Greetings

Romans 12:9-16; Among you is the great and HOly one of ISrael; Luke 1:39-56

Today in the church we celebrate the feast of the Visitation. We celebrate the 2nd joyful mystery, when MAry, our BLessed Mother travels to the hill country to visit and assist her cousin Elizabeth.

As we ponder this beautiful moment in history, just a few things that stand out.

What is striking about the encounter as we enter into the biblical narrative is the fact that the joy of JOhn in his mother's womb begins with the greeting of MAry.

Her greeting brings forth the good news, carries with it the grace of the son she has conceived in her womb: "for at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy."


Think about the many greetings we have made in our life. THink about the many greetings we will make today or those that await the arrival of tomorrow or linger on the horizon of the days still to come.

How often have we just rushed through our greetings of people just to get on with the conversation or even to just get on with our life? How often have we been busy with so many things that our greetings have been anything but welcoming and certainly anything but that which carried with it the grace of Christ?

As believers, as baptized Christians, we all carry the same reality in our life that MAry carried in her womb. The Holy spirit seeks to bring forth Christ from our life on a daily basis.

Think about how important a greeting is as well. It really does set the tone for the conversation to follow; it sets the tone for the visit to unfold.

When is the last time our greeting resulted in a leap for joy?

Maybe it is time to slow down a bit. Maybe it is time to truly be attentive the presence of Christ living in our soul, burning in our hearts. Only when we are attentive to this presence and the working of God' SPirit with in can we truly bring forth the grace of God with ever greeting we make.

The genuine recollection of God's presence within will sincerely bring forth an awakening of faith, enlivening of hope, and deepening of love not only for ourselves but for all those we greet along the way.

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice, "Most Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

What a greeting, what an encounter with grace of the living God.

trinity

Today we turn our gaze toward the Blessed Trinity as we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. As we turn our gaze turn the mystery of God himself, this eternal exchange of love of the Father, Son, and HOly Spirit, we must remember that the Trinity is a lot like the Ocean.

We cannot wrap arms around the ocean. IT is too vast, to deep, too wide. But as for the Ocean, we can simply enter into it. We can get wet; we can experience the Ocean on many different levels.

Such it is with the Most HOly Trinity. We cannot wrap our arms around the Trinity, this exchange of love for all eternity. This mystery of Three persons yet one God, all equal, all persons, all divine. IT is too vast, too deep, too wide and we cannot wrap our arms around it. We cannot wrap our minds around it. But we can simply enter into it.

In fact our entire life is fully immersed in the Most Holy Trinity.

Our life of faith begins as the water is poured upon our foreheads and the invocation of the Blessed Trinity is pronounce: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. At the end of our Life the same Blessed Trinity is invoked as we lay in our death bed preparing for arrival in heaven and the priest says the words of commendation: Go forth Christian soul from this world to God the Father who created you, God to Son who redeemed you, God the Holy SPirit who sanctified you, Go forth Christian soul...

The Trinity is the book ends of our life on earth and the fulfillment of our life in heaven.

And while we are on earth working out our salvation, the Blessed Trinity is invoked at all the important stops of our life:

In moments of weakness, where sin grabs hold we go to confession and the priest says those words that set us free and strengthen us for the journey: God the Father of mercy as reconciled the world to himself by the death and resurrection of his son, he has sent the HOly Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sin, by the ministry of his church may he give you pardon and peace and I absolve you of all of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy SPirit.

In moments of sickness, when the body's weakness lays claim to the strength of God, in the sacrament of the sick, again the invocation of the blessed Trinity brings forth the healing hand of that communal exchange of love: May the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the HOly SPirit, may the lord who frees you form sin, save you and raise you up...May God the Father bless you, God the SOn heal you and GOd the Holy SPirit enlighten you. amen.

At confirmation when we are sealed with the Power of the Holy Spirit again the Blessed Trinity is called upon to fill our lives and make them holy: Let us pray to our Father that he will pour out the Holy SPirit to strengthen his sons and daughters with his gifts and anoint them to be more like Christ the Son of God.

In Holy Orders when the priest is ordained is by the Power of the Blessed Trinity is is invited to offer the sacrifice of Christ in the Spirit for the sanctification of the People of God.

