The Gentle Side to Suffering


I’ve been thinking about Redemptive Suffering for a very long time. I can certainly explain it in light of the Cross, no problem there. How sad manto explain it to a non-Christian is a bit of a challenge. This morning it hit me. I warn you; be patient here. This is a seminal thought that came to me while meditating today. We’ll see where the Spirit leads.

Poor health has been my normal state of affairs for over five-years. I can’t say whether the chicken or the egg came first. It just seems that as the body gets weaker, the temptation to give up intensifies. At the same time, as we struggle to stay in the fight, the body weakens. There we have it, the proverbial chicken and egg thing. The only thing that helps get one from this hour to the next is faith, a belief that God has a plan.

Having said this, I have begun to meditate a lot on this idea. “God has a plan.” I’m not really meditating on the plan itself, because I don’t know the whole of it. I’m meditating on the fact that He has one. But today something hit me like a bolt of lightning. Maybe this is part of God’s plan for me or for all of us who struggle with suffering of some kind. Looking back on the past five-years of struggling with poor health all the way around, I have noticed that people are very kind. Everyone from fellow Franciscans to strangers in a doctor’s office has been very kind to me. It dawned on me that I’m more open to the kindness of others. I appreciate it. I’m not embarrassed to accept it or even ask for it. It doesn’t make me feel weaker than others. On the contrary, it makes me feel special, because God loves me in a special way. Suffering can be medicinal in some very surprising ways. There may be areas in our lives that need more healing than a cancer.

Published in: on June 12, 2014 at 9:34 AM  Leave a Comment  

Our Hearts Will Not Rest


augustineI’ve been reading The Restless Flame by Louis de Wohl, a novel about St. Augustine of Hippo.  WOW!  It could well be the story of my own journey.  I strongly recommend it to anyone.  Yes, it’s a novel, but it’s historically very accurate.  De Whol sticks very closely to the real life story of Augustine.  The best part of the book is that he captures Augustine’s search for meaning.  This is the part that for me is autobiographical.  The events in my life may have been different, but the struggle and the questions were the same.

We are all familiar with Augustine’s later work as a priest, bishop and theologian.  He tells us quite a bit about his journey toward conversion in Confessions.  But Wohl gives a voice to Augustine’s anguished search for meaning and ultimately for God.  You can hear it.

Why is a Franciscan of Life pushing this book?  I’m not exactly pushing a novel as much as I am pushing a reality.  For many of us, Augustine’s journey is not a foreign experience.  Many of us have struggled trying to find what we believed to be evasive truth.  We go from one thing to another in life, always believing that we will find happiness and the fulfillment of every desire.  This can be a maddening search.  We jump from relationship to relationship, from job to job, from one city to another, from parish to parish and often from one religious tradition to the next.  Each one promises to be the landing pad for which we search.  This was also Augustine’s journey.

What is equally compelling about this work is that it presents to us an Augustine who is very human and a good man at the deepest level of his being.  We tend to look on Augustine’s life before he became a Christian as one of dissipation and promiscuity.  It’s too easy to condemn a man whom one does not understand.  It’s too easy to sit on the chair of moral judgment and look down upon a person without knowing the struggles and deep anguish of the human soul.  It’s also too easy to condemn a man’s journey, because we can’t see Grace gradually reeling him in, like a fish who struggles to get off the hook and back into the water; but God’s love is more powerful than the fish.  At the end of the day, the fish will relax and yield to Christ the Eternal Fisherman.

The story of Augustine’s conversion is a story of hope for those of us who have not yet arrived, for those of us who struggle with sin, questions, failures, human weakness, and moments of darkness dispersed among the moments of light.  Augustine’s story should be a source of hope for those of us whose hearts are restless and who will not rest until they rest in God.  Augustine’s story is about the power of God’s love and a man’s refusal to give up his search for Truth.

Love will never give up on us while we live.  His grace will fight to conquer our hearts and minds, our bodies and souls.  If we lose it’s because we have given up the search for Truth.  We have settled for less than perfect love. God’s love for us and our determination to find absolute and living Truth is all we need to arrive at union with the Divine.  Love and the search for Truth is painful.  But, when the time is right, we will reach the summit of the mount and our lives will be transfigured by Him who is Truth itself.

St Augustine and St Monica, pray for us.

