Friends in the Lord, at the time of Christ, many believed that when the Messiah would come amazing and unusual things would happen. False Messiah’s were promising that they would one day do things, such as part the Jordan River like Joshua did, or bring down the walls of the Jerusalem by a single word.
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Such a sign, the Pharisees were demanding of Jesus: It says that ‘they were looking for a sign from heaven, to test him.’ These demands were not out of faith, but challenge.
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But this was not the intention of Jesus Christ. To him, the whole world was full of signs of God, we can just look around us. St. Paul says that God has made himself known in the beauty of creation: ‘for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made.’
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Some people are always wishing for signs, to know that God is really listening, that he cares about us. But for heaven sakes, let us look at the miracle of the world around us.
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We love summer days and blue skies and flowers, but these cold and snappy winter days also help us in a different way, in a way that makes us strong.
The daylight is getting longer, and we can’t help but feel that spring is not so far off – we see daily the miracle of the sunrise and sunset, the miracle of life in babies, in children, in others; the Lord is present in every person, or he wishes to be.
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To ponder for just a short while, leads us to recognize what a gift our own existence is, and all of this cries out, that God is alive, he has made everything for us; his creation is a daily sign of his love.
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When St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi held a flower in her hand, she felt God’s presence, and she would say to herself: my Good Father has thought from all eternity, to create this flower for me, that I might love him.
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In Ecclesiastes we read: ‘God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done.’ Eccl 3:11
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The sign of a truly religious person is not that he only comes to Church to find God, but that he finds God everywhere. William Barclay will say: ‘For him who has eyes to see and a heart to understand, the daily miracle of night and day, and the splendor of all common things, is sign enough from God.
Friends in Christ, in the gospel today, the Lord heals this deaf man – another miracle. The people were seeing these miracles – how Jesus handled himself, his poise, his wisdom, and power – and this lead them to say: ‘He has done all things well.’
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Jesus Christ lived as the perfect man, and therefore to be around him, to see him, was to see a person who had that ideal balance of the virtues, and in this we might say he had perfect ‘decorum.’ In older books on the spiritual life, they would often speak of how one should handle oneself in various situations and encounters. St. Thomas Aquinas devotes some serious ink to this subject which he calls ‘modesty in our outward movements.’
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We are meant to live rightly on the inside for sure, and then to conduct ourselves with decorum on the outside. Sometimes delicate situations arise and they should be handled with sensitivity. In the gospel we see how Our Lord handles the situation with this man who is deaf and dumb. Notice what he does. A deaf person can easily feel embarrassed around crowds; but Jesus shows the most tender consideration for his situation: it says that he took him aside from the crowd in order to help him, privately. In everything our Lord did, he shows the grace and refinement that we should seek.
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Today, it is not uncommon to see people who are boisterous, impolite, or even crude – they display no subtlety or tact. But if we are to imitate Jesus, we must conduct ourselves better.
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In his book ‘tour of the Summa’ Mgsr. Glenn says that this sense of decorum should inform all our outward behavior, even how we dress. Those who dress in a very sloppy way do not have this modesty about themselves, and it conveys a vulgar approach to living. St. Ambrose says, the way we dress should not go strongly against custom, provided the custom is decent. And our clothes should be clean and ourselves clean.
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Thomas Aquinas tells us that we need this decorum even in how we recreate. In leisure activities or sports or games we should have courtesy toward others and really participate, without being addicted to the game.
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This virtue also calls us to avoid ostentation or show; after Christ healed that deaf man, we see how he tells the people to say nothing about the miracle; he knew they would tell, but he wanted to teach the apostles to be reserved, and shun any pretention.
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Having a gracious attitude in how we handle ourselves in all situations will show a real refinement worthy of a disciple of Christ.
Friends in Christ, in the gospel today we see that as soon as Jesus gets out of the boat, people were mobbing him; it says they came from all over, and they brought him those who were sick and they kept wanting to touch him.
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In reading a commentary last night on this passage, it is asked if Jesus, just for once, would have liked people to come to him not just to ‘get something for themselves’, but to give something.
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We all know people who sort of ‘use’ their friends. Some people you never hear from unless they want something from you. They think people exist only to help them with their own needs.
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It’s easy for the young to simply ‘use’ their homes. Home is only there to provide for their needs and comforts, not a place to contribute in the upbuilding of their family.
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Some see the Church as a place to make use of. They show up to baptize their children, or to get married, or for a funeral – otherwise, you never see them. Just give me the ‘service’ that I want!, they seem to say.
