2nd Sunday of Lent

First Reading: Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18. God made a covenant with Abraham because of his faith.

Second Reading: Philippians 3: 17-4:1. If we persevere with Christ as our model, he will change our weakness into glory.

Gospel: Luke 9: 28b-36. The Apostles Peter, James and John see Jesus in the glory of his future Resurrection.

Points for Reflection --Fr Carlo Tei

When God made his covenant with Abraham, he allowed Abraham for a moment to see his glory in the form of fire.

In the same way, once Peter, James and John had accepted Jesus as the Messiah who had to suffer and die, they were allowed for a moment to have a glimpse of his future glory: the glory of his Resurrection. With a mixture of exaltation and awe, they recognized Moses and Elijah with him, symbolizing the law and the prophets, and Jesus as the Lord of both. Jesus spoke to them of his death as the necessary prelude to his Resurrection, according to the will of the Father, whose voice, proclaiming him as his chosen Son, was heard coming from a cloud.

If, as Paul tells us, we also are to be transfigured, it will mean following Jesus Christ, our Leader and Saviour, in everything, including a love for the Father and our brothers and sisters that might lead us to our cross. There is no avoiding the road of love that leads to our personal Calvary if we are to follow Him up the glory of the Resurrection.

It is difficult for us, as it was for the Apostles to follow, trust and love a Messiah obedient to death--even a death on a cross out of love for the Father and for us. We are so often tempted to follow our own standards of living instead of moulding our thoughts, desires, plans and actions upon our faith in Jesus.

As we are preparing for the celebration of Easter, God invites us once again to “listen to his chosen Son”. Though difficult it may be, if we answer God’s call, he will transfigure us, too, and we will hare his Son’s glory and build a better world.

A TIME OF GRACE

5th Sunday of the Year C

First Reading: Isaiah 6: 1-8.  Isaiah has a vision of God and realizes that he is called to speak for him. Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11.  Paul preaches the Resurrection of Christ as the basis of our faith.
Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11.  Peter recognizes a more than human power in Jesus and responds by following him.

Points for Reflection-by Fr Carlo Tei

1. The Scripture Readings of the 5th Sunday of the Year (C) give an account of what happened to three of the most illustrious figures in the history of salvation: the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostles Paul and Peter. In a certain moment of their lives, all three experienced:

• the living presence of the Lord;

• their own unworthiness;

• and their dependence on him.

At the end of their experience:

• they entrusted themselves to the Lord;

• allowed him to take charge of their lives;

• and were enlisted to carry out the work entrusted to them by God.

2. What happened to these three great servants of the Lord is something that also touches upon our lives.

• First of all, God speaks to us, too, although to each one of us in a different way. We should always be open and attentive to the Spirit, who reaches us through the events and the people we come across in our daily lives or through “his own special ways”.

• Secondly, there are times when we feel our unworthiness before God. They are privileged moments when we are given the opportunity to free ourselves of our illusions and are reminded that all that is good and worthwhile comes only from God.

• When we recognize our unworthiness, we also come to know God’s merciful love for each one of us. And every experience of God’s love for us becomes the source of our love for others and the starting point of our missionary witness, of our work of evangelization. The more we recognize that God is love, the more we feel commissioned to tell other people about God and his love; and to share this love with anyone we come across in our daily lives, especially with those who feel lonely and neglected, and with those who are still waiting for some fishers of men to help them free themselves from the power of evil hidden in so many wordly illusions, enchantments and deceitful attractions.

Presentation of the Lord

At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany (January 6), the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later—February 15. (Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually "unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her "purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification.

The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas.

Comment:

In Luke’s account, Jesus was welcomed in the temple by two elderly people, Simeon and the widow Anna. They embody Israel in their patient expectation; they acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Early references to the Roman feast dub it the feast of St. Simeon, the old man who burst into a song of joy which the Church still sings at day’s end.

Quote:

"Christ himself says, ‘I am the light of the world.’ And we are the light, we ourselves, if we receive it from him.... But how do we receive it, how do we make it shine? ...[T]he candle tells us: by burning, and being consumed in the burning. A spark of fire, a ray of love, an inevitable immolation are celebrated over that pure, straight candle, as, pouring forth its gift of light, it exhausts itself in silent sacrifice” (Paul VI). --from American Catholic

Priests and the digital world: Part 1

Priests and the digital world: Part 1

4th Sunday of the Year C

First Reading: Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19. Jeremiah, the hesitant young prophet, is encouraged in his mission.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 31-13:13. Paul reminds us that the great gift of the Spirit is love.

