There is a Longing

  "We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

          We derive the word “Advent” from the Latin word for coming, “adventus.” If we ever use words in the Church that you don’t know the meaning to, you’ll probably find the answer in Latin!           Today we embark on the “adventure” of the liturgical season of Advent. We get to light a candle each week, three purple and one pink, all the way up to the Sunday before Christmas. Maybe we have a special devotional to work through, or an Advent calendar to mark the days. But what does it all really mean? Why is Advent different from any other season or celebration of the year?           When we were baptized, we entered into the life of Jesus Christ and became sons and daughters of God. Through prayer and participation in the Sacraments, we grow ever closer to the Blessed Trinity, Who now dwells intimately in our soul. The mystery of Christ’s life on earth, from His Incarnation to His A...

Yesterday's election results here in Ohio hit the pro-life movement with a horrific blow! (You can read the proposed amendment & dissected explanations here at "See the Language" .) Therefore, I thought sharing some pro-life quotes would be a good idea for today's Wisdom Wednesday. "You are called to stand up for life! To respect and defend the mystery of life always and everywhere, including the lives of unborn babies, giving real help and encouragement to mothers in difficult situations. You are called to work and pray against abortion." St. John Paul II, in New York, 1995 “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270 "Not even one abortion per week is acceptable. Not one per month. Not one per...

Matthew 23:1-12 "Practice what you preach!" "Do as I say, not as I do!" "Don't be a hypocrite!" The Pharisees Jesus points out in today's Gospel are definitely not following any of the above directives. They are more concerned with exaltation of self & placing themselves in positions of authority. By widening their phylacteries (leather boxes in which Hebrew scripture is kept & carried by Jewish men) & lengthening their tassels, they want their good deeds to be seen & acknowledged, making themselves appear to be more righteous than others. (One of the commentors to the daily reflections at The Word Among Us calls them the "Phar-I-Sees". Kind of fitting!) A great manager is one who is willing to do the most menial jobs, is not afraid of hard work, & won't ask his/her employees to do something they themselves wouldn't do. They will work hard & set the example for their employees. Unfortunately, many managers...

In lieu of a Wisdom Wednesday post, we are sharing about today's feast day: the Feast of All Saints' Day. On this day we honor ALL those who have reached their eternal glory in Heaven.  This includes those many saints officially recognized by the Catholic Church, as well as those unknown to us, but who have been welcomed openly into God's loving Kingdom. All the souls of the faithfully departed in Heaven are saints, whether they've been canonized by the Church or not.  As the day is a Holy Day of Obligation, Catholics must attend Mass, either the evening before (a Vigil Mass) or the day of the feast, November 1.   All Saints' Day was first recognized by Pope Boniface IV in 609 & was celebrated on May 13, the day of the Parthenon's dedication. The feast day was later moved in the mid-8th century to November 1 by Pope Gregory III.  Mary, the Mother of God, is the most honored saint in Heaven. We know from scripture that all she asks of Her Son, Jesus, will be ...

Matthew 22:34-40 We’ve probably all been told at least once in our life: “don’t touch!”  It’s the first warning when we come close to another’s most prized possession;  the primary rule when near someone’s greatest work;  the first reaction when we annoy our loved ones by our curiosity.  We’d be smart to listen, lest we invoke wrath upon ourselves! But that is not the case here.  The first thing our God commands of us, is that we love Him.  He is everything, and compared to Him, we’re but dust; and yet, His first commandment is not that we keep our distance, not that we keep our nothingness to ourselves.  He commands us to enter into a relationship (union is the more proper term, I think) with Him!  Our Heavenly Father commands us to share in that prized possession of His blessed life;  commands us to admire His great works;  and assures us that our “curiosity” and presence will never annoy Him.  When we think of it that way...

