Category Archives: Uncategorized

While it’s very much dark outside, we come together in this beautifully lit and decorated church with all the Christmas lights and candles to remember not the darkness of sin, but the light of Christ shining throughout the world.  This is the light of the Lord’s glory that came upon the shepherds sitting in the dark of night with their sheep.  This is the light promised by the prophet Isaiah to “the people who walked in darkness”.  This is the light that we recall at the Easter Vigil, and is symbolized by the Easter candle shining in the darkened church.

This light did not come into the world with a grand show, but rather under humble, simple means.  This King of Kings and Lord of Lords came into the world as a child born to humble parents, not great rulers.  His coming was announced to shepherds in a field, not to noblemen and women in mighty palaces.  For the great majority of people alive at the time of Our Lord’s birth, it went completely unnoticed.

Yet, His coming was truly a glorious event worthy of great rejoicing.  As St. Paul reminds us, we celebrate tonight “as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own.”  We remember the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ because He came into the world to free us from the darkness of sin.  Just as lighting a single candle can break the darkness of night, the coming of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, breaks the darkness of sin in our lives.  When we look at the beautiful Christmas lights that we use to decorate as we celebrate this special and blessed season, we should always remember that Jesus, the Light of the World, shines through the darkness of sin in our lives the way those lights shine through the darkness of night.

Tonight, the Advent season is over, and we begin the celebration of the Christmas season.  Note that we are just now beginning the Christmas season, not ending it.  May we spend this season joyfully praising Jesus Christ, the Light of the World who came into the world to save us.

As Catholics, we do believe that chronic suffering can be made beneficial for those suffering and for all humanity by uniting it with the suffering of Our Lord during His Passion, and for that reason alone should oppose euthanasia. We must also be concerned that the availability of euthanasia has given a door to medical personal and health insurance corporations to save money by merely terminating the lives of those who are facing a long-term, expensive illness. They treat life as worth saving only if the person can provide some material worth after the treatment is completed. This utilitarian view is contrary to the respect that all human life deserves, and treats humans as tools to disposed of when broken or worn out.

Humans are not tools, but are unique beings made in the image and likeness of God. We must oppose any law, any philosophy, any action that treats humans otherwise. This letter should be sent to every state and nation that has passed or is considering euthanasia laws.

According to an article on the movie and the original incident, the entire movie was produced without computer-generated special effects. The trains and locomotives were real, and the sounds came from actual railway equipment. I didn’t feel like this hampered the excitement level, but rather enhanced it.

Another thing I greatly appreciated was the lack of a sex scene. Repeat after me: if a movie has to throw in a sex scene just to get people to see it, it’s not a good movie. Period. Too many movies now include a totally gratuitous sex scene that adds nothing to the plot, just gives the hot actress a chance to show off what she’s got. The closest they get is the train engineer’s daughters working at Hooters. Yes, the outfits are racy, but no sexual act is shown. That’s a good thing, and I appreciate it.

A bit of a caveat: profanity is used throughout the movie, especially bodily functions, but it also has God’s name taken in vain. While I dislike hearing those words in the movie, it is quite appropriate. Some of the railroaders I’ve met are quite familiar with those words, and use them whenever possible.

I doubt anyone in Hollywood will ever see this post, but if they do, let me sum this up: I enjoyed this movie that did not have an unnecessary sex scene and did not have unnecessary computer-generated special effects, but did have good writing and acting. More movies like this, please!

Our Scripture passages today show us two men who are facing periods of uncertainty in their lives. Ahaz was the king of Judah about 700 years before Jesus came to Earth. Jerusalem was under siege by foreign armies and could fall at any time. Ahaz was, understandably, frightened and unsure what to do next, but he knew that his life was over if the city walls were breached by the armies. The prophet Isaiah came to him with a word of comfort.

Joseph is, of course, the husband of Mary. He found out that his wife, to whom he had been betrothed but had not completed the marriage rituals, was pregnant. They hadn’t had marital relations, so he knew it wasn’t his child. He was likely confused, concerned, maybe a bit angry. “How could this happen?” An angel from God appeared to him in a dream and provided a message of comfort.

That message of comfort is not only given to Ahaz and Joseph, but is also given to us today as we prepare for the coming of Jesus during this Advent season. That message is “Emmanuel”: “God is with us.” This Jesus truly is God who is with us. As Christians, those “who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,” in the words of St. Paul, we have been united with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit when we received Baptism and again during Confirmation.

Because we have been united with Him, He is always there with us. In our times of joy or sorrow, boredom or excitement, certainty or uncertainty, Jesus is there. When we gather in His name, He is present among us to provide His graces and comfort. When we reach out to Him in anguish, He is there to respond in love. We may not realize it, but He is spiritually present to us every moment of our lives.