Published in: on May 22, 2014 at 5:30 PM  Leave a Comment  
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On Being A Franciscan, husband and dad


Brother Thomas More, FFV

Postulant ChrisSt. Francis conformed himself closely to Christ.  His deep prayer life, fidelity to the Church and detachment from the secular culture serves as an inspiring example for my own vocation as a husband and father.  As a husband, I am called to love my spouse unconditionally.  In doing this, I model Christ’s love and desire for the salvation of my wife’s soul as well as my own.  My Franciscan vocation deepens my commitment to this salvific mission of love by establishing a prayer life that is centered on communing with God Himself.  With a vibrant prayer life, God’s love and Spirit can blow across my everyday life as it is lived out along side of my wife.

I am blessed with four children, each reflecting the beauty and love of God.  Guarding my children’s spiritual and physical development requires the protective and providential embrace of a father.  Saint Francis became the spiritual father of many brothers and sisters by caring for their souls.  By embracing a poverty of spirit and a detachment from material possessions, Saint Francis serves as a constant reminder on how to detach from our own secular culture and to focus on providing for the spiritualcord life of our families.  My Franciscan journey, with its spirit of poverty that reaches upward and outward, mediates God’s grace and peace.  In letting go and emptying myself from selfish preoccupations and secular concerns, I’m discovering how to spread the joy and peace that St. Francis so beautifully exemplified as a spiritual father to the sons and daughters of the Church.

Charged with the Franciscan spirit, I hear a call to reach outward and to embrace the faith and mission of the Church.  The faith of the Church has helped me grow in holy attentiveness to God’s plan for me, my family and the wider community of God’s people.

Published in: on May 21, 2014 at 3:12 PM  Leave a Comment  
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God never ceases to amaze


OK . . . so April 30th was my last CCD class.  I teach Old Testament Christology to grade five.  I put up a web with all of the names that we have covered in the OT:  Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David, also the covenants, the books of the Torah and the Decalogue.  In the center, I placed the name of Jesus.  Flowing out of the name of Jesus we have the word, LOGOS.  Then an arrow away from “essential” and toward “personal”.

Now I ask the kids to explain what we learned this year.  Each student contributes a piece.  The OT foreshadows Jesus.  Every event and person in the OT points to the LOGOS.  But the LOGOS or WORD is personal, because he is a real person.  Jesus is not a word.  The WORD is not essential.  Jesus is the second person in the Godhead.  Then they proceed to explain what each of the main characters, events, books and the law of the Decalogue tells us who Jesus is.  They conclude that all was created through the LOGOS, for the LOGOS and that the LOGOS existed before dinosaurs and other creatures.  You have to remember that these are 11-year old kids.  Dinosaurs are important to them.

So I ask them, “If you had to say, in one sentence, what the OT is about, what would you say?”  The kids all jump in and each adds a piece.  “The OT tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of every covenant that God made with Israel.”

Then I ask the kids, “How do the OT writers tell us this?”  They put their heads together again.  “The OT writers show us how everything foreshadows the new covenant.”

“And was the old covenant ever revoked?”  The kids respond, “No. God never goes back on his promises.  He fulfills them.  The Old Covenant was never canceled.  To cancel and to fulfill is not the same thing.”

By this point the Director of Religious Education is practically standing on her chair cheering the kids.  They did this entire course using just the bible and my notes from the seminary.  I don’t like the book.  It may as well have been written by Disney.  It has all of the fantastic stories of the OT with none of the Christology.  She tells them that they are ready to move on to the next level which is a course on the Gospels.  I don’t teach that course.  The kids are all excited.

Here is the grabber.  We’re cleaning up.  I’m sitting down, because I just came out of the hospital after suffering a TIA.  I wanted to get out to teach this last class.  It’s important, because it wraps up the entire course.  I’m not really paying much attention to what’s happening behind me.  Suddenly, someone comes up behind me, hugs me and whispers in my ear, “Brother, I love you, because now I understand.”

I turned to look.  It was a little boy, age 11.  He has been the quietest kid in the class.  I never would have expected any sign of affection from him, not because he’s a bad kid, but because I thought him to be reserved.  When I realized who it was I asked him, “What did you say?”  He repeated himself.  I, like an old lady, started to cry.  If I died tonight, I would feel that I have done at least one worthwhile thing in this life.  God is truly a God of mercy and awe.

