, joy, joy deep in my heart” kept ringing in my ears. Indeed, that is God’s desire for us, that we would have His joy deep within us.

I would be remis if I did not remind myself and all of us that God’s joy, here on earth, is not giddy happiness. It is not the worldly definition of happiness at all. Rather, it is a deep and profound contentment that all is well in my life. Happiness is an emotion while joy is both emotion and state of being.

Joy means I have an assurance, a promise from God that I can face whatever comes with a feeling of good pleasure, inner contentment, and satisfaction because I am in Jesus, because the Holy Spirit dwells with me and guides me through everything.

God is at work in our lives, and He has shown us a way through, especially through trials. If we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, there is no question as to our ultimate outcome. We can therefore be joyfully content no matter what.

John came as the Forerunner to preach a message of good news. The Savior, the Messiah, the One Who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire is coming, and we know He is returning. By John’s preaching people came to repentance, a change in their lives that gave them real joy. They were no longer burdened by wrongs they committed, and they were refreshed. They could approach life joyfully.

So too we. Our Advent guide points out, we have (1) Each Day as a Gift, (2) A God Who Gave His Life for Me, (3) Salvation, (4) A God Who Delights in Me, (5) An Approachable God Who Listens, (6) A Choice of Joy Amidst Trials, and (7) God’s Trustworthy Promise. We can live joyful lives in all these promises.

We are called to the knowledge that God is indeed with us. He is present in our everyday lives. He is accessible and open to us. In any circumstance or situation, we can accept comfort and peace, contentment – that is: joy from God.

Paul re-reminds us: The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all. Let us then go forth with joy, joy, joy, deep in our hearts. 

December 2021 Newsletter – God’s Kept Promise

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

We might say that 2021 has been the “Year of Delivery Woes.” The mail, shipping issues, misdirected packages, oops, we had to change the delivery date are all things we heard. They may have caused us some frustration. Did you know that there is one area of delivery that has worked perfectly? No, it is not a matchup between FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL – it is the assured delivery of God’s promises.

Look at the verse from 2 Corinthians 1:20 above. It says that ALL THE PROMISES OF GOD have their YES in Jesus. Jesus is indeed the delivery fulfiller. Throughout human history God made promises. He would deliver His people from sin and death. He would bring peace and healing. He would turn people’s stoney/hard personalities into heart centered personalities – they would be people of love. He would show His people the way to true joy – a joy that overcomes circumstances, a joy that is more than momentary happiness. The promises of God have been fulfilled and ratified in Christ. He is the living incarnate “Yes” and “Amen” to God’s promises. The Greek word Ναί translated Yes means strong affirmation; yes.

Jesus therefore delivers on all of the promises of God. There is no delay, there is no unexpected trouble in receiving those promises. He is always on-time and nothing is ever missing or in the way. Throughout Advent we will focus on thirty of God’s promises under the headings of hope, peace, joy, and love. We will see how Jesus has and is delivering His Father’s promises in both our personal and communal lives. God holds promises for us. Come, see how He is intervening to draw us closer to the realization that His promises are real promises for us as a community of faith. Scripture calls us to answer amen to Jesus’ YES. So let us do so this Advent in church. Let our Amen echo our yes to His YES.

Welcome to our December 2021 Newsletter. So much going on. We have Daily Holy Mass, Rorate Holy Mass, Christmas Wafers/OpÅ‚atek available, our Parish Vigil / Wigilia Dinner on December 12th, the greening of the church on December 19th, and of course our full schedule for the Christmas Season (as we celebrate for forty days). The Holy Masses of Christmas include 4pm for families with children, Midnight Holy Mass / Pasterka – at Midnight (yes, for real), and Christmas Day at 10am. That and so much more within our December 2021 Newsletter.

Bible Study for the 2nd Week of Advent 2021

This week’s memory verse: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33
  • 12/5 – Isaiah 26:3
  • 12/6 – John 14:27
  • 12/7 – Colossians 3:15
  • 12/8 – Psalm 4:8
  • 12/9 - Romans 15:13
  • 12/10 – 2 Thessalonians 3:16
  • 12/11 – Romans 5:1

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, You speak for us at Your Father’s right hand. Pray the Father to grant us a life filled with His peace. Grant that we rely fully on Your Father’s promises of peace.