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And then there is the Lord Jesus. How often do people ignore him, until they are in great need. It is not uncommon to hear a child in confession say, ‘Father, I feel bad because I only talk to Jesus when I want something.’ Even some sensitive children realize this is not good, I always think there is a beautiful soul in there. Too often we only call to the Lord in our wants.
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For sure, he wants us to ask, he told us this: ‘Ask, and it shall be given; knock, and the door will be opened.’ But how happy Jesus would be if we went to him sometimes, to thank him, to praise him, to embrace him; just to love him.
Friends in Christ, it has been said that God could have saved us by doing some spectacular, shocking miracle for the world – like filling the sky with fire and booming out his voice for days and days, speaking to us, and even declaring us saved – or doing that every week for us to never doubt his power and authority. But he didn’t do that.
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At an enormous risk, the Son of God decided instead to quietly join himself to our humanity – to take on our own human condition and live our life and die our death – perfect solidarity with his creatures, with his beloved children.
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But the risk of this way, is that familiarity would breed contempt – that the respect due to Our Lord would not be given, because – how can a God do the things that we do? Human things?
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Today in the gopsel, Jesus returns to Nazareth where he grew up; by now he has disciples; it is said that he had worked miracles; but – Jesus seemed just TOO human to the people of his town. They had seen him grow up there. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter, Mary’s son?, they asked sarcastically.
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Now because they said this, it surely meant that Joseph had already died. No doubt, for years, Jesus had continued the carpentry work of St. Joseph, so he himself was known as ‘the carpenter.’ So without Joseph, this is why he was called ‘Mary’s son.’
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Our translation refers to Jesus’ brothers and sisters, but this simply means cousins or relatives, because they used the same word for all these things.
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The Son of God chose, for 33 years of his life, not to do miracles or even preach or teach or heal anyone – he chose to live an ordinary life as a workman, a carpenter. Jesus lived as a working man, a person like us. He wanted to experience full, ordinary, human life.
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You know, Alexander the Great, after he had conquered Darius and subdued Persia, he wished to gain the affection of the people; so he went around dressed up in the Persian style of clothing. Well – God has acted in the same way. In order to show us how much he loves us, God the Son chose to not only clothe himself in our human nature, but to spend most of his life as a common workman, living among his dearest creatures.
Beloved in Christ,[i] today is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is often called Candlemass, and today we bless all the candles for the year.
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The Presentation of the Lord is when the Child Jesus was presented in the Temple. At the time of Christ, the Law required that a first-born son should be brought to the temple and offered to God. And so Mary and Joseph did this, bringing Jesus to the Temple.
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At that time however, the Blessed Virgin did not offer her Son as other mothers did. Others offered them to God in a merely religious ceremony, but Mary offered her Son, knowing that this offering of Jesus was going to be completed by his death on the cross. God willed that his Son should pay the penalty that we deserved, but just as God would not become man without the consent of his mother, so too, the life of Jesus would not be sacrificed without the consent of his Mother. Thomas Aquinas says that mother’s have a special right over their children, and so it was fitting that Jesus would not be condemned for the sins of the world without the consent of his Mother.
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It was for the love of mankind, that Mary delivered her Child into the arms of Simeon as an offering to God. As St. Bernard says, ‘when God was to redeem the human race, he deposited the whole price in Mary’s hands.’ St. Epiphanius calls her a priest, because she offered him up to God. Only with difficulty then, did Simeon announce to Mary that her Son would be a sign of contradiction, and that her own soul will be pierced.
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Because this Child is offered to God, and crucified, how many martyrs will there be? How many thousands of men and women will be torn to pieces by lions and put to death, because of this Child.’ A sign of contradiction.
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During the Passion of Christ, when he was unjustly accused, Mary was silent. She said nothing to Pontius Pilate, who even seemed inclined to set him free. It was for love of us, that Mary consented to the Crucifixion, to complete the offering of her Child, first made in the Temple today.
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We repeat this offering at every Mass in the Temple of heaven. Mary in Scripture is a symbol of the Church, and so as Mother Mary offered Christ for our salvation, Mother Church brings Jesus and offers him in God’s temple at every Mass, for our sins. But not only is Jesus offered, every Christian with Christ, is offered.
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All the candles that are blessed today, remind us that Christ is the Light who has come into the world. We too, are supposed to be other ‘Christs’ – other Lights in the world.
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[i] Glories of Mary, p. 395-399
Friends in Christ, today Our Lord compares the Kingdom of God to a farmer sowing seeds in his field. The seeds grow into a plant and yield their fruit in ways that are quite mysterious. Seeds grow so gradually, that their growth is imperceptible. We do not see a plant growing, yet it does, little by little.