Published in: on May 2, 2014 at 1:21 AM  Leave a Comment  

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE BROTHERS


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Superior General

My dearest brothers and sons:

I write this letter to you via our blog in an effort to communicate with you and to share with the world something about our life as Franciscans.  As we sat through the readings of this past Sunday, we heard Isaiah proclaim that there would be a voice in the desert preparing the way of the Lord.

St. Luke tells us that this is John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth and that he was born to barren parents.  His conception is humanly impossible.  It is only possible through divine intervention.  Therefore, John belongs totally to God.

ImageWhat about us?  Are we not called to this way of life by divine intervention just as John was called?  Do we not belong totally to God?  Do we live, work, pray, play and think as one who belongs totally to God or as one who still belongs to the world?

I was very sad today when I spoke about providing housing for a homeless family, even if we have to place them under the same roof with us or our loved ones and one of you immediately brought up the typical human concerns.  “What if . . . ?  We don’t know much about them.”

homeless mother

There it was, right before my eyes, the same hesitation that we see in Zechariah when the angel announces the birth of John.  I was hoping to see the confidence and courage of John the Baptist who never questioned what he had to do.  In the end, it cost him his life; but he was born as one who belongs to God and died the same way.  Jesus called him the greatest man who ever lived.

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St. Thomas More

I’m reminded of one of our great Secular Franciscans, St. Thomas More, who did not hesitate to belong to God and to live, speak and act as one who belongs to God.  There is  a wonderful quote in the biography of St. Thomas More in which he says that even his wife and his beloved children cannot come before God and His commandment to love Him above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.  Thomas puts his money where his mouth is.  When his wife and children visit the Tower of London to beg him to reconsider his position and to give in to Henry VIII’s wishes, Thomas won’t budge.  His wife reminds Thomas that if he does not sign the oath, not only will he be executed, but she and their children will be left homeless and penniless.  The crown will confiscate all of Thomas’ properties and assets.  However, Thomas would not turn his back on God’s command to love Him above all things and neighbor as himself.  As we know, Thomas was executed and his family was left homeless and penniless as a result of Thomas heroic Christian virtue.  We have two lives here, John the Baptist and Thomas More, two men in different times and different circumstances with the courage to follow God and become martyrs rather than be practical as the world is practical.

At the baptism in the Jordan, John points to Christ.  But he does not refer to him by name.  Interestingly enough, he uses the language of sacrifice.  “Behold the Lamb of God,” (Jn 1:29).  In the same event, the heavens open up and the Father reveals to Israel that the Covenant has been fulfilled and that a new covenant is about to begin.  “This is my beloved Son” (Mt 3:17).  The same message is repeated at the Transfiguration.  “This is my beloved Son . . . listen to Him,” (Mt. 17:5).  We are told that Jesus of Nazareth, who up to now had appeared to be the son of an anonymous carpenter from an anonymous town, for Nazareth is only mentioned once in the Old Testament, is actually the Son of God who is to be sacrificed like a lamb being led to its slaughter.Image

So I put to you this simple question, Brothers.  Are you willing to be more courageous in order to belong totally to God?  I do not mean foolish. I mean foolish as our Holy Father Francis spoke of himself, as a fool for Christ.  You were created to belong to God.  This was not your choice.  It was God’s choice.  However, the only way that we can belong to God is to follow the lamb that will be slaughtered.  John the Baptist knew this.  Thomas More knew this.  Francis of Assisi knew this.  All of them were willing to live and die for God before anything and anyone else.

You may be thinking that perhaps that Franciscan vocation is not for you, because it is a demanding one.  In truth, the Franciscan vocation is probably the easiest way of life in Catholic tradition.  The Franciscan vocation is to be a good Catholic.  How does the rule begin?  “The rule of the brothers of penance is to live the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ?”  Isn’t that the vocation of every baptized person?  Isn’t that what we heard in the Gospel on the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus?  The divine vocation is to be a son of the Father.  The first-born Son of the Father gave his life, even though it meant leaving his widowed mother alone and in poverty in this world.  A Catholic must be willing to be a sacrificial lamb, if God asks it of us.

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Let our walking be our preaching.

