• Isaiah 7:10-14. At a time when the Davidic dynasty was threatened severely, even with the loss of the throne, Isaiah promised survival but through God alone.
• Romans 1: 1-7. Paul has been designated to announce the Gospel – Jesus Christ, “descended from David according to the flesh but… Son of God… by his resurrection.”
• Matthew 1: 18-24. A tradition centering in Joseph recalls Jesus’ virginal conception as announced through the prophets.

Thoughts for Your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

We are coming towards the end of the Advent season. The readings call to mind the Divine plan which called for the birth of the savior. Isaiah offers his prophesy regarding the birth of Emmanuel to King Ahaz of Judah as a miraculous symbol of Divine hope for a period of great national stress. Paul describes the mystery of the incarnation as part of the gospel creed and the hope for the early Christian community in Rome. In the Gospel reading according to Matthew the miraculous circumstances regarding the birth of Jesus are narrated to us through the eyes of Joseph who is both righteous and compassionate. Joseph struggles with the social implications of this event but through the power of faith that graces his intuition he is able to identify the great salvific hope that will be born to them.

These readings set up for us the exciting context for celebrating Christmas. They describe to us the foretold birth of Christ and we can get excited over the message in preparation for the festivities of the week. But if we take the time to contemplate each of these readings and appreciate the dire situation from which each of them where written in we will be feeling something other than excitement.  Instead we may end up with a healthy amount of anguish and trepidation for what is to come. In all three cases (King Ahaz, Joseph, and the early Christian community in Rome) each is being given a message of hope that can only be accepted in faith as they each are asked to take their first step into the deep unknown. At Christmas we celebrate the foretold gift of hope, a gift in the midst of a suffering world, a gift that will challenge all of us to have faith in a hope that is not of our own making and which places us in the midst of the social suffering of our world.

Let us explore the situation of King Ahaz. Ahaz, the King of Judah, reigned in the midst of social upheaval. The armies of Syria and Northern Israel formed an alliance against Assyria. Ahaz would not join the alliance and so the two armies strategized to take over Jerusalem and set up a puppet government which would concede to the alliance. Ahaz was rightfully concerned that a war against Assyria was folly. So instead of joining the alliance with Israel and Syria he contemplated forming a military alliance with Assyria. Here is where Isaiah comes in. He counsels Ahaz against forming an alliance that will eventually reduce Judah to rubble. Instead Isaiah’s advice to Ahaz is to wait out the crisis and “remain tranquil and do not fear.” Scripture Scholars suggest that Isaiah analyzed that Assyria would finish off with the two rebel states of Israel and Syria soon (which they did) and felt that it would be folly to place oneself into a relationship of submission to the Assyrians. In this situation Isaiah offers Ahaz a prophesy of hope regarding the birth of Emmanuel. This prophesy was to symbolize two things. For the interest of Ahaz it symbolized the preservation of the Davidic lineage. But it also signified hope in the midst of tribulation, new life in the midst of impending destruction. Ahaz does not concede to Isaiah  and engages the Assyrians. The Kingdom of Judah has lost faith, “unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm.” The birth of hope is instead brought to bear with the astounding faith of another member of the Davidic lineage, a lowly carpenter who faces a troubling pre-marital situation.

The central message of each of these readings is that hope is alive in the midst of our own social or personal tribulations. As the year 2010 draws to a close we face many social upheavals that can leave us without any faith for the future. Our global economy, domestic social welfare, political and military conflicts are all in turmoil. Where can we identify our hope in these times? Do we now compromise our faith with other organizations or ideologies out there that give us some semblance of comfort and stability? Like Ahaz, should we close in on ourselves with a narrow definition of community or nation and out of fear submit ourselves to the policies of those who appear economically and politically strong? No, Scripture has never presented that as a solution.  Our faith is in God, the God of the poor and the suffering, the God who promises justice, mercy and forgiveness time and time again. The non-violent prince of peace is our true hope, our way to address the violent and unjust challenges in our world. It is a path wrought with suffering as we promote policies of fairness; justice and compassion to all our brothers and sisters who need our help. It is a path that will bring us ridicule as we tirelessly advocate for peace and nonviolence to a world that is nurtured in conflict and violence. It is an unpopular path but according to the prophets it is the only sure path we have.

