1/19/2018 - Friday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time - Samuel 24:3-21

      As we hear our continuing story from first Samuel, we hear about David having the opportunity to kill Saul when Saul enters the cave where David is hiding.  Saul is intent on killing David himself when he enters that cave. The mercy that David showed to Saul in not killing him brings to mind how often revenge is a main motivators in our world today.  

       When I taught high school in Greenville in the Mississippi Delta for 4 years, I realized how revenge and saving face drove how they lived and how they viewed the world.  I saw this reality very negatively affect the lives of the students time and again.  Many of these students would have been unable to show the restraint that David displayed in cutting off the end of Saul's garment and then pointing out to Saul that he could have easily killed him. Yet, even if David had not confronted Saul and had simply allowed Saul to walk out of the cave unharmed without saying anything, the Lord would have known the reality of the situation, and in the end, it is the Lord who judges us and no one else.

        How do we treat those with whom we don't get along?  Who do we consider our enemies?  These are perhaps good questions we can ask ourselves as we hear the story of David and Saul today.  On Monday, January 22, we will be recognizing a day that has been declared a day of penance by the US bishops in recognition of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in our country.  Even though we are not in the season of Advent or Lent, the liturgical color for that day is purple.  Every year, pro-life groups here in Mississippi sponsor a candlelight vigil service at the state capitol building in Jackson centered around this anniversary.  This vigil stands witness to what is still going on in our country today regarding abortion.  May we use God's mercy and love to be witnesses for life as we advocate and to stand up for God's laws and commandments and the eternal truths for which they stand. 

1/18/2018 - Thursday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time - 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7

         We are in the weeks of ordinary time in between the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent.  We have been hearing the story of David and Saul in the book of 1 Samuel this past week.  We just heard about David slaying Goliath yesterday.  Today, we hear about Saul’s jealousy against David, because of the great love and admiration the people have for him.  Saul, out of rage and jealousy, expresses his desire to kill David.  Jonathan, Saul’s son, intervenes on David’s behalf.  You might think that it would be risky for David to trust Jonathan, to trust Saul’s own son, yet at this point in the tale, things seem to work out.  

          We sometimes need intercessors as well. The Church teaches us that the intercessory prayers of the saints, the martyrs of the faith, and the Blessed Virgin Mary are all very helpful in guiding us and leading us along our journey of faith.  I really love learning about the saints, about their teachings and sayings and spirituality, as they encourage me and edify me along my faith journey. 

          We have saints from throughout Church history.  One of the saints listed on the liturgical calendar today is St Prisca, who lived in the middle of the first century.  She is believed to have been a teenager who came from a noble family and who was accused of being a Christian in the reign of the Emperor Claudius in the middle of the first century.  Legend tells that the authorities tried to kill her by different means, but that she miraculously survived until she was beheaded.  A church in her honor on the Aventine hill, one of the seven hills on which the city of Rome was built.   

           May we thank the Lord today for Prisca and all those intercessors we have in the community of saints who help us along our own journey of faith.  

1/17/2018 - St Anthony of the Desert, Abbot - Wednesday of the 2nd week of Ordinary Time - 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20

      We celebrated one of the Desert Fathers earlier in the week – Paul the Hermit.  Today we celebrate the most celebrated of the Desert Fathers – Anthony of Egypt, who was born in the middle of the 3rd century.  St Athanasius of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church and Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, wrote a biography about St Anthony of Egypt, making him very popular in the Early Church. Anthony sold his large inheritance at the age of 20 and moved to the solitude of the desert. The movement of the Desert Fathers that Anthony of Egypt and the other desert hermits exemplified the way these early Christians felt called to live out the simplicity and silence of their faith.  It reminds all of us how important our prayer life is to our faith, how we are to search out those quiet moments where we are to find God’s presence.  

      The Desert Fathers felt called to go back to the simple, bare-boned roots of the Christian faith.  In that context, we hear the story of David and Goliath, in which a confident professional warrior sees a young boy approaching him to fight.  Goliath curses David in the name of his gods and describes how he is going to destroy him and leave his flesh for the wild animals to eat.  David, on the other hand, came into this meeting with Goliath having confidence that the Lord would protect him and keep him safe. David tells Goliath that he comes against him in the name of the Lord, in the name of the God of the armies of Israel whom Goliath has insulted.  While David has confidence in God, he also does his part. He doesn't just sit back and let God do all the work. David had work to do as well.  But, instead of the weapons of an ancient warrior, David brought stones and a sling that a shepherd in ancient Israel would normally carry to protect his flock. Think of the times that we also go through our journey of faith feeling vulnerable and ill equipped, needing to put our trust in the Lord. 

