February 16 through February 22, 2025

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(February 16, 2025: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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"Blessed are they who trust in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord."

What does it mean to "trust?" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines it thus: "Firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing."

Imagine a world without trust. Imagine a world in which nobody believed in the "integrity, ability or character" of others. Such a place could indeed be described as a living hell. Trust is the mortar that binds us together. Trust is what enables us to form families, friends, community and country. Trust is an integral part of what it means to be human.

In stark contrast with the importance of trusting one another, Jeremiah warns: "Cursed are those who trust in human beings." What are we to make of this? Simply put, trusting one another is not enough to sustain us in life. Why? Because, as we know all too well - and painfully - we humans, despite our best efforts, are not always trustworthy. If our trust is limited to the human plane, we run the risk of being overwhelmed by the woes of pain, disappointment, heartache and cynicism.

Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the one who is always trustworthy. Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the ‘faithful friend who never deceives or betrays’. Our fundamental trust allows us to not merely survive this life, but to thrive in it, especially when confronted by our own imperfections and those of others. St. Francis de Sales wrote: "If the whole world turns topsy-turvy, if all around is darkness … shall not all be well with us as long as we place our trust in God?" (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 125)

Cursed are we if we expect others to fulfill all of our deepest wants, our deepest needs, our deepest desires and our deepest dreams without fail. Such expectations lead to bitterness, resentment and despair. Blessed are we if we take confidence and consolation in the God who is always trustworthy, even when human beings - including ourselves - are not. Our trust in God will not shield us from life's inevitable disappointments - those we receive, those we cause - but it will enable us to name them, to work through them and ultimately to move beyond them.

Our trust in God enables us to celebrate the ways we are trustworthy. Likewise, our trust in God enables us to forgive one another when we are not.

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(February 17, 2025: Monday, Sixth Week of Ordinary Time)

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“He sighed from the depth of his spirit...”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote: \

“We must recall that Our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance and that we must work out our salvation, enduring with all possible meekness the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet.” (Part III, Chapter 3, p. 128)

Jesus had his share of success during his public ministry. He healed the sick. He freed the possessed. He fed the hungry. He satisfied the thirsty. He welcomed the marginalized. He consoled the sorrowing. He found the lost. He raised the dead. Of course, Jesus also had his share of trials and tribulations during his public ministry. He was subjected to criticism. He was subjected to misunderstanding. He was subjected to ridicule. He was subjected to rejection. He was subjected to abandonment, arrest and crucifixion. He was subjected to death.

In short, Jesus took the bad with the good in his attempt to preach – and practice – the Good News. While Jesus didn’t go looking for trouble, he wouldn’t it trouble either, especially when it came to promoting the justice and peace of the Kingdom of God. Given the amount of resistance that he faced from some quarters, it’s amazing that the Gospels don’t provide many more examples of how Jesus “sighed from the depths of his spirit” more often!

In our day-to-day attempts at living a devout life we can relate to Jesus’ frustration. We’ve all faced resistance in ways that make us sigh from the depths of our spirits, too. While we shouldn’t go looking for trouble, we shouldn’t be all that surprised when trouble finds us. Like Jesus, when trouble comes our way, let’s do our level best to not allow it to dissuade us from doing good – and being good – in the lives of other people.

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 (February 18, 2025: Tuesday, Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

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“When did Noah build the ark, Gladys? Before the rain – before the rain.”

 - (Robert Redford, playing the role of Nathan

Muir in the film Spy Game, 2001.)

The Book of Genesis describes a kind of divine boiling point - God has reached the end of his patience in the face of human wickedness and has decided to start over, but not before making allowance for a remnant of both man and beast alike that will survive the flood. God chooses Noah to build an ark that will preserve this remnant and – eventually – repopulate the earth. Noah, of course, is mocked by most of his contemporaries, right up until the day that the flood came.

Francis de Sales placed a great premium on living in the present moment. He exhorted his contemporaries to live each day, each hour and each moment as it came. He counseled people against brooding over the past; he warned people about fretting over the future.

Living in the present, however, is not the same as flying blind or living by the seat of your pants. There is great value in doing a little pre-planning in the spiritual life. In fact, Francis de Sales recommended that people begin each and every day with what we now call the “Preparation of the Day”. Francis wrote:

“Anticipate any tasks, transactions and occasions that you may meet this day. Prepare yourself to make the best use of the means that may come to you. Carefully prepare to avoid, resist and overcome whatever may be encountered that is opposed to your salvation.”

Figuratively speaking, there are many arks in our lives that we plan to build that never get finished. There are other arks in our lives that we believe we need that never get used. There are still other arks that we clearly should have built – but never did – because we didn’t recognize the need until after the fact. All that said, there’s no harm in preparing for the future – be it short or long term – provided that it does not disable our ability to live in the only place in which we can possible plan for tomorrow.

Today!

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(February 19, 2025: Wednesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

In the Fourth Book of his Introduction to the Devout Life, Chapter 13, St. Francis de Sales begins with the following observation:

“God keeps this wonderful world in existence amidst constant change.  Thus, day passes into night, spring into summer, summer into autumn, autumn into winter and winter into spring.  One day never exactly resembles another: some days are cloudy, some rainy, some dry, some windy.  Variety gives great beauty to the universe.”

“It is the same with us,” Francis continues.

“We are never in the same state.  Our lives flow on earth like the water that surges and swirls in a perpetual diversity of movements.  Sometimes we are lifted up by hope, sometimes cast down by fear; sometimes bent to the right by joys, sometimes to the left by sorrow.  Not one day nor one hour is exactly the same.”

Indeed, how diverse, how fluid and how varied are the seasons of the human heart, of the human mind and of the human soul.  In so many ways, Heraclitus (Greek philosopher, 500 B.C.) was right when he said that “the only constant is change.”

These seasons of the soul challenge us in two ways: (1) We need to accept, embrace and learn from all of the seasons of our lives, and (2) we nevertheless need to find some source of constancy in order to effectively deal with the changing tides of the ocean within us which are our thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

St. Francis offered advice regarding the former in a letter to St. Jane de Chantal (Letters of Spiritual Direction, p. 148) written in 1608:

“You would like it to be always spring or summer; but no, you have to experience interior as well as exterior changes.   Only in heaven will everything be springtime as to beauty, autumn as to enjoyment and summer as to love.  There will be no winter there; but here below we need winter so that we may practice self-denial and the countless small but beautiful virtues that can be practiced during a barren season.”

Just as every season of the year plays a part in our particular role in God’s plan for our world, so, too, all the seasons of the heart have their place to play in God’s plan of salvation for us. Joy, sadness, success, setback, faith, fear, anxiety, confidence...all can teach us something more of who we are and who God calls us to be.

Who wouldn’t always like to be happy and fulfilled?  Who wouldn’t like to avoid sadness and emptiness?  Nevertheless, every season of the soul has its own voice that needs to be heard.

Where can we hope to find the stability to deal with the seasons of the soul?  Francis de Sales wrote:

“We must try to keep a constant and unchanging mind...Though everything turns and changes about us (and within us) we must always remain firm, our eyes fixed on God, seeking God and moving towards God...Whether we are in sadness or joy, in consolation or bitterness, in peace or in trouble, in light or in darkness, in temptation or tranquility, in liking or disgust, in dryness or warmth, scorched by the sun or refreshed by the dew, yet the highest point of our heart (like the compass of a ship) should always be turned to God, our Creator and Our Savior, our unique and sovereign good.”

Our spiritual path may be filled with uncertainty.  God’s plan for us may be full of surprises: some consoling and some maddening.  Our minds, our hearts—our lives—may not be as calm or predictable as we might like.

The challenge for us is to believe that in all—and every—season of the soul, it is the same loving God who creates us, redeems us and inspires us to take confidence in God’s constant, unchanging and eternal love...for us.

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(February 20, 2025: Thursday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Who do you say that I am?”

No sooner does Jesus give Peter a big “shout out” for correctly identifying him as the Christ then Jesus publicly – and severely – reprimands Peter for disputing Jesus’ description of Himself as a suffering Messiah. Later, Peter rather lamely suggests erecting three tents while Jesus is transfigured on Mt. Tabor. Still later, Peter impetuously severs the ear of a slave belonging to one of servants of the high priest who came to arrest Jesus at Gethsemane. And after protesting his love of Jesus at the Last Supper, Peter denied Jesus not once, not twice but three times. And, of course, while Jesus spent the last hours of his life hanging on the cross, Peter was nowhere to be found.

Jesus may have called Peter “rock”, but the Savior knew he had cracks. Peter might even be described as being “off his rocker” from time to time.

However, as imperfect as Peter was, God entrusted the keys of the kingdom to him. And as imperfect as we are, Jesus continues to entrust those same keys – however obvious or innocuous – to each and every one of us.

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(February 21, 2025: Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order)

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"Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves.”

To construct a building is one thing, but to maintain it is another. Prudent builders/owners not only earmark resources for the actual construction of whatever it is they build, but they will also earmark resources for the ongoing upkeep of the building. In a letter to Madame de Chantal (February 11, 1607), Francis de Sales observed:

“It is not necessary to be always and at every moment attentive to all the virtues in order to practice them; that would twist and encumber your thoughts and feelings too much. Humility and charity are the master beams - all the others are attached to them. We need to only hold on to these two: one is at the very bottom and the other at the very top. The preservation of the whole building depends on two things: its foundation and its roof. We do not encounter much difficulty in practicing other virtues if we keep our heart bound to the practice of these two...” (LSD, pp. 148-149)

God – the Master Builder – has constructed each of us in his image and likeness. Let us celebrate the building-of-God that we are by building things – but especially, relationships – whose hallmarks are humility and charity. In so doing, may we bring glory not to ourselves, but to God!

Today, and every day!

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(February 22, 2025: Chair of St. Peter)

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“Who do you say that I am?”

On the web site of the Catholic News Agency, we find the following entry for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter:

“The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome. St. Peter's original name was Simon. He was married with children and was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be one of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus bestowed to Peter a special place among the Apostles. He was one of the three who were with Christ on special occasions, such as the Transfiguration of Christ and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was the only Apostle to whom Christ appeared on the first day after the Resurrection. Peter, in turn, often spoke on behalf of the Apostles.”

“When Jesus asked the Apostles: ‘Who do men say that the Son of Man is?’ Simon replied: ‘Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ And Jesus said: ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you: That you are Peter [Cephas, a rock], and upon this rock [Cephas] I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven’. (Mt 16:13-20) In saying this Jesus made St. Peter the head of the entire community of believers and placed the spiritual guidance of the faithful in St. Peter’s hands.”

The post on the web site continues:

“However, St. Peter was not without faults…” Now there’s an understatement.

As we celebrate the “Chair of Peter,” don’t forget that Jesus has likewise prepared a chair – a place, a role – for each and every one of us in continuing the work of God’s Kingdom.

Like Peter, today do we have the courage to take our place?

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February 9 through February 15, 2025

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(February 9, 2025: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men…”

While the invitation to follow Jesus is a life-changing event, it doesn’t necessarily change everything. The case in point is in today’s Gospel. Who is it that Jesus invites to join him in catching people? Why, fishermen! Following Jesus may have required them to catch a new sense of purpose, but it also required them to employ familiar abilities and skills.

What can Peter, James and John teach us about what we need in our own efforts to follow Jesus? Two things: we need to prepare, and we need to be flexible.

Have you ever watched fishermen as they begin their new day? They prepare! They stock up on everything that they think they could possibly need during their time out on the water. They try to anticipate any and every situation that they may encounter, and they make provisions accordingly. They never leave the dock until they have ascertained that they have stowed aboard whatever they might need to meet any eventuality.

Have you ever watched fisherman fish? They are flexible! They will pick a spot and wait. If they catch little or nothing there they will move on to another location and wait. As the day progresses they may revisit a previous spot that had yielded no results earlier only to discover that now it is teeming with fish. Sometimes their intuition may tell them to stay out a little longer than they normally would. Finally, they need to know when to call it a day.

As you begin each new day ask yourself the following questions: What are the situations and events that I may encounter today? What are the virtues that I need to bring along with me to deal with whatever eventualities life may have in store for me? How flexible am I willing to be? Am I able to ‘roll with the punches’? How open am I to adapting to what today may have in store for me rather than tenaciously clinging to what I had in store for the day?

However skeptical Peter, James and John may have been about putting out “into deep water” one more time at the end of a long and fruitless day at the suggestion of an itinerant preacher, they were professional enough – that is, prepared and flexible enough – to do what Our Lord invited them to do. Their decision to do so changed their lives forever. Not only did they catch an enormous amount of fish but also, as it turns out, they themselves were caught by the enormity of God’s love.

How might Jesus ask us to go out “into deep water” today? How will we respond?

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(February 10, 2025: Scholastica, Virgin)

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“God saw how good it was…”

Ask yourself the question: are you basically good or are you basically evil? You might be surprised to learn how many people choose the latter.

On some level it is easy to understand why people say “evil”. Apart from our own struggles to be the kind of people that God calls us to be – that is, people created in God’s own image and likeness – the 24-hour news cycle on cable television constantly bombards us with story after story of what is wrong with us.

Thank God there are other voices that insist – as in the case of the Book of Genesis – that we are “good”. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“God has drawn you out of nothingness to make you what you are now and has done so solely out of his own goodness. Consider, then, the nature God has given you. It is the highest in this visible world and it is capable of eternal life and of being perfectly united to his Divine Majesty.” (IDL, Part I, Chapter 9, p. 53)

Speaking of ‘image and likeness’, would you like more assurances that you are “good”? Listen to these words from the Francis’ Treatise on the Love of God:

“God has signified to us in so many ways and by so many means that he wills all of us to be saved that no one can be ignorant of this fact. For this purpose, he made us ‘in his own image and likeness’ by creation, and by the Incarnation he has made himself in our image and likeness…” (TLG, Book VIII, Chapter 4, p. 64)

Notwithstanding Francis de Sales’ statement above to the contrary, it would appear that many people are in fact ignorant of how good they are – at least, where God is concerned.

Do we good people do bad things? Of course, we do, but that doesn’t make us bad people! Unless, of course, we are bound and determined to make God a liar!

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(February 11, 2025: Our Lady of Lourdes)

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“God blessed the seventh day and made it holy…”

The Book of Genesis outlines all the things that God created at the beginning of time. This list includes all kinds of seed-bearing plants, living creatures, wild animals, and creeping/crawling things. God created fish of the sea, birds of the air and cattle on the land. God created man and woman. And the last thing that Genesis claims that God created was – interestingly enough – the Sabbath.

Catholic Encyclopedia Online reminds us:

“The Sabbath was the consecration of one day of the weekly period to God as the Author of the universe and of time. The day thus being the Lord's, it required that man should abstain from working for his own ends and interests, since by working he would appropriate the day to himself, and that he should devoted his activity to God by special acts of positive worship. While the Sabbath was primarily a religious day, it had a social and philanthropic side. It was also intended as a day of rest and relaxation, particularly for the slaves. Because of the double character, religious and philanthropic, of the day, two different reasons are given for its observance. The first is taken from God's rest on the seventh day of creation; in the second place, the Israelites are bidden to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and should therefore in grateful remembrance of their deliverance rest themselves and allow their bond-servants to rest. As a reminder of God's benefits to Israel the Sabbath was to be a day of joy and such it was in practice. No fasting was done on the Sabbath; on the contrary, the choicest meals were served to which friends were invited.”

Sabbath, then, serves a twofold purpose: it reminds us of how generous God has been to us and it challenges us to be good to others.

In the Salesian tradition, at least, it would seem that our celebration of “Sabbath” should not be limited to one day a week. We should remember God’s goodness to us – and our need to do good for others – every day!

How can we keep the “Sabbath” today?

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(February 12, 2025: Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile…”

In a conference to the Sisters of the Visitation (on the “Obligations of the Constitutions”), Francis de Sales counseled:

“The rules do not command many fasts, but nevertheless some individuals may for their own special needs practice extra fasts; let those who do fast not despise those who eat, nor let those who eat despise those who fast. And the same, for that matter, in all other things that are neither commanded or forbidden, let each person abound in one’s own sense, that is, let each person enjoy and use one’s liberty, without judging or interfering with others who do not do as they do, or trying to persuade others that their ways are the best…”

Lent begins today, on Ash Wednesday. It is traditionally a day of fasting and abstinence. It is also a day when many people are tempted – however unconsciously – to compare their fasting and abstaining with how others fast and abstain which, of course, misses the whole point of fasting and abstaining in the first place.

What about you? Are you still undecided about things from which to fast and abstain on this first day of Lent or - for that matter – perhaps throughout the entire season of Lent? Here’s a suggestion: how about trying to fast and abstain from the temptation to compare ourselves to others?

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(February 13, 2025: Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time)

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"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."

We see a test of wills in today’s Gospel. A local woman is determined to wrest a miracle for her daughter from Jesus, but Jesus seems equally determined to deny her request. While Jesus appears committed to saying “no” to this woman’s plea, the woman appears equally determined to refuse to take “no” for an answer. Clearly, this scene has all the makings of a “Syrophoenician stand-off”.

In both cases, Jesus and the woman are persistent. They are both determined to persevere.

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Our Savior attaches to the great gift of perseverance the supreme gift of eternal glory, as He has said, ‘The one who shall persevere to the end shall be saved.’ This gift is simply the sum total and sequence by which we continue in God’s love up to the end, just as the education, raising and training of a child are simply the acts of care, help and assistance. Perseverance is the most desirable gift we can hope for in this life. It is in our power to persevere. Of course, I do not mean that our perseverance takes its origin from our power. On the contrary, I know that it springs from God’s mercy, whose most precious gift it is.” (Book 3, Chapter 4, p. 174)

Jesus credits the Syrophoenician woman’s persistence – her perseverance – for granting her request to heal her daughter.

