The Baptism of Jesus

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated January 11 this year and thus liturgically closing the Christmas season.  The baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John the Baptist was a historical event and an invitation to a mystery.   The significance of the baptism of our Lord is an event that is renewed everyday in the lives of every baptized person.  It is in a sense our feast too and appropriately do we celebrate it.  Saint Paul says that Jesus is the first-fruit of many brothers.  It is in this context that we should interpret the events of his life as narrated by the Gospel writers.  The Scriptures are not historical books, as far as historical books are defined, although some events found in them can be historically proven.  Scriptures, and in particular the Gospels, were written “so that you may believe” as St. John the Apostle would say at the end of his Gospel.

Jesus came to be with us, “Emmanuel,” so that we can learn to suffer in hope.  The comfort promised by the Lord is not the comfort resulting from the absence of trials and tribulations but a supernatural joy which comes from our knowledge that suffering can have its meaning and purpose. The coming of the Lord at Christmas was the fulfillment of a much anticipated hope from all forms of bondage caused by our human weaknesses and sins: hopelessness, fear, sorrow, helplessness, feeling unloved, emptiness and more.  This promise of comfort is given to us because above all else, our God is the Good Shepherd, and “like a shepherd he feeds his flock, in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.”  Such is the nature of our God.

Jesus’ baptism was an act of entering fully into the fullness of our humanity- a humanity tarnished by sin and in need of redemption.  To be fully one with us, he humbled himself by identifying with our sinful nature.  He made himself inferior to John  whose own unworthiness before the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, John himself acknowledged.  But so as to fulfill the plan of God, it was made so.  “Let is be so for now,” Jesus would say.  Docility, meekness, submission- all necessary elements to accomplish the Will of God.  Jesus’ baptism brought his humility, our baptism on the other hand, brought us dignity.  We are no longer sheep without a shepherd, we were made into children of God.  What marvelous exchange!  All because He loves us.  Saint Peter explains this when he says that this is because God shows no partiality.  He gives himself freely to those who would accept him and open themselves to the gifts God brings.  But the gifts bring with them responsibilities.  “To one who is given much, much will be required.”  Christ faced the demands of his baptism even when they landed him on the Cross.  We cannot choose otherwise if we are to be his true followers. St. Paul explains that “the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age...”  In other words, by our own baptism, we have contracted a covenant with God,  to live our lives according to the image and example of His Son, who even though sinless, went to be baptized to set an example for us.  He assumed our humanity so that we can have a share in His divinity.  We do not belong to ourselves. Our lives are not our own.

St. John baptized with water and Jesus with the Spirit.  It is the same in our own lives.  All the good works we do, all the good intentions we have are dead, if they do not proceed from the motives of faith, love of God and love of neighbor for the sake of God.  The Spirit himself gives life.  The Spirit himself brings to flower what we have sown.  We are only his gardeners.  The Spirit reveals himself in ordinary ways but we must have the eyes of faith and the ears to hear the manifestations of the Spirit.

In the midst of sufferings in the world, in the midst of darkness and trials of life, in the midst of burden and hopelessness, we remember these words of our Father:  “You are my beloved son (or daughter).”  These will bring us comfort, hope and assurance that we are never alone or forgotten.  No matter how gray our hairs turn out to be, how wrinkled and old we become, how frail and sick, we remain always a child before the Father who loves us first and always.

My Star Shines Everyday

The Feast of Epiphany is sometimes called "little Christmas."  The word "Epiphany" means "manifestation."  The liturgy readings narrate the revelation of the Christ-Child to the world of the gentiles in the form of a star.  The Christmas Season captures the two forms of one reality- God came to earth to be with His people.  The first form of this manifestation was on Christmas day when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (Prologue of St. John).  The Word assumed a human nature and became like us.  God the Father manifested Himself to us through the Son, Jesus.  This is the first manifestation.  Then on the feast of Epiphany, God manifested Himself again, not in the silence of the night in some hidden cave in Bethlehem, but to the world, through the persons of the
Magi, and in them, to the Gentiles.  This is the second manifestation.