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The Kingdom of God is like that; it is growing – God’s providence is acting, yet we see such moral decline and failures of faith, and we wonder: ‘where is this Kingdom of God?’ Nevertheless, as God’s Kingdom grows imperceptively, it also grows inevitably. Nothing can stop His great Plan.
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A tiny weed has the power to push through an asphalt driveway. A tree near a foundation, can split concrete with its roots; nothing can stop nature’s growth. In the same way, despite man’s failures and sin, God’s work goes on, and in the end, nothing can stop his Plan.
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While we must play our role and work for the growth of the Kingdom, in the end, we are as helpless as the farmer; the farmer, who must rely on the sun and the miracle of life to do it’s work. Therefore, we must cultivate in our souls the patience that waits on God.
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We are living today in an atmosphere of despair; people despair of the world, and they despair of the Church. This is all the more reason for us to stir up hope, remembering that behind all things is the great and invincible WILL OF GOD.
Friends in the Lord, in the early Church, to reveal that one was a Christian meant death. It was required in those days, to worship the official gods of the Empire; keeping the same gods meant unity in the Empire, and the Emperor wanted that.
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On certain stated days, everyone was to go to the local shrine in their town, and throw some incense on the fire to the gods. It was, in effect, a test of political loyalty. The person would then receive a certificate stating that his worship had been witnessed. We still have many of those certificates today.
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In those days, all that a Catholic would have to do to save his skin, was go through that formal act and receive the certificate. But as we know, thousands refused and gave their life. We often hear about some of these martyrs at weekday Mass. For example St. Barbara, who even at a tender age allowed her faith in Christ to shine forth.
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Those Christians could have concealed their religion easily, and lived quiet, private lives with no problems. But they chose instead to reveal the truth.
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Jesus says today that a lamp is lit up brightly, and is not meant to be put under a basket or a bed. It is meant to be displayed, to illuminate everything. Truth is meant to be seen, not concealed. There may be times when stating the truth of our faith is the quickest way to become unpopular at a social gathering. But Our Lord expects us to let His Truth shine: ‘Whoever is ashamed of me and my words [in this life,] the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory.
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There may be times when it is dangerous to speak out as a Catholic. But such moments, that risk ridicule, or mockery, or death – these are the moments of our glory on this earth. ‘No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket or a bed, Instead they put it on its stand, so that it gives light to all in the house.’ ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others.’
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We are called to show forth the truth, and to align our life with it.
Friends in Christ, in 2008, Michelle Stepney was pregnant with twin girls; during her pregnancy, she was feeling a lot of kicking going on down there. A visit to her doctor showed some disappointing news: she had developed life-threatening cervical cancer; the doctors said that all the kicking was the babies kicking away at a tumor that was growing there. According to the doctors, this saved her life, because otherwise they would never have known about it.
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Then the doctors told her, she should have a hysterectomy to be sure to get all the cancer, and that means aborting the twins. She refused. “I owe my life to my girls, she said; ‘I could never agree to an abortion.’ She agreed to have low-level chemo-therapy, ultimately giving birth to her healthy babies.
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Friends, today, January 22nd, the Church in the United States is asked to do penance and pray for an end to the sin of abortion. This is the day our country legalized the killing of babies who are inconvenient. Today, hundreds of thousands of young people are marching in Washington in the March for Life, but it will not be big news in the newspapers. Enthusiastic teens there, are determined that this nation will once again protect innocent children from abortion.
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There is a vast culture of death that has taken hold, and many very powerful people are trying to expand the culture of death. But the resistance of we pro-lifers has been amazing, and we aren’t going away. It’s true, that abortion is really only a symptom of the poison and the twisting of the soul of society. People want ultimate freedom – they call ‘freedom’ the right to do whatever they want, with no consequences.
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Indecent and filthy lifestyles are promoted as freedom; pre-marital sex is taught to be normal; but what about the consequences? ‘I didn’t want a baby!’ ‘We have a solution for that too, says the world, we’ll take care of it.
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Our society – well, we want our cake and eat it too. We want license to do what we please, but please, take care of the consequences for me. We live in such a way, that we get what we want, how we want it, when we want it.
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Until we start to know what it means to accept consequences for our actions – little babies will have to die, so that we can live as we please.
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Let us offer some penance today for our country, for a conversion of society. So that Jesus Christ will begin to reign here, and bring life, to our law and our land.