At marriage when and husband and wife exchange the rings and enter into the vocation of the gift of married love they seal their vows with these words: Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Sprit. Amen.

Every time we begin our time of prayer, our time to converse with God we make the sign of the cross recognizing the reality of God as the one we seek to hear from and listen to. We lean our ears to heaven for a word of strength as we cry from earth longing for consolation. In moments of need, in moments of gratitude, in moments of confusion, we fall upon our knees and we invoke the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

When we gather as a community on Sundays to honor the day of the Lord, to keep holy and enter into God's rest in worship, we begin the celebration by the sign of the Cross-in the name of the Father and of the SOn and of the Holy Spirit- and after we have experienced heaven on earth in the Eucharistic celebration we set out into the world with the Blessing of Almighty God-Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy SPirit. AMen.

Our entire life is an invitation to not so much understand the Trinity but to enter in the life of the most Holy Trinity, to live the Power of the Trinity in our daily life.

And each time we invoke the Blessed Trinity we are called to live who God is from all eternity:

* a unity in distinction: God is one yet he is distinct; the difference of the persons of the Blessed Trinity are the same in love. We are called to mirror that reality in our life. Despite our many difference as a people of God we are called to be the same in love. It is what we have in common that binds us and holds us together and makes our differences a source of grace for all.

* we are called to rejoice in the goodness of the other. In the Most Holy Trinity the three persons of God rejoice in the goodness of each other. So to we are called to rejoice in the goodness of those around us. Not to be nit picking but to truly see with eyes of faith and reach forth with hands of love.

*The Persons of the Trinity speak well of one another. They have a common goal of salvation and love and they collaborate in making that mission a reality. Their entire life is directed toward honor and praise of the other. They seek to glorify one another.

*They give themselves fully for each other. They hold nothing back for themselves. There is no selfishness in the Most Holy Trinity; they are single minded in the gift they give to each other

* In the Most Holy Trinity we discover the perfect fulfillment of the command: love thy neighbor as thy self. Only in God for all eternity is this lived reality perfected and complete.

Here in the Most Holy Trinity we encounter what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. The image and likeness of God is about how we relate to one another, how we live out that communal exchange of love with one another. Only together can we truly begin to understand the foundation of our lives built upon the communal exchange of life and love revealed in the Most Holy Trinity.

The Trinity is the most relevant aspect of our faith. Only there do we truly discover how to live the life we have received in love. God has spoken. He has revealed himself from all eternty. He invites us to enter in and live who we are called to be in his image and likeness with one another.

May we enter in with every sign of the cross we make and remember who we are, where we come from, and where we are headed.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest!

ice water in your veins

Yesterday we read from the first letter of Peter. The words of Peter have been somewhat irritating, in a good way. They have been gnawing at my brain.

Peter says these words: "Therefore be serious and sober-minded that you will be able to pray."

We are called to be serious and sober-minded.

Peter tells us that in order to pray and pray well we must exercise self-control on our thoughts and we need to be calm and collected. That is, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the news that is spiraling around our lives, we must stand fast and have "ice water" running through our veins, as they say.

This exhortation from Peter reminds us that no matter what is happening around us, it is what is happening in us that counts. Faith empowers us to a deep penetrating trust in God. We call to mind the fact that no matter whose hands reach into our lives, it is the finger of God that guides us all. God has control.

Thus we should let nothing disturb us, all things are passing, God alone suffices.

Faith invites us to ice water running in our veins. Just something to remember. The happenings around us is directed by the happening of God's grace within us.


Only then can we truly embrace the sufferings of Christ, and thus rejoice that we have a share of such a gift. The sufferings of Christ is the reality of suffering God's love for his people. We are all invited to suffer God's love for all of his people. This is what our life of faith is about.

moral reflections by St. Gregory

Moral reflections:



It is the wisdom of this world to conceal the heart with stategems, to veil's one thoughts with words, to make what is false appear true and what is true appear false.

