Holy Family

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. The readings tell us of the first Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus but they also remind us that we are the family of God.

In his address to the families who had lost family members in the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama mentioned that the nation hurts and grieves with those who had had relatives killed because their children and loved ones were our children and loved ones as well. St. John says as much when he writes, “see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God.” We are connected to all others in the world by the love of God. And we are connected divinely to those who have gone before us through the Communion of Saints. As we prepare to make New Year’s resolutions let us each make a vow to God and ourselves to be more inclusive and respectful of others since we are connected to them by the grace of God.

(Here's something I found online that I think may be helpful to you who have children:
HOW CAN I TEACH MY CHILD TO KNOW GOD?


HERE are seven ways parents can teach their children to know God and cultivate a “holy family.”

1. God is love. God as love will only begin to make sense to our children when they experience loving and being loved in their daily lives.
2. Through prayer. Help your children know and acknowledge their true feelings, because we pray best when we pray honestly from the heart.
3. In service to others. Children have a natural sense of justice that can be used to help them learn compassion and thus deepen their relationship with God through serving those around them.
4. In scripture. Make it a habit to discuss the scripture readings before or after Mass.
5. In nature. Some children learn best experientially, which often means being out in nature and experiencing up close the glory of God’s handiwork.
6. God is on your side. It’s important for our children to know that God is their greatest ally in discovering their true path in life and achieving the good through their unique gifts.
7. God forgives. Give your children a taste of God’s forgiveness by raising them in a home where both accountability and forgiveness flow freely.
–Tom McGrath
Adapted from Seven truths your children should know about God (and how you can teach them) (TrueQuest Communications, 2003)
Peace,
Fr. Chuck

Merton's Christmas Prayer for Peace

Reflection on "Peace" comes today, December 24 2012, from Fr. Louis (Thomas) Merton, OCSO, 1962. It was read on the floor of the US Congress on April 18, 1962, and placed in the Congressional Record. It was at the request of Frank Kowalksi, Congressman from Connecticut.

"Prayer for Peace-

Almighty and merciful God, Father of all men, Creator and ruler of the universe,
Lord of all histor...y, whose designs are without blemish, whose compassion for
the errors of men is inexhaustible, in your will is our peace.

Mercifully hear this prayer which rises to you from the tumult and desperation
of a world in which you are forgotten, in which your name is not invoked,
your laws are derided and your presence is ignored. Because we do not
know you, we have no peace.

From the heart of an eternal silence, you have watched the rise of empires
and have seen the smoke of their downfall. You have witnessed the impious
fury of ten thousand fratricidal wars, in which great powers have torn whole
continents to shreds in the name of peace and justice.

A day of ominous decision has now dawned on this free nation. Save us then
from our obsessions! Open our eyes, dissipate our confusions, teach us
to understand ourselves and our adversary. Let us never forget that sins
against the law of love are punishable by loss of faith, and those
without faith stop at no crime to achieve their ends!

Help us to be masters of the weapons that threaten to master us.
Help us to use our science for peace and plenty, not for war and
destruction. Save us from the compulsion to follow our adversaries
in all that we most hate, confirming them in their hatred and
suspicion of us. Resolve our inner contradictions, which now
grow beyond belief and beyond bearing. They are at once a torment and a blessing: for if you had not left us the light of conscience,
we would not have to endure them. Teach us to wait and trust.

Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace.
But grant us above all to see that our ways are not necessarily
your ways, that we cannot fully penetrate the mystery of your
designs and that the very storm of power now raging on this earth
reveals your hidden will and your inscrutable decision.

Grant us to see your face in the lightning of this cosmic storm,
O God of holiness, merciful to men. Grant us to seek peace where
it is truly found. In your will, O God, is our peace."

Amen.

Advent IV & Christmas

“Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:1-2.)

I do a lot of my praying outdoors or riding in my car. I don’t know if it is because I grew up in a parish named after St. Francis of Assisi or because of my Father’s quiet and contemplative spiritual influence, but God seems to help me listen to Him best while I’m in nature. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not denigrating Mass, the Sacraments, or ritual prayer, or even meditating on the Scriptures or other sacred writings. I need that nourishment as well. But, I experience God very well when I’m in the woods, or on a walk, or driving through the knobs, or on the lake.

One of the things that God points out to me in nature is that He is present and active in the smallest of things. Whether it is in the “mustard seed” parable or the grand idea that starts out as an idle thought, God always starts small and gets huge! We also get a glimpse of the God in the wonder of childbirth. From two microscopic wonders of God’s creation meeting in a womb comes the even greater miracle of a human being.

In the first reading from the Prophet Micah the author calls Bethlehem “Bethlehem-Ephrathah”. The word “ephrathah” in Hebrew means “too small”. The Prophet is telling us that from the “too small” discounted town of Bethlehem will come the Savior of the World and the Son of God. The story we celebrate this week is even more miraculous and beautiful when we consider that the Son of God started just like us. He too was microscopic and began life in the womb of His Mother Mary.

This season is a time to appreciate the awe and wonder of God. I encourage you to take time to reflect on the little things of Christmas. Notice God in the eyes wide open of a child, or the warm embrace of an old lady. See Him sitting in the pew with you. Hear His off-tune voice trying to sing of the mystery of the Incarnation. Experience a little humility this Christmas realizing how fortunate we are in celebrating this Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!!!
Fr. Chuck

Advent III

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you… (Zephaniah 3:17-18a.) An old adage says, “Pray as if everything depends on God, but act as if everything depends on you!” These readings today on this Third Sunday of Advent are encouraging us to live this saying. The Prophet Zephaniah encourages the people of ancient Israel to pray, hope and believe that God will make their lives fearless and joyful. St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians continues the theme that prayer can and will guard our lives from anxiety. He also tells his newly formed Christians to act in kindness. In the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist tells the people who are preparing for the Messiah to show that they are sincere by acting like it in the ways they treat others. Prayer and action feed each other. We receive Eucharist, the Word, and Mercy from God in order to live the gifts that we have received. And vice versa our actions lead us back to God so that we can hopefully get it better the next time and eventually lead us to life forever with God. Prayer and action are the components of discipleship. Prayer and action are both trusting behaviors. In prayer the more we trust in the ONE we are praying to the more confidence we have in living and acting in the ways that God wills. And trust is only in our imagination if we are unwilling to act upon it. This is Gaudete Sunday! This word “Gaudete” means “rejoice”. The Church and the readings chosen for us today call us to pray and act joyfully because we trust that our God will fill complete our lives with mercy, compassion, and blessings here (and unimaginably in the Life to come).