• Sirach 24: 1-4, 8-12. Wisdom proclaims her life with God before the creation of the world. Afterwards she wandered the world restlessly until she fixed her abode at the Jerusalem temple.
• Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18. Before creation God predestined us in Christ as the object of his love and as his very own adopted children Paul prays that we can be enlightened in the great hope to which God has called us.
• John 1:1-18. In the beginning before creation the Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word came to dwell in our midst and offered us a share in his fullness.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

This week’s readings we celebrate the mystery of Christ as the “Logos” or as John put it in his Gospel, “The Word.”  Last week we reflected on Jesus as the child of Mary and Joseph and his role within the dynamics of the Holy Family. This week we contemplate Christ as “The Word” that became flesh and the “Logos” that is the second member of the Holy Trinity. Within these reading the contemplative philosopher among us will be drawn to the words of Sirach who himself was a famous Jewish Philosopher in the second century BC. Sirach, who like Socrates was drawn to wisdom, comprehends the vast mystery that is the Divine Wisdom.

The first man never finished comprehending wisdom, nor will the last succeed in fathoming her. For deeper than the sea are her thoughts; her counsels, than the great abyss.

In reflecting over these readings we are forced to consider the concept of predestination. Paul’s letters to the Ephesians talk to us about how we have already been “destined” by the Will of God to be His adopted children. Sirach and John reinforce this notion by remind us that the “Logos,” The Wisdom of God, has been active at the foundation of the world in carrying out God’s destined plan for creation. And yet, in Jesus’ public ministry, we hear Jesus inviting us all to share in God’s perfection. Throughout the Gospel, in the Beatitudes, in the Last Judgment reading of Matthew, in the Good Samaritan parable in Luke, in the exhortations made by Paul, James and Peter in their respective epistles, time and time again we are freely invited to partake in the Kingdom of God by living a life of charity and social justice. This is the theological tension that our faith has wrestled with regarding “Predestined Grace” and “Free Will,” the same tension that brought about the great split between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. How should we understand our motivation and incentive towards an expression of Love through acts of charity and social justice if our salvation is indeed predestined?

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking to a neighbor who is also an architect and who in the last few years designed architectural plans for his new house. It surprised me to learn that as he began the construction of his new house unforeseen conditions popped up everywhere forcing him to redesign his plan again and again. Ultimately his goal was accomplished and a new house was built for his family but the final plan had evolved greatly from his initial design. As he was telling me his I thought of the passage in Jeremiah where God instruct Jeremiah to visit a potter’s house. As the potter shaped his clay Jeremiah witnessed the potter reshaping it because the original design did not come out as plan. God reminded Jeremiah that as the Potter did to this clay so too can God act with regards to His own creation.

The wisdom of God is beyond human comprehension. God’s wisdom has us destined towards a perfect social union. Yet this union is based on our ability to freely develop this union. God’s revelation, and more specifically the revealed example of Jesus Christ, offers us the plan for constructing this union which of course God designed and which he may have to redesign based on the unforeseen conditions of our own free actions. Actions of charity and social justice are not methods for us to achieve our own salvation but rather they are the expressions of God’s ultimate social plan (the Kingdom of God) which we are invited to live out. The Biblical passages mentioned in the second paragraph remind us what actions are expected from this union. We may not be able to fully comprehend the final plan, but fortunately for us God supplements our ability to reason with the revelation of “The Word” that became flesh and whose “life was the light of the human race.”

• Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14. Obedience and honor are due to one’s parents, patient consideration especially in their old age when their mind fails.
• Colossians 3:12-21. We are to clothe ourselves with patience, humility, kindness and especially forgiveness within our families.
• Luke 2:41-52. When the boy Jesus was found by Mary and Joseph in the temple, he relpied that he had to be in his Father’s house.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

The lectionary reflections that are provided by our Passionist office of justice, peace and integrity of creation typically are based on our spirituality of social justice. For that reason many of these spiritual reflections are offered through the lens of our social concerns. With the readings for this weekend however it is appropriate to narrow the focus of our reflection to the family vs. the social unit. This weekend which immediately follows the solemnity of Christmas, our liturgy celebrates the feast of the Holy Family. The readings offer us instructions of essential virtues that are socially relevant but which are an important observance within the family dynamic. Two virtues that stand out in both Sirach and Colossians are patience and forgiveness. This week’s Gospel offer us an interesting demonstration of Patience that Jesus had to have with his own parents. This episode concludes with Jesus applying these virtues and experiencing their formative impact on himself in return.