On the other hand it is wisdom of the just never to pretend anything for show, always to use words to express one's thoughts, to love the truth as it is and to avoid what is false, to do what is right without reward and to be more willing to put up with evil than to perpetuate it, not to seek revenge for wrong, and to consider as gain any insult for truth's sake.

combat boots

1 peter 2:2-5,9-12; Psalm 100 Come with Joy into the presence of the Lord; Mark 10:46-52

"let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Just in case we forgot, the priesthood is larger than those who are ordained. All of us who have been made wet by the waters of baptism have been initiated into the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

"The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of baptism and Confirmation the faithful are "consecrated to be...a holy priesthood." ( Catechism of Catholic Church 1546)

The priesthood of the faithful is an unfolding of baptismal grace-a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the spirit. (CCC 1547)


All of us are capable of doing what we were taught from early on, "offer it up." We can make those things in our life, "holy, set apart." We can invite God to fill those things with his life and grace, no matter what they are.

"Offering it up" is truly what we as a priestly people are called to do. We have a voice that is heard. In some sense, we all stand between the breech of heaven and earth and invoke the power of God to come in and transform our lives and thus build the kingdom.

"We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 peter 2)

So there fore put on your combat boots and "wage the war" against worldly desires as St Peter invites us and remember you do not go alone. Be the priestly people we are all capable of being in Christ Jesus.

gospel revisited

MArk 10:32-45

As we look back at the gospel of today, i could not help but be struck by a few things .

First, JEsus is once again headed toward JERUSALEM. Now we just ended the Easter Season. We are well familiar with the JErusalem scene. We know what is coming next. We are all aware of calvary, of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Yet, Here we are at the beginning of Ordinary Time, Jesus in is public ministry, and yet the church directs our gaze to JErusalem.

We are never finished with Jerusalem. Our gaze must never get tired of peering at the wounded head surrounded with thorns, or scarred hands and feet of the crucified. SO just in case we thought the Easter celebration was to turn our gaze from the passion and death of Jesus for good, we get a gut check. The passion remains the focal point of our gaze. The resurrection is the lens by which we begin to understand such beauty, such love, a reason for it all.

Secondly we get the encounter of the the two brothers who come to JEsus with a request in hand. They are bold. THey are courageous. THey do not mess around with petty request. The go all out, "Grant that in glory we sit one at your right and one at your left."

These brothers show us what we should desire above all else. We should never settle for less. We should seek the highest possible and be bold in asking.


JEsus responds with an invitation "to drink the cup that I drink." We must remember in order to arrive at our destination we will be asked to drink the cup that God pours for us, not the one we pour for ourselves. The road to glory is not often achieved by the smooth path. The cup of suffering shall always be offered. We must drink of it in order to move forward. We cannot bypass the passion, we cannot go around the cross that bars the passage. We must pick it up and trudge forward. We must let the cup JEsus offers to quench our thirst, for no other shall do.


THen the brothers respond in a way that is striking. When JEsus asks, "can you drink the cup that I drink?" the brothers do not respond in the singular affirmative, but rather they respond as a team working together. It is the "we" that will be able to endure, only then shall the "I" arrive at glory. We must stand together, only then shall we drink the cup God offers on the road to glory.

know and fix in your heart

1 peter 1:18-25; Psalm 147 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; Mk 10:32-45

Today we celebrate the feast of St, Philip Neri, a priest who spent most of his ministry in parishes in Rome. He is considered the Apostle of Rome. He lived during the later part of the 16th century.

Just a few bits of wisdom from St. Philip of Neri:

"My Jesus, my love, all the world is vanity. HE who wishes for anything other than Christ does not know what he wishes. HE who asks for anything other than Christ does not know what he is asking. He who works and not for Christ does not know what he is doing."

"A man without prayer is an animal without reason."

St. Philip' s prayer each day before he went out into the word was the following, "Lord, watch out for Philip, he betray you today."

In the words of St. Peter today in the first reading: "Beloved: realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct...with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished Lamb."

Peter asks us to "realize" this.

Spend sometime today letting this verse roll around in your head and in your heart. Meditate on the precious Blood that has ransomed us. How beautiful! How AMazing! How thoughtful of God!

Memorize this passage and let it become a source of contemplation. See how it penetrates and changes your heart empowering to "love one another intensely from the heart."

In the words of Moses in Deuteronomy: "know and fix in your heart..."

Know and fix in your heart.