"He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely." (St. Catherine of Siena)

October 22, Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time When I was little, I would sing little songs about loving God, imagine what Heaven is like, and dream about becoming a saint. Spoiler alert: I’ve not gotten very far on that last one! Now as I’ve gotten older, I hum movie soundtracks, I imagine what my future will look like, and though I still admire the saints, I dream about a lot of other things too. Regardless of how many “presidential trading cards” we have, we’re incredibly poor. The most valuable thing we have, from an eternal standpoint, is our soul. So this leads me to question myself. Am I filling my soul with a sweet tune? Am I fortifying my soul with pure thoughts? Am I directing my soul toward good dreams? What I was doing as a child was rendering what little I had to God. I gave Him my voice, my imagination, my aspirations. It’s funny, yet very sad, how hard that becomes as one gets older and establishes oneself in the world. Today, let’s turn our hearts to Chri...

Today, October 21, is the feast day of Blessed Giuseppe “Pino” Puglis, an Sicilian priest & martyr of the 20th Century. He was born September 15, 1937 in Palermo, Sicily. His father was a cobbler and his mother a dressmaker. His childhood neighborhood was crime-ridden, full of street activities he refused to be a part of in his youth. He had a desire to fight back against crime & at the age of 16, he attended a seminary with the intention of becoming a priest. He was ordained in 1960. His archbishop, Cardinal Ruffini, refused to believe in the Italian mafia, citing that communism was the true threat. Giuseppe disagreed & actively spoke out against the Mafia within his parishes. He refused financial assistance from those Mafia groups & wouldn’t allow their recommendations of organizations to repair the church. Even when he returned to his hometown as priest of St. Gaetano’s Parish, he continued to speak out against organized crime & refused to allow the Mafia to man...

On October 15, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, a great Carmelite nun, saint, & doctor of the church. For today's quote, I am sharing a prayer of hers. This is a prayer I was first introduced to many years ago when I was part of a small church community. Our group met twice a month to read & discuss the upcoming weekend's readings, pray the rosary, & intercede for one another. We shared our joys & pains, births & deaths, triumphs & trials. Each meeting was ended with this prayer, which became a blessing to each of us until we met the next time.  Although most of us have kept in touch, our group eventually dissolved & over time, I had forgotten about this prayer until a friend shared it on Facebook a few weeks ago.  *************** "May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts t...

Matthew 22:1-14      The Church stands as a gate to the wedding feast (eternal life), open to the whole world. Belonging to the Body of Christ, it is our duty to pass out the wedding invitation, as it were, to those who have not yet arrived at the gate. Some will refuse the invitation; some will ignore it. Others will ridicule and persecute it.      It is also our job to prepare ourselves for the wedding feast. In this life, we must dress ourselves in the proper wedding garment. We do this by clothing ourselves in holiness. There are two sides to this coin: when we dress ourselves in holiness, we dress the Church in holiness, because as members of the Body of Christ, we are all one!      It is possible to arrive at the wedding feast without properly dressing ourselves. But Jesus reminds us in His parable that now is the time to clothe ourselves in the wedding garment, not later. Holiness is found in the present moment, it is our in...

Today is the feast of St. John XXIII, the pope who called the ecumenical council together that would become known as Vatican II. Unlike most saints whose feast days are celebrated on the anniversary of their deaths, St. John XXIII's feast day is October 11, in honor of the day Vatican II opened in 1962. *********** Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood. St. John XXIII, Pacem In Terris, 1963

Matthew 21:33-43 “Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.” Written in the depths of our being is a desire for happiness. Imprinted on the surface of our being is the urge to obtain happiness regardless of the cost. Between the depth and surface of our being, our understanding of happiness is distorted. What we pursue then, is not the happiness we deeply desire, but rather a fragment of some fleeting pleasure. It is true, perhaps, that we want this inheritance, but usually we want it under our own terms. “Peace? Oh yes, I want peace, and I’d have it too, if so-and-so would just…” “Love? Sure, I love everyone!...it’s the Church that’s not staying up to date with the times…” “Joy? Almost in my grasp, if I could only…” Maybe we don’t kill, but do we allow Christ to live in our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we search for our inheritance in the world, or are we seeking Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom our inheritance lies? St. Paul implores us to think about those thin...