“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them… And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”  

Our Church teaches us that the family unit has a prominent place within our community. Our family is considered the “First Church” for many of us since the initial development of our faith usually begins at home through the actions and instructions that are provided by our parents. Our family becomes the incubator from which we initially develop our sense of being. Our spiritual, personal and moral development has its origins within the interactions of our immediate and extended family. Catholic teaching tells us that the family is “the primary living cell of society.” Even in the realm of justice and peace the Church teaches us that the family experience becomes the source of our initial understanding of these social concepts:    

Indeed, in a healthy family life we experience some of the fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving concern for the members who are weaker because of youth, sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life, readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them. For this reason, the family is the first and indispensable teacher of peace.  – Pope Benedict XVI, The Human Family, A Community of Peace, #3

If we strive wholeheartedly towards the “bond of perfection” then our social attitudes must find their immediate application within the family. And yet this can be a very difficult challenge for many of us. Many times our parents, spouses or community members get the brunt of our own stress and frustration because we are closest to them. We are comfortable in their presence and so we sometimes lash out and make greater demands on them than we would with clients, customers or friends. Ironically we sometimes seem to exhibit less patience and forgiveness with them than with others. But the beauty of the family interaction is that this is the unit where we develop ourselves with the greatest sense of integrity, reflecting who we really are. With customers and clients we create an image of professionalism. Even in religious communities we may offer pastoral services but we still maintain a distant professionalism. This is not so with families. Our families know us more intimately so there are no professional airs to keep us distant. For this reason the call to patience and forgiveness within the family becomes a real challenge to truly engage in the acts of Christian humility and to refine our ability to develop authentic patience and forgiveness.

Peace and justice exist when we work with the human community to serve the common good that benefits us all. To do this we must have the patience to honor the experience and comprehend the needs we each have. We must also be able to forgive our brothers and sisters when we each fall into natural patterns of self interest and control. Of course in theory and in the realm of the head we may be able to express these social virtues. I have often said that I love and enjoy the theories of human dignity and rights while I find humanity itself quite frustrating and draining. Authentic peace and justice challenges people like me to move away from the head and to actualize in the heart the ability to be patient and forgiving with people so that together the common good can be truly served. If I cannot be patient and forgiving with my own family member what hope can I have in developing this authentic virtue with others? As our families continue to gather and celebrate let us be mindful of the call to imitate the Holy Family and to develop the virtues of patience and forgiveness with those closest to us.

• Isaiah 62:11-12. Zion-Jerusalem is no longer forsaken but will be called “frequented,” because of the swarming number of the Lord’s holy people.
• Titus 3:4-7. When the kindness and love of God appeared, he save us because of his mercy through the baptism of new birth and our renewal by the Holy Spirit.
• Luke 2:15-20. Shephards have come in haste Once the saw, they understood. Mary treasured all these things and relected on them in her heart.

Christmas reflection for your consideration: By Fr. Ronan Newbold, CP  

Today we celebrate Christmas, The readings we hear today will tell us of the historical moment where the incarnation of God and man happened through the birth of Jesus Christ. In the second reading we are told that our salvation is a free gift from God who loves us dearly and in His mercy we are renewed. This reading reminds me of a story I had heard recently which I would like to share with you.  