Today, how determined are we in our attempts to bring our needs – and the needs of those we love – to the Lord?

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(February 14, 2025: Cyril, Monk & Methodius, Bishop)

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“People brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.”

Jesus was only too happy to grant their request to heal a deaf man with a speech impediment. As we see in the Gospel account today, however, Jesus did much more than simply lay his hand on him. He took him apart from the crowd. Jesus placed his finger in the man’s ears and then spitting, Jesus placed his finger on the man’s tongue.

Jesus healed people in a variety of ways. Sometimes he simply said a word. Sometimes he gave a direct command. Sometimes he followed someone to their home. Sometimes he healed from far away. Sometimes he healed in public. And sometimes – as seen in today’s account from Mark’s Gospel – Jesus’ healing is private: intimately up-close and personal.

Ask yourself this question: how might you need Jesus to heal you today? Then, ask yourself another question: how might Jesus need you to heal someone else today?

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(February 15, 2025: Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“My heart is moved with pity…”

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Compassion, sympathy, commiseration or pity is simply an affection that makes us share the sufferings and sorrows of ones we love and draws the misery that they endure into our own hearts…” (Book V, Chapter 4, p. 243)

As we see clearly in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ compassion is more than an affection. It is more than a feeling. While he clearly makes the neediness of others his own, Jesus does more than that - he addresses the neediness. Jesus satisfies the hunger. Jesus heals the pain. Jesus breaks the chains. Jesus confronts the injustice.

Every time Jesus’ compassionate heart is moved, something good happens to others.

Today, will the same be said of our hearts? 

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February 2 through February 8, 2025

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(February 2, 2025: Presentation of the Lord)

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"Since the children are people of blood and flesh, Jesus likewise has a full share in these..."

“God has signified to us in so many ways and by so many means that He wills all of us to be saved that no one can be ignorant of this fact.  For this purpose, God made us ‘in his own image and likeness’ by creation, and by the Incarnation God has made himself in our image and likeness, after which he suffered death in order to ransom and save all mankind.” (Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8, Chapter 4)

We are probably pretty familiar with the notion that through creation we are made in God’s image and likeness. In contrast, we are probably far less familiar with the notion that God, through the Incarnation, made Himself in our image and likeness. Familiar or not, both are true.

St. Francis de Sales was captivated by the notion that God loved us so much that He not only came among us, but he also became one of us! God took on our very nature! In the person of Jesus, God gained and experienced first-hand knowledge of what it means to sleep, to wake, to work, to rest, to dance, to cry, to mourn, to struggle, to succeed and to dream. In this Jesus not only redeems what it means to be human, but Jesus also celebrates what it means to be human - to be human as God dreams.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews likewise believed this truth. He writes that “Jesus had a full share” in blood and flesh...and “had to become like his brothers (and sisters) in every way.” In this way, Jesus could not only redeem us but also, he could truly understand us.

This truth is indeed a great mystery and a supreme expression of intimacy. God so loved us that he took on our nature…He made himself into our image and likeness – the truest and best nature as God intended from the beginning of time. In a manner of speaking, through the Incarnation God shows us how to be comfortable in our own skin. How? By showing us that God is comfortable in our skin in the person of his son, Jesus Christ!

Put simply, it is in God’s nature to meet us where – and how – we are. How can we imitate God’s example through our willingness to meet others where and how they are today?

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(February 3, 2025: Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“The man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with Him, but Jesus would not permit him…”

The story in today’s Gospel is but one of many occasions in which people – after having encountering Jesus – expressed their desire to follow Him, only to have their request denied. Whether in the case of the man possessed by many demons or in the cases of so many other people whose lives were forever changed by an encounter with Jesus, his directive to “go home” must have been a real let-down.

Especially in the case of John the Baptist! In a letter to St. Jane de Chantal (14 October 1604), Francis de Sales wrote:

“I have often wondered who is the most mortified of the saints I know, and after some reflection I have come to the conclusion that is was John the Baptist. He knew that our Savior came to earth in a place quite close by, perhaps only one or two days’ journey away. How his heart, touched with love of his Savior from the time he was in his mother’s womb, must have longed to enjoy his presence. Yet he spends twenty-five years in the desert without coming to see Our Lord even once; and leaving the desert he stays to catechize without visiting him but waiting until Our Lord comes to seek him out. Then when he has baptized him, he does not follow him but remains behind to do his appointed task…The example of this great saint overwhelms me with its grandeur.” (Conference XIV, p. 259)

It is easy to forget that after their encounter in the River Jordan during which John baptized Jesus, John remained behind while Jesus moved on. Yet, who would deny that John was, nevertheless, a follower – a disciple – of the Lord? As it turns out, there is more than one way to follow Jesus. While some announce what the Lord has done for them in unfamiliar or faraway places, others announce what the Lord has done for them right in their own homes and neighborhoods.

Just this day, whether it is in a place half-a-world away or right in your own back yard, how can you ‘follow’ Jesus by giving witness to others for all that the Lord has done for you?

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(February 4, 2025: Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Please come and lay your hands on her…If I but touch his clothes I will be cured.”

People continued to approach Jesus on behalf of the sick – and on behalf of themselves – to be healed by Jesus. The account in today’s selection from the Gospel of Mark provides an interesting detail: folks coming to Jesus for help believed that if Jesus merely touched them or if they merely touched Jesus, they would experience healing power.

It would seem that just a little bit of Jesus – even the smallest touch of Jesus – went a very, very long way.

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Among sacred lovers there are some who so completely devote themselves to exercises of divine love that its holy fire devours and consumes their life…” (Book VII, Chapter 10, p. 41)

Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of this love. His love for others was so intense and intentional that even the smallest sampling of it changed forever the lives of those he touched or as in the case of the woman burdened with a hemorrhage, those who touched him.

Today, how might the same be said of our love today. How can we – even in small ways – be sources of God’s healing power for others?

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(February 5, 2025: Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr)

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“Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners in order that you might not grow weary and lose heart…

In Saints & Angels: Catholic Online, we read:

“Although we have evidence that Agatha was venerated at least as far back as the sixth century, the only facts we have about her are that she was born in Sicily and died there a martyr. In the legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family. When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before the judge, who happened to be himself. He expected her to give in to when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God by praying: ‘Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart. You know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome these sufferings.’”

“Legend tells us that Quintian then imprisoned her in a brothel in order to get her to change her mind. He brought her back before him after she had suffered a month of assault and humiliation, but Agatha had never wavered. Quintian then sent her to prison - a move intended to make her more afraid, but which ironically enough may have been a great relief to her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured. He refused her any medical care, but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured a final time, she died after saying: ‘Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul.’” (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=14)

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“We must often remember that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance and that we must work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible meekness the injuries, denials and discomforts that we meet.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 3, p. 128)

Following Jesus doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life. However, Jesus invites us to follow his example of how to deal with the trouble that we may face in this life.

Saint Agatha certainly did. Today, how might we?

* * * * *

(February 6, 2025: Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs)

* * * * *

“He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two…”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Do you seriously wish to travel the road to devotion? ‘A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality, and those who fear the Lord find him.’ As you see, these divine words refer chiefly to immortality, and for this we above all else have this faithful friend who by advice and counsel guides our actions and thus protects us from the snares and deceits of the wicked one. For us such a friend will be a treasure of wisdom in affliction, sorrow and failure. He will serve as medicine to ease and comfort our hearts. He will guard us from evil and make our good still better. You must have a guide (or companion) on this holy road to devotion.” (IDL, Part I, Chapter 4, p. 46)

When Jesus sent his followers out to preach the Good News, he did not send them out alone. Jesus used the “buddy system,” sending them out together, in pairs. In the mind of God being a disciple of Jesus has nothing to do with being a lone wolf.

What is the lesson for us? The road of life is sometimes lonely enough without trying to travel it alone. Just as in the case of the first disciples we, too, – disciples of Jesus – need to stick together.

* * * * *

(February 7, 2025: Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“Do not neglect hospitality…”

In the Spring 2002 edition of Vision Magazine, Christine D. Pohl wrote:

“Offering welcome is basic to Christian identity and practice. For most of the church’s history, faithful believers located their acts of hospitality in a vibrant tradition in which needy strangers, Jesus, and angels were welcomed and through which people were transformed. But for many people today, understandings of hospitality have been reduced to Martha Stewart’s latest ideas for entertaining family and friends and to the services of the hotel and restaurant industry. As a result, even Christians miss the significance of hospitality and view it as a mildly pleasant activity if sufficient time is available.” (p. 34)

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales made the following observations regarding the practice of hospitality:

“Apart from cases of extreme necessity, hospitality is a counsel. To entertain strangers is its first degree. To go out on the highways and invite them in, as Abraham did, is a higher degree. It is still higher to live in dangerous places in order to rescue, help and serve passers-by.” (TLG, Part III, Chapter 3, p. 128)

When you consider that most – if not all – of the people to whom we extend hospitality are not strangers but people whom we actually know - or who are known at least by people we know) -  how do we really practice hospitality, at least as St. Francis de Sales defined it? Since we rarely entertain total strangers these days, where does that leave us in our efforts to “not neglect hospitality?” Pohl offers a very practical answer to this question:

“The most important practice of welcome is giving a person our full attention. It is impossible to overstate the significance of paying attention, listening to people’s stories, and taking time to talk with them. For those of us who feel that time is our scarcest resource, often this requires slowing ourselves down sufficiently to be present to the person. It means that we view individuals as human beings rather than as embodied needs or interruptions.” (p. 40)

If we define hospitality as “giving a person our full attention,” it becomes obvious that life provides ample opportunities for us to welcome others: not only strangers, but especially the people we know all-too-well - those with whom we live and love every day.

So, most days what is required to practice hospitality? It would seem that we need less to be good caterers and more to be good listeners.

* * * * *

(February 8, 2025: Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

"His heart was moved…for they were like sheep without a shepherd..."

In today’s Gospel we hear that Jesus’ heart was moved by the sight of the crowd who “were like sheep without a shepherd.”

In other words, the people were lost.

“Lost” is defined as:

·        not made use of, won, or claimed

·        no longer possessed or no longer known

·        ruined or destroyed physically or morally

·        taken away or beyond reach or attainment

·        unable to find the way

·        no longer visible

·        lacking assurance or self-confidence

·        helpless

·        not appreciated or understood

·        obscured or overlooked during a process or activity

·        hopelessly unattainable

It’s safe to say that we all have the experience of being “lost” from time-to-time. Sometimes, we might experience being “lost” in any number of ways for long periods of time. Fortunately for us, one of the reasons that Jesus became one of us was to find the lost.

Consider yourself found! 

* * * * *

January 26 through February 1, 2025

* * * * *

(January 26, 2025: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time )

* * * * *

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it…”

It has been said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, however, if some of the parts are missing, then it is true to say that the whole is diminished.

In today’s second reading St. Paul goes to great lengths to illustrate that each of us is a unique part of the Body of Christ. Each of us plays a unique role in God’s ongoing plan of salvation and sanctification. To that end, Paul challenges us to avoid the temptation to believe that some parts are more important than others because when it comes to the Body of Christ, every part – regardless of how obvious or obscure – has its rightful place.

In the mind of St. Francis de Sales, one of the most practical dimensions of Paul’s exhortation regarding the Body of Christ – and our parts in it - is experienced in the practice of virtue. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, the “Gentleman Saint” wrote:

“Every state (and stage) of life must practice particular virtues. A bishop’s virtues are of one kind, a prince’s another, a soldier’s a third kind and those of a married woman are different from a widow’s. All people should possess all the virtues, yet they must exercise them in different measures. Each person must practice in a unique manner the virtues needed by the kind of life to which he or she is called…Among virtues associated to our particulars duties and responsibilities we must prefer the more excellent to the more obvious…we must choose the best virtues, not the most popular; the noblest, not the most obvious; those that are actually the best, not the most spectacular.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 1, p. 122)

Regardless of how spectacular or sublime, we are all parts of Christ’s one rich and varied Body.

How might we do our part in building up that Body today?

* * * * *

(January 27, 2025: Monday, Third Week in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

In a sermon given on February 8, 1614, Francis de Sales remarked:

“We have two selves, called by St. Paul the earth-born man and the heaven-born man. The latter is the source of our good deeds, the instinct by which we love God and look forward to the joys of heaven. There is no need to change that. It is the other self, the earth-born man, which we must renounce. This is the source of our instability, our preference for evil, our sinful desires – in a word, self-love. So, the earth-born self is what we are to renounce, in order to encourage the heaven-born self. In proportion as the lower side of our nature is disarmed, the life of the spirit is strengthened from day to day.”

“This demands two ongoing resolutions on our part. First, we must be prepared all our life long to find that we are never without some weaknesses which demand self-mastery and mortification: after all, the elimination of evil is a lifetime’s work. Second, we must also have the courage never to be surprised at the magnitude of our task, but continually work to perfect ourselves as faithfully as we can.” (Pulpit and Pew, pp. 209, 211)

To the extent that we cannot choose (so to speak) between the “earth-born” person within us or the “heaven-born” person within us, the households of our lives remain divided. By contrast, to the extent that we choose to devote ourselves to living on this earth as “heaven-born” people, then – in broad strokes – we can keep our spiritual house together and in good order.

Today – just today – how will you choose to live your life: earthbound or bound for heaven? Will your spiritual house be divided - or deepened - as a result?

* * * * *

(January 28, 2025: Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Religious

and Doctor of the Church)

* * * * *

In a Conference to the Sisters of the Visitation (“On Private Judgment”), Francis de Sales referred to Saint Thomas Aquinas whose feast day we celebrate.

“The great St. Thomas, who had one of the loftiest minds possible, when he formed any opinion supported it with the weightiest arguments that he could bring forward. Nevertheless, if he encountered anyone who did not approve of what he had decided to be right, or had contradicted it, he neither disputed with them nor was offended by their action but took all in good part. He thereby showed that he had no love for his own opinion, even though he could not abandon it. He left the matter alone to be approved or disapproved by others as they pleased. Having done his duty, he troubled himself no more about the subject.” (Conference XIV, p. 259)

Thomas Aquinas is universally recognized as one of the brightest intellectual lights of his age (AD 1225 – 1274). But perhaps his greatest genius, to which St. Francis de Sales alludes, was his recognition that being bright doesn’t always mean to be right. While there is little doubt that he could make an argument for his position on any particular topic, Thomas was grounded enough not to have to win every argument. His brilliance was only matched by his humility in allowing others to draw their own conclusions after having done his level best to state his case. As the saying goes, after giving it his best shot, Thomas would allow the chips to fall where they may.

Each of us is entitled to our opinion; that’s a part of our humanity. However, we are all familiar with another part of our humanity that is the source of much conflict and distress - the need to always be right and the need for others to always agree with us.

Let’s do our level best this day to avoid the temptation to force other people to make our opinions their own. In the Salesian tradition it is better to devote our efforts to trying to win people over rather than trying to knock people down.

* * * * *

(January 29, 2025: Wednesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time )

* * * * *

“Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more…”

There are an infinite number of ways in which God demonstrates his power to us. In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear of one of the most remarkable – and generous – displays of God’s power: “Their sins and evildoing I will remember no more.”

Not to put too fine a point on it, but while God may have a long - if not infinite - memory, God does not hold grudges.

We are children of God. We are made in God’s image and likeness. Like God, today are we willing to have long memories without holding grudges?

* * * * *

(January 30, 2025: Thursday, Third Week in Ordinary Times)

* * * * *

“The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”

In his book The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholics, Matthew Kelly writes:’

“All the great figures that emerge in the Gospels are generous. Sure, you have the widow’s mite, an obvious act of generosity. But in every great Gospel figure you find generosity. Mary’s response to God when the angel appeared to her was an incredible act if faith, surrender and generosity. The Magi, traveling from afar with gifts for the infant Jesus, were generous. The centurion begging Jesus to cure his servant was generous. The first twelve’s leaving everything to follow Jesus was incredibly generous. And then there is Jesus himself. His first miracle at Cana was not a miracle of need; it was a miracle of abundance and generosity. Throughout his life he served people by teaching them, feeding them, healing them, providing spiritual leadership and comforting them. Finally, in his suffering and death of the cross, he laid down his life for us in the ultimate act of generosity. The Gospels are a story about the triumph of generosity.”

“Generosity is at the heart of the Christian life, just as it is at the heart of the Gospel. For it is often through our generosity that we are able to bring the love of God to life in others in very real and tangible ways. God is by his very nature generous. God wants to convince us of his generosity, and in turn wants us to live generous lives.” (pp. 110/111)

It isn’t high theology, but what Jesus is basically saying is, “What goes around comes around.” If we are generous to others, it will come back to us not later in heaven, but already here and now on earth, and not merely tit-for-tat. Jesus told us in yesterday’s Gospel that our generosity will come back to us thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. Likewise, if we are stingy toward others, that, too, will come back to us thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. Whether we realize it or not, how we choose to live our lives each and every day builds up over a lifetime a kind of spiritual compound interest.

Today, how generously will you measure unto others?

* * * * *

(January 31, 2025: John Bosco, Priest, Religious, Founder)

* * * * *

“The land yields fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote: “Wherever we may be, we can and should aspire to a perfect life.”