On October 13, the Church celebrates the life of the mystic Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa. Born in Balasar, Portugal on March 30, 1904, she & her sister, Deolinda, were brought up in the Catholic Faith. At the age of seven, she was sent to live with a carpenter’s family so that she could be educated in a primary school. Back in Balasar, at the age of 14, three men broke into her home & attempted to attack her. She jumped out of a window to protect her virtue, but injured herself in the process, becoming fully paralyzed & bedridden by the age of 21. With the aid of the Mother of God, she accepted her suffering as the Will of God & offered it for the conversion of sinners, as well as for peace around the world. “I have no purpose other than that of giving glory to God and saving souls.” From 1938-1942, she received a mystical gift; she overcame her paralysis to relive the Passion of Christ every Friday for three hours. On October 31, 1942, she asked Pope Pius XII fo...

Today of the Feast of St. Francis of Asssisi. Here are two quotes of his which exemplify the fact that our actions do speak louder than our words. ********** “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

In the first reading, the house of Israel is, as it were, trapped in a corner. Who’s way is better, the Lord’s or the Israelites? But presented with the Lord’s way, we see that unfairness is out of the question; for despite the most grievous sins, it only takes one act of repentance, a turning back to God, in order to be forgiven. On the other hand, if one lives a life of virtue, and suddenly turns away from God, justice will demand recompense. How much more would that one owe, seeing as they have lived the pure life and renounced it, as opposed to renouncing an impure life for a pure one? Then we have our Gospel. Jesus poses a scenario for the chief priests and elders. One son disobeys his father in word, but not in deed; the other son disobeys in deed, but not in word. The one son turns away from his disobedience and reconciles himself with his father; the other son turns away from his obedience and estranges himself from his father. St. Therese of the Child Jesus, whose feast is cel...

Tomorrow is the first of October & with it comes a wonderful bouquet of saints to celebrate within the month! In the first week alone we have the following: October 1st: St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Flower, a Carmelite nun beloved by many October 2nd: Feast of the Guardian Angels - A day to celebrate & be thankful for your guardian angel who watches over you October 4th: St. Francis of Assisi - founder of the Franciscan Order & patron of the poor October 5th: Saint Faustina - chosen by God to share the message of His Divine Mercy There is no way I could do justice in summarizing their lives. If you are unfamiliar with them, I encourage you to explore the wealth of information online & in the many books & videos about them. In addition to all the saints this month, the whole month is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This would be a great time to begin praying the rosary daily of you don't already!  May God bless you abundantly!

Matthew 20:1-16a At first glance, this parable seems quite unfair – everyone receiving the same amount of pay whether they worked all day long or just an hour. However, what would we think if the parable read as follows: There is a group of men & women who’ve been faithful Christians all their lives, treating others as they want to be treated, performing charitable acts of kindness & mercy, sharing their faith with others, & worshiping God in all they’ve done. At their deaths, God welcomed them into Heaven with open arms. There is another group who’ve been faithful off & on throughout their lives. Just prior to their deaths, they were in the on again portion & had been living true Christian lives. God welcomed them into Heaven with open arms. A third group lived selfish lives, never thinking of others. They were stingy with their income & resources, turning their backs on those who were truly in need. On their deathbeds, they had a healing experience & came ...

On September 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Fr. Domingo Ibanez de Erquicia. He was born in Spain in 1589. He joined the Dominican Order in 1605 & six years later, went to the Philippines as a missionary & Professor of Theology at the Colegio de Santo Tomas. He later spent ten years in Japan during the most violent persecutions. Heroically, his dedication to his priestly vocation was displayed in the care of Christians being persecuted. He comforted them & administered the sacraments. In July of 1633, he was captured by the authorities who had been pursuing him. He refused to renounce his faith, choosing martyrdom instead. He died on August 14, 1633. Pope John Paul II canonized him on October 18, 1987. St. Fr. Domingo Ibanez de Erquicia, Pray for Us!

Matthew 18:21-35 Continuing His lesson regarding those who've sinned against us, Jesus explains the importance of forgiveness. Seventy times seven symbolizes an infinite loop of forgiveness. It’s not a "one & done" action, nor is it just for the sinner. It is also for the one who's been hurt. The longer we harbor the pain from the inflicting action against us, the more anger, resentment, & suffering builds within us. Often the pain keeps returning & we need to choose forgiveness, even on a daily basis. Fr. John Riccardo (a well-known priest from Detroit) once spoke of a woman who stopped praying The Our Father. The line "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" was difficult because she couldn't forgive a wrong done to her. How could she ask God to forgive her if she couldn't forgive someone else? Only when she realized that she couldn't do it alone & needed God's help in forgiving did she begin ...