This is a short story about a childless couple who had raised their orphaned nephew named David. He is now leaving them for college, and the three of them are standing on the railroad platform waiting for the train to pick him up. David looked at his aunt and uncle. There his aunt stood with hands wrinkled, and cupped and hard from selling fruit and vegetables outdoors in all kinds of weather. He face, surrounded with a worn scarf, was ruddy and round and invariably smiling. Her heavy body was more accustomed to a half a dozen sweaters at one time than a single coat. Her hair was the color of moonlight now, but the dark eyes were still bright. He, with his slight, wiry body, strong yet bent from lifting too many fruit and vegetable crates for too many years, had wind-burned skin, with a swarthy, wrinkled face, and wry mouth. There the childless couple who had taken the orphan David into their home, rearing him since the age of seven, yet refusing to be called Mama and Papa for fear he would forget his real parents. David took their rough peddlers’ hands in his smooth and clean student hands. “How can I ever repay you two for what you’ve done for me?”  His uncle spoke gently, “David, there’s a saying, ‘the love of parents goes to their children, but the love of these children goes to their children.’” “That’s not so,” protested David, ” I’ll always be trying to…”  

“David,” his aunt interrupted. “What your uncle is trying to say is that a parent’s love is not meant to be paid back. It can only be passed on.”

David would like to pay back his foster parents. David is educated and knows the “logic of the market”, that is, how indebted he has become to his uncle and aunt for the roof over his head, the meals, the clothes, the education and most importantly, the love and common sense that he has received from them over the years. So, in a spirit of this logic, he will somehow pay them back for all that they have given him. As Pope Benedict wisely reflects in his Encyclical “Caritas et Veritate”, the “logic of the market” cannot achieve the aims of human flourishing nor ensure the primacy of the human person over capital. The market is insufficient to bring up children, safeguard human dignity and promote the common good. In fact, the market, unless carefully watched, can seduce unchecked wealth and do harm to the human race as we have seen.  

The uncle and aunt, in their wisdom and experience already know this and try to explain it David.

Pope Benedict also writes about the “logic of gift” where he challenges economic theories and shows how important it is to be like David’s uncle and aunt. They know bringing up a child is based on the principle of gratuitousness and free, selfless, generous giving. They know that the human person is not guided by the invisible hand of supply and demand, but rather by the human heart which has divine origins and therefore a source of strength that exceeds the demands of simple justice. The Pope goes on in his encyclical to explain that the “logic of gift” requires the recognition of the giver, namely God, and that the world is a gift of God.

Further, God entered this world with all of it ups and downs so that we may know how important the word “gift” is in our lives.  This principle of freely giving calls for unbounded generosity. It provides a foundation for restoring the most essential bonds of connectedness that makes persons more human. This principle is the basis of global solidarity.

Notice how much the aunt and uncle are like God. They give and give freely, refusing any kind of a payback. God is the same. No matter what we do, we are unable to pay back what we have received here on earth. Christmas is the celebration of this fact of God giving freely the whole of creation and of God giving us the Son who showed us how to give generously.

• Baruch 5:1-9.  The Glory breaks over the new Jerusalem and God’s people return to their homeland.
• Phil 1: 4-6, 8-11. Paul prays for the completion of God’s holiness and charity among these, his favorite converts.
• Luke 3:1-6. John the Baptist is introduced amidst the data of world history.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

The readings for the second week of advent offer us a peaceful meditation on hope. All three readings are based on the theme that God’s ultimate restoration of our broken humanity will take place. In the first reading Baruch offers a joyful image for Israel’s restoration from the Babylonian exile. Israel’s hope for God’s glory to once again shine on Israel with mercy and justice will again take place. Baruch follows the prophetic tradition. The Prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah prepare Israel for eminent destruction and desolation because Israel has not followed God’s commands. But the Prophets also place all this within the greater context of God’s ultimate mercy, justice and compassion. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and Baruch, who is writing after the exile, is now consoling Israel that God’s glory will come again.

The second reading takes us to Paul’s later days when he is imprisoned and awaiting trial. Paul’s thoughts, as he writes this letter, are with the community he has left behind. As he fondly considers them he places himself and his cherished community within the ultimate hope that Christ will come again. The gospel reading by Luke sets the stage for the public ministry of John the Baptist. John’s preaching did not occur in an historical vacuum and Luke takes the effort to describe the political and theological setting that leads up to the appearance of John in the Jordan region. It has been 500 years since the Jewish people returned from exile and they are again facing another oppressive political reality. John the Baptist, who prepares the way for Christ, is introduced as part of the prophetic tradition who is now going to break upon the scene of this current historical reality.

