I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life. – John 8:12 Jesus loves analogies, similes, and metaphors. He uses these figures of speech to help His listeners–including us–grasp complex and lofty concepts, such as what it means to live in the Kingdom of God and be a Christian disciple. He gives us two metaphors for discipleship in Sunday’s Gospel passage: “You are the salt…
Blessed are they…-Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes are a rule of life that can help us live a life that is truly happy and holy. It’s a picture of a life lived virtuously, full of faith in the Lord, confident hope in His promises, and love of God and neighbor. Following the Beatitudes is like a blueprint for conforming our hearts to Christ’s Sacred Heart. Christ is the exemplary image of each one of the Beatitudes.…
This Sunday’s Scripture passages draw me to think about the themes of light and darkness. It makes me think of a dark, clear, cold January sky and how the stars seem to shine more brightly in the darkest days of winter. The new moon is this weekend, so the sky will be extra dark without the brightness of the moon. Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12), and we who have received His…
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. -John 1:32 Christmas has passed, the parties have ended, and our Christmas lights and decorations have likely been put away. Epiphany and the Christmas star that shone over the manger have passed: “The star burned brightly over Him for awhile, though it then faded away” (St. John Henry Newman). Sometimes I experience a let-down at this time of the year.…
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – Galatians 4:4-5 Jesus was born of a woman. Think about those words. God the Father determined that Jesus should be born of a human mother. He could have come to us in any way that He desired. He could have appeared…
What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:3-5 Merry Christmas! During Advent, we prayed for Jesus, the Light, to come to brighten our world. We prayed to receive the Advent gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love. But we didn’t pray for these for ourselves alone. We prayed to…
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” – Matthew 1:23 Love–caritas in Latin–is the fourth gift we focus on during Advent. Another word for love is charity. “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor…
Happy Gaudete Sunday! Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. We rejoice this week because Jesus is coming soon. We will celebrate that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6), came to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary. We rejoice and thank Mary for her “yes”–her fiat. We rejoice and give thanks to God the Father for giving us the gift of His Son (cf John 3:16). We rejoice in Christ, the Light (John 14:6) who is coming into…
Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more.- Psalm 72:7 During the first week of Advent we focused on the gift of hope, which is connected in a deep way to this week’s gift: peace–pax in Latin. St. Paul taught that God is the true source of our peace: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound…
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!- Isaiah 2:5 Advent is a beautiful time of silence, patience, and prayer. We prepare for Christ, the Light (John 8:12), to come to us in the darkness. We prepare for the fullness of life–zoe in Greek–that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6) offers us: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). We light the…