Gospel: Luke 4: 21-30. Jesus’ fellow-townsmen grow increasingly hostile as they realize the significance of his message.

Points for Reflection by Fr Carlo Tei

1. Today’s Gospel refers to the first episode of Jesus’ public life.

• Jesus is in the synagogue of Nazareth, his original, town. After having read a passage taken from Isaiah, he applies it to himself. It is he who fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Messiah. He is the Messiah who has been sent to preach the Good news to the poor, to obtain freedom for the prisoners and the oppressed, and the sight for the blind.

• But Jesus’ listeners, though they are astonished by his words, are not ready to commit themselves to him and to accept through faith the message of salvation proclaimed by him. On the contrary, they become hostile to him.

2. This episode already contains the main features which characterize Jesus’ entire life.

• He brings a message of salvation which is not accepted by his people. The refusal of his message by Nazareth citizens foreshadows the total refusal by Israel.

• This, however, does not prevent Jesus from continuing his mission. He has to break with his social environment, especially with those in authority, because their way of thinking of the Messiah in terms of a political warrior is in contrast with the mind of God.

• As a result of this, Jesus has to bring his message to the Gentiles. Through Jesus, God makes it clear that he is going to open the doors of the Kingdom to all the Peoples on earth. He is the God of all. No one can claim any privilege before him. Salvation is not the prerogative of a single People, but a gift granted to all who are willing to believe in Christ, to accept him and his message, and to follow him.

This episode also signifies what any true prophet of God is going to face. We, being the followers of Christ, are prophets by definition. We are supposed to bring the Good News of salvation to others: this is the mission of the Church.

• If we are genuine Christians (prophets), sooner or later we are going to meet with the opposition and misunderstanding on the part of our fellow Christians and of non-Christians.

• Nothing, however, should stop us.

• We have to live and announce a love without frontiers. God’s love, universal and merciful, should shine in our lives, and make it clear that God is the God of all. It is only by accepting God’s love (by believing in and following Christ) that one belongs to God’s family.

3rd Sunday of the Year C

First Reading: Nehemiah 8: 2-6, 8-10. Returned from the exile, their city rebuilt, the people assemble to listen to God’s Word.
Second Reading: 1Corinthians 12: 12-30. We are a community, each with his role to play under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel: Luke 1: 1-4; 14-21. Jesus announces himself to be the fulfillment of the Scriptures.

Points for Reflection by Fr Carlo Tei

1. It was the practice in synagogue worship to have a reading from the Law and another from the Prophets of the Old Testament, followed by a sermon. In today’s event Jesus was invited to act as both the reader and preacher. The Gospel notes that ‘And the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him”. It was really as if the eyes of all the people of God, who had ever lived, were looking upon Jesus at that moment. Century upon century of promises from God and waiting by the people focused upon that moment in time. Jesus read, as we have just heard, a passage from the book of Isaiah. Then he spoke simple, but momentous words – words which sounded astonishing to his listeners: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. Actually, it was not only this passage from the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled. Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of everything written in the Old Testament; moreover, he embodied and completed in himself the whole destiny and purpose of the chosen people.

2. In the First Reading we see Nehemiah reminding the people of their destiny. In reading the word of God to them, he was reminding them that they were a people set apart by God, so that they could preserve his truth, law and worship, and mediate his blessings to all mankind. By means of the prophets, judges and kings God made his truth and law known. Through them he pointed out the way of life that his people were to follow. Also God made of his chosen ones a priestly people, set apart to offer a pleasing worship to the one true God, and to receive his blessings in return. But the whole destiny of the chosen people was in the future, in a great day of the Lord, when the Messiah would come. The Messiah was to fulfill not just some prophecies made about his coming, but he would perfect and complete the whole purpose of the chosen people.

3. Then on that apparently ordinary day in the humble synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus, in simple words, spoke tremendous truth. In effect he said: “I am the one you have been waiting for. All the centuries of promise and waiting have become reality in me”.

4. We are the new chosen people of God. We are people, not of promise, but of fulfillment. Jesus is alive and active among us, who are the People of God and the Church. To fulfill our destiny, to be true to our Christian call and mission, we must be committed to Christ. He is the One we must know, because he is the truth. His way of living we must follow and imitate. His commitment to the needy and suffering of the world, and his proclamation of the time of the Lord’s grace we must make our own plan of action, because he is the way, the only way to the Father. He is the only way to a meaningful life and to true happiness for the world and us. He is the life…

2nd Sunday of the Year C

First Reading: Isaiah 62: 1-5.