I was equally concerned when I heard a postulant ask a novice what kind of reaction he received from people who saw the novice in the habit.  This kind of question concerns me, because the habit is not just a uniform.  It’s a flag that announces to all that Christ is present.  The brother in the habit does the exact same thing that John did at the Jordan.  John called attention to himself in order to divert it to Christ.

Our concern should not be what others think or how they react to the habit.  Our concern should be whether our actions and our words divert people’s attention from us to God.  When you walk into a store in a habit, do you behave and speak in a manner that says, “I belong to God and so do you?”  Or do you try to make yourself as anonymous as possible?  A Christian who does not call attention to Christ is a poor Christian.  This rule is not just for Franciscans.  Christianity is not meant to be lived in the shadows.  At the same time, the Christian should not absorb the attention.  He must divert it to Christ at every possible opportunity by how he deals with others and by the way that he lives trusting that he belongs to God, as did John the Baptist and the rest of the martyrs.

My brothers, never forget that God has called you to this life so that you may give witness to the world that we belong to God.  Witness often needs martyrs.

Be joyful, courageous, and never forget that God does not keep a record of our achievements, only of our fidelity.  Be faithful and take baby steps.couples for christ

Br. Jay, FFV

Superior General

Published in: on January 14, 2013 at 3:04 AM  Leave a Comment  
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Our Holy Father’s Message of Peace


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January 01, 2013
Vatican City

We may ask ourselves: what is the basis, the origin, the root of peace? How can we experience that peace within ourselves, in spite of problems, darkness and anxieties? The reply is given to us by the readings of today’s liturgy. The biblical texts, especially the one just read from the Gospel of Luke, ask us to contemplate the interior peace of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. During the days in which ‘she gave birth to her first-born son’, many unexpected things occurred: not only the birth of the Son but, even before, the tiring journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, not finding room at the inn, the search for a chance place to stay for the night; then the song of the angels and the unexpected visit of the shepherds. In all this, however, Mary remains even tempered, she does not get agitated, she is not overcome by events greater than herself; in silence she considers what happens, keeping it in her mind and heart, and pondering it calmly and serenely. This is the interior peace which we ought to have amid the sometimes tumultuous and confusing events of history, events whose meaning we often do not grasp and which disconcert us.

… Here, dear brothers and sisters, is the foundation of our peace: the certainty of contemplating in Jesus Christ the splendour of the face of God the Father, of being sons and daughters in the Son, and thus of having, on life’s journey, the same security that a child feels in the arms of a loving and all-powerful Father. The splendour of the face of God, shining upon us and granting us peace, is the manifestation of his fatherhood: the Lord turns his face to us, he reveals himself as our Father and grants us peace. Here is the principle of that profound peace – ‘peace with God’ – which is firmly linked to faith and grace, as Saint Paul tells the Christians of Rome. Nothing can take this peace from believers, not even the difficulties and sufferings of life. Indeed, sufferings, trials and darkness do not undermine but build up our hope, a hope which does not deceive because ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us’.

May the Virgin Mary, whom today we venerate with the title of Mother of God, help us to contemplate the face of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. May she sustain us and accompany us in this New Year: and may she obtain for us and for the whole world the gift of peace. Amen!”

Published in: on January 2, 2013 at 1:56 PM  Leave a Comment  
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Our mother and our friend . . . thoughts for the new year


ImageWhere does one begin to talk about Mary, Mother of God?  In my mind, there is nothing and no one that can compare to her.  She’s all that I have ever wanted and more.  She’s my mother, my friend and my hope.  I understand that Jesus is our hope.  However, how do we get to Jesus?  How did Jesus come to us?  Who will intercede for us before the throne of God at our final judgment?  Whose prayers will ring the loudest across the heavens begging God’s mercy for us?  Who will ask her Son not to look upon our sins, but to have compassion on our ignorance?  Who will gather the saints of heaven around the throne of Christ to pray for our souls?

At the wedding in Cana, Mary goes before Jesus and says, “They have no more wine.”  Jesus responded, “What does this have to do with me?  My time has not yet come.”  In modern language one would say, “Their poor planning does not mean an emergency for me?

