Superior Priest

Behold the Lamb of God

15JAN23 (23aO2). It is too little to just get by. We need to offer more than just the bare minimum of sacrifice. The sacrifice is to guide all our life. John the Baptist guides us to full Communion with Jesus. As Catholics we have the great gift of the Eucharist which we have to sacrifice and love. As a parish we are beginning Adoration on Friday. That commitment is important to pray and be transformed by adoration.

Seeking the Star of Truth

08JAN23 (23Epiphany).  The Wisemen seek the truth and find Jesus. Faith and reason are not opposed, but two wings to help us to fly. Let us always pursue the truth and help it lead us to Jesus.

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves” (JP2, Fides et Ratio)

“Stand firm in the faith! Do not let yourselves be confused! It often seems that science — the natural sciences on the one hand and historical research (especially exegesis of Sacred Scripture) on the other — are able to offer irrefutable results at odds with the Catholic faith. I have experienced the transformations of the natural sciences since long ago and have been able to see how, on the contrary, apparent certainties against the faith have vanished, proving to be not science, but philosophical interpretations only apparently pertaining to science; just as, on the other hand, it is in dialogue with the natural sciences that faith, too, has learned to understand better the limit of the scope of its claims, and thus its specificity. […] I saw and see how out of the tangle of assumptions the reasonableness of faith emerged and emerges again. Jesus Christ is truly the way, the truth and the life — and the Church, with all its insufficiencies, is truly His body.” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Spiritual Testimony)

Pondering With Mary

01JAN23 (23Mother).  The feast today of Mary the Mother of God is an opportunity to ponder on the theological mystery of Jesus’ humanity and divinity and unity. It is also a good time to ponder on our new year. How does the Holy Spirit want to guide you in growth this year?

God DWELLS With Us

25DEC22 (22Christmas). We may be thinking a lot about Santa Claus during Christmas. There are some similarities to God such as his knowledge, but huge differences after that. Jesus is God and came to dwell and be with us. We are never alone. He came to be with us. “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est, 1).

The Supernatural Christmas

18DEC22 (22aA4). Christmas is naturally good, but it is also supernatural. In the midst of all the natural goodness let us remember the supernatural good. He comes to reveal Himself, but we can never fully comprehend his mystery, but we can always ponder and meditate.

JESUS

 

Manifest Infirmity, wondrous Humility,

in which all the greatness of God lay hidden:

He is both great in the nature of God

and small in the form of a servant.

But His greatness is not diminished by His smallness,

nor His smallness overwhelmed by His greatness.

He Himself with the Father and the Holy Spirit precedes all spans of time,

but on this day, issuing from His mother,

He stepped into the tide of the years.

 

* * * * *

 

He who made man, was made Man;

He was given existence by a mother whom

He brought into existence.

He finds no room in the inn, but

He builds a temple for Himself

in the hearts of those who believe.

Unspeakably wise, He is wisely speechless;

filling the world, He lies in a manger.

He is wrapped in swaddling clothes,

but He gives us a garment of immortality.

John the Baptist baptized Christ, the Giver of Baptism,

in waters made holy by the One Who was baptized.

 

* * * * *

 

In Him we see our God made visible,

and so are caught up in the love of the God we cannot see.

He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe

because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

Such is the love of our God!

Then let us be kindled with love,

that we may come to His eternity!

 

By Marie E. Barfknecht

Repent and Pray

04DEC22 (22aA2). How is the 1% challenge (https://www.evangelicalcatholic.org/onepercent/) going this Advent? John the Baptist is a crazy person who is calling us to reality. Repent!! In order for repentance to be real and authentic it needs to be proceeded with changes and fruit. This can be difficult to know exactly how to repent and change. So the only effective way is to pray to precede the way forward.

Be Prepared and Challenged This Advent

27NOV22 (22aA1). Today begins Advent the season of anticipation, hope, and preparation. Advent is not a season to be in Christmas but is a mini lent. Two of the greatest things to focus on are prayer and almsgiving. I am taking the 1% challenge and I am challenging you as well to spend at least 1% of every day in advent on prayer: https://www.evangelicalcatholic.org/onepercent/

God Wants to Be the King of Your Heart

20NOV22 (22cKing). Jesus Christ is King of the Universe. He is king of this world, but is he King of your heart. We often try and create the world and God in our image with disastrous effect. Jesus came to teach us about truth and help form us into true humans formed in God’s image. Jesus only gave us a few direct imperative commandments. One of them was “Do this in remembrance of me” and so we celebrate Mass in fidelity to Jesus’ command and are formed by Him. During Advent we will celebrate Mass Ad Oreientem. Here is a short youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXzgVlK-reg  and a letter from a bishop encouraging the practice https://dioceseofgallup.org/celebrating-the-mass-ad-orientem/ and here is a priest from Minnesota’s explanation: https://icchurch.cc/ad-orientem/

Memento Mori!

13NOV22 (22cO33). It is the end… Remember Death. It is coming. As Christians we should not be flippant or scared, but prepare and be ready.

Choir Talk

02NOV22. Today I talk with Paul Duenas and Tamami Elizabeth Hatakeyama about choir and music in the liturgy. I get to hear a little more about their experience and joys, I get to share about my love (but inability in music), and about the Church’s intention of music in the Mass.