Throughout his ministry, Francis de Sales repeatedly counseled people to make a stark – but sometimes all-too-subtle – distinction between perfection and perfectionism. It seems that the fault of many folks in Francis de Sales’ day was not that they weren’t trying to “aspire to a perfect life.” They were, in fact, trying too hard. They were overwhelmed with good intentions but underwhelmed by their results. Typical of this counsel is a letter from Francis de Sales to Madame Angelique Arnauld, in which he wrote:

“I do know you well and I know that your heart is steadfastly determined to live entirely for God; but I also know that your great natural activity harasses you with many restless impulses. O dear daughter, you must not imagine that the work we have undertaken to do in you can be done so quickly. Cherry trees bear their fruit quickly because they only bear cherries which keep but a short time; but the palm, the prince of trees, only begins bearing fruit a hundred years after it has been planted, it is said. A mediocre life can be achieved in a year, but the perfection for which we are striving – that, my dear daughter, takes quite a few years to establish itself…” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 274)

If a grain of wheat takes time to grow – if an ear of corn takes time to grow – so much the more time is required for us human beings to grow as we “aspire to a perfect life.”

Anything worth doing takes time. In our case, it requires a lifetime!

* * * * *

(February 1, 2025: Saturday, Third Week in Ordinary Time)

                                                   * * * * *              

“Why are you terrified?”

It’s a great question that Jesus proposes to his disciples in today’s Gospel. For our part, we could probably list any number of things in our own lives that have scared, frightened or even terrified us in the past, that could scare, frighten or terrify us in the future or perhaps are scaring, frightening or terrifying us at this very moment. The fact of the matter is that every life comes with its share of things, situations and events that actually should terrify us!

In a letter to Angelique Arnauld, the Abbess of Port Royal, Francis de sales wrote:

“‘Oh, unhappy man that I am,’ said the great apostle, ‘who will deliver me from the body of this death?’ St. Paul felt as if an army, made up of his moods, aversions, habits and natural inclinations had conspired to bring about his spiritual death. Because they terrified him, he showed that he despised them. Because he despised them, he could not endure them without pain. His pain made him cry out this way and then answer his own cry by asserting that the grace of God through Jesus Christ will indeed defend him, but not from fear, or terror, or alarm nor from the fight; rather, from defeat and from being overcome.” (Letters of Spiritual Direction, pp. 172-173)

There are things in life that scare, frighten and terrify us for good reason. Jesus is not asking us to never experience these (or other) emotions when they come upon us with good reason; rather Jesus is asking us to remember (as was the case with the disciples in today’s Gospel) that in the midst of whatever storms and surges that we may experience in life, we are never alone!

Jesus is always – and forever – with us. 

* * * * *

January 19 through January 25, 2025

* * * * *

(January 19, 2025: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet…”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Among the crowds in certain senate chambers and parliaments we see ushers crying, ‘Quiet, there!’ thus making more noise than those they wish to silence.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 8, p. 148)

Being a son or daughter of God empowers us (as St. Paul reminds us) with a variety of “spiritual gifts.” Among these is the gift of “prophecy,” the charism – and the courage – to speak the truth when it needs to be spoken. Of course, as St. Francis de Sales suggests, you don’t have to scream and shout in order to be heard.

The story of the wedding feast at Cana in today’s selection from the Gospel of John is a great illustration of this point. When Mary informs her son that the caterers have run out of wine, Jesus initially resists her suggestion that he needed to do something about it. Mary chose not to remain silent; rather she spoke up. However, her way of speaking up, saying to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you” – five simple words – demonstrates that speaking less may actually result in saying more when it comes to practicing prophecy, that is, when saying what needs to be said…and done.

How about us? Today when we exercise the gift of prophecy – when we speak the truth, let alone do what is true – do we say what needs to be said, or do we say nothing while continuing to speak?

* * * * *

(January 20, 2025: Monday, Second Week in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, and your disciples do not fast?”

What distinguishes your run-of-the-mill comedian from a truly great comedian? Well, aside from having good material, the almost-universal answer is: “Timing”. Successful comedians are gifted with – or learned to develop – an incredible sense of timing.

The point that Jesus is trying to make in today’s Gospel is no laughing matter. In many cases, timing is everything. Fasting and feasting (among other things) are both good things. The challenge is to develop the sense to know the proper time to do one or the other. Recall the words found in the Book of Ecclesiastes 3, verse 1: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…”

In the Salesian tradition, developing this sense of timing goes hand-in-hand with the practice of virtue. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:

“A great fault in many who undertake the exercise of some particular virtue is thinking they must practice it in every situation. Like certain great philosophers, they wish either always to weep or always to laugh. Still worse, they condemn and censure others who do not practice the same virtues they do. The apostle (St. Paul) says, ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep,’ and ‘charity is patient, is kind,’ generous, prudent, discreet and considerate.”

Jesus’ sense of timing - his knack for reading a situation, for recognizing his surroundings and for knowing what was called for with a particular person – enabled him to do the right thing at the right time in the right way. Unlike the “one-size-fits-all” approach of the disciples of John and the Pharisees, Jesus shows us that the authentic practice of virtue must be “tailor-made”.

Indeed, “there is a time for every purpose under heaven.” What time is it now? What are the things that God may be calling us to do today?

* * * * *

(January 21, 2025: Agnes, Virgin and Martyr)

* * * * *

Notwithstanding the increasingly common trend of removing all things religious from the public forum, did you know that St. Agnes is still on the books as the patron saint of the Girl Scouts? In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“St. Agnes was chosen because not only was she martyred when she was barely in her teens, but she also possessed many of the qualities the Girl Scouts attempt to cultivate in themselves: courage, honesty, respect for self and for others, and service to God and neighbor.”

“Agnes came from a Christian family in Rome. She was about thirteen years old when she was arrested and hauled before a magistrate for the crime of being a Christian. He threatened to burn her alive, but Agnes would not deny her faith. Next, he tried to force her to join the virgins who served the goddess Vesta, but Agnes refused to perform any function in a pagan temple. Finally, the magistrate ordered the early adolescent to be exposed in a brothel and then beheaded. Despite the fact that Agnes was but one of tens of thousands of Christians martyred during the emperor Diocletian’s persecution of the Church, devotion to her sprang up and spread almost instantly after her death. In imagery and art, Agnes is frequently portrayed with a lamb, a symbol of her innocence and purity as well as a take-off on her name: in Latin, the word for “lamb” is agnus.” (This Saint’s for You, p. 192)

Perhaps Agnes should also be portrayed with a lion in addition to a lamb. After all, not only was she innocent and pure but also courageous and tenacious…to the death.

Today how might we imitate her example on both scores?

* * * * *

(January 22, 2025: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children)

* * * * *

In his popularization of Bishop Camus’s accounts of the life and legacy of St. Francis de Sales (in The Spirit of Love) CF. Kelley wrote:

“St. Francis de Sales would often say to me (Camus) how much better it would be to accommodate ourselves to others rather than to want to bend everyone to our own ways and opinions. The human mind is like pulp, which takes readily any color with which it is mixed. The great thing is to take care that it not be like the chameleon, which, one after the other takes every color except white.” (Select Salesian Subjects, p. 122, 0523)

St. Francis de Sales’ preferred approach for evangelizing was to meet people where they lived. As his Catholic Controversies clearly demonstrate, however, the “Gentleman Saint” had no hesitation in pointing out instances in which he believed that where people were was objectively wrong. While seeking to accommodate others’ ways and opinions as a strategy for winning them over, attempts at persuasion can never be made at the expense of one’s own principles or core beliefs.

The debate regarding the overturning Roe v. Wade as the federal law of the land in the United States of America and its impact shows no signs of waning. Discussions about how best to legally protect unborn children appear to produce little or no consensus. Arguments for and against ‘legislating morality’ seem to go on endlessly and with greater acrimony. In the meantime, there is nothing to be lost – and perhaps much to be gained – by continuing to pray that “liberty and justice for all” will, in fact, be just that: for all, including unborn children.

Today may God help us to put that prayer into action with as much purpose – and principled persuasion – as we can.  

* * * * *

(January 20, 2025: Thursday, Second Week of Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“Hearing what Jesus was doing, a large number of people came to him…”

As word of Jesus’ reputation for helping those in need spread, we are told in today’s Gospel that lots of folks from lots of places travelled lots of distances to see him, to behold his face, to hear his voice, to experience his healing power and know his love.

In one of his Conferences to the Sisters of the Visitation, Francis de Sales remarked:

“It is very good for us to know and feel our misery and imperfection, but we must not allow that to discourage us; rather, our awareness of our miseries should make us raise our hearts to God by a holy confidence, the foundation of which ought to be in Him…The throne of God’s mercy is our misery; therefore, the greater our misery the greater should be our confidence in God.” (Living Jesus, page 45)

Today’s Gospel challenges people in need not to avoid God but to pursue God. Awareness of our sinfulness should not drive us away from God but should draw us closer to God. Have confidence that God will help you. Have confidence that God will heal you. Have confidence that God will empower you.

Why? Because God loves you! How? In the person of his Son, Jesus.

* * * * *

(January 24, 2025: Francis de Sales - Bishop, Founder and Doctor)

* * * * *

“A patient person is better than a warrior, and those who master their tempers are stronger than one who would capture a city.”

So close, yet so far.

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that that’s how Francis de Sales might have characterized his feelings regarding one of his greatest hopes that remained – sadly – unfulfilled - the return of Catholicism to the city of Geneva. Notwithstanding his success in the Chablais Region during the first four years of his priesthood, his pivotal prominence as Bishop of Geneva, his reputation as a man who could reach minds and soften hearts, his gift for shuttle diplomacy, and as one who “befriended many along the road to salvation,” the full restoration of his See remained frustratingly beyond his reach.

It’s easy to overlook, but Francis de Sales isn’t remembered for having the “Midas Touch”. It’s not like every initiative or endeavor that the “Gentleman Saint” touched turned to gold or ended with overwhelming success. Nevertheless, the Church recognizes him as a spiritual giant precisely because of his willingness to master the city of his own temper, to curb the city of his own enthusiasm and to discipline the city of his own passion in pursuing God and the things of God by choosing to focus his energies on evangelizing those whom he could reach rather than becoming embittered about those he could not reach. True to Fr. Brisson’s assessment of the Salesian method for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, Francis de Sales met people where they were – not where they weren’t.

Not unlike Our Lord Himself!

On his Feast day of the “Bishop of Geneva” let us ask for the grace to imitate his example! May we experience the self-mastery that is even “better than a warrior” by focusing our energies and effort on everything that is within our power to do for the love of God and neighbor, and to let go of whatever is not.

* * * * *

(January 25, 2025: Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle)

* * * * *

St. Francis de Sales had a special place in his heart for the person whose conversion we celebrate the feast of Paul of Tarsus. Throughout his writings Francis not only refers to Paul by name but also by two titles reserved solely for him - “The Apostle” and “The Great Apostle.”

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales observed:

“The glorious St. Paul speaks thus. ‘The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, constancy and chastity.’ See how this divine Apostle enumerates these twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit but sets them down as only one fruit. He does not say, ‘The fruits of the Spirit are…,’ but rather ‘the fruit of the Spirit is…’ Charity is truly the sole fruit of the Holy Spirit, but this one fruit has an infinite number of excellent properties….He means that divine love gives us inward joy and consolation together with great peace of heart, which is preserved in adversity by patience. It makes us kind and gracious in helping our neighbor with a heartfelt goodness toward him. Such goodness is not whimsical; it is constant and persevering and gives us enduring courage by which we are rendered mild, pleasant and considerate to all others. We put up with their moods and imperfections. We keep perfect faith with them, as we thus testify to a simplicity accompanied with trust both in our words and in our actions. We live modestly and humbly, leaving aside all that is luxurious and in excess regarding food and drink, clothing, sleep, play, recreation and other such desires and pleasures. Above all, we discipline the inclinations and rebellions of the flesh by vigilant chastity. All this so to the end that our entire being may be given over to divine dilection both interiorly by joy, patience, long-suffering goodness and fidelity, but also exteriorly by kindness, mildness, modesty, constancy and chastity.” (Book 11, Chapter 19)

From what we see in the life of St. Paul, he obviously did more than merely speak of the fruit of the Spirit. He lived it. His life was transformed by it. He shared it as a gift with all those whose lives he touched. Like Francis de Sales, may we, too, not only admire the example of “the glorious St. Paul,” but also let us imitate his example in our own lives. Let us do our level best to embody and share the gift of the Spirit which indeed has so many excellent properties.

* * * * *

January 12 through January 18, 2025

* * * * *

(January 12, 2024: Baptism of the Lord)

* * * * *

“Here is my servant…he shall bring forth justice…not crying out, not shouting....”

In a conference to the Sisters of the Visitation (on the “Three Spiritual Laws”), Francis de Sales began:

“I turned my attention to the Gospel of today, which makes mention of the baptism of Our Lord and the glorious appearing of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. Remembering that the Holy Ghost is the love of the Father and of the Son, I thought I ought to give you laws which should be wholly laws of love, and these I have taken from the doves, remembering that the Holy Ghost deigned to take the form of a dove and, moreover, that all souls which are dedicated to the service of the divine Majesty must be like pure and loving doves.” (Conference VIII, p. 105-106)

Law One: Do all for God and nothing for yourself

We are made by God, from God and for God. Our glory comes from our God-given dignity. Our glory will be perfectly expressed in our God-given destiny: life on high with Jesus Christ. On any given day it is easy to lose sight of this profound truth and to find our glory in our own personal projects and endeavors. To be sure, there is much work that God wants us to do in the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves. God wants us to work at being sources of Christ’s power and promise in the lives of others…but in the end it is ultimately God’s work in which we share, and not something which we cling to for ourselves. Doing what is right is its own reward. As for the glory, leave that for - and give it to - the One to whom it belongs.

Law Two: Make great use of the little you have

Loosening – letting go – is a part of life. Some of what we need to let go of are things that we choose to give away. Some of what we need to let go of are things that are taken from us.

Sometimes it is only when we lose something that we more deeply appreciate that which we still possess. Throughout the life-long process of letting go, we have a fundamental choice. We can complain about that which is no more, or we – while acknowledging our losses – can continue to dream about and work for that which still might be.

Growth in devotion is not measured by how much we have or possess. In the eyes of God, the quality of our lives is measured by how diligently, readily and frequently we take hold – and let go – of all that God gives us, be it great or especially, when it is little.

Law Three: Be the same in sadness and joy

Life is a mix of setbacks and success. Life has its measure of both agony and ecstasy, and of defeat and delight. A sure sign that we are growing in devotion is our ability to embrace both sadness and joy to the same degree, and to experience the ups and downs of life in a reasonable, balanced and even-tempered way. While we cannot control much of what happens to us, we can certainly choose how to respond to what happens to us.

Some folks are great losers but not very good winners. Some folks are great winners but terrible losers. Neither person is very pleasant to be around for long periods of time. Take the good with the bad. Mourn loss. Celebrate gain. Take as your motto the words of Winston Churchill: “Success is never final; failure is never fatal.” In all things, be grateful for who you are and who God calls you to be.

* * * * *

Francis de Sales desired that the Sisters of the Visitation be ‘spiritual doves:’ people who would devote their strength to bringing “justice to the nations” without being strident. He challenged them to give God his due – and other people their due – not by crying out or shouting but by quietly living their day-to-day lives as best as they could.

Today how might we follow these same “Spiritual Laws” in out attempts to promote justice not only by our words, but also by our deeds? How might we be ‘spiritual doves” in our relationships with others?

For love of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost!

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(January 13, 2024: Monday, First Week in Ordinary Time)

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“They left their nets and followed him...They left their father along with the hired men and followed him.”

The word left (used twice in today’s Gospel) is, of course, a form of the verb leave, defined as “(1) to go out of or away from; (2) to depart from permanently; quit: to leave a job; (3) to let remain or have remaining behind after going, disappearing, ceasing; (4) to allow to remain in the same place, condition, etc; (5) to let stay or be as specified.”

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, encounters with God almost always seem to involve people “leaving” something, somewhere or someone. Adam and Eve left Eden; Abraham and Sarah left their homeland; Noah left dry land and later left his boat; Moses and the Israelites left Egypt; Mary left in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth; the Magi left the East to follow a star; Mary, Joseph and Jesus left Bethlehem ahead of Herod’s rage; Matthew left his tax collecting post. And in today’s Gospel, Simon, Andrew, James and John left their nets, their livelihood, their families and their homes.

Be that as it may, leaving – at least, as far as God is concerned – isn’t only about walking away from something, somewhere or someone. It’s also about drawing closer to something, somewhere or someone else. Specifically, loving God – and the things of God – frequently invites us to leave that which is comfortable and familiar in order that we might experience that which is challenging and new. By most standards that’s what growth, especially human growth, is all about: knowing when it’s time to leave and move on – even when leaving someone, somewhere or something is good – and sometimes, very, very good!

One of our greatest temptations in life is to stop moving; growing; changing; learning and developing. There was a time when psychologists seemed to suggest that human beings stopped growing somewhere in their twenties or thirties. Today, we know that human beings continue to grow right up until the day they die…or, at least, they are invited to do so. Leaving – as it turns out - is a part of living.

Leaving is not about doing with less. Very often, leaving is about making room for more. Today what might God be asking us to leave in order that we might have more life - and more love – tomorrow?