Christmas Reflection

Christmas is my favorite liturgical season.  The joy of anticipation and the joy of fulfillment  when the Child Jesus is finally in our midst, creates a feeling of both wonder and nostalgia.  I realize the    fact that Christmas can mean different things to different people.  For our elderly residents living in the Home it is a moment of loneliness and pain.  The loss of physical independence and the loss of family and friends, both because of distance and death, could bring about feelings of depression.  For most people, Christmas can mean work, lots of head-spinning work- unavoidable circumstances entailed in one's means of livelihood  or other duties and obligations called forth  by one's state in life.  It could mean a string of customers to satisfy, employees to be thanked, and friends to show love and gratitude to.  But despite all these, when the dust finally settles and the last box of gifts is wrapped, and when the soul finally gets itself down to adore and listen to church-bells ringing, the full reality of the hustle and bustle is brought home to consciousness- it is Christmas, a Child is born, Jesus.

Then our hearts begin to quicken and our eyes open to the awesome gift given to us.  We begin to have an understanding, limited as it may be, of the wonder and miracle of love.  Love is the fuel that keeps Christmas burning.  It is the love of God from the very beginning of time, the love of the Son who came to fulfill the Father's wish, the love of Mary who accepted the call to be the vessel of the Incarnate, and the love that burns in our hearts for those we hold dear.  That is why we endure the discomforts of work and toil, that is why we forgive and forget wrongs done to us, why we patch up tattered relationships - all because we love.  The love shown us by the Father and the Love made Incarnate, is the same flame of love that burns in our sinful hearts.  Imperfect as this love may be, tainted as it may seem, we share in the Divine Sonship.

As I behold in love and muted wonder the crib in my cell, my heart expands at the thought that this Child, celebrated by Kings, Popes, Saints, and all people alike, came just for me.  Here in my cell, He and I alone, exchange intimacies of the heart, hidden from all others.  At the sight of Him lying in this crib of hay, the wonderful Pandora box of promises is opened - Peace, Surrender, Sacrifice, Joy, humility, new beginning, eternal happiness-  all promises of a New Year.  Whatever was in our life's slate this past 2019, the promise of 2020 opens wide.  Yes, the darkness has now passed, the rays of dawn had cast its full light, the Morning Star of our lives, has finally come.  Oh what joy! What gift! The whole world is grateful!  In the inner recesses of our hearts- we are speechless.  We can only accept it with loving disbelief.

Lord Jesus, as you have given us much, grant us the joy of giving you something this Christmas and all the days of our lives.  Bring to fruition all the good desires you have inspired in us.  Just as you gave yourself to us because of your inestimable love, help us to extend ourselves to others.  Just as you were Gift to us, undeserving as we are, let us be gifts for others, undeserving we may think them to be.  As the New Year opens wide its door, let us enter confidently, hopefully and joyfully with full expectations realizing that we can always begin again.  Help us to hold on to the joys and graces of these days.  Imperfect as we are, you know that we love You and desire only to follow You, all the days of our lives.  "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life!"