“Eating and drinking don’t make friendships – such friendship even robbers and murderers have. But if we are friends, if we truly care for one another, let us help one another spiritually. . . Let us hinder those things that lead our friends away to hell.” (St. John Chrysostom)

Matthew 18:15-20 When you have a grievance with another person, what is your first instinct in resolving the issue? Some people don’t like conflict, so they turn instead to others not involved to share their complaints, get opinions, or to simply seek sympathy & validation for their feelings. In today’s social media world, many head straight to Facebook, Twitter, etc. to complain or to indirectly reach the person with whom they are upset. Jesus encourages His followers, including us, to first seek reconciliation directly with the one who has offended us. Often disagreements are simply a matter of misunderstanding or miscommunication that can easily be resolved one on one. Sometimes, however, we need to bring another party into the discussion, a neutral person with a fresh perspective on the issue at hand. There will be times when there is still a refusal to listen which requires going even further & bringing in the church community.  Jesus says that if none of those wo...

"The Mass is the greatest drama in the world, because in a way more real than any play or movie, it makes the story of our salvation come alive in front of us." (Mike Aquilina)

Matthew 16:21-27 Rock - Paper - Scissors In last week’s Gospel, we heard Jesus blessing Simon for his recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. He was given the name Peter, which translates as “Rock”, the one on which the Church on earth would be built. This Rock crushed the “Scissors” - those naysayers who denied Christ’s identity or mistook Him for someone else. This week, that “Rock” has been covered & smothered by “Paper” in Jesus’ rebuke. After all that he has witnessed, after his proclamation of who Jesus is, Peter denied that Jesus would endure a great sacrifice for His people. Jesus even went so far as to call him Satan & an obstacle to His plan of salvation. “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” We all should live in a way that exemplifies our path to salvation. We must not follow earthly idols, forfeiting our lives to gain the world. Our eyes should be focused on the eternal reward which Jesus has won for us. Yes, He was kil...

St. Rosalia, whose feast day is September 4th, was born of noble birth in Palermo, Sicily in 1130. Her parents were Sinibald, Lord of Roses, & Quisquina.  She was a pious youth & turned to God over earthly things. When she left home, she was led to a cave by angels & it was there she lived the rest of her life, hidden away from the world. After her death in 1166, the following was found written on the wall of her cave,  "I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ." In 1624, during a plague in Palermo, it is reported that she appeared to a plague victim & that this woman was healed of her illness. Rosalia is also said to have appeared to a hunter & that she led him to her cave. There he found her bones & brought them back to the city. After three rounds of procession through Palermo the plague ceased. This led to her patronage of plague victims, inc...

Our apologies that our blog posts have been slim recently. We've have a couple of busy months, but we're hoping & praying to get back on track in September. We have all kinds of ideas in our heads...now to just share them with you!

"During our sojourn in this world, we should learn from the saints now in heaven, how to love God. The pure and perfect love of God they enjoy there, consists in uniting themselves perfectly to his will. It would be the greatest delight of the seraphs to pile up sand on the seashore or to pull weeds in a garden for all eternity, if they found out such was God’s will. Our Lord himself teaches us to ask to do the will of God on earth as the saints do it in heaven:  'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'" St. Alphonsus de Ligouri

“ The Church which Christ founded has not only preserved the Word He spoke, and the wonders he wrought; it has also taken Him seriously when He said: “Do this for a commemoration of me.” Hence the Mass is to us the crowning act of Christian worship. A pulpit in which the words of our Lord are repeated does not unite us to Him; a choir in which sweet sentiments are sung brings us no closer to His Cross than to His garments. A temple without an altar of sacrifice is non-existent among primitive peoples, and is meaningless among Christians. And so in the Catholic Church the altar, and not the pulpit or the choir or the organ, is the center of worship, for there is reenacted the memorial of His Passion. Its value does not depend on him who says it, or on him who hears it; it depends on Him who is the One High Priest and Victim, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