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(January 14, 2024: Tuesday, First Week in Ordinary Time)

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“He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

In today’s Gospel we hear that the people of Capernaum were “astonished” at the teaching of Jesus, for “he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. What distinguished the teaching of Jesus from the teaching of the scribes? How did Jesus’ “new teaching” manifest itself? Some of the differences include - but are certainly not limited to – these:

1) Jesus taught important matters of the highest importance and which are necessary for salvation. By contrast the scribes taught trifling matters of rites and ceremonies which were passing away, such as the washing of hands and of cups.

2) What Christ taught in word, he fulfilled in deed. He talked the talk and walked the walk. The scribes, by contrast (as Jesus observed) spoke bold words, but exhibited few deeds.

3) Jesus taught with fervor and zeal, such that the words of Scripture could always be applied to him. The scribes could lay no such claims.

4) Jesus confirmed his teaching by miracles; the scribes could not.

5) The scribes were merely interpreters of the Law, whereas Christ was the embodiment of the Law and Prophets.

6) While the scribes sought their own glory and the praise of others, Jesus taught solely for the glory of God and for the salvation of others.

7) In his words and example – and also by the hidden inspirations of his grace - Jesus illuminated the minds and inflamed the hearts of his hearers. By contrast, the scribes clouded the minds and discouraged the hearts of their hearers. (http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2012/01/christ-taught-as-one-having-authority.html)

When other people encounter us – especially as it relates to matters of faith, life and love – to whom do we bear a greater resemblance: the scribes, or The Christ?

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(January 15, 2024: Wednesday, First Week in Ordinary Time)

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“He went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons…”

M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist, wrote two books on the subject of “demons” - People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil and Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption. Peck describes in some detail several cases involving his patients. In People of the Lie he provides identifying characteristics of an evil person, whom he classified as having a character disorder. In Glimpses of the Devil Peck goes into significant detail describing how he became interested in exorcism in order to debunk the myth of possession by evil spirits – only to be convinced otherwise after encountering two cases which did not fit into any category known to psychology or psychiatry. Peck concluded that possession was a rare phenomenon related to evil, and that possessed people are not actually evil; rather, they are doing battle with the forces of evil. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon)

In today’s Gospel – and all throughout the Gospels – we are told that Jesus drove out “demons” as a part of his ministry of proclaiming the power and promise of the Good News. Whether or not you believe in demons – regardless of your thoughts regarding exorcisms – we all struggle with things that plague us, that exasperate us or that appear to ‘possess’ us to the extent that they prevent us from being the people God wants and intends us to be. Despite our best efforts, these “demons” seem impervious to our feeble attempts at conquering, dispelling or exorcizing them. Perhaps therein lies the lesson because the greatest mistake we make in struggling with our own “demons” is to believe that we must do it alone or that we must battle with our “demons” all by ourselves.

Today however large, small, frequent or few they might be, are you willing to bring your “demons” to Jesus?

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(January 16, 2025: Thursday, First Week in Ordinary Time)

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“The leprosy left him immediately...”

Time and time again throughout the four Gospels, we witness how Jesus cured people on the spot – their infirmity was healed, removed or eradicated immediately. In the case of today’s Gospel selection from Mark, Jesus immediately healed a person afflicted with leprosy.

But not all miracles happen in an instant. Some require several steps. Others require more time.

In Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John, Jesus cures a man born blind by first mixing spittle and mud before applying the mixture to the man’s eyes. In Chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel, the healing of another blind man requires two stages. In Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel Jesus turns water into wine seemingly as a last resort. And in the Gospels of Mark (7:25-30) and Matthew (15:21-28) Jesus agreed to heal the possessed daughter of the Syrophoenician woman only after what sometimes appears to have been a protracted negotiation. For that matter, in the Old Testament (2 Kings 5) Naaman the Syrian was cured of his leprosy only after bathing seven times in the River Jordan.

Whether in an instant, over several stages or during the course of a lifetime, all miracles share one thing in common – they begin by asking God for help. If even only as a first step, from what might we need to be healed, freed or liberated by God?

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(January 17, 2024: Anthony, Abbot)

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“Do not forget the works of the Lord…”

Romanian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once remarked: “When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.”

Today’s Gospel offers us a powerful illustration of how the absence of gratitude can diminish one’s humanity.

When Jesus heals a paralytic in two phases (first, by forgiving the man’s sins and second, by curing the man’s infirmity) there isn’t an ounce of gratitude to be found anywhere among the scribes. The only thing they seem capable of mustering is resentment. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the scribes seem to be suffering more from something missing in their humanity. They come off in this story as being sorry excuses for human beings.

Maybe the reason that the scribes failed to recognize a singular work of the Lord in the present (at the hands of Jesus) was due to the fact that they had managed to forget the collective works of the Lord in the past. Absorbed by their own sense of smug self-importance, the scribes appear to have lost their capacity for gratitude. These men of God no longer displayed any need for God.

Do you feel like something is missing from your humanity? Are you experiencing any resentment? Then “do not forget the works of the Lord.” For that matter, do not forget the works of all the people in your life who have helped to make you who you are today.

And especially don’t forget to be grateful. Your humanity depends on it!

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(January 18, 2024: Saturday, First Week in Ordinary Time)

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“The word of God is living and effective...”

In today’s selection from the Gospel of Mark we see these words from the Letter to the Hebrews in action in the person of Jesus. Jesus’ words are not mere words, but they words mean something. Jesus’ words are commands, invitations, assurances, challenges, promises, and occasionally, even rebukes. Jesus’ words – all of Jesus’ words – are powerful. They make things happen. They change peoples’ lives for the better

Jesus says to Levi, “Follow me.” Levi follows. In another instance Jesus says, “Stand up.” The person stands up. In another instance Jesus says, “Go. Your faith has healed you.” And the person goes. In yet another instance, Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” And they are forgiven.

And what about us? Are our words just words or do they mean something? Do our words accomplish things? Do our words make things happen?

And if so, do they change other peoples’ lives for the better?

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January 5through January 11, 2025

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(January 5, 2024: Epiphany of the Lord)

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“They prostrated themselves and did him homage: then, they opened their treasures....”

On the Feast of the Epiphany, Blessed Louis Brisson made the following observations:

“In the Orient that was a tradition that a new star would appear as a sign of redemption. If one would follow that star it would lead to the awaited Messiah. Thus, the Magi of the Orient who knew of this tradition - and who were versed in the study of the stars - one night noticed the star that was the precursor of the Messiah. Three in number the Magi – along with a great troop of servants – set out to follow it. The star led them to Jerusalem but stopped and disappeared.”

“The king who reigned in Judea at the time was Herod. Hiding his astonishment and hate, he called the doctors of the Law who declared that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Herod, then, took the Magi aside and said to them, ‘I did not know of the birth of the King, but when you have found Him, return to let me know so that I also might go and adore Him.’ When the Magi left Jerusalem, the star appeared anew and led them to Bethlehem. They approached the Child Jesus, adored Him and offered Him their presents.”

“My friends, each soul has its own little star, the star of its vocation, the star of the will of God which enlightens its life and shows it what God desires of it. Ask our Savior very fervently for the grace to be faithful to your star. In following it you will find Jesus with his love and graces as the Magi found Him in the manger.” (Cor ad Cor, p. 49)

Today how can you do homage to the Child Jesus? By opening the most valuable treasure of all - the God-given star of love within your heart.

And by following it!

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(January 6, 2019: Monday after Epiphany)

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“They brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain…who were possessed…paralytics…and he cured them.”

“A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It may be caused by external factors or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions. In humans, ‘disease’ is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections, isolated symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts and for other purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories. Diseases usually affect people not only physically, but also emotionally, as contracting and living with many diseases can alter one’s perspective on life, and their personality.”

“People use metaphors to make sense of their experiences with disease. The metaphors move disease from an objective thing that exists to an affective experience. The most popular metaphors draw on military concepts: Disease is an enemy that must be feared, fought, battled, and routed. The patient or the healthcare provider is a warrior, rather than a passive victim or bystander. The agents of communicable diseases are invaders; non-communicable diseases constitute internal insurrection or civil war.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease)

Look at the word closely: “dis-ease.” Dis-ease, then, is anything – be it physical, emotional, psychological, social, spiritual, material – that causes pain, discomfort, agitation, anxiety or distress. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus stands ready to receive any – and all – “dis-eases” with which we – or others we know – are afflicted. Jesus has the power to put us – or others we know – at ease.

How might Jesus put you “at ease” today? How might you imitate His example by doing the same for others?

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(January 7, 2024: Raymond of Penyafort, Priest)

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“In this is love: not that we have loved God but that God has loved us.”

In attempting to describe the ‘love of God,’ Francis de Sales wrote the following in his Treatise on the Love of God:

“This is not a love which natural powers – whether of angels or of men – can produce. It is the Holy Spirit who pours it into our hearts. Just as our souls which give life to our bodies do not take their origin from our bodies but are placed in our bodies by God’s natural providence, so also charity – that is, the love of God – which gives life to our hearts is not extracted from our hearts but is poured into them like a heavenly liquor by the supernatural providence of His divine majesty…We don’t love our parents because they belong to us; we love them because we belong to them. It is thus that we love and desire God: not that He may become our good, but because He is our good; not that He may become ours but because we are His. It is not as though He exists for us: we exist for Him.” (Living Jesus, p. 207; 209-210)

When we describe the “love of God,” we need to be crystal clear that the “love of God” is not about something we do for God - the “love of God” is all about God, and God’s love for us. That said, it says a great deal about God when we consider that God would share this most divine of gifts with us. What return can we possibly make to God for empowering each of us with so wonderful a gift? The truth is we can’t return it. However, we can share it!

With one another!

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(January 8, 2024: Wednesday after Epiphany)

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“There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment…”

And yet, we hear in the Book of Proverbs (9:10): “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Solomon is warning his son that no matter how much knowledge you gain, unless you fear - or stand in total awe of - God, you will not know how to use it.  This theme runs through most of the book of Proverbs.  It is God who establishes what is moral, what is right and what is good.  And if you have no plumb line for your behavior external to yourself, you are like a rudderless ship, driven by changing emotions and opinions and ideas. In that case, your knowledge will not do you -- or anyone else -- much good. You will cause far more disaster than good.

Keep in mind the key word is beginning. Even the loftiest of projects has to start somewhere. In a perfect world, we would always do the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. Insofar as this world is anything but perfect, however, sometimes we do the right thing for fear of being punished, for fear of getting into trouble or for fear of losing out. St. Jane de Chantal once remarked: “The way of fear closes the heart and only ends in making us avoid evil and do good from the motive of being afraid of reprimands and penances.” (Select Salesian Subjects, p. 127, 0532) However, if our pursuit of wisdom never grows beyond fear, we are doomed to failure. Spiritual maturity requires that we grow beyond fear - that we leave fear behind.

Francis de Sales employs a powerful image to make this point. Referencing the famous scene in which Peter is invited by Jesus to walk upon tempestuous waters, Francis de Sales observed:

“Behold St. Peter. Fear is a greater evil than the evil that is feared. It would have caused him to perish in the waters had not his Master saved him. O child of little faith, fear not! You are walking on the waters – in the midst of the wind and waves – but it is with Jesus. If fear seizes you, cry loudly, ‘ Lord, save me or I perish!’ He will extend His hand to you; clasp it firmly and continue on joyously.” (Words of the Saints: St. Francis de Sales, p. 114)

Fear may be the beginning of wisdom, but as we grow in wisdom, we find less use for fear. Where there is love – the fullness of love – there is no room or need – for fear at all.

God is love; there is no fear in Him. Can the same be said of us?

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(January 9, 2024: Thursday after Epiphany)

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“If anyone says, ‘I love God’, but hates his brother, he is a liar...”

In a sermon, Francis de Sales observed:

“The Commandment to love the neighbor is new, then, for the reason just given; that is, because Our Lord came to renew it, indicating that He wished it to be better observed that it had ever been before. It is new also because it is as if the Savior had resuscitated it, just as we can call a man a new man who has been restored to life from death. The Commandment has been so neglected that it must have seemed never to have been given inasmuch as there were so few who remembered it, to say nothing of those who practiced it. Thus, Our Lord gave it again. And He wants it to be as if it were a new thing, a new Commandment, one that is practiced faithfully and fervently…He wants it so renewed so that everybody should love one another.” (Living Jesus, p. 249-250)

We can never be reminded enough of this “new” Commandment that Jesus preached in word and in deed: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” To observe this Commandment is to live in the truth. Of course, Jesus’ “new” Commandment also infers that if you claim to love God while hating your brother (or sister), you are a liar.

And there’s absolutely nothing new about that!

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(January 10, 2024: Leonie Aviate, OSFS, Founder and Religious)

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“Anyone who welcomes one such child for my sake welcomes me...”

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of St. Leonie Aviat, OSFS: religious, founder.

In the middle of the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution, there was a rapid expansion of the textile industry in the town of Troyes, France. The Industrial Revolution created opportunities for women to work outside the home and/or the farm. Droves of young country girls came to the town in search of employment and adventure. They had no money, nowhere to live and were thus exposed to many potential hazards. With a remarkable intuition for overcoming obstacles, Father Louis Brisson took these girls into his care. He acquired a building, offering board and lodging and even work on the premises to a number of young female workers. He trained a group of volunteers to oversee the boarding house, but no matter how devoted they were, the undertaking lacked stability. It was not only necessary to provide room and board for the girls and young women, but also to educate them in their faith and guard them against moral danger. Fr. Brisson eventually determined that this new undertaking would be better served by a community of religious women who could devote themselves to this growing ministry.

Enter Leonie Aviat. Together with Fr. Brisson, she founded the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales who, during the course of her lifetime, saw many a child – and young adult, for that matter – welcomed for the sake of the Lord.

Children not only come in many shapes and sizes, but as it turns out, children also come in a variety of ages. In the broadest sense, the “children” to whom Jesus alludes in today’s Gospel are: anyone who is vulnerable, anyone who needs welcome, anyone who needs comfort and anyone who needs a safe place.

Today, who might be the children in our lives whom Jesus challenges us to welcome for his sake?

~ OR ~

Throughout the history of Christian spirituality, there frequently appears to be an uneasy relationship between prayer and work, between being and doing, and/or between resting in God and doing for/with God. St. Francis de Sales offered a remedy for the temptation to dichotomize prayer and work. The “Gentleman Saint” identified – in broad strokes – three types of prayer.

First, there is vocal prayer. Examples of this type of prayer on which most – if not all – of us first cut our gums include: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, Grace-before-Meals, etc, etc. It is a form of prayer of which we can make good use even into old age.

Second, there is mental prayer, or “prayer of the heart”. Some people experience this type of prayer as meditation; for other people, it is known as contemplation. This type of prayer relies a great deal less on words and makes greater use of thoughts, considerations, affections, images and silence. Unlike vocal prayer, it tends to be much less public and much more private. Mental prayer seems to come easily for some folks, while it appears to be more elusive or challenging for others.

Finally, there is what Francis de Sales referred to as the prayer of a good life. It is the prayer that comes with doing good – with practicing virtue – in a very mindful, heart-filled, intentional and deliberate way at each and every moment – specifically - through the practice of the Direction of Intention!

Leonie Aviat, OSFS clearly saw the Direction of Intention as the bridge linking prayer and work. Years after founding the Oblate Sisters, she would later remark:

“I still remember the words the Good Mother said to us one day on the subject. ‘The faithful practice of the Direction of Intention is the first rung on the ladder that will make us attain sanctity.’ She had been so faithful to this article that she knew its reward.” (Heart Speaks to Heart, p. 150)

Professor Wendy Wright notes that in the Salesian tradition the interior prayer of the Direction of Intention - be it with or without words - provides the foundation for both the life of the cloistered Visitandine and the very active life lived by an Oblate Sister. She again quotes Leonie Aviat:

“My children (wrote the Good Mother) you are not called to say the office for the moment. Your principal occupation is work. Give yourself to it as graciously as possible. Go to your work when the clock chimes. Set out joyfully according to our Rule, as if you were going to say the office and make meditation, because for you, work is a continual meditation.” (Ibid)

Whether we do our work prayerfully – or put our prayer to work – prayer and work are the inseparable sides of the same coin: the love of God, neighbor and self.

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(January 11, 2024: Saturday after Epiphany)

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“You have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God…”

In his book The Spirit of Love, C.F. Kelley wrote:

“If the divine humanism of St. Francis de Sales did not specialize in theology, to what, then, did it give attention? Indeed, if it must be said to have specialized in anything at all, then sure it was the praising of all the divine aspects of human nature. He taught that the abuse of human instincts is the only thing about which we need to be ashamed: we should not be ashamed of our humanity. Rather than speculate about God he preferred to glorify the divinity of man. Instead of thinking about original sin, he thought about redemption. Instead of thinking about punishment, he thought about eternal life. Instead of thinking about grace for the elect, he thought about grace for all. Instead of thinking about God in the head, he thought about God in the heart. Nevertheless, his divine humanism had its opponents: not only Calvinists and Lutherans, Naturalists, Idealists and philosophical skeptics, but others less extreme who emphasized the misery of fallen nature, or others who were afraid of holding man in high esteem for fear of inviting him to somehow dispense with God. Francis de Sales was devoid of this kind of fear. After all, how can someone fear something about which he is not thinking or at which he is not looking? Those who are in love with God and the things of God have raised themselves to where they no longer think or look. They simply love.”  (Select Salesian Subjects, p. 115, 0496.)

Note that John uses the present tense in addressing us. He tells us that we “have” eternal life. Rather than presuming that eternal life is reserved solely for the next life, John suggests that eternal life is already available to us in this life. How might we access that eternal life here and now already? As Francis de Sales suggests, eternal life has a great deal to do with how we think about this life. Eternal life has a great deal to do with what we think about – what we focus upon – in this life. Eternal life has a great deal to do with love, and little – or nothing - to do with fear.