If we believe in the saying, “Silence is consent,” then we can assume that Mary agreed, because she does not debate the point with Jesus.  However, despite the fact that there may have been poor planning on the part of the hosts, Mary knows that her concerns are her son’s concerns and that once she expresses compassion for an unfortunate person Jesus will not let it go without acting on it.  Inspired with this knowledge, she tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  So they did.  They brought the jugs of water, just as Jesus asked them to do.

I can’t help thinking about this.  All these servants did was to bring some jugs of water to Jesus, no great accomplishment.  Yet, Jesus turns the water into wine and saves the host the embarrassment of not having more wine.  It is this combination of doing what Jesus tells them and Mary’s intervention that saves the day, obedience and prayer.

ImageWithout her intervention there would have been no wine.  Without the wine, there would have been a scandal.  It was scandalous for a host not to have more food and drink than his guest could consume.

No one knows what God has in mind until it happens.  One thing is certain.  From all eternity, God knew that this moment would come.  The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity knew that it would be his mother who would set his public life into motion.  Did God plan it this way?  I doubt it.  God does not manipulate human freedom.  The poor planning was just that, poor planning.  Mary’s intervention was of her own initiative, not a divine manipulation.  Jesus’ assent to his mother’s concern was also freely given.

When everything else failed, the Mother of God was their last hope.  It was not Jesus’ time.  He had no plans to begin his public ministry at this wedding; even though he knew that this was how it was going to begin.  And so it has been for me throughout my entire life.  My poor planning, my self-indulgence, my ignorance, arrogance and at times laziness has often led me into situations similar to that of the wedding hosts, apparent dead ends and anxiety.  Yet, when I remember the scriptures there are several verses that always come to mind, one of them is, “Do whatever he tells you.”

I struggle with temptation and sin.  I’m not going to say how much more or how much less than others, because I don’t know and it’s not that important.  The fact is that for me the struggle often seems insurmountable.  When I’m about to give up and just stop trying to climb up the mountain, I remember her words, her face and her heart.

Hers must be the most beautiful face in the universe.  I have musings of this tender mother, whose face shines so gloriously that it’s blinding to the naked eye.  Yet, she makes it possible for us to gaze on her with the confidence of nursing children looking at their mother’s breast, knowing that she will feed them.  I often imagine her glorious beauty coming through the light with a pleasant look of concern and compassion.

In the same image, I can see her heart; an immaculate heart filled with love . . . a heart where there is no room for resentment and rejection.  Stop and think about this for a moment.  Where is a mother’s heart?  It’s directly over her womb.  It’s the one sound that every child hears and recognizes as his mother’s.  ImageDuring those 40 weeks in the womb, it is the beating of the mother’s heart that puts the child to sleep, that sets the rhythm of the days and nights for the child, and after the child’s birth, it is through the beating heart that the child first identifies his mother.  Remember, he has never seen her face, but he knows her heart.

The Incarnate Son of God, through whom we were created and for whom we were created also knows his mother’s heart.   Her prayers, her desire for our salvation, her love for us and her maternal assistance are well known to him.  For this New Year, I pray that we may all make greater effort to live as closely as possible to the Mother of God, whose heart will guide our steps to do what her son asks of us. At the end of our life, her heart will open itself to her Son as it did at Cana.  Just like at Cana, he will again be unable to resist the love that he sees in his mother’s heart and he will have compassion on us who have appealed to her for assistance.

 A New Chapter . . . 2013

You know, in the world of Kindle, Nook, iPads and Internet, the typical book is becoming an artifact.  It’s a pity, because a book is a very powerful icon of human life.  I was thinking about this during mass.  OK, you got me.  I was wool gathering during mass.  Actually, the sermon triggered it.  It was one of the best sermons I’ve heard all year.  My compliments to Father Nestor of the Archdiocese of Miami for an inspirational homily on the meaning of New Year’s Day.

As Father was speaking about the need to take inventory of how we have lived our faith and the opportunity to plan for a better year, I suddenly thought of a book.  I could see this small, traditional red hard cover book in my mind.  It reminded me of life, yours and mine.  Our lives are like a book.  That’s why I regret that in the not too distant future, the traditional book will become an artifact, because it’s a wonderful icon, as I have already said above.

ImageA book has a visible beginning and end.  It has perceptible chapters.  One ends and the other begins.  So too do our earthly lives.  They begin at conception and end at death.  Each year is a chapter.  One ends and one begins.

