From Season to Season

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. —Luke 2:16-19 To honor Mary as the Theotokos , the Mother of God, is to celebrate the unique role that she has played (and continues to play) in God’s plan of salvation. Today, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Octave Day of Christmas, we also recall the circumcision and naming of Jesus on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Luke 2:21). In a special way, on New Year’s Day, the Church invites us to pray for peace: “It is Our desire that, every year, this commemoration [of “The Day of Peace”] be repeated as a hope and as a promise… that Peace with its just and beneficent equilibrium may dominate the development of events to come” (Blessed ...

During his 1964 pilgrimage to Nazareth, the city that was the home of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Blessed Pope Paul VI offered these words: Here we can learn to realize who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief, everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of his Gospel. Blessed Pope Paul VI celebrates Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on January 5, 1964 How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God … And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. —John 1:1–2, 14 The Gospel of the Christmas Mass “During the Day”   The Lord said to me: “You are my son; today I have begotten you.”   As unlikely as these words (the Entrance Antiphon for Christmas Mass  in the Night ) may seem, they are a powerful reminder that there is more to the celebration of Christmas than the birthday of Jesus. Every Christmas we celebrate the truth that God became a human being. This belief is so essential that to deny it or to try to explain it away is to give up  the  foundational belief of Christians. The Solemnity of Christmas invites us to pause and reflect on what these words really mean. It is one thing to simply profess the words “and by the Holy Spirit w...

The birth of Jesus is actually the climax of a story that began in the Garden of Eden and which continues into our own time. Jesus was born into an all-too-human family whose own story is filled with saints and sinners, the faithful and those who fell, and all types in between. And their experiences form an indispensable part of our understanding of who Jesus is and who we are as his followers: these ancestors of Jesus are also our spiritual ancestors and we owe them a debt of thanks.   Pope Francis reminded us of this in his General Audience on June 25, 2014: If we believe, if we know how to pray, if we acknowledge the Lord and can listen to his Word, if we feel him close to us and recognize him in our brothers and sisters, it is because others, before us, lived the faith and then transmitted it to us. We have received faith from our fathers and mothers, from our ancestors, and they have instructed us in it. " The Jesse Tree " from The Capuchins Bible (ca. 1180)...

How can we begin to grow and see in the events of life the hand of God, and see in each other the face of Christ? Saint. Paul suggests the answer: Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are in the earth. (Colossians 3:2) That is the secret. Look beyond and above the things of men and earth. It is there — paradoxically, surprisingly and unexpectedly — that we begin to see the hand of God in the events of daily life, the face of Christ dimly outlined among those whom we know and love. Stained glass window by Marc Chagall in All Saints Church in Tudely, England We have to seek constantly the transcendent, plunge more deeply into the mystery that is God, and worship him more reverently. Like him we must establish and deepen community life. We must refuse to be intimidated by opposition or oppression. We must seek every means of communicating freely with the peoples of today who, no matter under what political system they live, are sta...

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people. —Luke 3:15-18 On this Third Sunday of Advent, the Church gives us a very particular mandate: Rejoice! And, during these pre-Christmas days, it seems that there is joy all around us. And yet, the essayist William Stringfellow makes a poignant observation that should give us pause: “For the greeting card sentiment and sermonic rhetoric, I do not think that much rejoicing happens around Christmastime, least of all about the coming of the Lord. There ...

John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’” —Luke 1:3-4   We live in an age of hashtags, sound bites, and blogs, in a world of competing viewpoints and clamoring voices. It can sometimes be difficult to discern what is really worthy of our attention. This is especially true in these days as our nation looks toward the next presidential election and as we collectively try to make sense of the mass shootings in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino and the ongoing acts of terror here at home and in the Middle East. We place blame, make excuses, and dig into our ideological trenches, all-too-often losing sight of the many goods—and lives—that are sacrificed on the altars of politics and partisanship. If we settle for the mediocrity of sound bites and hal...

Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; come out to meet Christ the Lord.    —Communion Antiphon for the Common of Virgins (based on Matthew 25:6) These Advent days are a time of joyful expectation, a time for watching and waiting. The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, the young women charged with waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom before for the wedding feast (see Matthew 25:1-13 ) is a fitting lesson for this holy season. Just like the women of the parable, we have a choice of preparing our lamps—our selves—to meet the Lord when he comes. We also, of course, have the option of living only in the moment, coasting along without paying attention to our responsibilities as disciples. On December 8, as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, the Church also remembers Saint Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán, a woman who dedicated her life to watching for the Lord’s Coming just like the wise Bridesmaids in the parable. Born in Nobol, Ecuador, in 18...