How kind is our Sacramental Jesus! He welcomes you at any hour of the day or night. His Love never knows rest. He is always most gentle towards you. When you visit Him, He forgets your sins and speaks only of His joy, His tenderness, and His Love. By the reception He gives to you, one would think He has need of you to make Him happy.  Saint Peter Julian Eymard

Matthew 13:1-23 In discussing today's Gospel, The Parable of the Seed, many reiterate Jesus' explanation of the seeds being dropped to where it falls within us. The seed dropped on the path is for those of us who hear the Word of God, but do not understand it & it is stolen away by the evil one. On rocky ground, we hear & receive the Word with joy, but it only lasts a short time & falls away when we go through struggles or trials. When we hear the word, but choose to follow the temptations & lures of the world, that is the seed sown among thorns. The only seed which produces much fruit & yields plenty is the one sown on fertile ground...those who live lives fully steeped in the Faith. At various times in my life, the seeds of our Faith have fallen in each of those locations.  Seed dropped on the path: This would be the early times of my faith life. As a child, I was not one to ask questions when I didn't understand something.  These are the times the see...

"One might almost say that an apparition is human vision corrected by divine love. I do not see you as you really are, Joseph; I see you through my affection for you. The Miracles of the Church seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always." (Bishop Latour, Death Comes for the Archbishop   by Willa Cather)

Matthew 11:25-30 “...for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.” A child’s mind is like a sponge, as we’ve heard many times. It’s easier to learn a foreign language or memorize a poem as a child than as an adult. Why is that? I don’t know of any specific studies done on the subject (although I’m sure there are some out there), but personally I believe it’s because a child’s mind is not bogged down with the worries, stresses, & responsibilities we adults have weighing on our minds. “But the world is full of voices, and as time passes, we begin to ignore the voice within. The more we question it, doubt it, and ignore it, the fainter it grows – until one day it becomes so faint that we have to strain to hear it at all. We spend the rest of our lives trying to reclaim that gentle voice.” (Matthew Kelley, from his book The Rocking Chair Prophet) Jesus knows this and freely reveals Himself & glimpses of Heaven to ...

 “In boxing, if a boxer is guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct he may be exiled from holding a bout in certain states… Hockey, a player can be put in a hot seat for two minutes. Football, thrown off the field for unsportsmanlike conduct. So on for other sports… Now, should not politics play just as fair a game as a sport?”   - Archbishop Fulton Sheen ********** Th is should also apply in many other aspects of life as well...education, business, entertainment, healthcare! Bottom line...follow the Golden Rule & be kind to others!

Matthew 10:37-42 Seek J.O.Y. --> J esus - O thers - Y ourself This Gospel sounds kind of harsh at first, doesn't it? We've always been taught to respect our elders & love our families, but here we have Jesus saying that whoever loves Mom, Dad, son, or daughter more is not worthy of Him. Some may even say that Jesus sounds selfish. I whole-heartedly disagree.  Reading today's Gospel, I was reminded of the acronym above. By putting Jesus first in our lives & following the path He has set for us, we become like Him. All our thoughts, words, & deeds become a reflection of His working within our lives. Once we align our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him, we begin to treat others with love, respect, & compassion, placing their needs above our own. In doing so, we live in a sacrificial way that inspires others to want to follow Him. This echoes the words I pray each time I receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.  "Thank you, Lord, fo...

As a child, my understanding of God’s omniscience didn’t extend very far beyond His knowing the number of hairs on my head.  My underdeveloped mind didn’t need much more convincing than that, and I greatly anticipated the day in Heaven when I would receive the answer to that question.  Exactly how many hairs do I have on my head?! While we may smile at the naivety of children, it is helpful to acknowledge that such a reality still remains true for us all throughout our lives.  The scope of our imagination and intellect, no matter how advanced, will never fully encompass God.  The reason for this is quite simple: we are not God.  We can-and should-delve into the deep things of God, revealed to us by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10).  But we must be humbly mindful of our limitations.   Before we start getting skeptical ( What! A God we can’t understand?! ), we can pose the question: who am I to say that I have a right to understand?   The underst...