The attempt of a good writer is to keep the story moving, to inspire the reader to go on to the next chapter.  To do so, the writer works hard to keep our attention focused.  He has a thread that runs through the book, often referred to as a plot.  There is always a protagonist and an antagonist, not necessarily human, but there are conflicting forces.  It’s tension that keeps the reader’s interest.  It’s funny, because we live in a society where we’re all dying of heart conditions, but we thrive on tension . . . go figure.

New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day is not just another year out and a new one in.  It’s a point of transition in our history.  It’s also an opportunity to tighten up the plot to give pleasure to the reader.  To do so, we have to look back at the chapter that is closing and carefully lay out the next chapter.  Like any good piece of literature, there are adjustments made along the way for the unexpected.  But like a good writer, we should never begin a new year without a plan.  Such an action is reckless.  It’s a sin against the God who created time for our benefit, not his.  God does not live in time and space.  Our lives must be a book that is pleasing to God.  Each chapter or year should represent an attempt to outshine the previous one.  Otherwise, we’re wasting the gift of time.

Here are some questions to help us examine our previous chapter and plan the next one.  I’m sure that there are more.  If you want to share them, please post them.  I’ll make sure that they are seen.

  1. Did I make proper use of the sacraments this past year?
  2. How much time did I give to prayer?
  3. Did I forgive and ask for forgiveness?
  4. What about the things that I own and the money that I make?  Did I use it wisely?
  5. Did I make proper distinctions between what my family and I need and what my family and I want?
  6. Were my business dealings honest and were my business decisions just and fair to those who are weaker than I am?Image
  7. Did I cave to pressure rather than stand up for the voiceless?
  8. What about the Church, am I faithful to her teachings or is being Catholic just a family tradition?
  9. If I’m a parent, did I take seriously my responsibility for my children’s souls or did I give them passes on mass and religious education?
  10. Let’s go back to material things.  How much of an effort did I make to teach my children that all created things are not for them and that everything that God gives us is for the benefit of others as well as our own or did I fulfill their every desire reinforcing their sense of entitlement?
  11. Do I manage my relationships out of love or out of guilt?
  12. Are my relationships based on charity and concern for the other and the satisfaction of the other person’s company or are they purely utilitarian?
  13. Do I knowingly let others use me and my gifts for their selfish purpose?
  14. Have I stood up to challenge immorality in our society, in my family, in my workplace or did I cave because, “I have a family to think about?”  Since when does family take precedence over truth?
  15. Am I aware of the four last things:  death, judgment, heaven and hell?  What would God say about my book, if I died tonight?

If this last chapter has not been as good as we would like it to be, God is still giving us time to begin a better chapter.  Let us make good use of the precious gift of time.

Information night on the Franciscans of Life and

Project Joseph — January 7, 2013 — 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

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Proud dad and daughter
(Published with permission)

St. Maximilian Kolbe Education Center

701 N. Hiatus Road, Room 206

Pembroke Pines, FL 33026

For driving directions call

954 – 432 – 0206

DO NOT call Br. Jay.  He gets lost going to the kitchen.

However, for more information contact us .

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The Franciscan Brothers of Life wish you and your family a happy and grace-filled New Year — Br. Jay, FFV

Published in: on December 31, 2012 at 11:01 PM  Comments (1)  
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Venite Adoremus


“In the City of David, a child is born.”  These are the words enshrined in Luke’s Gospel forever.  But as we sit and reflect on them, we realize that there is more to this message than a proclamation of Christ’s birth.  The second of many prophecies about the Messiah has been fulfilled.  The first of course was, “A virgin shall conceive . . . “

When we ask ourselves, “Why does Luke want us to know that a child is born in the City of David, other than to prove that the prophecies are being fulfilled one at a time,” we realize that Luke is telling the world that Jesus is real.  Unlike the gods of the pagans whose origins are mythical, Jesus’ human origins take place within human history, in a human city and at a very specific cave in the outskirts of Bethlehem.  The God who created history has broken into human history.  People may question Jesus’ divine origins, if they wish; however, there is no question about the reality of his existence.   Luke pinpoints it not only giving us an address, but also giving us a time.  He gives us a list of the prominent people of the time.  In doing so, he places Jesus into a social, political, cultural and religious context.  The birth of Christ is not an abstract.  It is a verifiable historical reality.Image

There are other important messages in Luke’s testament.  Caesar Augustus was the emperor.  It is an often forgotten fact that during the reign of Caesar Augustus there was a period of peace throughout the known world and that the emperor’s name referred to him as the savior or the August One in our language.  What we see here is how Roman history, helped set the stage for the birth of Christ.  God, in his divine and eternal wisdom, prepared the world to receive his son at a time of peace, which the pagans thought was designated for the emperor of Rome.  In reality, it was predesigned by the Father for the eternal King of the Universe.