Of course, there is another way in which He is present. We know that He is present in a special sacramental way through His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Some may try to minimize his presence in the Blessed Sacrament, saying that it is a “lesser” presence than being physically present, but it is no less present than we are to each other. Jesus is here in the tabernacle, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament, even if our senses don’t understand the change of bread and wine into Jesus Himself.

At those times where we need a message of comfort, turn to Emmanuel, God is with us. Our Lord is present to us, we just need to turn to Him and ask for that comfort.

Today’s readings include two of the most important prophets in the history of salvation. The first reading comes from the prophet Isaiah, who is considered to be the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. The Gospel includes John the Baptist, the last of the prophets before the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Both of these figures provide examples of the role of prophecy in the story of salvation. The reading from Isaiah is a proclamation of hope towards the Kingdom of Heaven. John the Baptist’s purpose was to call the Jewish people back to God and point them to Christ. Between the two, we get a clear picture of what it means to be a prophet of God.

John the Baptist is said to be the last prophet, because the role of prophet passed to Our Lord when He became incarnate. The prophets in the Old Testament were part of the Old Covenant between God and the people of Israel. Our Lord, however, was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King for the New Covenant which He established through His Blood.

As members of the Body of Christ, visible in the world through the Church, we share in these roles of priest, prophet and king. Notice that we share in Christ’s role as prophet. As Christians, followers of Christ, we are called to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the whole world. This Good News, the Gospel of Christ, is the message of hope that we have for the Kingdom of Heaven, and echos the message proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah: “Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense, he comes to save you.” (Is 35:4)

Yes, our role as Christians is to proclaim the Good News that our God has come to save us, and that salvation is open to all who accept and follow Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a message we should be proclaiming with our lips, but it is also a message that we should be proclaiming throughout our whole lives. Everything we do and say should proclaim our faith and love for Our Lord and our hope for his salvation.

An example of this is Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her life on Earth was spent humbly pointing others to Her son. From the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel, to the wedding at Cana, and even at the foot of the Cross, her posture was always one of humble submission which leads people to Christ. Through her apparitions, which have occurred throughout the history of the Church, Our Lady fulfills the role of prophet for Her Son by announcing the message of hope promised in the Kingdom of Heaven and by pointing all humanity to Christ.

This Sunday is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrating the apparition of Our Lady in 1531 at Tepyac Hill in what is now Mexico City. This appearance of Our Lady and the message of hope embodied in it – hope literally embodied, as she appears pregnant with Our Lord in the image which remains to this day – led to the miraculous conversion of the Aztec people to the Catholic faith.

Just as Our Lady proclaims the message of hope to the whole world, we too are called to proclaim that same message. As individuals, each and every one of us should seek the conversion of all to Our Lord, both inside and outside the Church, as well as ourselves. Even those of us who have been baptized Catholics need to hear this call to conversion, to turn again (as the word ‘conversion’ means) to Our Lord.

If we take seriously our faith in Christ and our desire to enter into His salvation, may we boldly and patiently proclaim the Gospel to the whole world for the conversion of ourselves and for all humanity.

To help us understand how Mary fits in to the history of salvation, we go all the way back to the beginning of the Scriptures. Our first reading shows us the result of the Original Sin – the embarrassment at being naked by Adam and Eve – and the blame being passed for that sin. There is also a message of hope in this passage, as it makes the promise that one would come to save us from the effects of sin in our lives.

Of course we know as Christians who that savior is: Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is often a contrast made between Adam and Jesus. Adam sought to become like God, as the serpent temped him to do, but Jesus lowered himself from His equality with God when He chose to become human. Adam died because of sin, but Jesus died to conquer sin.

In addition, a contrast is made between Eve and Mary. Eve said “yes” to the temptation of the Devil, and became sinful. Our Lady said “yes” to God, and was made sinless from her very first moment of existence. Eve lost the perfection of paradise by her pride, but Mary gained sinless perfection by her humility.

Because of these comparisons, Jesus and Mary are often referred to as the New Adam and Eve. The first Adam and Eve cooperated in allowing sin’s entrance into the world, but Jesus and Mary, the New Adam and Eve, cooperated in conquering sin in the world. Through Mary’s “yes”, we can now share in the adoption that St. Paul tells us God destined for us; an adoption as sons and daughters of God.

As adopted sons and daughters of God our Heavenly Father, we are challenged to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary in saying “yes” to God’s will for our lives, as we are all called to participate in God’s plan of salvation. This morning, following my reflection on the radio, I played a song called “Look Like a Fool” by the Catholic artist Matt Maher. The first line goes, “All God’s creatures got a place in the choir”. We all have a place in God’s plan of salvation. The challenge for us as Christians is to open ourselves to finding that place, and to respond with the same “yes” that Mary did: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

This evening, as we celebrate this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, may we echo Mary’s “yes” with our own, and take our places in God’s loving plan of salvation.