Now, 2000 years after the events of John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul, we are again contemplating this peaceful meditation of hope in our time. Christmas has become a highly commercialized holiday. Even those of us like me and my family, who intentionally support the buy nothing alternative to what has become known as black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), still find ourselves caught up in the frenzy of commercially preparing for the Christmas season. We owe it to ourselves as people of faith to take some time to contemplate our hope. Like our predecessors of the first century AD or the fifth century BC we too are living in uncertain times. Advent and Christmas offer us a great opportunity that surpasses any material hope we may have. It offer us the opportunity to center ourselves in these troubled times in the faith filled hope that God’s glory will break in again in our lives and that somehow the economic, emotional, and even physical sufferings of the moment can find meaning in a holistic future that we can build based on the experience of our suffering. In his second encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that:

His Kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; His kingdom is present wherever he is loved and wherever his love reaches us. His love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect. His love is at the same time our guarantee of the existence of what we only vaguely sense and which nevertheless, in our deepest self, we await: a life that is “truly” life.    

Contemplation is a valuable gift. If we take the time to contemplate and be reflective then we are taking the time actually consider what “truly” life is. Reflection and contemplation are gifts that can not only help us individually but also as a social community. Soon the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross will have a conference on “Free Enterprise, Poverty, and the Financial Crisis.” In promoting this conference the director of the Acton Institute, Samuel Gregg, observes that “there is plenty of talk about global poverty and yet it is striking how much of the conversation is very unreflective.” Mr. Gregg goes on to say, “Another problem is that a great deal of development economics is underpinned by deeply materialistic ideologies and deformed anthropologies of man. But we know that diminished poverty is only partly an economic and material question. It has moral, spiritual, legal, cultural, and institutional dimensions.”

During the second week of Advent let us take the time to reflect on God’s ultimate restoration for us and our society based on the hope that God loves us all and that we in turn can offer that same love and dignity to each other.

• Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14. The 144,000 from every tribe of Israel are the ones who have survived the period of great trial.
• 1 John 3:1-3. We shall see God as God is, for we are God’s children. All who have hope keep themselves pure as God is pure.
• Matt 5:1-12. Jesus teaches the disciples the blessedness of following him as poor in spirit, sorrowing, single-hearted, peacemaker.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

This week our Church celebrates the communion of the saints. The Apostles’ or Nicene Creed that we recite at the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist reminds us that the communion of saints is a fundamental tenet of our Faith. Each of this Sunday’s readings reminds us that we are called to be part of this sacred community. Christ invites us all to be saints. This Sunday we recall the great men and women who have come before us and whose own lives were a powerful witness to the Kingdom of God. Some of these people may be famous people who are well known within the Catholic Community such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Paul of the Cross. Others may be more obscure and perhaps known only to us, parents, relatives and friends whom we remember for their own powerful testimony of being Christ like in our midst. These are all people who selflessly gave of themselves for their family, community or society. We recall these saints not for their own sake, but rather because they exist as living examples to us of how to be Christian.

The first reading comes to us from the Book of Revelation. This book, along with Daniel in the Hebrew Scriptures, are perhaps two of the most complex books in our own Sacred Scriptures precisely because they are eschatological books. They are rich in symbolism and because they are prophetic writings many lay readers get caught up in looking for clues and answers related to the end time. This week we read about the saints or the elect who number 144,000. This number has had the unfortunate effect of demoralizing many of us who believe that we have almost no chance to be part of this small community. The 144,000 mentioned in verse 4 indicate the elect from the twelve tribes of Israel, where each tribe has been given 12,000 elect. Verse 9 however, tells us that that there is another group of elect “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” Scripture scholars have argued that the first elect is symbolic of the Jewish community of saints, whereas the second group is the broader gentile community.

What is important for us is not how many elect there are but who they are. “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress.” In this world that we live in, all of us are subject to suffering of one form or another. We are all being tested and challenged to live our Christian vocation. Our early Christian martyrs suffered simply for being Christians. We suffer from the secular counter-cultural challenges to imitating Christ. We live in a society focused on individualism, value is given to material possessions, praise and reward is offered for those who gain the most for themselves. We may have the freedom to be Christians and to attend Church services but the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience stand in stark contrast to our own social values. While these two forms of suffering are very different they are both very real in their own way and just like our Christian ancestors were tested in their discipleship from the persecution of their day we continue to be tested in our own way today. We who are called to be saints are very much being challenged to live the Christian values of simplicity, fidelity, and mutual collaboration. Will we survive this time of great distress?