The Holy Family

Today is the feast of the Holy Family.  It is a celebration of the dignity of that age-old institution we call the human family. It is a celebration of life, relationships, and the bond which makes us individually unique and with our own sense of identity and history. Every family , the unit of human relations and origins, derives its source from God. We are born into a family and whether we like it or not, we are tied to this family for life until death.  Saint John Paul II called the family the “sanctuary of life.” It is in the family that life starts in all its aspects. It is a miniature form of society where you have hierarchical roles to establish order. There is no equality in a society as far as roles and responsibilities go. Not everyone can be presidents, mayors, governors, etc. Specific responsibilities are assumed by people appointed to the position either by due process of law or by Divine Providence. Each has a role to play and responsibilities to assume. In a family everyone assumes a place. Not all can be mothers, fathers or children as far as the physical reality goes. Special circumstances can sometimes demand that one assumes different roles and we must admit the stress this creates and the confusion it can sometimes entails. We are individual members of a body. The Book of Sirach talks about an exhortation for each member of the family. It carries a promise of a long life and abundant blessings. Love is the engine which must be at the heart of each family. It is the love St. Paul talks about, a love which sacrifices, forgives, bears with limitations, respects and believes in the other. We cannot have a dialogue in our families if it is not first of all inspired by a true love for each other. Dialogues not motivated by a true desire to listen and understand will just be an excuse to vent out problems, assign blame on someone and end up in even more frustrations. Taking the time is just the beginning. The real test is our ability and willingness to listen. We can use an abundance of words without really engaging in real communication. Often times paying more attention to what is not said in words could take us more into the heart of the matter. This is why St. Paul explains that we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s gifts are not just to be received but are exercised so that they can develop in us. The art of listening is an acquired gift. The Holy Family invites us to celebrate life . To celebrate life can mean upholding values which promote beauty, joy, openness, growth, appreciating the gift of each other, unity, loyalty and the like. Parents complain about the present generation without acknowledging that the present generation is being short-changed. There is a cause and effect in everything. Money cannot replace what parents can give their children. Children need not receive what they want but what they need. If they cannot find what they need at home they will seek and find them somewhere else. The West is affluent in everything material but we are the most impoverished in relationships. Mother Teresa stated that we suffer from a different poverty here- the poverty of self-sacrificing love which translates in lasting relationships and hard commitments.  The Holy Family was materially poor but was rich in love for God and for each other. It was a family which lived in total trust in God. Joseph and Mary were people who lived in faith, not understanding the works of God but allowed themselves to be used by His Providence, and in the end became the ideal home for the Child Jesus. Does it mean that the holiness of the Holy Family came to be because they were always happy, always provided for, always sure of what the future was? You and I know that this was not so. Holiness is conformity to the Will of God in whatever shape or form it manifests itself. It is seeing God’s hand in everything which happens to us. It is the “fiat” of Mary, the acceptance of Joseph, the subjection of Jesus to authority. These are all virtues which can be imitated, albeit with difficulty sometimes, but all possible with the help of God. The family is a holy institution. In the mind of God it is to be the sanctuary of life. Marriage is the bond which keeps it together. It is a bond which unites a man and woman together before God. But this bond is not magical, it needs to be worked at, it needs nurturing, it needs to be kept alive by mutual sacrifices and self- forgetfulness. Family life is the stage where the drama of human existence unfolds. It is the stage where stories of pain, sufferings, infidelities, betrayals, unhappiness can unfold. Let’s face it, there were times we wished we were born into a different family! But it is also the stage where the grace of God can manifest itself if we are open to it and open to the sacrifices the solutions to problems entail.  It is truly sad and frightening how the family has been the object of attacks in recent times!  Redefining marriage from the union between a man and a woman open to the possibility of transmitting a new life to a union between anyone for any reason is a turning away from truth and reason.  Trends in a society come and go and if that society bases its life on trends, that society will end up confused and eventually lost.  Changes in society are defined by changes in attitudes.  Attitudes are influenced and eventually defined by the moral aptitude and moral orientation of the person.  The issue then is not whether changes in society dictate the way family life is lived, but rather, people must reorient their moral compass, so as to shape society according to values based on truth and reason and thus preserve the true meaning of family.

 I am also thinking here of a religious family. Saint Teresa of Avila had no patience with those who complained about the state of their religious Orders. Instead of complaining, she exhorted to do something about the problems. It is the same with our own human family. We have to find solutions to human problems and not just complain about them. And if they cannot be fixed, we must have the faith to trust that God knows how to bring something good out of a bad situation.

The Tree of Life

Christkindl Church

Article taken from "The Blessings of Christmas"
pp 53 - 60
by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to see the oldest surviving Christmas tree in the world, which forms a kind of reredos behind the high altar in the church at Christkindl near Steyr.  The history of this tree takes us back to the year 1694.  At that time, Steyr had a new sacristan and choirmaster who suffered from epilepsy, or, as the chronicle innocently puts it, "the sickness where one falls down."  He came from Melk, where he had become acquainted with the devotion to the Child Jesus.  He placed a picture of the Holy Family in the hollow of a medium-sized pine, and he found strength and consolation as he said his prayers before his picture.  Then he heard of an image of the Christ Child that had healed a paralyzed nun, and after some time he succeeded in obtaining an exact copy, a waxen Christ Child holding a cross in one hand and the crown of thorns in the other.

