Today Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord, and Simeon takes him in his arms and blesses the God of Israel with these prophetic words. Today is known as Candlemas, one of the cross-quarter days of the Celtic calendar, midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The light has grown by nearly an hour since Christmas and will continue to grow by leaps and bounds as we make our way to Easter, just nine weeks away! In other words…spring is coming!!

These flowers are called Candlemas Bells…also known as Snowdrops – they are a sign of hope that spring IS going to come and IS going to push winter away! (Although this year we have barely had anything resembling winter around here!) There is a tradition that an angel helped these Candlemas bells to bloom and pointed them as a sign of hope to Eve, who wept in repentance and in despair over the cold and death that entered the world after she and Adam had been cast out of paradise.

The custom of blessing candles on this day is an ancient one. Blessed candles have a sacramental nature – physical objects which contain a spiritual reality and draw us into the presence of the Holy Spirit who shines his light upon us. They reveal to us both the nature and the cost of our Christian vocation.

Today marks the anniversary of death of one of the great witnesses of our times, Father Alfred Delp, S.J., hung in a Nazi prison on February 2, 1945. Throughout his life, Father Delp had a great devotion to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. He prayed constantly for the grace to become like a candle, spending the wax of his life so that others could behold the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness that was the Third Reich. During the final Advent of his life, he wrote a series of sermons from his prison cell about the ultimate personal coming of the Lord which he was about to experience:

“The fate of humankind, my own fate, the verdict awaiting me, the significance of Christmas, can be summed up in the sentence ‘surrender yourself to God and you will find yourself again.’ Others may have you in their power now; they torture and frighten you, hound you from pillar to post. But the inner law of freedom sings that no death can kill us, life is eternal.”

Father Alfred Delp, and all martyrs of the culture of death, orate pro nobis…teach us and obtain for us that freedom in the Holy Spirit which will enable us to joyfully surrender to the sword of the Word of God that pierces our heart and draws us to the Cross.

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the conversion of Saint Paul was probably the most important event in the Church’s history. The preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, the evangelization of the Roman Empire, and the writing of the majority of the New Testament all flowed from this personally transforming moment of grace. At the opening of the Year of Saint Paul back in 2008, Pope Benedict preached at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls about what exactly happened to Saint Paul in the moment of his conversion:

“We have gathered near the tomb of St Paul, who was born 2,000 years ago at Tarsus in Cilicia, in present-day Turkey. … For us Paul is not a figure of the past whom we remember with veneration. He is also our teacher, an Apostle and herald of Jesus Christ for us too. … Let us not ask ourselves only: who was Paul? Let us ask ourselves above all: who is Paul? What does he say to me? In the Letter to the Galatians, St Paul gives a very personal profession of faith in which he opens his heart to readers of all times and reveals what was the most intimate drive of his life. “I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2: 20). All Paul’s actions begin from this center. His faith is the experience of being loved by Jesus Christ in a very personal way. It is awareness of the fact that Christ did not face death for something anonymous but rather for love of him – of Paul – and that, as the Risen One, he still loves him; in other words, Christ gave himself for him. Paul’s faith is being struck by the love of Jesus Christ, a love that overwhelms him to his depths and transforms him. His faith is not a theory, an opinion about God and the world. His faith is the impact of God’s love in his heart. Thus, this same faith was love for Jesus Christ.” (Homily for the Opening of the Pauline Year)

I know myself as one loved by Jesus Christ. In essence, this is what we are saying when we profess the Creed, pray the Our Father, open up the Bible, or invoke the Holy Spirit. If at times we might struggle to see this love in our daily lives because of the presence of suffering, that difficulty in no way changes the truth of our identity we have received in our Baptism.  Let Saint Paul’s example of receiving God’s love, from which everything else in his vocation flowed, inspire you to have the courage to do the same. Holy Spirit, as you burned brightly in Saint Paul’s heart and soul and inspired his courageous witness to the Gospel, we ask you to fill each one of us with the same confidence in the Father’s love, so that we can bear every hardship with courage and boldly show others how immensely and abundantly they too are loved.

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

“A new century, a new millennium are opening in the light of Christ. But not everyone can see this light. Ours is the wonderful and demanding task of becoming its ‘reflection’. This is the mysterium lunae, which was so much a part of the contemplation of the Fathers of the Church, who employed this image to show the Church’s dependence on Christ, the Sun whose light she reflects. It was a way of expressing what Christ himself said when he called himself the ‘light of the world’ (Jn 8:12) and asked his disciples to be ‘the light of the world’ (Mt 5:14).” — Novo millennio ineunte, 54

The saints, God’s holy ones, are each in their own unique way moons gently lighting the way for those in darkness.  And remember, anyone who is baptized is already numbered among God’s holy ones - so we are meant to be moons who light the way for others. Sunlight can at times be overwhelming and even painful to look at for those whose eyes are not able to handle its intensity…the moon is in a mysterious way more inviting, possessing its own unique beauty, and a promise of the dawn to come that fills the heart with a song of hope.