How can we experience eternal life? By loving God, the things of God and – most importantly – the people of God.

Beginning with yourself!

* * * * *

December 29 through January 4, 2025

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(December 29, 2024: Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph)

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“God’s chosen ones...”

Today’s selection from the Book of Sirach certainly shares in the spirit of the Fourth Commandment: “Honor your mother and father.” The reading is telling us that our relationships with others - especially those with whom we share so much time and contact every day - are the primary expression of the disposition of our hearts, minds, affections and attitudes.

The selection from the Letter to the Colossians confronts us with the gift - and the challenge - of creating that ‘space’ we call ‘family’ a space in which we first learn something of what it means to be sons and daughters of God. As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, we must clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Insofar as a holy life is not the same as a stress-free or trouble-free life (just look at the life, especially the very early life, of Jesus, Mary and Joseph), we all need to practice these virtues all the time with the hope of establishing, maintaining and strengthening family, especially - God forbid - when we ruffle, distract or disappoint one another.

Francis de Sales calls us to live a life of devotion in ways that fit the demands and responsibilities of the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves. What is a devout life? It is nothing more (but more demanding) than doing what is right in the eyes of God, and in relation to one another, carefully, frequently and diligently. It is precisely in the vocation in which we find ourselves, especially in those roles so basic as mother, father, brother, sister, wife, husband, son or daughter that we must practice the devout life.

Francis de Sales tells us:

“The little, unattractive and hardly noticeable virtues which are required of us in our household, our place of work, among friends, with strangers, any time and all the time, these are the virtues for us.” (Introduction, Part III, Chapter 2).

Of course, the most important virtue to practice is that of love, which not only reconciles, but also purifies and, dare we say, even glorifies the best of human relationships. It is only in relationship with one another that the practice of the little, everyday virtues flowers into love, not only helping to create a better life here on earth, but also providing a foretaste of the eternal life promised to us in heaven.

As we celebrate the Feast of The Holy Family we realize that we actually know very little about the day-to-day give-and-take of relationships among Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Family life – a hidden life – is a way of life that requires both science and art. Considering Jesus’ fidelity to - and consistency in - his pursuit of justice, peace, reconciliation and freedom, we certainly can sense where Jesus first acquired as a child so many of the skills he would later practice in his adult life.

After all, charity, peace, justice, forgiveness - like so many things - begin at home.

* * * * *

(December 30, 2024: Monday, Sixth Day Octave of Christmas)

* * * * *

“Do not love the world or the things of the world. The world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

This statement sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it? Insofar as the world and so many things of the world are gifts from a loving God, should we not appreciate them? Should we not celebrate and cherish them? Should we – dare we say it – love the world and the things of this world?

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“When our worldly goods cleave to our hearts, what complaints, what trouble and what impatience do we experience if a storm, a thief or a cheat should take away from us any part of our possessions! When our goods do not cleave to our hearts and we think about them only because of the care as God wants us to have for them, then we won’t lose reason or peace of mind if or when they are taken from us.”

He continued:

“If you are too strongly attached to the goods of the world that you possess, if you are too solicitous about them, if you set your heart on them, if you are always thinking about them and if you fear losing them with a strong, anxious fear, then believe me…you love them too much. It is impossible to take great please in a thing without having extraordinary affection for it.” (IDL, II, Chapter 6, p. 116)

Pay close attention to what Francis de Sales is saying. While he isn’t suggesting that we should hate the world (it is, after all, a gift from God that God has commissioned us to care for and cultivate!), Francis is encouraging us to make a subtle – but lifesaving – distinction. We should take great delight in the world and many things of this world, but we should reserve our love for relationships alone – our relationships with God, with others and with ourselves. Even as we possess things, we should do our level best to prevent those things from possessing us. Put another way, while celebrating the manifold gifts of creation during the course of our lives on earth, we should remind ourselves from time to time that we can’t take them with us into heaven – with one exception, of course.

Love!

* * * * *

(December 31, 2024: New Year’s Eve)

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An Exhortation by St. Jane de Chantal on the Beginning of a New Year

We are about to bring another year to an end, a year like so many years which have come before it.

Time passes by.  The years come and go, and some day we, likewise, will pass and come to an end as well.  We must make a strong and absolute resolution that, if Our Lord should gift us with yet another full year, we will make better use of it than those years that have come – and gone – before.  Let us walk with a new step in God’s divine service to our neighbor and to our greater perfection.  Let us take great courage to labor in earnest.

Please take this to heart.  What is the point of being gifted with a new year if not to recommit ourselves to the task at hand?  Otherwise, we should not be astonished to find ourselves in the same place at the conclusion of this year with little or nothing to show for it.  I desire that this not happen to you; rather, consider how you can make good use of every day that God is pleased to give you.  Let us embrace the responsibilities and challenges of life in the best way that we can; let us employ the time that God gives us with great care.  While we hope in God’s divine goodness, may we also remember to aspire to actually do what is good.

So, then, let us live this New Year in the name of our Lord.  Let us redouble our efforts at serving God and one another faithfully, especially in small and simple ways.  God only expects what we can do, but what we can do God clearly expects.  Therefore, let us be diligent in giving our best to God, leaving the rest in the hands of God’s infinite generosity.

(Based upon St. Jane de Chantal’s Exhortation for the last Saturday of 1629, On the Shortness of Life. Found in Conferences of St. Jane de Chantal.  Newman Bookshop: Westminster, Maryland.  1947. Pages 106 – 107)

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(January 1, 2025: Mary, Mother of God)

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“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Honor, venerate and respect with special love the holy and glorious Virgin Mary who, being the Mother of Jesus Christ our Brother, is also in truth our very mother. Let us then have recourse to her, and as her little children cast ourselves into her bosom with perfect confidence, at all times and on all occasions let us invoke her maternal love whilst striving to imitate her virtues…” (Living Jesus, p. 224)

As we begin another New Year, let us rededicate our lives to the glorious Virgin Mary. Let us honor, venerate and respect her. Let us turn to her. Let us have confidence in her. Let us invoke her maternal love while striving to imitate her virtues. For her part, may Mary – Mother of Jesus – help us in our efforts every day during this New Year to be worthy brothers and sisters of her Son. And in so doing, may God bless us and keep us. May the Lord let his face shine upon us and be gracious to us. May the Lord look upon us kindly and give us peace!

~OR~

“Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.”

“Look at Mary in all the circumstances of her life. In her room at Nazareth, she shows her modesty in that she is afraid, her candor in wanting to be instructed and in asking a question, her submission, her humility in calling herself a handmaid. Look at her in Bethlehem: she lives simply and in poverty, she listens to the shepherds as though they were learned doctors. Look at her in the company of the kings: she does not try to make any long speeches. Look at her at the time of her purification: she goes to the temple in order to conform to church customs. In going to Egypt and in returning she is simply obeying Joseph. She does not consider she is wasting time when she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth as an act of loving courtesy. She looks for Our Lord not only in joy but also in tears. She has compassion on the poverty and confusion of those who invited her to the wedding, meeting their needs. She is at the foot of the cross, full of humility, lowliness, virtue, never drawing any attention to herself in the exercise of these qualities.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, page 159)

When Mary agreed to be the mother of Jesus, she got much more than she bargained for. Her ‘yes’ to God’s invitation to be the mother of the Messiah forever changed the course of her life. But as Francis de Sales observed, she constantly reaffirmed that ‘yes’ as she experienced God’s will for her son, God’s will for her husband and God’s will for her. In good times, bad times and all the times in between, she fully embraced the various circumstances in which she found herself.

We, too, are called to give birth to Jesus. While not a physical birthing, this call is no less challenging or demanding to us as it was for Mary.

As we see in the life of Mary, giving birth to Jesus is not a one time event. It is a life-long process. Saying ‘yes’ to giving birth to Jesus is about being faithful to God’s will for us and others - one day, one hour, one moment at a time throughout our lives. Giving birth to Jesus is about fully and deeply embracing the responsibilities, events and circumstances of the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves. It’s about rolling with the punches while remaining convinced of God’s love and care for us.

Mary is a powerful reminder that giving birth to Jesus brings more than its share of inconveniences, headaches and heartaches. However, Mary is likewise a powerful reminder of how one person’s fidelity to God’s will can change the world for the better. Forever!

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 (January 2, 2025: Basil the Great)

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“Remain in him...”

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“In Basil’s day most monks and nuns were hermits living in isolated corners of the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. Arguing that people are ‘sociable beings, and not isolated or savage,’ he urged the hermits to form communities near towns and cities where ordinary Christians could profit from their prayers and, inspired by their example, deepen their own religious life. The monks and nuns could take in orphans and open schools, recruiting a new generation for the religious life. To this day in the Eastern Church, St. Basil’s guidelines for monks and nuns remain the standard.” (This Saint’s for You, p. 359)

In today’s selection from the First Letter of John the word ‘remain(s)’ is used six times. The author challenges us to remain in Jesus in order that Jesus may remain in us. Among other things, ‘remain’ is defined as “to continue in the same state or condition, to continue to be in the same place, stay or stay behind.” At first glance this definition seems to suggest that remaining in Jesus is somehow static - that’s about staying the same, that it’s about treading water, that it’s about running in place. The word ‘remain’ feels passive. The problem is that Jesus is anything but passive; Jesus is all about action.

To remain in Jesus requires effort. To remain in Jesus requires energy. To remain in Jesus requires endurance. However, as St. Basil the Great would suggest, to “remain in him” isn’t limited to Jesus. As “sociable beings” we need something else in order to remain – that is, “to endure or persist” – with Jesus.

We need to “endure and persist” as Church. We need to “endure and persist” as community. We need to “endure and persist” with one another. After all, we are the Body of Christ.

Together!

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(January 3, 2025: Most Holy Name of Jesus)

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“Those who have this hope based on him make themselves pure, as he is pure...”

Have you ever looked closely at the outside of a carton of Breyer’s Ice Cream? Somewhere in the vicinity of the image of the mint leaf you will find the “Pledge of Purity”. This trademarked pledge (inaugurated in 1908 by Henry Breyer, himself) personally guaranteed that each container contained the highest-quality, all natural ingredients available.

This notion of purity might be very helpful in our attempts to understand today’s selection from the First Letter of John. After all, who of us can claim to be “pure”? Who of us can claim to be perfect? Who of us can claim to be without blemish? With the exception of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, such “purity” is reserved for God, and for God alone.

So now, where does that leave us?

Well, if being “pure” is about being all-natural, we can strive for that. If being “pure” is about being real, we can strive for that. If being “pure” is about being authentic, we can strive for that. If being ‘pure’ is about being transparent, we can strive for that. If being “pure” is about being guileless, we can strive for that. If being “pure” is about avoiding artificiality in any/all its forms, we can strive for that. If being “pure” is about being unadulterated, we can strive for that. In short, if being “pure” is about being true to whom God wants us to be - no more, no less – we can strive for that.

Look at the life of Jesus himself. He was all-natural. He was real. He was authentic. He was guileless. He was unadulterated. He was transparent. He eschewed anything artificial. In short, he was faithful to whom God wanted him to be - no more, no less.

Today, how can we hope to imitate the purity of Jesus in our relationship with God, in our relationship with ourselves and in our relationships with one another? Help yourself to a heaping and healthy scoop of “Breyer’s” spirituality. Avoid anything artificial! Keep it natural! Keep it real!

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(January 4, 2025: Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious)

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“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“For two hundred years American parochial schools have provided countless children with a solid education while teaching them how to be faithful Catholics and solid citizens. While parish schools aren’t as numerous as they once were – to say nothing of the legions of nuns that used to teach in them – the situation is not nearly as daunting as it was in Elizabeth Ann Seton’s day.”

“Mother Seton’s life coincides with the birth of the United States and the rise of the Catholic Church in America. She was born one year before the battles of Lexington and Concord, during an era when Catholicism was outlawed in every colony except Maryland. In British America, there were no bishops, no nuns, no Catholic schools and no seminaries. Only about twenty priests lived in the colonies, most living incognito and using aliases to avoid hard anti-clerical laws. For her part she grew up the daughter of a prominent, well-to-do Anglican family on Staten Island. During the revolution they walked a fine line between loyalty to the king and support for the rebels. Whatever her family’s true sympathies may have been, they were firmly in the American camp by the time George Washington was elected president: in fact, the then-fifteen year-old Elizabeth danced at the first inaugural ball.”

“At the age on nineteen she married William Seton, a wealthy New York merchant. The couple had five children – three girls and two boys – and enjoyed a life of comfort and privilege. After eight years of marriage, William’s business went bankrupt: shortly thereafter, he contracted tuberculosis. In an attempt to save William’s health, the Setons sailed for Italy, where William had business friends, the Filicchi family.  He subsequently succumbed to his chronic illness. Elizabeth and her children remained as guests of the Filicchi’s for some time. Their hosts owned a private chapel that provided Elizabeth with her first exposure to the Catholic faith, about which two things impressed this widowed mother: the Filicchi’s reverence during Mass, and the comfort they appeared to receive from confession. Upon her return to New York, Elizabeth sought out the pastor of a local Catholic Church and asked to convert to Catholicism.”

“With few exceptions, Elizabeth’s Anglican family and friends turned their backs on her following her conversion. She struggled to support herself and her children until Bishop John Carroll invited her to open a Catholic school in the archdiocese of Baltimore. It was during this time that she began to consider joining a religious community. However, the European model of religious life – living a mostly cloistered life with only a few hours per day devoted to teaching girls who boarded at the convent – did not appeal to her. With so much work begging to be done for the Catholic Church in America, Elizabeth wanted to be much more active. With Bishop Carroll’s encouragement, she founded a new community of sisters dedicated to the work of Catholic education: the Sisters of Charity. They opened America’s first parish school in Emmitsburg, Maryland on February 22, 1810.”

“The system established by Mother Seton conveyed the faith from generation to generation; it eased the passage of Catholic immigrants into American society; it served as the seedbed for countless vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Her teaching order offered a new model for religious women – sisters who were ‘in the world, but not of it.’ In the history of the Catholic Church in America, Mother Seton was – and continues to be – an indispensable woman.”  (This Saint’s for You, pp. 99-100)

Elizabeth Ann Seton followed God’s commandment to love by founding a community of religious women who dedicated their lives to parochial education: teaching children – many of them immigrants – how to be faithful Catholics and solid citizens. How might we follow her example of love today?

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December 22 through December 28, 2024

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(December 22, 2024: Fourth Sunday of Advent)

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“Mary set out and traveled in haste.”

The angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary contained 2 discrete, yet related, messages: (1) Mary would be the mother of the long-expected Messiah, & (2) her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a child. No sooner has Mary said ‘yes’ to the invitation to be the mother of the Messiah than she is off "in haste" to visit her cousin.

In a very real sense, long before she actually delivered the child, who would redeem the world from the hopelessness and despair of sin, Mary was already giving birth to the Messiah through her own willingness and eagerness to serve the needs of another. In this case, a relative who, because of her age, might have been considered a woman with a "high risk" pregnancy.

On the face of it, there is nothing noteworthy about Mary's action. After all, wouldn't any decent human being do the same for a relative in need? What makes Mary's service remarkable is the urgency with which she did it. She truly is a model of virtue, one who clearly demonstrates in her own life that the best way of saying "thank you" for God's goodness to her is to be a source of that goodness to others.

St. Francis de Sales observed: “Mary does not consider that she is wasting time when she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. No, it is an act of loving courtesy.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 159) In her ‘haste’ to serve Elizabeth, Mary shows us the path of true devotion. Francis de Sales continues: “God rewards us according to the dignity of the office we exercise. I do not say that we may not aspire to the outstanding virtues, but I do say that we must train ourselves in the little virtues first without which the great ones are often false and deceptive.”

Advent reminds us that the great hope for which we all long is built upon the foundation of little, simple, ordinary things: kindness, graciousness, welcome, patience, honesty, hospitality and compassion. Mary shows us that even the most singular demonstrations of God's love for us, first and foremost, challenge us to recognize the opportunities already present in our ordinary lives to devote our energies in promoting the welfare of one another.

Like Mary, may we come to see that our willingness to do little things for one another with great love and enthusiasm - to display “loving courtesy” - is the first step in our ultimate vocation: to give birth to the Great Promise of God's love for all people - Jesus Christ.

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(December 23, 2024: Monday, Fourth Week of Advent)

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“Lift up your heads and see: your redemption is near at hand…”

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“God displays in a marvelous manner the incomprehensible riches of his power in the vast array of things that we see in nature, but he causes the infinite treasures of his goodness to show forth in an even more magnificent way in the unparalleled variety that we see in grace. In a holy excess of mercy, God is not content in solely with granting to his people, that is, to the human race, a general or universal redemption whereby everyone can be saved. God has diversified redemption in many ways, so that while God’s generosity shines forth in all this variety, the variety itself, in turn, adds beauty to his generosity…” TLG, II, Chapter 6, p. 116)

What a powerful statement: God’s redemption is not generic; it is not one-size-fits-all. God redeems us personally; God redeems us individually; God redeems us by name. In the next-to-last chapter of his Treatise, Francis remarked:

“Consider how Jesus took on the task of redeeming us by his death, ‘even to death upon a cross’. The Savior’s soul knew each of us by name and surname…” (XII, Ch. 121, p. 280)

So, when we pray the words of the psalmist, your redemption, those words really mean your redemption. They do not mean someone else’s redemption - not the redemption of the person to your right or left, not the salvation of folks before or behind you.