          When we approach goals and problems in life, we are called to see God's presence and will in what we are undertaking.  Nothing is impossible for God, but when we try to take matters in our own hands and ignore God's will and God's path for us in our lives, we will realize that we cannot do it alone and on our own initiative no matter what the battle is. 

1/16/2018 - Tuesday of 2nd week in Ordinary Time – 1 Samuel 16:1-13

     God has rejected Saul as the king of Israel due to his recalcitrance.  God sends Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem, telling Samuel that he has chosen the new king of Israel from among Jesse's sons.   Samuel takes a look at one of Jesse's sons, Eliab, and Samuel is certain that he is the one whom God has chosen.  However, God responds to Samuel that he should not judge according to appearance, because he looks not at the outside appearance, but at the heart. 

     One thing I have learned so much about as a priest is that we think we can know someone's situation from what we ourselves observe and from the outward appearance, but what is going on in someone's heart can be so completely different.  In our society, we can get so caught up into looking at what's on the outside, to the externals that we see. That can be true of ourselves as well.  We are conditioned in our society to make everything look good on the outside, to give a good appearance to the world, to try to get others to think well of us.  But, when we come down to it, it does not matter what everyone else thinks or what our appearance is.  What matters is what God sees and what God knows is going on in our hearts. 

      So, God chose David, a young man whom Samuel and the world thought to be an unlikely choice for king.  May we not be quick to judge by outside appearance.  May we cultivate virtue and integrity in our hearts.  May we not be so concerned with some of the superficiality of outward appearance alone that can occupy so much of our time.

1/15/2018 - Reflection on St Arnold Jansen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word

      The word of God inspired so many of the missionaries of the Church to spread the word throughout the world.  Today is the feast day of St Arnold Jansen, a parish priest from Germany who endured the persecutions of the Catholic Church under Otto von Bismarck, the leader of that country in the late 19th century.  Jansen fled to Holland, where he proposed sending German priests all over the world as missionaries, which eventually led to the founding of the Society of the Divine Word missionaries.  This order of priests was approved by the Vatican in 1901. Shortly thereafter, they came to the United States, where there were many newly arrived immigrants from Germany, including some of my own ancestors who had immigrated to Chicago in the late 19th century.  The SVD priests founded many parishes serving the African American community in our own state of Mississippi, including parishes in Vicksburg, Yazoo City, Greenville, Indianola, and Jackson.  Even in the face of persecution, we can find ways to spread God’s word and keep it alive and vital.

         May the enthusiasm and vigor of Arnold Jansen and the other missionaries of our faith help serve as an inspiration to us all.  May God’s word continue to inspire us and motivate us in our lives.

Pope Francis' Monthly Prayer Intentions - January 2018

Pope Francis has a prayer intention each month.  This is his prayer intention for the month of January 2018.  

Evangelization - Religious Minorities in Asia:  That Christians, and other religious minorities in Asian countries, may be able to practice their faith in full freedom.

Also, pray for Pope Francis as he visits the countries of Chile and Peru next week.  Pray for those two countries.  

Moniciones de la misa - 14 de enero de 2018 - el segundo domingo del tiempo ordinario

Introducción y rito penitencial:

Después de la temporada de navidad, entramos hoy en e tiempo ordinario.  En nuestra misa hoy, tenemos el desafío de seguir en nuestro camion de fe, para tener Cristo como el Cordero de Dios en nuestra vida.  Con humildad, reconozcamos nuestros pecados: 

Señor Jesucristo - tu eres el Cordero de Dios - Señor ten piedad. 

Señor Jesucristo - tu eres el rey de los reyes - Cristo ten piedad. 

Señor Jesucristo - tu eres nuestro Salvador y nuestro Redentor - Señor ten piedad. 

Oraciones de los fieles

Sacerdote:  Como una comunidad de fe, presentamos nuestras peticiones a Dios: 

1. Por los líderes de la Iglesia: para que den testimonio por medio de su propia vida de que Cristo está vivo. Roguemos al Señor.

2. Por el Papa Francisco en su visita a los países de Chile y Peru esta semana - que él puede animar la vida de fe en los fieles.  Roguemos al Señor.  

3. Por los pueblos ricos: para que compartan y sean solidarios con los pobres y los oprimidos del mundo. Roguemos al Señor.

5. Por nuestra juventud: para que sepan responder con generosidad a la llamada de Cristo y lo sigan. Roguemos al Señor.

6. Por nosotros reunidos en el Señor: para que sepamos escucharlo, especialmente cuando nos habla por medio de nuestros semejantes. Roguemos al Señor.

Sacerdote:  Dios Padre, Creador, escucha nuestras oraciones que presentamos en el nombre de Jesucristo, nuestro Señor por los siglos de los siglos.