I’d like to draw the attention to one more detail.  Christian iconography has adopted the ox and the ass as part of the manger scene.  The truth is that Luke does not mention any animals in his narrative.  However, the prophets had predicted that the ox and the ass would know their place, but the House of Israel would not recognize the savior.

The ox and the ass become the icon for the Gentiles and the Jews.  Christ had entered into the world for both; but one, being more stubborn than the other, would struggle to accept the Eternal Son of God as the promised Messiah.

Now, we must fast forward in time and ask ourselves, “What does this have to do with us in the 21st century and what is the message for us?”

Let’s take this in two parts. Let’s answer the first question.  God the Father knew us and loved us long before we were formed in our mother’s womb.  And so he sent His only begotten son into the world as one of us.  But he did not come just for the ox or the ass.  He came for Gentile and Jew alike.  He came to call all men and women, of every race and tongue, of every family and nation, back to the love of his Father.  He came to rescue all of us from sin.

Therefore, he was born with a price tag on his head.  This was the infant who was sentenced to death, at the time of his birth.  The scriptures foreshadow that Jesus must die.  Herod orders the slaughter of the innocent children.  Jesus is the innocent Son who 33 years after this night would be executed to break open the doors that barricaded man out of heaven, because of our sins.

The second part is equally important to us.  Jesus is not a figment of someone’s wild imagination, nor is he a legend.  He is a real child born in a real city at a very specific point in history to a very real mother.  As far as the eye of man was concerned, to a real father named Joseph.  For his divine sonship would only be discerned by those who believed.  It was there for everyone to see, but only those who desire to see shall see.  The blind shall remain blind, not through any fault of nature, but through their own choice or because those who have seen have failed to invite their neighbors to the stable to come and see.

The angels of whom Luke writes foreshadow the community of believers whom Christ would send into the world to proclaim the Good News that “Today in the City of David a son is born . . . venite adoremus”

Published in: on December 25, 2012 at 8:25 PM  Leave a Comment  

SOLEMNITY OF ST. FRANCIS


Life around the here is moving rather quickly this week.  Several things are converging at the same time.  The big thing is the upcoming Solemnity of Saint Francis on October 3rd and 4th.  The plan is to get together with other Franciscans around the area on Sunday, October 3.  The Secular Franciscans are having a profession that day.  Therefore, we’ll be there to welcome a new sister into the Franciscan family, along with one of the Friars Minor of the Holy Name Province.  Later that evening we will gather to celebrate the Transitus of our Holy Father St. Francis.

The Transitus is a beautiful celebration.  It takes place within the Liturgy of the Hours.  During the celebration, we recall Francis’ passing from this world into eternity.  If you have ever been to a Jewish Seder, the Transitus follows that format.  One person asks the story and then it is narrated through prayers, songs and scripture readings.   It is flanked on both sides with the parts of Vespers, the Psalter at the beginning and the Gospel canticle and prayers of intercession on the concluding side.  There is always a relic and lots of candles and incense too.  On the morning of the 4th we celebrate the solemn mass for the Solemnity of St. Francis.   Since the different Franciscan communities down here are small, several communities gather for this great feast.  It’s a wonderful tribute to our Holy Father, because it’s one of the few times a year when the communities gather as one family acknowledging their common Franciscan heritage.

But the Solemnity of St. Francis is more than just a memory.  If it were that alone, it would be like any other national holiday in which we remember a national hero.  It’s a time to thank God for the gift of our call to serve him following it the footsteps of St. Francis.  God will never be outdone in generosity.  He not only calls Francis to the perfection of the Gospel, but he shared that call with millions of men and women around the world from 1209 to this day.  It’s incredible to think that no matter how small one Franciscan community is, that we belong to a much larger family that finds itself around the world and that spans eight-centuries.