Yours!

So, lift up your head; lift up your heart! See your redemption near at hand…a redemption – a gift – that is crafted specifically for you and out of love for you by the same God who created and redeems you by name.

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(December 24, 2024: Tuesday, Fourth Sunday of Advent)

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“He promised of old that he would save us from our enemies…”

Advent is a season of promise: a promise that God will “save us from our enemies.” These words beg the question: who are our enemies? How about:

·        Unresolved angers

·        Unadjusted attitudes

·        Unbridled anxieties

·        Unaddressed actions

·        Unrelenting fears

·        Unaddressed hurts

·        Unhelpful memories

·        Unhealed injuries

·        Unhealthy attributes

·        Unpursued hopes

·        Unfulfilled dreams

What are the enemies – the thoughts, the feelings, the attitudes and actions that prevent us from being the people that God wants us to be and from which we need our God to save us?

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(December 24, 2024: Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord)

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“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…”

“Genealogy (from Greek: γενεά, genea, “generation”; and λόγος, logos, “knowledge”) is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The pursuit of family history tends to be shaped by several motivations, including the desire to carve out a place for one’s family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.” (Wikipedia)

Today’s opening chapter from the Gospel of Matthew is Scripture’s version of Ancestry.com. Bridging the Old and New Testaments, this chapter of Matthew outlines the “genealogy of Jesus Christ.” As such, it carves out a place for Jesus within the larger picture of salvation history. As such, it strives to preserve names from past generations for future generations. As such, it tries to tell the story of Jesus’ predecessors as accurately as possible. As such, it attempts to provide as much information it can about the kinship and pedigree of those who came before Jesus.

Many of us assume that the “genealogy of Jesus Christ” ends with Jesus Christ. We assume that the story ends with the third set of fourteen generations. Nothing could be further from the truth! The “genealogy of Jesus Christ” isn’t limited to the names of his predecessors; it continues to this very day in the names of his followers; it continues in the present generation – in the lives of people like you and me.

How can we live up to our God-given pedigree today? How can we give convincing witness of our divine kinship today? How can we demonstrate that we are sons and daughters of God – brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ – today?

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(December 25, 2024: Nativity of the Lord)

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With regard to the great Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Blessed Louis Brisson wrote:

“We honor the three births of Our Lord. In the case of the first we recall the eternal birth of the Son of God in th3 bosom of His Father; in the second, we recall His temporal birth in the stable of Bethlehem; and in the thirds, we recall His mystical both in our hearts by means of Holy Communion and His grace. The consideration of the first birth should lead us to adore the Son of God on the throne of His glory, in the endless reaches of eternity, where equal to His Father He receives the adoration of the angels and seraphim. By contrast, in Bethlehem we adore him on the throne of poverty, which is a throne of love. He hides his grandeur because he wants us to draw near him without fear.”

“Having adored Him in Heaven – having adored Him in the crib – adore Him present within you. I ask you, cross your arms across your chest where the Savior dwells after Holy Communion and say to Him, ‘I adore You in my heart. I adore You within me. You are as truly in me as You are in Heaven; You are as truly in me as You are truly in the crib where You received the adoration of the poor shepherds. You are truly within me.’” (Cor ad Cor, Part III, Chapter 36, p. 217) 

We recognize Jesus at the right hand of the father. We recognize Jesus lying in a manger. Do we recognize that same Jesus within ourselves? Do we recognize that same Jesus in others?

Merry Christmas!

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(December 26, 2024: Saint Stephen, First Martyr)

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“Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“One of the Church’s first seven deacons, Stephen was chosen and ordained by the apostles themselves to serve needy Christians and teach the faith. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that he was striking in appearance, with ‘the face of an angel…full of grace and fortitude.’ He came from a family of Jewish Greeks, and after his ordination he debated members of four of Jerusalem’s Greek synagogues. When they could not out-argue or silence this zealous young deacon, the Greek Jews hauled Stephen before the Sanhedrin (the Jews’ supreme tribunal), accusing him of blasphemy for ridiculing the Temple and the Law of Moses.”

“Asked to defend himself, Stephen launched into a long speech. He highlighted moments in Jewish history when the people of Israel had turned away from God, implying that – by not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah – they had been stubborn, proud and faithless once again. Then he exclaimed, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ It proved to be the last straw. With a roar of indignation, the men in the court rushed at Stephen, dragged him outside the city walls and stoned him to death.” (This Saint’s for You, p. 131)

Stephen had the “grace and fortitude” he needed to commend his spirit to God in a single, once-in-a-lifetime act of courage by giving his life. How can we make good use of the same “grace and fortitude” we need to commend our spirits to God in a series of ordinary, everyday acts of courage?

With one another!

~OR~

“You will be hated because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved…”

The day after we celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the day after we celebrate the gift of the Incarnation, the day after we celebrate the coming of Emmanuel, God-who-is-with-us, the day after we ponder the miracle of the Word-made-Flesh, we remember the ultimate sacrifice of the first martyr, Stephen. A stark contrast, indeed, to the idyllic images of a newborn babe, of a manger, of barn animals, of shepherds and of choirs of angels.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Look at the example given by the saints in every walk of life. There is nothing that they have not done in order to love God and be God’s devoted followers. See the martyrs, unconquerable in determination. What torments they suffered to keep their resolutions…” (IDL, V, Chapter 12, p. 284)

The deacon Stephen was “working great wonders and signs among the people”.  He was simply being faithful to God’s will for him. He wasn’t looking for a fight. But when others decided to bring the fight to Stephen, he didn’t duck it. No, he stood his ground in giving witness to the power and promise of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He endured to the end, an end that came almost immediately.

We share two things with Stephen: (1) we are called to give witness to the power and promise of the Lord Jesus in our own lives, and (2) we are challenged to endure to the end. As Francis de Sales tells us in so many places throughout his writings, ‘martyrdom’ will not come for most of us in the form of “enduring to the end” of an unexpectedly-shortened life; rather, we are called to bear witness by “enduring to the end” a long, perhaps unexpectedly-exhausting life.

Either way, may God give us the strength to hold our ground in bearing witness to God whenever, wherever and however God may choose!

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(December 27, 2024: St. John, Apostle and Evangelist)

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“The life was made visible...”

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“Among the twelve apostles, Christ’s three closest friends were Peter, James the Greater and John. Within this inner circle, John was the Lord’s favorite, the one referred to as ‘the beloved disciple’ in St. John’s Gospel. By tradition, John is also believed to have been the youngest of the apostles, perhaps barely out of his teens when he followed Christ. After Jesus was arrested, John was the only one of the apostles who remained with him. He witnessed Christ’s trial before Pontius Pilate, followed him as he carried the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, stood at the foot of the cross with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and helped take Christ’s body off the cross and lay it in the tomb. Before dying, Christ rewarded his most loyal friend by placing Mary in John’s care.”

“Initially John preached in Jerusalem but then moved to Ephesus, the greatest city in the eastern Roman Empire. A tradition that dates to at least the second century says that John took Mary with him. Amid the ruins of Ephesus stands a little stone house believed to have been Mary’s home. St. John died peacefully at age ninety-four, the only one of the apostles who was not martyred. Sparing him a violent death may have been Christ’s last gift to his best friend.” (This Saint’s for You, p. 193)

John knew it. Peter and James knew it. Countless of the people who encountered Jesus during his life on this earth knew it. We, too, can know it.

What a friend we have in Jesus!

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(December 28, 2024: Holy Innocents, Martyrs)

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“A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation…”

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas Craughwell writes:

“Even in the Christmas story, there is a touch of tragedy: the massacre of the infant boys in Bethlehem. St. Matthew’s Gospel records that when the Magi stopped in Jerusalem to ask the whereabouts of the King of the Jews, Herod, the king of Judea, sent them to Bethlehem with instructions to return once they had found the Christ Child so that he, too, could pay homage. Warned by an angel that Herod was up to no good, the Magi returned home via a route that bypassed the city and its conniving king.”

“Once Herod realized the Magi were on to him, he sent troops to Bethlehem with orders to kill every boy aged two and younger. But the same angel warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety. By the time Herod’s troops charged into the village, the Holy Family was long gone. No one knows how many babies were massacred that day.” (This Saint’s for You, pp. 134-135)

It is sometimes said that there is no such thing as a ‘secret’ sin. By its very nature sin is a social animal. Every sin – however public or private – impacts not only the person who commits it but also other people  – often times, innocent people – as well. The Holy Innocents suffered because of one man’s sin. These children - collateral damage - died because of Herod’s personal envy, professional greed and narcissistic paranoia. As the poet Prudentius wrote:

All hail, ye infant martyr flowers

Cut off in life’s first dawning hours:

As rosebuds snapped in tempest strife,

When Herod sought your Savior’s life.

Today what about us? Who are the “innocents” in our lives who are impacted by the personal or ‘private’ sins we commit?

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December 15 through December 21, 2024

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(December 15, 2024: Third Sunday of Advent)

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“Your kindness should be known to all...”

In his letter to the Philippians St. Paul identifies one of the qualities associated with ‘rejoicing in the Lord’ – kindness. And not just any old kindness but a kindness that “should be known by all.”

Today’s Gospel sheds some light on what this kindness - that “should be known by all” – may be. If it has two cloaks, it shares with the person who has no cloak; it does the same with foods and drink. If it collects taxes, it takes only what it is owed. If it wields authority, it should avoid abusing its power. It should be truthful, and it should be happy with fair compensation. In sum, Gospel kindness is about being reasonable, being fair; being and just.

Francis de Sales once observed:

“‘Share your bread with the hungry and bring the needy and the homeless into your house’ with a joyful and eager heart. ‘He who performs acts of mercy should do so with cheerfulness.’ The grace of a good deed is doubled when it is done with promptness and speed.” (Living Jesus, pp. 190 – 191)

Do you want to “rejoice in the Lord, always?” Always do your level best to be kind.

And in the process help others to “rejoice in the Lord” as well.

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(December 16, 2024: Monday, Third Week of Advent

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“Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me…”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis wrote:

“When commanded to go to Rages, young Tobias said to his father, ‘I do not know the way,’ to which his father replied, ‘Go, then, and find some man to lead you.’ I say the same thing to you. Do you seriously wish to travel the road to devotion? If so, look for a good person to guide and lead you. This is the most important of all words of advice. As the devout Teresa of Avila says, ‘Although you seek God’s will, you will never find it with as much certainty as on the path of that humble obedience so highly praised and practiced by all devout writers.’ The advice of the great St. Louis gave to his son was this: ‘Choose as your guide an able and experienced person who can safely teach you the things that you must do.’”

Francis de Sales strongly believed that we should not attempt to “go it alone” in our efforts to imitate Christ, to practice devotion or to “Live Jesus.” Whether in the form of a confessor, a spiritual director, a personal coach, a friend or a combination of these, we should seek out companions to accompany us along the road of life and avoid the temptation to be lone wolves. He continued:

“‘A faithful friend,’ Holy Scripture says, ‘is a strong defense, and those who find friends have found treasure. A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality, and those who fear the Lord find one.’ For this reason, we must more than anything else have a faithful friend who by advice and counsel guides our actions and thus protects us from the snares and deceits of the wicked one. For us, such a person will be a treasure of wisdom in affliction, sorrow and failure. Such a person will serve as medicine to ease and comfort our hearts when afflicted by spiritual sickness. Such a person will guard us from evil and make our good even better.” (IDL, Part I, Chapter 4, pp. 45 – 46)

God provides us with many means of support in our attempts to walk in God’s path.

·        How often do we pause and thank our friends for helping us to be the people that God calls us be?

·        How often to we thank our friends for keeping us on the straight and narrow?

·        How often do we thank our friends for picking us up when we fall or for finding us when we stray?

Today, how grateful are we for having companions on the journey?

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(December 17, 2024: Tuesday, Advent Weekday)

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“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…”

“Genealogy (from Greek: γενεά, genea, “generation”; and λόγος, logos, “knowledge”) is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The pursuit of family history tends to be shaped by several motivations, including the desire to carve out a place for one’s family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.” (Wikipedia)

Today’s opening chapter from the Gospel of Matthew is Scripture’s version of Ancestry.com. Bridging the Old and New Testaments, it outlines the “genealogy of Jesus Christ.” As such, it carves out a place for Jesus within the larger picture of salvation history. As such, it strives to preserve names from past generations for future generations. As such, it tries to tell the story of Jesus’ predecessors as accurately as possible. As such, it attempts to provide as much information it can about the kinship and pedigree of those who came before Jesus.

Many of us assume that the “genealogy of Jesus Christ” ends with Jesus Christ. We assume that the story ends with the third set of fourteen generations. Nothing could be further from the truth! The “genealogy of Jesus Christ” isn’t limited to the names of his predecessors; it continues to this very day in the names of his followers; it continues in the present generation – in the lives of people like you and me.

How can we live up to our God-given pedigree today? How can we give convincing witness of our divine kinship today? How can we demonstrate that we are sons and daughters of God – brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ – today?

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(December 18, 2024: Wednesday, Third Week of Advent)

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“He shall reign and govern wisely; he shall do what is just and right in the land…the Lord our justice.”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales wrote:

“Be just and equitable in all your actions. Always put yourself in your neighbor’s place and your neighbor in yours, and then you will judge rightly. Imagine yourself the seller when you buy and the buyer when you sell and you will sell and buy justly…A man loses nothing by living generously, nobly and courteously with a royal, just and reasonable heart. Resolve to examine your heart often to see if it acts toward your neighbor as you would like your neighbor to act toward you were you in your neighbor’s place. This is the touchstone of true reason.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 36, p. 217)

How can we imitate “the Lord our justice”? Let us start by examining our hearts. How well are we doing “what is just and right in the land”? Are we doing what is right, just and reasonable in our relationships with others?

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 (December 19, 2024: Thursday, Third Week of Advent)

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“Consecrated to God from the womb…filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.”

Perhaps it is easy to believe that God loved Samson from the time he first appeared in his mother’s womb. Likewise, it is even easier to believe that God also loved John the Baptizer when he first appeared in his mother’s womb, given the fact that John would announce the coming of the Messiah. After all, Samson – and John – played significant roles in God’s plan of salvation.

God’s love for us from the first moment when we appeared in our mother’s womb – actually, long before each of us appeared anywhere. Ii is not a function of how great or how small our respective roles in God’s plan of salvation may be. Regardless of how famous or anonymous we might be, one thing is certain: each of us is consecrated from our mother’s womb. Each of us is filled with the Holy Spirit from our mother’s womb. God uniquely – and eternally – loves each of us. Forever!

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(December 20, 2024: Friday, Third Week of Advent)

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“May it be done to me according to your word...”

These words spoken by Mary in today’s selection from the Gospel of Luke gets to the heart of the virtue of obedience. In his Conference “On Obedience,” Francis de Sales remarked:

“There are three sorts of pious obedience. The first is that to which is common to all Christians – the obedience due to God in the observance of the commandments. The second is righteous obedience, which is of a far higher value that the first because it concerns itself not only with the commandments of God but also with the observance of His counsels. There is a third kind of obedience of which I wish to speak as being the most perfect: this is called a loving obedience. It follows that those who practice loving obedience love the command given, and so as soon as they are aware of it – whether it be to their taste or not – they embrace it, caress it and cherish it tenderly. It is of this obedience that Our Lord gave us as an example throughout the entire course of His life on earth.” (Living Jesus, p. 257)

Have you ever considered how Jesus – in the fullness of his humanity – may have acquired something of this loving obedience from Mary, his mother? Have you ever considered how Mary – in the fullness of her humanity – may have modeled something of this loving obedience for her son?

Today how can we imitate this same loving obedience to God in our relationships with one another?

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(December 21, 2024: Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church)

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“He has looked upon his lowly servant…and has done great things for me: holy is his name.”

Mary’s great hymn – the Magnificat – is a testimony to her profound sense of humility. But her humility – her sense of being a “lowly servant” – should not be confused with self-deprecation. In truth, Mary’s humility has a lot less to do with her nothingness and a lot more to do with God’s ‘everything-ness!’ Mary’s humility – her being overwhelmed by the generosity of God – empowers her to generously say “yes” to God’s invitation to her to become the Mother of the Messiah.

In his Conference “On Generosity,” St. Francis de Sales wrote:

“Humility which does not produce generosity is undoubtedly false, for after it has said, ‘I can do nothing, I am only absolute nothingness,’ it almost immediately gives way to generosity of spirit which says, ‘There is nothing - and there can be nothing - that I am unable to do, so long as I put all my confidence in God who can do all things.’ Buoyed up by this confidence, it courageously undertakes to do all that is commanded.” (Living Jesus, pp. 152-153)

This humility – and its corresponding spirit of generosity – describes Mary to a tee.

Can the same be said of us? 

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December 8 through December 14, 2024

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(December 8, 2024: Second Sunday of Advent)

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“Prepare the way of the Lord.”

John went throughout the whole region proclaiming a baptism of repentance as it is written using the words of Isaiah: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

Just as John the Baptist reminds the people in the region of the Jordan to prepare the way of the Lord, so too we are called to do the same. It started with our Baptism when we became members of the Body of Christ. It happens by our daily words and actions, our call to "Live Jesus" every moment of every day.

Our reading from Baruch reminds us to put on the splendor of the glory of God forever and our Responsorial Psalm reminds us that the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

We should ask ourselves – are we truly filled with joy as we prepare the way of the Lord? This joy only happens if we work on our relationship with God and one another. We cannot give what we do not have. If God is not the center of our life, we will fail.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales tells us that devotion must be experienced in different ways: by the gentleman, the worker, the servant, the widow, the young girl and the married woman. Not only that, but its practice must be adapted to the strength, activities and duties of each individual person.