The second reading reminds us that as part of the communion of saints we are called to be children of God and to imitate the purity of Christ. The Gospel goes on to offer a description of this pure lifestyle through the beatitudes. The beatitudes identify a special grace to the aspects of suffering that we face in this world. The beatitudes are not telling us that we are blessed simply because we suffer. Instead the beatitudes are inviting us to redeem society through our own response to suffering. All members of the human family suffer; it is a common element of all creation. How shall we respond to the personal and social suffering of our world? Should we take a defeated stance and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our own limitations and the social injustice of our world. No, again we are called to live the values of the saints, humility, compassion, simplicity, righteousness, mercy, integrity and peacefulness. By being a lived witness to these values not only will we be ensuring our own participation in the communion of saints but we will be bringing society one step closer to the kingdom of heaven.

• Genesis 2:18-24. The creation of man and woman, their vocation to become two in one flesh and to be suitable partners for each other.
• Hebrew 2:9-11. Jesus is perfected through suffering and tastes death for all. So, he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
• Mark 10:2-16. Jesus prohibits divorce and remarriage and compares the kingdom of God to those who are like little children.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

As we consider this week’s reading we are invited to reflect on the concept of relationship. In many ways the heart of the Gospel message is relationship: the relationship between Jesus and the Father, the relationship between God and humanity, the relationship between us and the rest of humanity. This week we are reminded of the most intimate level of this dynamic through the image of husband and wife. In the Gospel Jesus protects this radical moment of relationship where two “become one flesh,” a relationship we understand as marriage.

When people generally consider this aspect of relationship it is usually envisioned with weddings, a united and happy family, a man and wife happily aging together. Marriage evokes attitudes of happiness and joy. It is usually affiliated with the concept of love. As one reads the first reading or the Gospel passage all these images, attitudes and values will probably surface. And yet, in the second reading a very different image of suffering is sandwiched between the other two readings. This is not an accidental insert.

The Christian spirituality of the cross always reminds us that the deepest level of relationship is often born out of the fire of self sacrifice. To love God, to love your neighbor as yourself, to love your spouse and your family these are all powerful moments of relationship, but ultimately they call us to sacrifice our own selfish passions for the good of others. Christian mystics like St. Paul of the Cross have understood this within the concept they called the Mystical Union. Jesus’ mission is to cement the damaged relationship between God and humanity through the ultimate self sacrificing covenant when he suffered and died for our sake. Like Jesus we are called into a deep and meaningful relationship with God the Father and all humanity. But also like Jesus we are called to sacrifice ourselves to lift up our own brothers and sisters.

In comprehending this Mystical Union it is important for us to place His Passion within the context of society. To be in an intimate relationship with the Father meant to be at the service of all humanity. This uncompromising lifestyle was not consistent with the social structures of the Roman era and I will argue that it is not consistent with the social structures of our day. Society did to Jesus then as it did to the prophets before him and as it continues to do the saints of our own day. But as God vindicated Jesus within the social “culture of death” God continues to vindicate those of us who live to sacrifice ourselves for the common good. And thus the second reading tells us that “Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.”

Marriage and family is the foundational unit of our society. In the eyes of our church society is build around this unit. This is the principle unit within which we are called to live a life of self sacrifice. In marriage we have the opportunity to express a form of this mystical union that we are called to have with God. Like marriage, mystical union is ultimately where one can and does experience happiness and joy. The mystics like St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Mother Theresa and St. Paul of the Cross found their ultimate enlightenment by pursuing the Divine Will. But in pursuing this Divine Will they slowly had to shed away their own personal will, their own ideals and goals, their own wants and needs, all this was sacrificed for the ultimate good. Within our own family dynamic we experience this mystical moment. Many times we face moments where we have to sacrifice our own wants and desires. Once children are on the scene this mystical moment becomes elevated. But as the family grows together there will be moments when the ultimate meaning of one’s own purpose becomes clearly understood within the context of this family.