Whenever I am struggling for whatever reason, I try to pick up and read the life of a saint, even if just an anecdote or two.  It never fails that when I do I find something to encourage me in whatever trial, big or small, I am going through. The saints help me to remember who and where I am – a pilgrim on a long journey that others have made before me. Those who have already completed the journey are cheering me on and interceding for me for the grace to persevere the way they did…and in some small way I receive new strength for the journey. 

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

When I lived in Rome as a student-priest during the years 2002-2005, I was privileged on many occasions to serve at the altar and distribute Holy Communion at the public Masses of Blessed John Paul II. During those final years of his life, the Pope was very weak and often required a good deal of assistance to offer Mass and preach. It was amazing to see his determination and stamina as the once athletic young man had to summon every ounce of his strength in order to mount the stairs to the altar or to give a homily.

One of the themes that JP2 spoke about frequently in his final years was “contemplating the face of Christ.” He understood this contemplation as the primary vocation of the Church in our time and the place from which all other witness and service to the Kingdom must flow. Here’s another excerpt from his letter on the beginning of the new millennium:

“‘Your face, O Lord, I seek’ (Ps 27:8).

The ancient longing of the Psalmist could receive no fulfilment greater and more surprising than the contemplation of the face of Christ. God has truly blessed us in him and has made “his face to shine upon us” (Ps 67:1).

At the same time, God and man that he is, he reveals to us also the true face of man, ‘fully revealing man to man himself.’” (Novo millenio ineunte, 23)

Guided by the Light of the Holy Spirit, we ask Jesus to show us his face in prayer, where he comes to us in Word and Sacrament, so that then we can then discover his face present each day in the world around us. 

The Christian vocation is thus simple yet challenging:

We are called to see the serenity of Christ, the man of abundant trust in the Father’s love, and then show that same trust ourselves to others who are seeking him:

We are called to gaze with wonder on the child born in Bethlehem and then see his face in the wonder of human life:

(This is my new niece, Gemma Rose Auger, born on January 6 -  I just met her for the first time yesterday!!

Pretty cute,                don’t you think?)

And as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said, we are called to see his face even and especially when he wears the distressing disguise of the sick and poor:

And so, in every place and in every moment, the Church, which is the new Israel, cries out, “Show us your face, O Lord!”

And, if we wait for the Lord with courage, we will discover that Christ is among us.

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,

“What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.

John 1: 38-39

Happy Lord’s Day!! Make some time to spend with Jesus today, and you will not regret it!

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

So, what did Blessed John Paul II mean when he called our generation to be the “morning watchmen” of the Third Millennium? He drew on an image from the prophet Isaiah, who is asked, “Watchman, how much longer the night?” He replies, “Morning has come, and again night,” and then he tells his inquirers to come back again (Isaiah 21:11-12).

The prophet’s mysterious answer contains several meanings:

First, he is a watchman who is looking for the dawn, that is, he is surrounded by much darkness, yet he is confident that, if he is patient, it is inevitable that the sun is going to rise.

Second, his answer indicates that although the light has come, there is still much darkness along with the light. This is of course a paradox. Christianity is the religion of paradoxes! Death leads to life, the last become first, God becomes man, the greatest must be the servant…Here the mysterious paradox is that although the light has come, there is still much darkness remaining in the world. The coming of Christ into the world has not yet definitively destroyed darkness, there remains a great struggle between light and darkness, and all of us have a part to play in this struggle.

Lastly, the prophet tells his listeners to come back again; that is, if they persevere in their demand, they will see the dawn from on high and the light of the day that will know no sunset.

John Paul the Great’s message to our generation was very perceptive, realistic, and yet so encouraging! He perceived that the darkness would be great and even seem to have the upper hand at times. The temptation to discouragement can be overwhelming when we see the many ways in which our culture discards faith and lives as if there were nothing more than this material world. There is also the reality of our own sinfulness, the darkness within each one of us against which we have to struggle (and if you are anything like me, that struggle can be fierce at times!)

The great witness we are called to give the world as Christians is our confident assurance that the light, who is Jesus Christ, has already won and one day very soon will definitively win the victory. Our call as we await his victory is to stand firm in our commitment to heartfelt prayer, listening attentively to the voice of the Father’s Beloved Son. This prayer is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us how to contemplate the beauty of God’s presence in creation and to point out his presence to our brothers and sisters who may be tempted to give up hope when they see so much darkness around us.

Holy Spirit, strengthen our hope, encourage those who are struggling, and shine into our darkness with the light that will guide us on the path of holiness!

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

P.S. Here’s one of my favorite clips of a morning watchman at work – Gandalf encouraging a frightened little hobbit who is about to give up hope!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rag_9J1ZC2g

This is the question every Christian is asked at his or her Baptism, responding “I do” to the profession of faith.  Because the answer can only be given personally in the here and now (not in the past, or in the future, but today), I’d like to ask this question even more specifically and personally:

Do you wish to make this year 2012 holy?