For me, Advent has always been a season of taking stock, looking back, and anticipating what lies ahead. Perhaps this is because the season usually begins so close to Thanksgiving and leads up to Christmas and the beginning of a new year. But, there is also something else about this season: the longer, colder nights, the lights of Advent wreaths and holiday decorations, and the reverie that goes along with familiar holiday movies, songs, and even a favorite Christmas ornament or family photo. Advent, however, is also a season of gratitude. As we look back in prayer and Scripture to the prophecies of Old Testament and the revelation of who Jesus was and is (which we hear in these early Advent days) and to the fulfillment of time when we will celebrate the second Advent of Christ, these days invite us to reflect on the gifts we been given. And, for me, an important part of that is considering how I have--or have not--passed those gifts on to others... "paying it forward," a...

Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken. And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky”   —Mark 13:24-27 Speculation and anxiety about the end of time and of the world is neither new nor unusual. For centuries, seers and sages and mystical texts—like Nostradamus and the prophecies attributed to St. Malachy—have been making dire predictions about the future. Science, too, has contributed to public anxiety by citing a series of possible scenarios in which the world (at least as we know it) could come to an end through climate change, collision with another celestial body, and even because of the cooling of the sun. While these...

This Sunday we hear the story of the "generous widow." While we most often focus on the widow's generous spirit, this story is really a lesson in discipleship. "Ultimately, this story of the “widow’s mite” isn’t about the size or amount of the gift. Instead, Jesus is reminding us that his disciples will be known not by what they give away or give up but by how they give over all that they are to God and to those around them, simply because they love." To read the full reflection, click here . On a personal note, I want to offer a word of thanks for the prayers and good wishes I have received since sharing my news of being accepted as a candidate for the Society of the Divine Savior (the Salvatorians). To read my original posting, click here .

Some of you who have been following this blog for a while will remember that I was Benedictine monk for nearly eleven years and, after a long and careful period of discernment, I decided to seek a dispensation from my monastic vows. This was certainly a difficult decision, but those events in 2013 were not the end of the story... Late last year I began to actively discern the possibility of returning to religious life. Early this year I contacted a handful of religious communities, including the Society of the Divine Savior (the Salvatorians). Those conversations and my discernment have continued and the past months have been a time of challenge, opportunity, reflection, and blessings. With all of this in mind, I am happy and humbled to announce that I have been accepted as a candidate for the Salvatorians and will enter formation in January.   I am especially grateful to so many people who have supported my ongoing reflection and discernment, particularly dear f...

For the past few days, I've been in Dallas participating in the University of Dallas Ministry Conference . This is a great event that serves the Church in eastern Texas and western Louisiana. I had the privilege of offering three workshops during the conference: "Celebrating Evangelization: The Mission of the Church," "Celebrating Initiation: The RCIA Process and Evangelization," and "Praying With the Church: Living a Liturgical Spirituality." All three presentations seem to have been well-received. I'm genuinely grateful to have been asked to be part of this great conference and am thrilled to have had so many attend my talks. It was also nice to be able to represent Abbey Press at this event, as well. Good people doing good Church. What more can I say? This week will see me fly to Milwaukee for some personal time. More on that later. For now, here is my reflection on this Sunday's Gospel. This Sunday we are given the story of t...

This has been a crazy week. I was in Dallas early in the week providing two workshops on the history and values of the RCIA (from the perspective of discipleship) and, after returning to Los Angeles late Wednesday evening, I led a mini-retreat celebrating Mercy on Thursday evening. I'm grateful that all three events went well and were each was a time of blessing. However, the Church's calendar keeps marching on and, so, I'm happy to share my reflections on this Sunday's Gospel. 14th century Crucifixion from the Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba in Alseno, Italy The Church's calendar continues to move forward, however, and I'm happy to share my reflections on this Sunday's Gospel. Jesus lived his life for others, offering everyone he encountered an opportunity for a new kind of relationship with God and with those around him. Everything in the life of Jesus—his friendships, his teachings, and his miracles—were signs of God’s unlimited mercy and c...

Happy to share this reflection, which was published for today in Give Us This Day from Liturgical Press. To read today's Mass Readings, click here . In his Rule , St. Benedict is very clear that monks are to avoid any semblance of private ownership: “without an order from the abbot, no one may presume to give, receive, or retain anything as his own, nothing at all” (ch. 33). This challenging teaching gave rise to a number of practices in monasteries, including monks or nuns of times past referring to “our habit,” “our cell,” or “our book,” as a reminder that all the goods of the community were shared among the members.    St. Benedict went so far as to call private ownership an “evil practice” because he recognized how easy it is for us to focus our attention on things and lose sight of life-giving relationships. This is why he was so insistent that the monks should “look to the father of the monastery” for the necessities of day to day living and ministry. ...

Below is the link to my reflection on this Sunday's Gospel and First Reading.  Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler by Heinrich Hoffman   Like Saint Francis and Blessed Teresa, the young man of today’s Gospel is faced with an opportunity and a choice. Already a righteous, faithful man, he seems to recognize that something more was being asked of him. Perhaps it was a sense that simply keeping the commandments wasn’t enough or he might have seen the joy in Jesus’ closest followers and wanted that for himself. Regardless of the reason, he approached Jesus and asked what more was required of him and Jesus clearly told him the cost of being a disciple: let go of everything that was holding him back from giving himself completely to God. We can understand the man’s frustration and confusion. Although he had always observed the commandments, “he went away sad, because he had many possessions.” Jesus was asking him to shift his focus from earthly possessions and concerns to the thin...

