INTO PEACE

“The tender mercy of our God … will visit us … to guide our feet into the way of peace." – Lk 1: 78-79

For many of us, Christmas Eve is often full of many activities: last minute shopping, cooking, traveling, gift-wrapping, etc.

NO RETURNS

“Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.” Lk. 21:28

God's love is gratuitous: love that cannot be earned, deserved, or ever fully reciprocated.
 

TRANSFORMATION

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord...” – Lk. 1:46

How has God's love transformed your life?

RICH ENCOUNTERS

“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!” – Sg. 2:10

Would I, as John, leap for joy at being in the presence of Christ?

FEMININE GENIUS

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”  Lk. 1:38

During this Advent season, I feel drawn to Mary and her feminine genius.

FIERCE LOVING

“Do not be afraid, because your prayer has been heard…  You will have joy and gladness.” Lk 1:13-14

What does it feel like when I imagine a God who loves me so much that He is willing to do anything to bring me greater life? 
 

READY MY HEART

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. - Mt. 1:23-24

Will I rely on myself or am I going to take that risk in being led to be fully human? Will I trust the unfolding of God’s dreams for me?

IRREGULAR ORDER, CHAOTIC GRACE

“Justice shall flourish in time, and fullness of peace for ever” – Psalm 72:7

I am in awed at the slow and steady work of God! Two aspects of Matthew’s compilation of the genealogy of Jesus in today’s Gospel amaze me ...

CONTENT TO REJOICE

“John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light” – Jn. 5:34

I found my attention drawn not to either pole, but square in the middle: on the Incarnation and all its seeming contradictions.

OPENNESS

"What did you go out to the desert to see?" Lk. 7:24

What did you go out to the desert to see? Or in other words - what am I looking for? 

REACHING OUT INTO THE DARKNESS

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”  Luke 7:20

How often do our convictions play tricks on us? That is: how often do we doubt something that we were once absolutely certain about? 

SHOWING UP

"There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard'. “I will not” the son answered, but later he changed his mind and went.” - Mt. 21:28-29

There are the days I call in sick to God ... the spiritual journey is indeed blue collar work.

OUR LADY OF THE POOR

"Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth…" - Jdt. 13:18

Today we celebrate one of the holiest days of the year for all of the Americas. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a story of how God acted in a people’s history to bring light in a time of great darkness.

TRUST IN THE SLOW WORK OF GOD

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” – Mt. 11:3

Visiting my family this past Thanksgiving showed me two contrasting attitudes of waiting ...

SEEING GOD's FACE

“Lord, let us see your face and we shall be saved.” – Ps. 80:4

I often wonder what it would be like to finally see God face to face. Is that too audacious of me? Would I dare to look directly at my Lord, or would I cower and say as St. Peter, “Leave me Lord for I am a sinful man.” 

¡ESCUCHAME!

“If you would hearken to my commandments…” – Is. 48:18

Today’s readings remind me of my “expressive” friends. They talk with fervor, gesticulating and fluctuating their voices, eager to get their message from their brains into the world. 

TRUSTING THE GIFT OF THE UNEXPECTED

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” - Luke 1:38

 As we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception today, I find myself constantly in awe of Mary. 

FROM HATERS TO LOVERS

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” – Mt. 11:28-30

He reminds us that He makes a new way... more accessible. An easier yoke. A lighter burden. To get what we truly want. A deeper relationship with God. And this new way was called Jesus.

INEXHAUSTIBLE MERCY

“It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” – Mt. 18:14

This Advent I am grateful for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy the Pope declared last year. I am invited this year to focus on what I have learned about mercy and put it in practice.

FORGIVENESS

"Your sins are forgiven." - Lk. 5:20

I have often said, "I forgive you," but even as I said these words my heart remained angry or resentful. 

SOMETHING HARDLY NOTICEABLE

"A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him." - Isaiah 11:1-2

Any growth in life begins small. A seed blossoms into a tree. A fetus the size of a pea becomes a child. A conversation of heart begins with the realization that change is needed. Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness.

FRIENDS IN THE LORD

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” – Mt. 10:8

Francis Xavier is most known for his missionary work in Asia. He lived the Jesuit spirit of, “Go forth and set the world on fire.”

LET IT BE DONE

“Do you believe that I can do this?” – Mt. 9:28

For me, the key question of faith is, “Do I believe that God loves me?” Wrestling with this query makes faith more personal. It risks relationship. It elicits both suspicion and trust.

TURN IT OFF

“The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” –Mt. 7:25

For those of us who have spent our childhood (or much of life) in Southern California, the majestic colors of fall leaves are nothing more than photos on a screensaver.

DRAWN TOWARD GREATER LIFE

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  – Mt 4:19

The call of Andrew and the first disciples is at once inspiring and daunting to me. How can they follow someone they hardly knew, in such a decisive and definitive way?

CHILDLIKE SPIRIT

"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to the childlike." - Lk. 10:21

Over the past two weekends, it has been a joy for me to be in the midst of many children ... Their joie de vivre, sense of enjoyment, is contagious. Their way of knowing is infectious.

ONLY SAY THE WORD

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” – Mt 8:8

The miracle in today’s Gospel is unusual for two reasons. The healing took place without Jesus being physically present. The servant did not even have to hear Jesus speak the word. It was enough for Jesus to say the word.

WAKE UP!

“Now is the moment for you to wake from sleep.” – Rom 13:11

Advent snuck up again. As we’re barely digesting our Thanksgiving meals, running after Black Friday deals, traveling back from visiting friends and relatives, Advent comes. Advent is meant to be a time of preparation for Christmas. Yet, for many of us, it’s a not exactly a time to prepare in a way that enables Christ to be born more deeply in our lives.