This Reading is taken from the second part of Isaiah (6th Century B.C.). Here the Prophet is singing to the restored Jerusalem, the Delight of God, the Lord’s Bride. This idea of God rejoicing over his bride Jerusalem serves as helpful background to today’s Gospel.

Second Reading: 1Corinthians 22: 4-11.

Each year we begin this series of Sundays of the Year by reading from Paul’s timely first letter to the Corinthians. Paul, concerned about jealousies among the Lord’s followers, here reminds them that any job or talent in the Church comes from the Holy Spirit. Notice the reference to speaking in tongues.

Gospel: John 2: 1-12.

Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. This is his first miracle.

Points for Reflection by Fr Carlo Tei

Today’s Scripture Readings (the First Reading and the Gospel) invite us to meditate on God’s love for us and on our love for God.

In the Bible this mutual love is often described as a nuptial love. God is the bridegroom and mankind is the bride (see the First Reading).

1. In the Old Testament God reveals himself as a faithful bridegroom of his people. The covenant he establishes with the People of Israel has taken the characteristics of nuptial love. He chooses the Israelites because he loves them, and his love for them is exactly as a bridegroom’s love for his bride: just as intimate and exclusive. To God’s faithfulness the Israelites have often responded with betrayals and unfaithfulness. God, however, has always been true to his love for them, because he wanted his love to become the sign of his love for all mankind, the sign of his marriage to mankind.

2. It is with the coming of Jesus that God shows his determination to establish a new and everlasting covenant of love with mankind.

• John the Baptist indicates in Jesus the Bridegroom and shares the joy of the wedding (John 3:29).

• Jesus himself reveals that he has inaugurated the era of he wedding of the Messiah: his disciples are not supposed to fast as long as the Bridegroom is with them (Mt 9:15).

• At Cana, by changing water into wine at the wedding, he works a very eloquent sign: the era of the Messiah has come, the time of God’s marriage to mankind is at hand. “The hour”, of which Jesus speaks, as we know, came when he was exalted on the Cross. On the Cross Jesus revealed to its fullness God’s love for his unfaithful Bride, and purified her, preparing her for the new covenant, which was sealed in his blood. From the open side of Jesus came out his Bride, the new Eve, the Church, and, indeed, all mankind.

3. We, too, have been invited to the wedding of Christ to his Church. We, too, are Christ’s Bride. After the People of Israel, in fact, all men and women are called to share God’s infinite and merciful love and to love him in return.

• We cannot doubt God’s love for us. At times we might be tempted to do so, as the Israelites did. When things go differently from the way we would like them to go, we are usually inclined to think that they went in the wrong way, and to blame God for this. God’s love for us is not something we can see and judge by our human standards of seeing and judging. It is something we accept by faith. And if our faith is strong enough, we will come to admit that God’s love for us is the surest reality in our lives: it is at the origin of our own existence, the only reason for our going on living, and the only foundation of our hope…

• What we should rather bother about is our faithfulness to God’s love. But what criteria do we have to judge whether we are true to God or not? St John suggests an unmistakable one: the love for our brethren. “We are to love, then, because he loved first. Anyone who says: ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man, who does not love the brother he can see, cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother (1 John, 4:19-21).By the way we love those people who are dear to us, or whom we meet in our daily lives, or whom we are supposed to care for (the needy, the lonely, the suffering…) can we truly say that we love God, that we are the faithful Bride of Jesus our Lord? The Eucharistic Banquet we share today may give us new insight and new strength in our determination to be always faithful witnesses to the infinite and merciful love of God for us.

Epiphany, or the Manifestation of the Lord

(From http://www.catholiccultures.org/)
The feast of manifestation, or Epiphany, is traditionally celebrated the 12th day after Christmas, January 6th. In the dioceses of the United States this feast has been moved to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. Here is a wonderful explanation of this beautiful feast.

Directions

The Epiphany is the feast of the manifestation of the majesty and divinity of the newborn Savior. As early as the third century, the Eastern Church, in celebrating the birth of the Redeemer, viewed it primarily as the manifestation of God to man. Hence the name Epiphany, which means manifestation, was given to the feast. Toward the end of the fourth century, as the feast gradually came to be known and celebrated in the West, the adoration of the Christ-Child by the Magi or Wise Men was stressed. Soon these sages were looked upon as the Three Kings.

In the West Christ's birthday had already been celebrated for some time on December 25. But with this feast was associated all the poverty and helplessness of the cave of Bethlehem; Mary and Joseph watched beside the crib in poverty, and the shepherds that came to offer their humble worship were equally poor. This aspect was lost sight of in the Feast of the Epiphany. It is true that the Magi found a poor, weak child, attended by poor parents. But through their faith they recognized and acknowledged the helpless Infant as the Redeemer and King of the world, and as such they adored Him, In the Feast of Christmas Christ is shown as man to a few of His chosen souls; in the Feast of the Epiphany, on the other hand, He appears to the whole world as God.