Although I'm taking a few days of vacation, I still wanted to share my reflection on this Sunday's Readings, especially as we enter into the Synod on the Family on October 4. The Creation of Eve by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel As Pope Francis observed in Saturday’s Festival of Families, however, “Man and woman, through the astuteness of the devil, learned to separate themselves from one another. And all the love that God gave was almost lost. In a brief period of time, the first crimes, the first fratricide, brother killed a brother; the first war.” Damage was done and the beauty and simplicity of that first relationship was lost. But that wasn’t the end of the story. To read the full reflection, click here . And don't forget that you can now follow me on Twitter .

Below is the link for my reflection on this Sunday's First Reading and Gospel in which I reflect on the Insider/Outsider perspective that is so prevalent in society and in the Church.  St. Anthony the Abbot Our disdain of those who do not think like “we” do—whomever “we” may be—reminds me of a teaching of the great Desert Father, Saint Anthony: “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, ‘You are mad—you are not like us.’” Rather than recognize and welcome diverse perspectives, experiences, and opinions, many of us dig in along the trenches of ideology, political rhetoric, or theological certainty, criticizing and excluding those who “do not follow us.” And whether it is in broader society or within the Church, many seem unwilling—even incapable—of creating spaces of hospitality and dialogue . To read the full reflection, click here .

I'm excited to announce the release of my new book, Lights for a Waiting World: Celebrating Advent With the Saints . This small volume is published by Abbey Press Publications and includes a foreword by Bishop Robert Morneau and original prayers by Fr. Harry Hagan, O.S.B. From the official description: "The four-week season of Advent is a time of miracles. These days have the power to transform us, if we can be open to the graces of the season. In this book, readers watch and wait for Christ’s coming with the saints, whose lives embodied so many of the Advent virtues." To learn more, visit: http://www.onecaringplace.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_20820 An eBook version is also available: http://www.onecaringplace.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_20820E

In my commentary for this Sunday, I reflect on what it means to welcome a little child as Jesus did. Jesus and the Little Child by Carl Bloch "There is no great theological discourse or political rhetoric here. In a single gesture, Jesus summarizes the beauty and the mystery of his message: even those whom the world sees as insignificant are important in God’s eyes. To be Jesus’ follower means that we have to be willing to embrace those dismissed by the world. True greatness comes from serving others." To read the full reflection, click here .

Yesterday, September 13, the Church celebrated the beatification of Blessed Benedict Daswa. A husband, father, and teacher, he was martyred in 1990. He is the first South African to be honored in this way by the Church. Saint Jerome once wrote: “Martyrdom does not consist only in dying for one’s faith. Martyrdom also consists in serving God with one’s love and purity of heart every day of one’s life.” Blessed Benedict Daswa is one of those graced souls who lived this mystery in a particularly effective way in his own life. This was echoed by Pope Francis in his September 13 Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square: “[Blessed Benedict] always showed great consistency, courageously taking on Christian attitudes and refusing worldly and pagan habits. His testimony helps especially families to spread the truth and charity of Christ.” In many ways, Benedict Daswa is like any one of us. A man committed to his family and his vocation as a teacher and catechist, he made his Catholic faith...

In the latest installment in my series of reflections on the Sunday Readings , I explore the meaning of the words "Take up your cross and follow me." By telling us to “take up” our cross, Jesus isn’t saying that we have to meekly endure unfair treatment and suffering or embrace a blind, “offer it up” sort of spirituality. And, while they may be opportunities for grace, illness, sad events, and even disasters aren’t “the cross.” There is nothing particularly Christian about many of the challenges we face in daily life. Finally, we can never silently or blindly accept abuse or injustice as being the will of God. Jesus rejected these and so should we. Instead, “the cross” that we are to carry is the sacrifices, trials, and hardships that can be a consequence of placing our faith and hope in him and of living according to his teaching. To read the full reflection, click here .

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands… Open-handed, he gives to the poor; his justice stands firm forever.    —Psalm 112:1, 9 As the citizens of the United States are already gearing up for the 2016 elections, we’re going to be hearing more about workers’ rights, labor unions, and the rights that immigrants have (or don’t have) to work or receive an education. This will all be in conjunction with the ongoing debates over raising the minimum wage that are currently taking place in many states. Added to the already tense political situation is the upcoming visit of Pope Francis, which is sure to be a watershed moment for the American Church, even as it ruffles the feathers of political conservatives and progressives alike. In its history, the Church hasn’t shied away from important social justice issues. In fact, it was Catholic leaders in the 19 th century that worked tirelessly in support of trade unions and fair wages and work...