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You can fast from food  but not from water. In the Gospel Jesus uses water as a symbol to the Samaritan woman for slaking her thirst forever. He proposes to put a flowing fountain of water right inside her. Jesus is talking about the longing each of us has deep within for “the love poured forth from God in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.” That is the way Paul puts it in the second reading. This need of ours is much like our physical thirst except that it is more subtle. We use many other substitutes to fill it like food, work, looks, accomplishment, alcohol, other people, sexual satisfaction, and so on. They do not work. They leave us high and dry, croaking the famous line "Is that all there is?" The thirst for fullness is behind every move we make, even those, St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us, that are born of our misdirected and misguided longings.

Many of us have our “special place” where we encounter our God and experience our intimate time. The blue therapy of spending time near rivers or the ocean is gaining popularity. In the Bible, God seems to have a preference for the mountain to give his special followers an experience of His divinity. So we read about Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament and today in the Gospels we hear the story of Peter, James and John having a mountain top experience.

Ours is a vibrant culture, always in pursuit of happiness.  We think it is always out there and we need to chase after it. We tend to make a spectacle of death, whether it is in the media or our experience of the passing on of a loved in our family. Sin is denied, camouflaged, psychoanalyzed, and repressed—not confessed.  We don’t really sin.  We make mistakes of judgment.  If a popular politician lies, he or she is only being human. 

The readings for this weekend could challenge the very lifestyle we tend to defend, calling ourselves the twenty-first century Christians. In our First Reading we are taught that holiness means separateness, distinctiveness, from the world. It was first of all the quality of God. Then, by making Israel his people, God made them holy, too. This is not expressed here but is presupposed by the context of the Old Testament Law, given as it is after the exodus; it is however made clear, as far as the Christian Church is concerned, in the Second Reading: “God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple”. But the concept of holiness as a call to walk the higher path is falling on deaf ears these days.

Following the teaching of the Beatitudes (8 ‘Blessed are you’ statements), Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount with a three-part instruction by Jesus on the Way of Life in the kingdom of heaven. Today’s reading is part one and deals with the Law. Part two deals with worship and religious practice and contains the Lord’s Prayer. Part three deals with trusting God and deeds of loving service to our neighbor.

Salt and Light – Discipleship in action The Gospel passage presented to us this weekend follows immediately after the announcement of the Beatitudes (we heard it during the last Sunday’s liturgy).Today, Jesus builds on the Beatitudes by reminding us of our vocation and mission as Christians. With unforgettable, down-to-earth images, Jesus says that we have a double mission with respect to everyone else: to be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World.

BEATITUDES AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY The scripture passage on Beatitudes is quite familiar to us as we hear it read at funerals and several times during the liturgical year. This counter cultural message of Christ invites us not to place our trust in material and feeling things, not to seek happiness by following smoke vendors and high-octane spiritual gurus who peddle quick fixes. We should not follow them because they are unable to give us hope. May the Lord help us open our eyes to acquire a more penetrating view of reality, to heal the chronic shortsightedness with which the worldly spirit infects us.

The area between the eastern point of Mount Carmel and the western side of Nazareth is known as the plain of Megiddo (see the map). This was an ancient battlefield and the area known as Armageddon. The area was located centrally between Assyria (Syria) to the North and Egypt to the south, so it made for a convenient place for opposing armies to do battle. History bears witness to a lot of gloom and a lot of death associated with the area.

On 31 December 2022, at 09:34 am Central European Time, Pope Benedict XVI died at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City at the age of 95. He was buried at the Vatican on Thursday, January 05, bringing an end to an unprecedented decade in which a reigning pope lived side by side with his predecessor. Pope Francis spoke at the funeral in these words, “ We have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope in order to show him once more the love that is undying. We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness, and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years.”

Today we keep the feast of Epiphany. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphainen, a verb that means “to shine upon,” “to manifest,” or “to make known.” Thus, the feast of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made Himself known to the world. The feast originated in the East. Three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ were celebrated together in this feast: the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11), and the miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11). In the western church, Epiphany Day is known as the Feast of the visit of the Magi. Magi itself is a Greek word which means wise Men.

Happy New Year!!  We Catholics celebrated our new Church year on the first Sunday of Advent.  This new calendar year, however, gives us yet another opportunity to give thanks for all of the ways that God has blessed us in this past year and to look forward with hope to all of the blessings to come.  ------------------  ¡¡Feliz año nuevo!! Los católicos celebramos nuestro nuevo año eclesiástico el primer domingo de Adviento. Este nuevo año calendario, sin embargo, nos brinda otra oportunidad para dar gracias por todas las formas en que Dios nos ha bendecido en el año pasado y mirar hacia adelante con esperanza a todas las bendiciones venideras.