St. Francis de Sales believes that we must start with our interior, that is, with our prayer life. If we work on building a healthy, ongoing relationship with God, it can go a long way in helping us to build, healthy, ongoing relationships with others. It can help us to put into action the prayer of St. Paul: “I pray always with joy in every prayer for all of you”.

If we are deepening our relationship with God on a daily basis, we will be better able to prepare the way of the Lord with joy in our daily encounters with one another. We will be able to “Live Jesus” every moment of every day.

Together!

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(December 9, 2024: Immaculate Conception)

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“She became mother of all the living...”

The reading from the Book of Genesis ends with the statement: “The man called his wife Eve because she became the mother of all the living.”

Eve is the mother of us all. We all bear traces of her maternity by virtue of the fact that we are impacted by original sin. Eve’s “yes” to the serpent’s temptation continues to affect our lives even to this day.

Good for us that another woman is likewise “the mother of all the living.” However, she is our mother in an entirely different way; her “yes” affects us in an entirely different way. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Honor, venerate and respect with special love the holy and glorious Virgin Mary who, being the Mother of Jesus Christ our Brother, is also in truth our very mother. Let us then have recourse to her, and as her little children cast ourselves into her bosom with perfect confidence, at all times and on all occasions let us invoke her maternal love whilst striving to imitate her virtues…” (Living Jesus, p. 224)

So, we have – in truth – two mothers. One mother is famous for saying “yes” to the temptation of the evil one; the other mother is famous for saying “yes” to the invitation of the Holy One: both with lasting effects!

Today which of our mothers will we imitate today?

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(December 10, 2024: Tuesday, Advent Weekday)

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“Comfort; give comfort to my people, says your God.”

In a commentary on the necessity to “reprint the Gospel,” Blessed Louis Brisson observed:

“The third evangelical task about which I want to speak is the evangelization of the nations - the preaching of Our Lord. Our Lord has come to earth to give us an example, to instruct us and to redeem us by His sufferings. The preaching of the Gospel was one of the principal reasons for His coming. We, therefore, should reprint the Gospel also by our preaching.”

“All of us should preach. Those who work with their hands as well as those who are occupied with exterior works, those who conduct classes as well as those who teach by example, those who direct souls as well as those who are assigned to the ministry of the pulpit - all of us should preach. We should preach in a practical way. We should teach our neighbor, if not by our words, at least by our actions. If you do so, do you think that you will have no influence on those who see you?” (Cor ad Cor, p. 30)

Today are you looking for a way to “reprint the Gospel?” Are you interested in doing your part to continue “the evangelization of the nations, the preaching of Our Lord?” Then here is one suggestion that comes directly from our God Himself: “Comfort; give comfort to my people.”

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 (December 11, 2024: Wednesday, Second Week of Advent)

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“They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar as with eagles’ wings…”

Don’t bother to look around the room at other people’s hands or knees for weakness. We need to look no further than our own hands and knees or, for that matter, our own minds or hearts, our own spirits or psyches, to see the weakness to which the Prophet Isaiah refers in our first reading today.

This isn’t bad news. In fact, it’s very good news! The promise is that God will never “grow faint or weary” when it comes – as Jesus says in today’s Gospel – to giving us rest. Put another way, our weaknesses are not an obstacle to God’s transforming, empowering and inspiring love. In fact, our weaknesses are an entrée to that transforming, empowering and inspiring love. As the Preface for the Eucharistic Prayer for Martyrs reminds us, “God chooses the weak and makes them strong in bearing witness to him…”

Our ongoing need for divine comfort, healing and strength calls to mind Francis de Sales’ teaching on who should approach, celebrate and receive the Eucharist. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, he wrote:

“Two classes of people should communicate frequently: the strong lest they become weak, and the weak that they may become strong; the sick that they may be restored to health, and the healthy lest they fall sick. Tell them that for your part you are imperfect, weak and sick and need to communicate frequently with him who is your perfection and strength…” (Part II, Chapter 21)

Seen with the eyes of faith, all that may wear us down or make us weary should not be cause for shame. In fact, seen with the eyes of God, all that may wear us down and make us weary perfectly prepares us to be sustained, renewed and invigorated by the God who is always with us!

Let us learn from our meek and humble Jesus. As we find comfort and rest in him, t us offer that same comfort and rest as needed to one another.

Today!

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(December 12, 2024: Our Lady of Guadalupe)

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“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

In his book This Saint’s for You! Thomas Craughwell writes:

“On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego – a Nahua Indian who had recently converted to Christianity – was on his way to Mass when he heard singing on the summit of Tepeyac Hill. Curious to discover the source of the music, he followed a trail up the hill and at the summit met a young woman: dark-skinned, beautifully dressed and standing amid dazzling light. Speaking to Juan in Nahuatl (his own language), she introduced herself and instructed him to go to the bishop of Mexico City and tell him to build a church in her honor on the spot. Twice he attempted to persuade the bishop to do as Mary had asked; twice, the bishop turned him away. Juan wasn’t surprised that the bishop didn’t take him seriously: after all, he was a poor peasant. Juan urged Mary to ask someone with more status to deliver her message. Instead, Mary promised to give the bishop a sign that would prove to everyone for all time that what Juan Diego has reported was true. So, she commanded him to return to Tepeyac and gather flowers there. At the top of the hill he discovered gorgeous Castilian roses, growing six months out of season. He picked the flowers until his cloak was full. Them he carried them back to Marty, who took each rose in her hand before replacing it in Juan Diego’s cloak.”

“Tucking the edges of his cloak so that not a single rose would fall out, Juan hurried to the bishop’s palace where he was meeting with some of his chaplains and several servants. Juan entered the room and said, ‘You asked for a sign. Now look.’ He opened his cloak, and the magnificent roses cascaded onto the floor. But more astonishing than the roses was the image on his cloak: a perfect portrait of the Virgin Marty as Juan had seen her, beautifully dressed and with the dark complexion of an Indian. The bishop became convinced and built a church on Tepeyac Hill and enshrined the miraculous image over the high altar.” (This Saint’s for You! pp. 370 – 371)

We can all relate to Juan Diego. After all, haven’t each of us wondered from time to time in our lives how – or why – God has chosen us to be instruments of His will, sources of His hope and bearers of His Good News? Haven’t we ever suggested – perhaps not in so many words – that God would do better in selecting people with “more status” to give voice to God’s will for the people He loves and cherishes so much?

Juan Diego - however reluctantly – became convinced that what was spoken to him by the Lord (through His mother!) would be fulfilled. How much do we need to be convinced that what we speak on behalf of the Lord will be fulfilled?

Through us?

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(December 13, 2024: Friday, Second Week of Advent)

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“You’re damned if you do; you’re damned if you don’t.”

That statement pretty much sums up the message in today’s Gospel selection from Matthew. John the Baptizer was criticized for being aloof and austere; Jesus was criticized for being an accessible, down-to-earth man of the people. There was just no pleasing some people.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“Does anyone fail to see that the world is an unjust judge, gracious and well-disposed to its own children but rigorous towards the children of God? We can never please the world unless we lose ourselves together with it. It is so demanding that it can’t be satisfied. ‘John came neither eating or drinking, says the Savior, and you say, ‘He has a devil.’ ‘The Son of Man came eating and drinking,’ and you say he is ‘a Samaritan.’ If we are ready to laugh, play cards or dance with the world in order to please it, it will be scandalized at us, and if we don’t, it will accuse us of hypocrisy or melancholy…” (IDL IV, Ch. 1, p. 236)

You know the old adage: if you try to please everyone, you end up making yourself miserable. On any given day follow the example of both John and Jesus; be who you are and be that as best as you can, come what may!

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(December 14, 2024: John of the Cross, Priest/Doctor of the Church)

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“You were destined…to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons.”

Advent is the season during which we are challenged ‘to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. In this season we are challenged to lay down our arms, and to let bygones be bygones.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales wrote:

“When your mind is tranquil and without any cause for anger, build up a stock of meekness and mildness. Speak all your words and do all your actions – whether little or great –in the mildest way you can: not merely with strangers but also among your own family and neighbors. As soon as you recognize that you are guilty of a wrathful deed, correct it as soon as possible by an act of meekness toward the person with whom you were angry.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 8, p. 149)

This season of peace – which is unlike any other season – reminds us of relationships in which peace is lacking. We are reminded of fences that need to be mended, hatchets that need to be buried and wounds that need to be healed with fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, neighbors, co-workers and friends.

During this Advent season to whom do our hearts need to turn?

Or return?

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December 1 through December 7, 2024

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(December 1, 2024: First Sunday of Advent)

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“Be vigilant at all times.”

It is the beginning of yet another season of Advent! It is the time for vigilance. Listen to the words of Blessed Louis Brisson, OSFS:

“Advent means coming. This time is set aside to help prepare us for Christmas. These four weeks of Advent represent the four thousand years that preceded the coming of the Messiah. Throughout these many years the prophets announced the coming of Our Lord. In reading their prophecies we find all the details of His life and sufferings described in advance with as much accuracy as if they had already taken place.”

“There are two advents of the Lord. The first is his great advent when He came to this earth to save us. He willed to come to us little, humble and unknown. He was born poor to show us that poverty is no disgrace. He willed to be a workingman to teach us to love work as He loved it.”

“The second advent of Our Lord is made in our hearts. Evert time we have a good thought, every time that we take the Good God with us, every time that we make an act of fidelity, every time that we are all His, an advent takes place…” (Cor ad Cor, p. 13)

Each and every moment of every day has the potential for presenting us with an opportunity for experiencing the “advents of Our Lord”. Of course, as Jesus himself warns us in the Gospel, each and every moment may also have its share of worries and anxieties associated with the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves.

Are we open to considering how the worries and anxieties of life may precisely be the places in which the “advents of Our Lord” may come? Are we vigilant? Are we watchful?

* * * * *

(December 2, 2024: : Monday, First Week of Advent)

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“I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

On day two of our Advent journey toward the Solemnity of the Incarnation, listen to the words of Blessed Louis Brisson, OSFS:

“Man sinned and was driven from the earthly paradise. The merciful God promised a Savior, a Redeemer. But God did not tell us what kind of Redeemer he would send to save us. Most of the prophets, in announcing His coming, do not appear to have been concerned with the details. However, in His infinite mercy, God decided that the Redeemer should be none other than the Divine Word itself, His own Eternal Son. He would take our human nature and become one of us in order to make reparation for the offense committed against God, and also to serve as a model for us.” (Cor ad Cor, p. 13)

Clearly, since the fall of Adam and Eve, none of us is worthy to have God enter under our collective roofs. Driven out of Eden, our ancestors no longer felt at home with God. It is, therefore, all the more remarkable that in the fullness of time that God chose to make his home within each and every one of us by taking on our nature in the person of His Son, Jesus. We are no longer strangers or orphans; we have found our new home in Christ.

Today following Jesus’ example, how can each of us make more of a home within our minds, hearts and lives for others?

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(December 3, 2024: Francis Xavier, Priest/Religious)

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“The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him…”

In today’s selection from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah we hear of the seven gifts associated with the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.

In a sermon given during the last few years of his life to the Sisters of the Visitation Francis de Sales offered the following prayer:

“God grant us his gift of fear, that we might serve him as his dutiful children; his gift of piety, that we might give him due reverence as our loving father; his gift of knowledge, that we may recognize the good we ought to do and the evil we should avoid; his gift of fortitude, that we may bravely overcome all the difficulties we shall meet in trying to be good; his gift of counsel, that we might discern and choose the best ways of living a life of devotion; his gift of understanding, that we may divine the beauty and value of faith’s mysteries and the Gospel principles; and finally, his gift of wisdom, that we may appreciate how lovable God is, that we may experience and thrill to the delight of that goodness of his which is more than our limited minds can fathom. O, the happiness that will be ours if we accept these precious gifts!” (Pulpit and Pew, p. 158)

What are the signs associated with our making good use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Isaiah cites several:

·        Not judging by appearance or hearsay

·        Judging the poor with justice

·        Deciding aright for the afflicted

Today, how might you make good use of the Holy Spirit’s gifts?

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 (December 4, 2024: Wednesday, First Week of Advent)

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“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd...”

Today’s Gospel offers us two things for our consideration. One is the virtue of compassion; the other is the anatomy of compassion. In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales observed:

“Compassion, sympathy, commiseration or pity is simply an affection that makes us share in the sufferings and sorrows of those we love. It draws the misery of others into our own heart. Hence it is called misericordia, that is, misery of heart.” (Living Jesus, p. 38)

The virtue of compassion is clearly displayed in Jesus. When he looks at those he loves – the people who had been with him for three days – “his heart is moved with pity” for they had had nothing to eat for all that time. Jesus experiences “misery of heart” when confronted with the neediness of the crowds.

The anatomy of compassion is also clearly manifested in Jesus. First, Jesus recognizes the needs of those he loves (they were hungry). Second, Jesus’ heart is moved by the needs of those he loves. Thirdly, Jesus acts. Rather than simply stopping at being “moved with pity”, he does whatever it takes to meet the needs of those he loves.

By contrast, the disciples’ compassion appears to come up short. While they, too, recognize the needs of the crowds - and while their hearts similarly are moved by the neediness of the crowds - the disciples seem overwhelmed by the enormity of the needs and appear to be more interested in doing whatever it takes to send the crowds away to fend for themselves.

You have to wonder: for whom was this miracle of compassionate action performed? Was it done for the crowds who had been with Jesus just three days, or for the disciples who had been with Jesus long enough to know better than to doubt him?

How well does the anatomy of compassion work in us? How willing are we to recognize the needs of those we love? How willing are we to allow our hearts to be moved by the needs of those we love? How willing are we to try to do something – however extraordinary, however sublime – to meet the needs of those we love?

When it comes to imitating the compassion of Christ, two-out-of-three merely won’t do.

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(December 5, 2024: Thursday, First Week of Advent)

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“A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.

On this new day on our Advent journey, we reflect on these words from Blessed Louis Brisson:

“Father Chevalier, my moral theology professor, used to say to us, ‘Do you believe that Our Lord became human merely to redeem the world? He became human that we might partake of His life, of His body, of His soul, of His divinity and of His happiness.’ And who is this Model, this life and this Happiness? The Word-Made-Flesh Himself!”

“The Savior, Jesus Christ – the One Whom we attempt to reproduce in ourselves and Who is living in us – accomplishes this divine redemption in us. He gives us the grace to do this. He is our Exemplar, our Model. He walks before us. We have only to put our feet in His footprints. Thus, we will bring about our complete redemption.” (Cor ad Cor, pp. 18, 19)

We have a strong city in the person of Jesus Christ! In Christ we find walls and ramparts in which we find not only protection, but also experience “His life, His body, His soul, His divinity and His happiness.” And perhaps more than ever these days, we could use more than few extra ramparts.

Today, how might Jesus be inviting us to be a “strong city” in the lives of others? How might we become a source of safety, support and protection for others today and help them to experience the life and happiness rooted in a life in and with Jesus?

* * * * *

(December 6, 2021: Friday, First Week of Advent)

* * * * * 

“Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding, and those who find fault shall receive instruction.” 

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“When some people see the defects of others, they feel a certain satisfaction; they preen themselves more with the hope of getting others to admire the contrary good qualities that they mistakenly believe that they possess. Such self-satisfaction may be so secret and imperceptible that a person must have sharp eyes to discover it. And even those infected by it do not recognize it when it is shown to them. To flatter and excuse themselves and soften their own remorse of conscience, others are quite willing to judge their fellow men and women to be guilty of the very vices to which they themselves are addicted or to vices equally great. They think that pointing out the faults of others will somehow make their own less noteworthy. Still other people make a habit of rash judgment because they like to play the philosopher and probe into the moods and morals of others as a means of displaying their presumed intelligence. Sad to say, even if they happen to occasionally be right their rashness and desire so far exceed their insight that they have difficulty turning away from them. To conclude, fear, ambition and other similar mental weaknesses often contribute to the birth of suspicion and rash judgment.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 28, pp. 197-198)

As we prepare once again to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the season of Advent invites us to turn away from our erring ways and to refrain from the temptation to find faults in others. In addition, what better way to celebrate the birth of the Messiah than by changing the ways that we think about ourselves and others than by recognizing – and naming – what is good in ourselves and in others?

* * * * *

(December 7, 2024: Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

* * * * *

“The Kingdom of heaven is at hand…”

One of the signs that Jesus associates with the Kingdom of heaven being at hand is the driving out demons.

The season of Advent provides each of us with a great opportunity to drive out from our own minds and hearts any number of demons with which we might be plagued. These demons – while not necessarily limited to this list – could include:

·        Anxieties

·        Grudges

·        Bitterness

·        Resentment

·        Old Hurts

·        Unresolved conflicts

·        Unbridled anger

·        Perfectionism

·        Scrupulosity

·        Negativity

·        Ingratitude

·        Presumption

The Kingdom of heaven is at hand! Why not make more room in your life for the Word-Made-Flesh by driving out our demons through some heavy duty spiritual house-cleaning between now and Christmas? 

* * * * *

November 24 through November 30

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(November 24, 2024: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe)

* * * * *

“His Dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away; his kingship shall not be destroyed.”

Today we celebrate Christ’s kingship, Christ’s power, Christ’s royal character.  Unlike earthly kings, however, Christ’s dominion, as we hear in the Book of the Prophet Daniel, is an everlasting dominion.  Unlike other kings, Christ’s reign will never pass away.