In order to strengthen and reinforce this divine manifestation to the Magi, the Church commemorates on this feast two other incidents, both of which strongly testify to the divinity of Christ: His baptism in the Jordan and the first miracle at the marriage feast in Cana. In this way, the Redeemer, whose coming was known imperfectly at Christmas, is made known to the whole world.

While the Mass of the feast concentrates entirely on the coming of the Magi and their adoration of their new-found King, the Breviary abounds in references to the two other "manifestations." The antiphon for the Magnificat of second Vespers summarizes the threefold significance of the day in words that are unmistakable: "Three miracles glorify this sacred day: today the star led the Magi to the crib; today at the wedding feast water was changed into wine; today Christ willed that John baptize Him in the Jordan so that He might become our Redeemer, Alleluia." Thus we have three supernatural interventions: the star that guided the Magi from the East, the wine miraculously brought into being from water, and the voice of the Father ringing out from the heavens, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17).

Various interpretations have been given for the gifts which the Magi offered the Christ-Child. In the responses at Matins the Church says that the gold represents kingly power, incense the great High Priest, and myrrh the burial of the Lord; and so she depicts the Wise Men offering their gifts to Christ is His threefold character of King, High Priest, and Man. In his homily for the third day within the octave, St. Gregory looks at the gifts from the viewpoint of the givers, and so sees in the gold, wisdom; in the incense, the power of prayer; and in the myrrh, the mortification of the flesh. Both interpretations are worthy of consideration, and some little reflection on them should prompt us to bring all the powers of our intellect to our King, the incense of our prayers to our great High Priest, and the myrrh of our sufferings and labors to our Man-God.

The Epiphany is the high point of Christmas and the fulfillment of Advent. It is the ancient Feast of Christ the King. Its dignity in the liturgy is superior to that of Christmas. Because the feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus, its vigil has long been a day for solemn Baptism. In the present division of the Church year, the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan is commemorated on the octave day of the Epiphany.

If the Feast of Epiphany is to be fully understood as the Church sees it, it will have to be viewed from two aspects: that of God who manifested Himself to man, and that of man, typified in the Magi, who responded with wholehearted faith and love. It is, therefore, a day of faith and grace on which no other prayer ought to take precedence over that petition of the Our Father, "Thy Kingdom Come!" — Excerpted from With Christ Through the Year, Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.

A trip in Christmas season

Last week, I visited my friend Deacon Joseph in St. Louis after 7 years that we met in China, that also as my first trip in U.S. As well, I had a different expirences about the Christmas in US.

After almost 6 hours of flying, the plane safely arrived at St. Loius airport. The weather there likes in Vancouver, at 4pm is already getting dark, and a little bit chill, but my feeling overcame all, above all, the joy of seeing each other. After a brief greeting each other, my friend drove me to see the Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis. The bishop's residence is very close to the Cathedarl Basilica, a large beautiful bulding also is more than 100 years old, and now he is the tenth archbishop of St. Louis. During the conversation with the archbishop Robert, I knew that the Catholic Church in U.S is more active and amazing. The archdiocese has almost 800,000 catholics, 800 priests, 150 parishes and 60 seminarians, St. Louis also is a third oldest city in the West of Mississippi of the United States, more 150 years of history. Soon after, we had a good dinner with the archbishop, his secetray and chancellor. Close to 8pm, we said good night to the archbishop and my friend drove me to the cathedral rectory.

The cathedral of St. Louis is really beautiful, lies on an area out of downtown of St.Louis. It looks like 1/5 of San Peter Basilica, inset of the church, you can see the amazing mosaics everywhere, each of them narrates the Bible's unique fragment. The people call it "The New Cathedral", but it's real new, in fact, it's more than 100 years old. The people just distinguish it beings from "The old cathedral" which built in 1834, near Mississippi river, also is a very nice simple church.

Besides the The New Cathedral, another known historic place is The Gateway Arch. It is one of the newest monuments in the National Park system, and at 630 feet, it is certainly the tallest! The Arch is 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument and over twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. The 60-foot heads carved on the face of Mount Rushmore are designed to the scale of men who would stand 465 feet tall, a height that would easily allow such giants to walk through the legs of the Arch! While the Gateway Arch is America's tallest monument, several buildings, such as New York's Empire State Building (1250 feet) and Chicago's Sears Tower (1454 feet) would loom over the Arch.