Our own experience within this unit should help inform us of our personal relationship with God. Our own relationship with God may not be as tangible as marriage. But if we allow ourselves to be sacrificed in faith (keeping in mind the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us, in faith) then we will begin to find the same great and powerful meaning that the mystics found. In faith we must learn to soften our own passions, expectation, and ideals for what we want from our own society. We must learn to sacrifice this on the altar of the Divine Will and receive from God’s own concept of what is Good and Just.

Questions for your Reflection:

• What set of attitudes and expectation do we have as we consider our own marriage or community unit? Are these attitudes self serving or are they serving the family dynamic?
• How can we come to understand the image of Christ suffering for us within our own role within our own family or community? How can we understand this image in our own role within society?
• Take the time to evaluate your own social values and ideals. How are these values formed and whom do they serve? Do they promote your own good in the midst of the social reality, or do they promote a good that is other than your own?

Thoughts for your consideration: by Hugo Esparza, CP

In this Sunday’s readings both Moses and Jesus praise the radical freedom of God to bestow gifts on those who do not enter into the community’s prescribed standards. Both Jesus and Moses are quick to give us a lesson on how to bring together the gifts of the Spirit and unify them, rather than to seek greater divisions and exclusion.

Moses invites us to think bigger as he replies to Joshua’s order to put an end to the rebellion against authority that was going on by Eldad’s and Medad’s prophesying outside the tent: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”

Jesus, on the other hand, gives us a difficult image about the appropriate response  to the abuse of authority, particularly as it refers to the inability to accept others’ giftedness by rejecting them as outsiders: “Better to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, or one foot or one hand, than with both eyes, feet and hands to be thrown into Gehena”.

These harsh and illuminating words need to echo in the hearts and minds of those working for justice, peace and right-relationship with the environment. The need is so great that we must find out where our mission and gifts intersect with those of others who are seeking the same end. We can no longer seek attempt to find or implement solutions by ourselves by playing lone-rangers.

Rather, our institutions need to be bold and creative as we approach these coming years, in our country and abroad. They will be full of economic instability, which may progress to social tension and thus repression of different groups of people, especially the poor that are forced to migrate. Let us then cut-off or pluck-out the numbness that keeps us from perceiving the Giftedness of God granted to those that may not fit our prescribed standards. Let us seek unity by sharing our resources and talents as we continue prophesying and driving out the demons of racism, poverty, pollution and exclusion that continue to haunt our communities.

authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension. Without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space. Enclosed within history, it runs the risk of being reduced to the mere accumulation of wealth; humanity thus loses the courage to be at the service of higher goods, at the service of the great and disinterested initiatives called forth by universal charity.

For decades now the Catholic Church has expressed grave concern for an individualistic attitude that has permeated almost all of western civilization. This attitude can be seen quite clearly in the economic dimension of society where people, governments, organizations and private industries place greater value in productivity, profit and consumption. Corporations rate themeselves based on the profit margin, people judge themselves based on their material possessions and Governments are measured by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The economic crisis has shown us all the shortcomings of these narrow values. A recent Financial Times article shared with us that an international panel, led by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, is evaluating other measures of economic output that can guage human and ecological sustainability.

Financial Times Article: GDP branded a poor gauge of progress

Caritas in Veritate suggest to us that this individualist economic attitude is a perversion. It is a perversion that in this country strikes both political platforms because this attitude is endemic in our society. When the left generally advocate for abortion they advocate from the perspective of an individual’s right to privacy over the right to the potential life of another. When the right generally argue against public services and programs for the common good they do so from a perspective of individual’s economic right not to be taxed to pay for services for others. It is a falsehood to ascribe any moral superiority between one camp versus the other, because in the end both perspectives are blinded by a perverse attitude.

Pope Benedict XVI is challenging us to adopt a holistic attitude that can truly overcome these crippled political platforms. This is the attitude of an authentic human development.

The development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side.

The Center of Concerns offered this Development Pyramid which they extracted from the encyclical.