My Dear parish family, I would like to take a moment to wish you God’s blessings at this Christmas. The miracle of Christmas is that God chose to come be with us in Jesus Christ. While we may over-romanticize the stable where Jesus was born, we can know that this birthing place speaks volumes about God’s infinite courtesy towards all people.

The opening line of the Gospel for the fourth Sunday of Advent fits well into the time of the season, ‘This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.’ Christmas is around the corner! Matthew’s narrative is very realistic about the uncertainty, doubts and the near break-up of the planned marriage of Joseph and Mary. Then he tells us about the Dream of Joseph. The mention of dream and the name Joseph reminds us about the great Joseph, the dreamer of the Old Testament.

The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, meaning Sunday of joy. ‘Gaudete’ is a Latin word that means “rejoice.” The word Sunday Reflection rejoice is taken from Philippians 4:4-5, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I said rejoice;” the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass. These last Sundays, we were reflecting on peace and hope. In this third week, we are praying for the restoration of joy, especially for those, according to Pope Francis, whose life seem like “Lent without Easter.”

As the feast of Christmas draws near and after recovering from the busy time of Thanksgiving, we might be tempted to swing into more action. In the process we might miss the fact that Advent is a fascinating and beautiful season of the Liturgical Year. In it, we experience transforming newness. Through the liturgy of the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we are invited to tread the path of repentance and conversion – the just path that leads to hope and the heavenly kingdom that is the goal of Advent expectation. We, therefore, listen attentively to the word of God 'that we might have hope' and that 'the divine reign of justice and peace' might come upon us. Living in ‘hope’ is an invitation that we need to adhere to as we live in challenging times. If we are conscious of our stress filled lifestyle, then this spiritual encouragement for our soul is pertinent.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, year A. The term Advent comes from two Latin words Ad-ventus, which simply means “to arrive” or Ad-venire, meaning “to come.” For us Christians, and Catholics in particular, it means expecting the Lord’s coming. Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical calendar and is a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas. We all have our hopes and aspirations for Christmas. These four weeks of Advent are our annual season of waiting in hope for Christ. This season of Advent, waiting reminds us that everything is not quite right with our world. Our world is somewhat broken and needs fixing. The world is broken because it does not pay attention to Christ or put Jesus first. The only way to fix our broken world is to mend and repair it with Christ. Christ is the solution to our broken world.

Celebrating the King on Calvary The Feast of Christ the King stands in stark opposition to two contemporary trends in some Christian circles and many socio-political thinkers. The first trend is the rejection of honorific titles like “king” or “lord.” The second is the proposal that Christ is not pre-eminent as a revelation of God (… “image of the invisible God,” as our Second Reading points out), but merely one among many equal sources of truth and leadership.

As we reach the end of the liturgical year (next week will be the last Sunday in the liturgical calendar when we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, and the following Sunday 27 November, will be the First Sunday in Advent) and as we conclude the Lukan account of the public ministry of Jesus, the Word of God today speaks to us about “the end”.  Living through very difficult times of political unrest and wars raging round the globe and listening to this horrific description of events such as destruction, wars, revolutions, fights, earthquakes, plagues, famines, and fearful sights in the Scriptures, we might forget to hear the real words of Jesus: “Do not be afraid… but the end is not so soon” (Lk 21:9).

The inspiring story of Eric Little was made famous in the movie “Chariots of Fire.” It is the chronicle of a young athlete who preferred to honor the Lord than to be honored by the Olympics. He would eventually lose his life as a missionary in China. Early in the movie, there is a scene as crowds gather around the victorious Eric Little after winning an important race. He takes this moment not only to speak but also to preach. This is what he says: “You came to see a race today ... to see someone win. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. Faith is like running a race. It’s hard and requires concentration of will and energy of soul. …And where does the power come from to see the race to its completion. It comes from within. Jesus says: Behold the kingdom of God is within you. If you commit yourself to the love of God.... that is how you run a great race.”

We have a saying about people who take risks. We say, “They’ve gone out on a limb.” Zacchaeus literally went out on a limb, and it changed his life.         Why did Zacchaeus climb that tree? You expect children to do that, not adults. He had two reasons. First, it was the only way he could see Jesus over the heads of the crowd. He was short, and nobody made way for him because he was one of the most hated men in town. They despised him because he was a wealthy man who made a living working as a corrupt tax collector for the Romans. The second reason went much deeper. It wasn’t just curiosity that sent him up that tree. Despite being wealthy, he was an unhappy, lonely man, an outcast. He had heard that Jesus was friendly toward people like him, and he wanted to find out for himself.