Laudet Dominum

How much do we really think about salt? For most of us, not much. It’s just something we usually have available at our dining table or on the counter top while cooking. Some of us have to watch how much salt is in our diet due to medical conditions. We also use salt for other purposes, such as to deice the walks and driveways during this winter season.

Salt, however, is an incredible substance. Just a little bit can bring out lots of flavor in our foods. It can work as a preservative for foods that we might want to keep from spoiling for months or even years. It dilutes into water and lowers the temperature where ice forms, which is why we use it on our walks, while also raising the boiling point. Salt is a very simple substance that affects everything it touches, but often becomes invisible while doing it.

Looking at it this way, it’s easy to see why Our Lord called us to be the salt of the earth. As Christians, we are called to influence the world subtly, not drawing attention to ourselves, but allowing our quiet influence to bring out the “flavor” of Christ in the world. We are called to preserve that which is good and holy, protecting it from the destructive elements of sin. Our influence can keep our culture from becoming “frozen” and rigid, while also protecting against “boiling over” into violence.

The challenge for us as Christians is to use our influence within the culture, but to do so while “diluting” into the culture so that we don’t stand out. Our very lives need to bring the flavor of Christianity to the whole world, doing so unconsciously as just a part of our day-to-day living. The greatest compliment we could ever receive as Christians is to go unnoticed for our acts of love toward our neighbors.

This, of course, goes contrary to human nature. We want to be recognized. We want people to notice us and give us credit for our work. The corruption of sin on our souls leads to the temptation towards pride, so that our “flavor” is tasted and not Christ’s. Just as salt can become overpowering and end up hurting the flavor of food, our pride can cause us to become more important than Our Lord. Obviously, we want to avoid this!

As Christians, we do need to be the salt of the earth. Just as humble salt does so much for us, we need to be humble salt for Our Lord!

Every year on February 2nd, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the feast that marks the day that Our Lord was first presented in the temple 40 days after his birth. Mary and Joseph did this to fulfill the requirements of the Mosaic Law for a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God and ritual purification of the mother.

One traditional name for this feast is Candlemas. Because the Presentation celebrates the light of Christ coming into the world to scatter the darkness of sin, it was customary to bless the candles that will be used for Mass throughout the coming year. This practice has faded away in many places, but a remnant remains in the blessing of individual candles and procession.

As Catholics, we know that blessed objects have spiritual power. Many sacramentals, such as Rosaries and medals, are blessed to provide spiritual protection and aid. Blessed candles are especially powerful helps to our prayer life, and provide a strong support against evil.

So, what can we use these candles for? The first, and most obvious use, is to light during our times of prayer. The light of the flame represents Jesus, the Light of the World, present to us. Observing candle flames can help to focus our thoughts and guide us spiritually in our time with Our Lord.

A blessed candle is a great tool against the power of darkness and evil. Traditionally, the Rite of Exorcism would use a blessed candle to show the power of the Light of Christ against the darkness of the devil. When temptations to sin come, especially at night, the light of a blessed candle can help to dispel those temptations.

Even natural dangers can be eased through the light of a blessed candle. A long standing tradition is to light a blessed candle for protection against storms, such as the blizzards that arrive every winter or the severe thunderstorms that rumble through the summer evenings. Of course, there is also a practical effect: the candle can be used for a bit of light when the power goes out after sunset.

This year, I encourage you keep your blessed candle in a place where you might pray, and allow the candle to show the Light of Christ to your families and to the world!

One of the greatest fruits of the Second Vatican Council was the renewed focus on and desire for the Sacred Scriptures. Although the Church has always venerated and encouraged knowledge of the Scriptures, that didn’t always translate into encouragement on the parish and individual levels. Many stories have been told of pastors and bishops who discouraged their people from reading the Scriptures, and so biblical literacy suffered within the Catholic Church.

Today, however, there is a great desire and encouragement to study and read the Scriptures. We almost have an embarrassment of riches in helping us understand the Word of God. Translations, commentaries, reflections, bible studies, homilies, videos, and much more are easily available. In some cases, we can find out everything we want to know about the Scriptures with just a click of a mouse.

The challenge now is to separate “the wheat from the chaff,” to use the image from the Scriptures itself. The abundance of resources means that both good and bad are equally available. We need to find people and organizations that are trustworthy for their faithfulness to the teachings of Christ passed from generation to generation through His Church. Just because a particular commentary or reflection sounds good to us and agrees with what we think doesn’t mean that the commentator is expressing something in line with Our Lord.

For those who desire to study the Scriptures, permit me to make a couple recommendations. A great source for both audio and video commentaries, as well as individual and group study programs, is the Formed.org site that we have available free of charge for us, and contains a lot of great content. Dr. Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center is also a great source, including a weekly commentary on the upcoming readings for Sunday Mass. We even have a great Scripture scholar within our diocese, with Fr. Joe Ponessa and his Come and See series of books. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but a good start to better understanding the Word of God.

Through the Scriptures, we can hear Jesus speaking to us, if we are open and are willing to seek Him out. The great wealth of resources available help us to do that!

We all have our daily routines. Some may start out the morning with coffee and watching morning TV, while others might immediately jump in the shower. Some may fill their evenings with activities, while others are content to relax at home. These daily routines occasionally get interrupted, but that’s rare for most of us.