What kind of king is Christ?  How is his dominion unique among other monarchs?  We look to the words of St. Francis de Sales in a conference on “Hope” he gave to the Sisters of the Visitation in 1620. The occasion was the founding of yet another Visitation community (some 80+ of which were established by the time St. Jane de Chantal died in 1641):

“You have always only one and the same king, our crucified Lord, under whose authority you will live secure and safe wherever you may be.  Do not fear lacking anything, for as long as you do not choose any other king, he will always be with you.  Take care to increase in love and fidelity towards Christ’s divine goodness, keeping as close to this king as possible, and then all will be well with you.  Learn from him all that you have to do.  Do nothing without his advice.  This king is the faithful friend who will guide you and govern you and take care of you as, with all my heart, I ask him to do.”

No benign dictator here!  No benevolent tyrant here!  No monarch here who lords his power over others!  No self-serving leader here who consolidates his wealth or influence at the expense of others!

Christ is a crucified king.  He is a monarch who lays down his life for others.  His dominion serves the needs of others.  His prestige gives others guidance and hope.  His wisdom provides sound advice.  His commonwealth is all about faithful, loving friendship.

Francis de Sales (as he so often does) really nailed it when he wrote in his Introduction to the Devout Life: “We lose nothing by living generously, nobly, courteously, and with a royal, just and noble heart.” (Part II, Chapter 36)

Like Christ, we are called to use our God-given power and promise to serve the needs of others.  Like Christ, our royal “divine right” demands that we love one another with “a royal, just and noble heart.”

Today, consider - how do we use our “divine right” as sons and daughters of God?

* * * * *

(November 25, 2024: Monday, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

* * * * *

“She has offered her whole livelihood…”

In a conference to the Sisters of the Visitation, Francis de Sales observed:

“The esteem in which humility holds all good gifts, namely, faith hope and charity, is the foundation of generosity of spirit. Take notice that the first gifts of which we spoke belong to the exercise of humility and the others to generosity. Humility believes that it can do nothing, considering its poverty and weakness as far as depends on ourselves. On the contrary, generosity makes us say with St. Paul, ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.’ Humility makes us distrust ourselves, whereas generosity makes us trust in God. You see, then that humility and generosity are so closely joined and united to one another that they are and never can be separated.” (Conferences, “On Generosity” pp. 75-76)

We see this humility and generosity on display in today’s Gospel. Whereas some wealthy people who contributed to the temple treasury were relying more on themselves for their welfare (they made sure that they had plenty for themselves in reserve) before giving to others, the poor widow – we are told – gave to the treasury without squirreling anything away for herself first, strongly suggesting that she was relying more on God for her welfare. The wealthy contributed with conditions; the widow contributed without conditions.

Today, whether we have a lot or a little, what steps can we take to store up riches less for ourselves and more for others?

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(November 26, 2024: Tuesday, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“When you hear of wars and insurrections do not be terrified…”

In this age of 24-7 news cycles, one could be forgiven for being “terrified” from time to time. After all, we never seem to get a break. Whether around the corner or around the world, we are constantly exposed to a never-ending dose of unsettling news reports: stories of violence, accounts of revenge and descriptions of disasters. One could make the argument that you would have to be crazy to be unconcerned or unaffected by reports of economic, social, political and/or military turmoil!

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:

“With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil than can happen to a soul. Just as sedition and internal disorders bring total ruin to a state and leave it helpless to resist a foreign invader, so also if our hearts are inwardly troubled and disturbed, they lose both the strength necessary to maintain the virtues they had acquired and the means to resist the temptations of the enemy. He then uses his utmost to fish – as they say – in troubled waters.” (IDL, Part IV, Chapter 11, pp. 251-252)

Francis de Sales believed that people should be informed. We should be aware – and where applicable, concerned – of the things that are happening around us. More importantly, however, is the need to know what is happening inside of us. We need to know the state of our minds and hearts. After all, sometimes the effects of the “wars and insurrections” that may surround us are nothing in comparison with the “wars and insurrections” that rage within us!

Trouble is a part of life. Don’t make it worse by allowing the trouble to upset you on the inside to the point where you can’t manage it on the outside - for your own sake, as well as for the sake of those who depend on you.

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(November 27, 2024: Wednesday, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Great and wonderful are your works.”

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“The soul that takes great pleasure in God’s goodness…desires that His name be always more and more blessed, exalted, praised, honored and adored. In this praise due to God the soul begins with its own heart...The soul imitates the great Psalmist who considered the marvels of God’s goodness, and then on the altar of his heart immolated a mystic victim: the utterances of his voice in hymns of psalms of admiration and blessings.” (Living Jesus, p. 286)

When’s the last time you considered the “great and wonderful” things that God has done and is doing in your life and in the lives of others?

Today, how can you bless, exalt, praise, honor and adore God for his goodness? Not just in words, but also in deeds!

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(November 28, 2024: Thanksgiving Day)

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“He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him…”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:

“Consider that a certain number of years ago you did not yet exist. God has drawn you out from nothingness so as to make you what you are now and has done so solely out of his own goodness. Consider the nature God has given you. It is the highest in this visible world, is capable of eternal life and able to be perfectly united with God’s Divine Majesty…God has placed you in this world not because God has any need of you but because God wishes to exercise his goodness in you by giving you his grace and glory. For this purpose, God has given you intelligence to know him, memory to be mindful of him, will to love him, imagination to picture his benefits to yourself, eyes to see His wonderful works, and tongues to praise him, just to mention a few…Consider the corporeal benefits that God has bestowed on you: the body itself, all goods provided for its maintenance, health, comforts friend, supporters and other helps… By noting each and every particular blessing you will perceive how gentle and gracious God has been to you.” (IDL, Part I, Chapters 9- 11, pp. 53 -57)

How can we possibly even begin to give thanks for everything that God has given – and continues to give – to us? Francis de Sales offers a suggestion, just as God has been gentle and gracious to us, may we strive to be equally – or at least, somewhat – as gentle and gracious to others on this Thanksgiving Day…and every day!

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(November 29, 2024: Friday, Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Consider the fig tree and all other trees…” 

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales observed:

“The cross is the root of every grace received by us who are spiritual grafts attached to our Savior’s body. Having been so engrafted if we abide in him, then by means of the life of grace he communicates to us we shall certainly bear the fruit of glory prepared for us. But if we are mere inert sprigs or grafts on that tree - that is, if by resistance we break the progress and effects of His mercy - it will be no wonder if in the end we are wholly cut off and thrown into everlasting fire as useless branches.”

“God undoubtedly prepared paradise only for such as he foresaw would be his. Therefore, let us be his both by faith and by our works, and he will be ours by glory. It is in our power to be his, for although to belong to God is a gift from God, yet it is a gift that God denies to no one. God offers it to all people so as to give it to such as will sincerely consent to receive it. He gives us both his death and his life: his life so that we may be freed from eternal death, his life so that we can enjoy eternal life. Let us live in peace, then, and serve God so as to be his in this mortal life and still more so in life eternal.” (TLG, Part III, Book 5, pp. 178-179)

Francis de Sales insists that our future depends heavily upon our present. At any given moment we can think, feel and act in ways bring us closer to either (1) redemption or (2) damnation. It all comes down to how deeply grafted we are onto the heart – and the cross – of Christ.

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(November 30, 2024: Andrew, Apostle)

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“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!”

In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas J. Craughwell writes:

“Andrew and his brother Peter were sitting in their fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee, repairing their nets, when Christ called to them, saying, ‘Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ Although the brothers did leave their boat to follow the Lord, they never stopped catching fish: it was how they supported themselves and their families.”

“Time and time again the Gospels take us back to the Sea of Galilee: on one occasion, Jesus climbed into Peter and Andrew’s boat to preach to a crowd on the shore; on another, while the brothers and some of the other disciples were out fishing, they saw Jesus advancing toward them by walking on the water. After a long night of fishing and catching nothing, Christ urged the brothers to go out to the deepest part of the sea and lower their nets one more time. This time the catch was so great that the fishing nets broke, and Peter and Andrew had to signal to their fellow apostles and business partners James and John to come help them haul in the fish. And, when there was nothing for the crowd of five thousand to eat, it was Andrew who brought forward a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish, which Christ multiplied to feed the multitude…with much leftover to boot.”

“Tradition says that St. Andrew carried the Gospel to Greece. At the town of Patras he was arrested and tied to an X-shaped cross. The legend claims that it took him three dies to die, and the entire time he hung on the cross St. Andrew preached to all who passed by.” (p. 179)

Andrew - once a fisherman, always a fisherman. A fisherman doesn’t get to pick the day, time, situations or circumstances in which he fishes. He simply fishes, come what may. Such an avocation requires tenacity, patience, determination and a willingness to go wherever a “catch” might be found. Perhaps, that’s why Jesus called him to be a disciple: such qualities could come in quite handy when it came to preaching the Good News.

Jesus calls each of us - in our own unique ways - to be fishers of “men.”

Today, to what degree does Jesus see in us the same qualities he saw in Andrew?

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November 17 through November 23

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(November 17, 2024: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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“But of that day or hour, no one knows it…except the Father.”

Scripture is very clear: the world as we know it will pass away.  Scripture also makes it very clear that we cannot hope to know “the exact day or hour” that moment will come.

Still, it is only natural that we sometimes become anxious when we imagine that the world as we know it will cease to be.  It is even more understandable that we should become anxious when we consider the inevitability of our own personal death.  Here, too, however, we do not know “the exact day or hour.”

Francis de Sales himself reminds us: “We, in this life, are walking, as it were, on ice.” How should we deal with the reality that one day our earthly lives will end?

We deal with an uncertain future by living well each and every present moment.  The present moment is the only time we have at our disposal.  The present moment is the only time we have to make choices that either help – or hinder – our efforts at preparing for eternity.

St. Francis de Sales advises us:

“Keep your eyes fixed on that blissful day of eternity toward which the course of years bears on us; and these as they pass, they themselves pass by us stage by stage until we reach the end of the road.  But meanwhile, in these passing moments there lies enclosed, as in a tiny kernel, the seed of all eternity; and in our humble little works of devotion there lies hidden the prize of everlasting glory, and in the little pains we take to serve God there lies the traces of bliss that can never end.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 236)

To the extent that we live each present moment we can experience the gift of peace. St. Francis de Sales observed:

“We must in all things and everywhere live peacefully. If trouble, exterior or interior, comes upon us, we must receive it peacefully.  If joy comes, we must receive it peacefully, without throbbing of heart.  If we must avoid evil, we must do so peacefully, without disquieting ourselves.  If there is some good to be done, we must do this peacefully, too.”

And so then, place yourself in the hands and heart of Jesus who, St. Francis reminds us, is “the Prince of peace: where you make him your absolute master, all is peace.”  Place yourself in the hands and heart of Jesus who is the master of each present moment. For when you live each present moment there, you are best prepared for your last moment.

When we are at peace, when we live intentionally, we can handle everything that life has in store for us - everything, including death itself…a death that leads to eternal life.

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(November 18, 2024: Monday, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time)

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“Lord, please let me see…”

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales offered wrote:

“God is in all things and places. There is no place or thing in this world in which God is not truly present. Everyone knows this truth in theory, but not everyone puts this knowledge to good effect. Blind men do not see a prince who is present among them, and therefore do not show him the respect they do after being informed of his presence. However, because they do not actually see the prince they easily forget he is there, and once they forget this fact, they still more easily lose the respect and reverence owed to him. Unfortunately, we frequently lose sight of the God who is with us. Although faith assures us of his presence, we forget about him and behave as if God were a long way off because we do not see him with our eyes. While we may tell ourselves and others that God is present in all things, we often act as if this were not true because we fail to remind ourselves of God’s presence.” (IDL, Part II, Chapter 2, p.84)

Despite the fact that the blind man in today’s Gospel could not actually see Jesus, it is crystal clear that he showed Jesus respect and reverence. What is the moral of the story? Even when we lose sight of how Jesus acts in our lives and in the eyes of other people day in and day out, it is always within our power to show him the respect and reverence by acting as Jesus did in showing respect and reverence for others.

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(November 19, 2024: Tuesday, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time)

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“And he came down quickly and received him with joy…”

The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus highlights an aspect of the Salesian notion of devotion - enthusiasm. Jesus only has to tell Zacchaeus once to “come down quickly.” For his part, Zacchaeus came down as quickly as he could!

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“When charity reaches a degree on perfection at which it not only makes us do good but also to do this carefully, frequently and promptly. It is called devotion. Ostriches never fly; hens fly in a clumsy fashion, near the ground and only on occasion; but eagles, doves and swallows fly aloft, swiftly and frequently. Good people who have not as yet attained this devotion by toward God by their good works but do so infrequently, slowly and awkwardly. Devout souls fly to him more frequently, promptly and with lofty flights.” (TLG, Book VIII, Chapter 4, p. 64)

This description certainly describes Zacchaeus to a tee. Here is a man with a great sense of urgency. He literally flew down to Jesus at the invitation to spend time with him. Once he arrived at his home with Jesus, Zacchaeus was just as quick to declare his intention to share his good fortune with those less fortunate than him as well as to make things right with anyone who might have a grievance against him.

How quick will we be this day to respond to Jesus’ invitation to spend time with him? How quick will we be to share our good fortune with others? How quick will we be to make things right with anyone who might have a grievance against us?

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(November 20, 2024: Wednesday, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time)

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“To everyone who has, more will be given.”

Everyone who has…what? Perhaps it’s the courage to say “yes.” Perhaps it’s the courage to take the risks that come with that “yes.”

In today’s Gospel two of the three servants took a risk when they invested that which their master had entrusted to them. As a result, they were able to make a return on their master’s investment with salutatory results. By contrast, the third servant – afraid that he might lose what his master had entrusted to him – played it safe by simply sitting on what he had received: with dire results.

Yesterday we were reminded of God’s distaste for indifference. Today, we are reminded of God’s impatience regarding inaction brought about by fear: fear of failure and perhaps sometimes even fear of success. Better to be hot or cold than indifferent; better to have risked everything and lost than to have never risked whatever it is your received.

Consider what God has entrusted to you. Consider what God has invested in you. How can you make a return to God today for his generosity to you?

Trust in God; take a risk.

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(November 21, 2018: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

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“To everyone who has, more will be given.”

Everyone who has…what? Perhaps it’s the courage to say ‘yes.’ Perhaps it’s the courage to take the risks that come with that “yes”.

In today’s Gospel two of the three servants took a risk when they invested that which their master had entrusted to them. As a result, they were able to make a return on their master’s investment with salutatory results. By contrast, the third servant – afraid that he might lose what his master had entrusted to him – played it safe by simply sitting on what he had received - with dire results.

Yesterday, in the selection from the Book of Revelation, we heard of God’s distaste for indifference. Today, we hear of God’s impatience regarding inaction brought about by fear - fear of failure and perhaps sometimes even fear of success. Better to be hot or cold than indifferent; better to have risked everything and lost than to have never risked whatever it is you received.

Today, consider what God has entrusted to you. Consider what God has invested in you. How can you make a return to God for his generosity to you?

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 (November 22, 2024: Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr)

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“My house shall be a house of prayer…”

This quote from today’s Gospel goes much deeper than talking about a building. This quote has little or nothing to do with why we should be quiet in church. From a Salesian point of view, this quote goes to the heart of what it means to be human.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:

“God is not only in the place where you are, but God is also present in a most particular manner in your heart and in the very center of your spirit. He enlivens and animates it by his divine presence, for he is there as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit.  Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body and is therefore present in every part of the body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so also God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit.” (IDL, Part II, Chapter 2, p. 85)

God dwells in a very particular way within the heart – within the spirit and soul – of each and every one of us. In effect, then, as we hear in the First Letter of Peter, we are called to live “like living stones, letting ourselves be built into a spiritual house … acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. (2:4-5) Using the words from the New Roman Missal, notwithstanding that we may be unworthy to have God enter “under our roof”, God is very much alive and at work in the very core of our being, enlivening us and animating us to meet the demands, challenges and invitations that come our way each and every day.

Each of us, then, is a house of prayer. Each of us is a particular manifestation and expression of the God in whose image and likeness we are created. And insofar as prayer is a dialogue, our fundamental vocation is to be engaged in conversation with God as we try our level best to bring out the best in our little corners of the world.

How can we be that house of God today in the lives of one another?

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(November 23, 2024: Saturday, Thirty-third Week in Ordinary time)

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“He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

In his commentary on today’s passage from Luke’s Gospel, William Barclay observed:

“Jesus gave the Sadducees an answer that has a permanently valid truth to it. He said that we must not think of heaven in terms of this earth. Life there will be quite different because we will be quite different. It would save a mass of misdirected ingenuity – and no small amount of heartache – if we ceased to speculate on what heaven is like and left such things to the love of God.” (pp. 250-251)

But there is also another takeaway from today’s Gospel, according to Barclay:

“Out of this arid passage emerges a great truth for anyone who teaches or who wishes to commend Christianity to one’s fellows. Jesus used arguments that the people he was arguing with could understand. Jesus talked to them in their own language; he met them on their own ground; and that is precisely why the common people heard him gladly.” (251)

William Barclay’s insight here is very much in keeping with Fr. Brisson’s understanding of one of the fundamental qualities of Salesian spirituality – if you want to speak to the hearts of people, you (1) need to meet them where they are and (2) use words that they can understand.

How might we “Live + Jesus” just this day by meeting others where they are…and speaking to them in ways that they can understand?

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