 
He brought this image to the tree and said his prayers before it, sensing that a healing power radiated from the image.  Gradually, people heard about this, and they began to make pilgrimages to the Christ Child in the tree.  The Church authorities in Passau were slow to approve of this popular devotion, but the local people were finally given permission to erect a little church around this tree, and the foundation stone of the Christkindl church was laid in 1708.  It was built by the most celebrated Austrian architects of the time, on the model of Santa Maria Rotonda in Rome.  One might say that it has become a precious husk around the tree, out of which the altar and the tabernacle grow.  The tree still bears the little waxen Christ child.  He wears a crown, and rays go forth from the figure, giving an assurance of faith and hope to many people.

Holiday Woes?

December is here, and soon, Christmas.  I wrote this article last year and decided to dig it out of my archive and post it on this first day of December.  I have  read a lot of Facebook entries about the word "Christmas", "Keeping Christ in Christmas" and the use of the word "holiday" to replace "Christmas." This is a very relevant concern since it is, sadly, the practice of the times. It's obviously a symptom of a deeper illness afflicting our society which is secularism. It puzzles me how a tradition and celebration which has gone on for centuries, and seems to be appreciated by a lot of people, if not by all, can suddenly be questioned and attacked. But then again, some may argue, "what's the big fuss over a name? So it's Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. So what?

Well, in this case, there is more to a name. This is a subject that is personal and goes deeper into the heart of what the celebration is about. If we bring this to the everyday experience, we sure can understand how people get offended if their family name is misspelled, mispronounced or even dragged to a sort of scandal. That causes a sting in our hearts and mind. Christmas came to be because of Christ. He is the beginning of this event we call Christmas. Even though people try to separate, or worse yet, eliminate the sacred from this event, it cannot be done without appearing to be a hypocrite. Christmas is the story of Jesus' birth, whether one likes to admit it or not, Christ is in Christmas. I don't buy this attitude of changing things just to please everybody. If we cannot agree on even one thing, let us at least be respectful of our differences. It is an act of justice to give one his or her due. That goes for God too. Christmas is God's great event. Let us give him his due.
"Holiday", no," Holy day", yes!

Now, having said all that, there is another point I would like to bring out. It is naive to think we can take the bull by the horn. People will do what they believe they should do. It's sad to say but sometimes people are carried by the "herd mentality." Monkey see, monkey do, is another way of putting it. Most of them just go along with what seems to be fashionable or politically correct at the moment. Most of the time malicious intent is not a factor although that happens too. My point is, we cannot control people's actions but we can control ours. I'll give you an example:
Just before Christmas, I went to Barnes & Noble to do a last minute Christmas shopping for a book Dad wanted to get for a gift. When my turn came up at the cashier, the young lady very nicely handed me my change and smilingly said, "Happy Holidays!" I was wearing my habit but that did not make a difference. I smiled back at her and said, "Yes, Merry Christmas!" She smiled back and shyly said, "Yes, Merry Christmas!" My point is that we cannot police the world and change every single anomaly that happens. We can only do what is right and hope that we can make a difference in the place we are and in the circumstances we find ourselves in. There are a lot of good people out there, especially young people, who are as confused and baffled about what is right and wrong. The act is not always a declaration of war.  Truth is to be proclaimed, that it absolutely true.  But it should be proclaimed in charity and in peace, distanced from passion and anger, as much as possible.  Otherwise, we become the evil we are trying to fight.

I find that when I think this way I can have the peace that Jesus brings. "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives but as I give" Jesus says. We cannot be at peace if we are always reacting to every evil out there. Our business is to follow the Lord. We should have a "holy indifference" to every thing that goes around us. Not because we don't care, not because we are pacifists, but because we know that there is a lot that can be achieved by prayers. Let us begin with ourselves. Let us do what we want others to do, and be faithful to God in the circumstances He has put us and our light will shine inevitably. People will notice and we can change their hearts by our example. Saint John of the Cross had a motto: "Well and good if all things change, O God, provided we are rooted in YOU!"