Friends in the Lord, today in the gospel, we see that people are complaining that Jesus’ disciples are not fasting. Our Lord’s response is interesting: ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?, he asks.
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William Barclay tells us that at the time of Our Lord, there was actually a rabbinic law that said, at the time of marriages, those in attendance on the bridegroom were forbidden from any fasting. As we’ve said before, Christ is the Bridegroom, and it is to this that Jesus refers. We can see that Our Lord shows us, that although there are times for fasting – such as Lent – life with Christ is a life of joy. Our daily encounter with our Savior should be enough to light our way with great happiness.
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There was a Japanese criminal named Tockichi Ishii. He was a ruthless, beast-like thug. He had viciously murdered many men and women in his criminal life; the day came when an innocent man was about to be mistakenly hanged for a crime Ishii had done. Surprisingly, Ishii confessed that he had done it, and he was therefore himself sentenced to death. He would later say that he confessed because he felt that it was the only way he could find peace.
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Now it happened that as he was awaiting death, two Canadian ladies visited him in prison. He would not speak to them, but they gave him a copy of the Holy Scriptures, hoping that he might read. He did. And there he read about another Man who was sentenced to death, and though innocent, was brutally crucified on behalf of sinners. This story changed him.
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He immediately began to write a journal as quickly as he could before his execution, singing the joys of finding the mercy of Christ. 182 pages. It is one of the most famous stories in all of Japan that is still read today.
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When the jailer went to bring him for execution he found not a hardened, offensive brute, but a smiling, radiant man; Ishii the murderer had discovered the love of Christ.
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Jesus did not come to save us from a temporal death, but he did come to save us from eternal death. And for us, that should daily, be a cause for joy.
Dear children, this morning in the gospel today, we read about a man who was paralyzed. That means he could not get up, he could not walk, or move, or anything. he just laid in bed all day. Well when his friends heard about Jesus in town, they told him, we are going to take you to the Lord! So they put him on a stretcher, and carried him down the street. But there were such crowds that they could not get into the house. The paralyzed man said, ‘its no use, we might as well go home.’ ‘No said his friends, and they got ladders, and began to climb up to the roof. Then they dragged that man up those ladders to the top; then they cut a hole in the roof with a saw, and lowered the man down inside, to Jesus.
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So there he was, on a stretcher, hanging from the ceiling by ropes, swaying back and forth in front of Jesus; Our Lord gazed up at the hole above, to see the faces of his friends. He was very proud of those boys who did all of this for their friend – so he cured him then and there.
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My question for you today is, what kind of friends do you have? Do we have good friends? And also, how do we make friends? Friendship is very important to us as we grow up. We are usually friends with people who like the same things we like, we do things together, share in games and activities, and enjoy being together because we are, kind of alike. Most of the time friendships just happen by accident.
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But you know, it would be very good if we THINK about who our friends are, not just let it happen. Let me give you an example. Suppose one student is kind of quiet, and so we don’t talk to that person very much. But then we think, he might be a very interesting person, maybe we actually have a lot in common. So you say, ‘hey, would you like to play this game with me at recess?’ or maybe you ask that person for help on your assignment. Many times we are surprised, and we make a new friend – but we had to think about it, and ask that person.
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Another time that we should think about being a friend, is if another student say, does not seem to have a friend, or other kids pick on a student – then we could go and be a friend for that person, so that they feel happy. I knew one student who was very sad, but when another boy became his friend, he was happy every day. This is what Jesus would like us to do, to help others.
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Good friends listen to each other, and they don’t hurt the other person’s feelings, and they stick up for each other. Let’s say there is a party you really want to go to; you get invited, but they told your friend that he is not invited? What would you do? I think we should stay with our friend, and if they won’t invite him, then I’m not going either.
Friends are also dependable. That means if you tell your friend you will be at this place at a certain time, you make sure you are there.
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How can you tell when a friendship is bad? A friendship is bad when it is based on foolish or sinful things. If someone is your friend just because you have beautiful hair, or if you are friends with someone just because they have nice clothes, or because a boy is quite handsome – well, these are not good reasons to be a friend. If your friend wants you to do things that are sins, then you should get rid of that friend. If he says, we should go to such and such a movie or place, even though your parents don’t want it – then you should tell him – I am a Christian, but you are not: goodbye!
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If your friend uses bad language, or does not love God, then we should be through with him. Bad friendships cause us to give up praying and forget about God – they are no good, but pure and good friends make us modest, and courteous, and help us to do what God wants.
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Therefore, let us have good friends, and pray for them each day. If we have good friends, they will still be our friends when we get to heaven.