In many ways, the Church has its daily routines. Prayer, Masses, meetings and so on. Other than big feasts and celebrations, these routines go on day in and day out regardless of season.

Daily routines in themselves aren’t bad. As human beings, we are creatures of habit, and routines free our thoughts for other, more important tasks and decisions. Most of us don’t have to plan out our mornings, for example, because we do the same things morning after morning.

Last week, after the Baptism of the Lord, we entered into what the Church calls Ordinary Time. This is the period of the liturgical year not covered by Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter seasons. It’s the part of the year where the Church slips into its daily routines without worrying about upcoming major feasts and solemnities.

Ordinary Time is really the reminder that everything in our lives needs to be sanctified, especially the ordinary, routine moments of life. St. Paul reminds us in the second reading this week, “you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy…”.

We have been sanctified by Christ, so we are called to be holy! One important way to do this is to take more of St. Paul’s encouragement that he gives us elsewhere (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18): “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” This is the call of Ordinary Time summed up in a couple sentences.

One saint I personally admire is St. Josemaria Escriva, who founded the movement Opus Dei in Spain. Although he died in 1975, his movement has spread throughout the world based on a simple message: God is calling all of us to be holy and that living our ordinary lives can result in that holiness. Although St. Josemaria goes into great detail of how to answer that call and seek holiness, it basically is summed up in St. Paul’s encouragement to always rejoice and pray unceasingly. I highly encourage everyone to look up his writings online, as many are available for free, and learn from him the path of holiness in our ordinary lives and daily routines.

As Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN, liked to say, “We’re all called to be great saints. Don’t miss the opportunity!”

Throughout my priesthood, I’ve found great joy in the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. Some of my fondest memories have come through this beautiful Sacrament. In one case, the child to be baptized would light up in a big, contagious smile every time I looked at him, which made it hard to continue the ritual without breaking out in laughter. A couple other times, I had the opportunity to bring entire families into the Church, including baptising all their children. It truly has been a joy for my priesthood.

It’s good to reflect on the experience of the Sacrament of Baptism in our lives. Do we remember the date of our baptisms? Have we heard stories of our own baptisms as infants, or do you remember the event if you were baptized at a later age? Do we ever stop and think about the importance of the Sacrament in our lives, not just at the moment of baptism but throughout our life’s journey?

This weekend is a great time to think about that event. Each and every one of us have received powerful and amazing gifts through the Sacrament, but do we recognize them? There is an unfortunate trend to view the Sacrament as something you have to do after having a child, sometimes due to the “encouragement” of grandparents. Others seem to view baptism as an elaborate initiation ritual, done to initiate the child into the Church, but has no further effect or responsibilities.

Of course, baptism is considered one of the Sacraments of Initiation. It is how we became Christians, followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ and members of His Body here on earth. It is an important event, and one we shouldn’t take likely. It is also a great moment of joy, worth celebrating and remembering.

However, it’s not a stand-alone event to be celebrated, then forgotten. At the moment of our baptisms, we were renewed, made new by the grace of Christ. As we entered the waters of baptism, we died to the old, and we rose out of the waters to the new. No longer would original sin cut us off from God, but now the gates of Heaven were opened to us! A laudable practice would be to celebrate the anniversary of baptism out of gratitude for this great gift from God.

This feast of the Baptism of the Lord is also a great reminder to us of the need to renew ourselves in our baptismal promises. For most of us, these promises were made on our behalf by our parents and godparents. Fortunately, we’ve been given opportunities since then to renew those promises and make that choice for ourselves. These promises are simple: reject Satan and sin, and embrace and follow the Triune God and His Church. They really are a call to being a disciple of Christ with our very lives.

Happy New Year and a Blessed Feast of the Epiphany! As we start 2020, many of us are taking the time to evaluate our lives and set goals for how we wish to change throughout this new year. We might make resolutions on how we’re going to live 2020 different than we have 2019 and before. Perhaps we’re setting goals for physical fitness or healthy eating. Maybe we’re giving up an unhealthy habit or behavior. We might even try changing how we treat others and the respect we show to those around us.

While we might not always keep our New Year’s resolutions, just the action of evaluating our lives and desiring some change to make us better is laudable. When we were baptized, we received the great gift of the Holy Spirit, who remains with us throughout the rest of our lives. One of the constant calls of the Holy Spirit is to conversion of heart, turning back to God and away from anything that keeps us from Him. The desire at New Year’s to undertake resolutions for change can be a subconscious recognition of that call for conversion, and is an opportunity to answer that call.

It’s appropriate that the Feast of the Epiphany comes during the time that we are undertaking these resolutions. While Christmas celebrates the birth of Our Lord, Epiphany commemorates the revealing of the birth of Christ to the world. We see this through the Three Wise Men following the star to Him.

Like the star shining in the sky leading them to the Christ child, Our Lord is the Light of the Word come into the world. His light is shining in our lives, showing us the way to Him. As we seek to set our New Year’s goals, perhaps we can turn towards the Light of Christ by making spiritual growth one of our resolutions. This is a great time to step up our spiritual practices, especially around silent prayer and study of the Scriptures and Church teachings.

As we begin 2020, now is a good time to welcome the Light of the World into our lives, and allow that light to lead us closer to God and each other.