If the answer is yes, then we immediately find ourselves – now, in this moment - in the company of the saints, God’s holy ones! They are people just like us – sinners by birth, struggling day by day to love God by seeing him in the face of each person as they go through each day of their life. Each of them have unique struggles and unique challenges – no two saints are alike!! The call to holiness is always uniquely personal and mysterious. But for each person the key is always a commitment to prayer, in which we open our hearts to the quiet presence of the Holy Spirit and ask him to speak to us his word of mercy and peace – so that we in turn can bestow that gift on others.

So this year 2012 is a unique and unrepeatable moment of grace for you – and the Holy Spirit is just waiting for you to ask him to assist you with his anointing and fire so that you can set your world on fire.

Here is a great prayer written by my friend Saint Faustina Kowalska:

O My God,
When I look into the future, I am frightened,
But why plunge into the future?
Only the present moment is precious to me,
As the future may never enter my soul at all.

It is no longer in my power to change, correct or add to the past;
For neither sages nor prophets could do that.
And so what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire.
I desire to use you as best I can.
And although I am weak and small,
You grant me the grace of Your omnipotence.

And so, trusting in Your mercy,
I walk through life like a little child,
Offering You each day this heart
Burning with love for Your greater Glory.

— From her Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, Notebook 1 (1)

Come Holy Spirit, make 2012 holy by showing me the unique and personal path you would have me follow.

Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

Happy Epiphany!! At the beginning of the New Year, it is a tradition to bless homes with holy water and blessed chalk, writing the year along with the initials of the Three Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) separated by the Cross, above the door of the home. It is a way of asking Christ to bless each person in the home as well as to bless each person who visits during the coming year. Each time somebody goes in or out of the house, he or she comes through the doorway and passes under the Cross, receiving Christ’s blessing! “The Lord will guard your going and coming, now and forever” (Psalm 121).

The Feast of the Epiphany seemed to me like a fitting day to begin blogging for “Live Greater!”  Today is the day on which the Light of Christ was revealed to all the nations of the world, represented in the persons of the Three Magi who came to Bethlehem to adore the Newborn King. It is day on which the Church is reminded of her mission to evangelize all the peoples of the world, even to the ends of the earth. The gift of God’s abundant love and mercy which we have celebrated at Christmas is not meant to be packed away when we take down our Christmas tree! The Feast of the Epiphany calls us to proclaim and share the Good News, everywhere we go with everyone we meet.

It was on the Feast of the Epiphany in 2001 that Blessed John Paul II issued his great Apostolic Letter about the new millennium, known in Latin as “Duc in altum” or “Put out into the deep!” These are the words of Christ to Saint Peter (Luke 5:6), inviting Peter to go further than he had ever gone before in trust so that Jesus could bless him more abundantly. The late great Holy Father applied these words to the Church as she entered the twenty-first century and the Third Millennium of Christianity.  The Church (that’s us!!) is called by Christ to “put out into the deep” by choosing to follow Christ totally and with trust.  The Pope especially addressed his invitation to young people, assuring them that Jesus Christ is the secret of true freedom and profound joy, the supreme friend and the teacher of all genuine friendship. “For this reason, I do not hesitate to ask them [young people] to make a radical choice of faith and life and present them with a stupendous task: to become “morning watchmen” (Isaiah 21:11-12) at the dawn of the new millennium.

I hope to reflect more on what it means to be “morning watchmen” in the days and weeks ahead. For now, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to be poured forth abundantly upon each one of us (upon the entire Church!), so that we can each be, uniquely and personally, courageous witnesses to the Light who has shone into our darkness today, Jesus Christ, the King of all Creation. Mother Mary, Star of the Third Millennium, pray for us!

Father Peter Mitchell

Matthew 14:22-33

This gospel reading has totally changed my life.  I spent six years of my life in high school and college straying from the Church and Jesus Christ.  I had rejected his free gift of grace for me and chose to do what I wanted to do.  Had I died at that time in my life and I would have gone to Hell.  The sad thing is that I didn’t even care about it.  Reading these words at the end of my Junior year in college is just what I needed.

You see I think I am a lot like Peter.  I believe he would have been a man’s man.  I think he would have been quite prideful to.  Heck, if you read through the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and he shows he was definitely not afraid to speak his mind, even if it meant putting his foot in his mouth.  He was courageous as well.  In MT 14 he just wanted to go out to Jesus on the sea.  He wanted to walk where Jesus was walking.  Jesus told him to come out to him and Peter followed.  The only problem was he lost faith and he began to sink.  At that point he yelled out, “Lord, save me.”  It then says that Jesus Immediately stretched out his had and saved Peter.  Jesus didn’t just wait around and think about it.  He did it right away. 

When I was a Junior in college I finally cried out Lord, save me.  I did it in the Sacrament of Confession.  You know what Jesus did?  That’s right he immediately reached out his hand and saved me.  He did this through the priest who heard my Confession.  I know try to go weekly and every time I cry out Lord, save me.  Every single time Jesus does.  He loves me and he loves you too.  Go to him this last week of Advent and cry out to him in Confession.  He won’t even hesitate to bring you out!  Confession gives us both Christ’s mercy and his grace.  Grace is like strenght to help us ward off the temptations of the devil.  Go, seek out Jesus.  Get out of the boat and go to him!!!!!

Tony