In here you can identify the different strata of Human Development. The initial phase is purely natural survival, here the human is interested in their own individual necessity and sustenance. This grows to a more developed sense of community where the people balance off and compete with each other for basic advancements. A strong secular development occurs (outlined in black writing) where an ideology is formed that gives the people a sense of meaning within community. A generic sense of right and wrong help dictate good values and behavior rather than basic self interest. The top pier however demonstrates another level of development whereby one find a more meaningful sense of purpose based on our own relationship with God and recognition of God as the author of all creation. At this level the community that surrounds us is not given dignity and respect because it suits our own needs or because we believe in the concept of secular tolerance and democracy. Instead we begin to recognize the inherit dignity that we all share by virtue of being part of one family under one eternal Creator.

So with this in mind it becomes our objective as faithful members of the Catholic faith to pursue this authentic human development. As democratic citizens it is our obligation to participate in the political system. But as we do so we should not sacrifice any aspect of authentic human development for the idols of partisan politics. We are obliged to promote the dignity and respect of all humanity and indeed creation itself.

Ephesians 4:1-6

John 6:1-15

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzales

This week our lectionary readings are based on the great miracles performed by Elisha and Jesus where they multiply the loaves of bread to feed 100 and then 5,000 people respectively. In between these two miraculous moments we hear St. Paul the apostle offering the Ephesians community a message of divine hope based on the ultimate unity that God desires for us.
There are times when the Sunday lectionary readings give me great inspiration and I am able to reflect on the wisdom of the Gospel as it relates to me and the world around me. Other times I am not particularly moved by the readings and I struggle with my own dry reception of them.  And then there are times like this week, when I am downright challenged by our own sacred scriptures.

Perhaps I should preface this reflection with a confession regarding my own personality. I am a realist. While I firmly believe in the tenets of our faith and I maintain a firm hope in the Kingdom of God as taught to us by Jesus Christ and the apostolic tradition of our own Church I have a pragmatic personality that tries to envision this faith and hope through the lens of my own lived reality.  Add to this personality my own (possibly unhealthy) attention to details and logistics and the reader may begin to understand why this week’s readings are deeply challenging to me.

Many of us have had the experience of organizing events: there are family events, group events, parish events and work related events. I have done my share of event organizing. Depending on how successful you want your event to be you have to meticulously organize every detail so that people can enjoy themselves. The catering aspect of the event is of particular importance. Offer to little food and drink and you will probably hear about it.
For those of us who have organized events the story of Elisha and Jesus can pose a logistical nightmare. My heart goes out immediately to Philip and Andrew in the Gospel reading. I can hear the panic in their voices as they try to offer our Lord some dose of reality amidst his request to feed the multitude. But my own challenge goes deeper then the logistical problem of catering to a multitude. It is one thing to organize a single event, daunting as it may be; it is quite another thing to work for a mission that seems completely impossible. St. Paul tells us that the ultimate divine hope for us is “one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” In the midst of addressing violence and civil unrest in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America; in the midst of addressing climate change and the global economic crisis; in the midst of promoting national healthcare and immigration policies; one can rightfully ask, “Where is the one body?” I for one have asked this question several times.

The answer is that in our own limited boundaries of space and time we will not be able to see this great hope and expectation of God. God however is not limited by our own boundaries and God is able to see something that we individually cannot. This is where faith must step in and where a person like me has to step back and continue to work for what to me seems futile and almost hopeless to me. God is able to see something that I cannot and he still has hope in a unified Kingdom of God that is built on love, mercy, justice and peace. St. Paul of the Cross reminded the people of his time that this orientation to God ultimately demands that we devout ourselves to a divine will that is beyond our own comprehension:
“abandon yourself more and more completely in the loving bosom of our dear God, undismayed by aridity, desolation, or anything else, but pressing forward magnanimously. Oh, how pleasing to His Divine Majesty is this loving abandonment of our will to the Will of God!”

In the second reading St. Paul reminds us of his own orientation and personality virtues that help him to preach a difficult Gospel message and he invites us to adopt these virtuous measures. It is worthwhile for someone like me to deeply reflect on this invitation that is found in the first verse of chapter four. I think all of us who are daunted by reality and the logistical issues that confront us with regards to building up the Kingdom of God should take some time this week to reflect on this passage.
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”