To better prepare for this celebration, the Brothers of Life have taken this week to spend more time in prayer, reading and studying.  We are out less.  But we have doubled our time before the Blessed Sacrament.   We’re very fortunate, because there is a parish about five-minutes from our house that has daily adoration from early in the morning to the evening.  It’s a wonderful experience to be there with Jesus.  I can’t explain it.  You just have to experience it for yourself.  But you just can’t leave once you realize how wonderful God is and how present he truly is in the Blessed Sacrament.  It’s incredible to look at the host and realize that this is the same man who walked through all those cities and towns in Palestine healing the sick, preaching, making people feel loved and wanted by God, feeding the hungry and forgiving sin.  I’m in awe at the thought that this was the same man with whom the Apostles spoke, ate and slept for three-years.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote a wonderful prayer that he recited before the Blessed Sacrament, before every crucifix and every time that he remembered the Blessed Sacrament but was unable to get to a Church.  “We adore you O Christ and we bless you, here and in all of your churches throughout the whole world, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”  It’s beautiful to think that one can remember the most Blessed Sacrament, when one cannot get there and still be closes to the Lord.    Being there, with another brother kneeling next to you just adds to your love of neighbor and experience of God’s love.

Published in: on September 29, 2010 at 6:07 PM  Leave a Comment  

The Assumption of Mary and the Culture of Life


Many may wonder what the importance of the Assumption of Mary may be.   Some people actually deny it.  Others think that they know. The truth of the Assumption is best understood in light of the Culture of Life.  Christ came to bring life that we may have it to the fullest.  He states this unequivocally and abashedly in the Gospel.   He also promises that he who believes in him will not perish.  So why doubt the assumption of Mary?  Christ keeps his promise.  He brings life and brings it to the fullest.

The fullness of life is found when the mind, body and soul are oriented toward Christ and absorbed into his mystery.  This is the promise that God makes to us through his Son.  To prove that his words are not empty Christ always provides signs.  Remember what he says, “So that you may know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins, I say take up your bed and walk.”   The miracle affirms Christ’s power and majesty over life and death.  It affirms his power over sin and corruption.

In the Old Testament, the Law is given to Moses.  “You shall not kill.”  God cannot be clearer.  Life is sacred, in every stage and in all of its dimensions.  Therefore, it is his desire that man treasure human life as he does.  It is God’s wish to save us from death, not only spiritual death, but also physical death.  “Let him who has no sin throw the first stone. Now go and sin no more.”

The Assumption of Mary is the most pro-life sign from God himself.  It speaks more about Christ than it does about Mary.  Those who look at it as if to say that Mary is being elevated to the status of a goddess are missing the point.  Mary is elevated to  that which is hers by right of her creation.  She is a daughter of the Father, saved in heart, mind, body and soul through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  God offers us Mary as proof that he keeps his promises.

God never forgets his promises.  He constantly gives us signs to remind us that he has not forgotten us.  The Assumption is such a sign.  The woman who cooperated perfectly with the will of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the first to be granted the fullness of eternal life, in body and soul.

Look at the Assumption of Mary as sign of God’s great love for human life.  It is comprehensible that the Father would restore the physical life of the Son on Easter Sunday; after all, that’s his son.  Here, he takes another human being and restores that person to life in body and soul.  He makes a statement about the dignity and sacredness of human life.  It is his will that human life not suffer the effects of evil. 

Mary, who is has done everything according to the will of the Father is the first creature, but not the last, to enter the gates of heaven with body and soul.  Why?  Because it is God’s will that the Culture of Death shall never prevail.  He delivers to us a sign that the Gospel of Life shall triumph.  Mary is the sign, given to us by Christ.  Through Mary’s assumption, Christ makes a statement about him and the sacredness of human life.  It is his wish to see life protected from evil.  It is his will that every human being shall be protected from sin.  It is his plan to restore physical and spiritual life to all men.  Therefore, he does what is in his power to do.  He protects human life from the corruption of sin.  Mary’s assumption is the sign that Christ will keep his promise.  The Assumption of Mary is a sign of the sacredness of life and Christ’s invitation to join him in the protection of human life.

Published in: on August 15, 2010 at 2:43 AM  Leave a Comment  
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