Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

Saturday – 7th Day in Christmas Octave Gospel – John 1:1-18 Past, Present and Future Church of Dormition, Jerusalem Today’s Gospel – the opening chapter of the Gospel of John – really takes me back in time, all the way to my freshman year in college in the Seminary.   It was a tough academic year; we were taking 3 different languages at once: French, Latin and Greek.   And because it used a completely different set of written characters, Greek was the most difficult to not only learn, but retain.   I can remember we all crafted homemade flash cards for the vocabulary and we carried them around with us everywhere.   We had to constantly refresh ourselves and test ourselves; otherwise we lost it so quickly! Which brings me to today’s Gospel.   I have a special fondness for these verses; they were one of the first translations we ever tackled.   Even today I can still rattle off the first couple of verses in Greek from memory.   And I have to say, Greek still is a blessing

  Friday– Feast of the Holy Family Gospel – Matthew 2:13-19-23 Family’s First Christmas St Joseph’s Church, Nazareth One of the best Christmases we ever celebrated was the first one after our daughter Jaime was born.   She was barely 6 monhs old, probably crawling but certainly not walking yet.   And we did Christmas like never before.   Tons of presents – toys and clothes and books.   And we wrapped each and every one of them.   I honestly can’t remember if Ginger and I got each other presents; we were too focused on making Jaime’s first Christmas memorable.   Of course at 6 months, she would have no memories except for the stories we told her later in life along with all the pictures we took. That Christmas morning was filled with wonder and laughter and sheer joy, most of it coming from Ginger and myself.   We took turns dramatically opening presents, showing them to Jaime and making our best ooh’s and aah’s!   Of course, Jaime was only interested in the wrapping paper a

  Thursday – Fifth Day in Christmas Octave Gospel – Luke 2:22-35 Now What Do I Do? Town of Nazareth I remember when our daughter was born, all that joy and celebration at the birth of this beautiful child.   Truth be told, I was feeling a lot more than happiness that day when I held Jaime in my arms for the first time.   There was also quite a bit of panic, concern, doubt, even a bit of fear.   Now what?   This little child is completely dependent on us – for food, clothing, shelter, for life!   What if we screw it up?   What if we say or do something wrong, something that scars her for the rest of her life?   What a daunting task for parents of a new-born!   What a mix of emotions as we faced life together! Consider today what Mary and Joseph must have been going through!   New parents of a first-born!   The wonder and joy of the birth of this newborn son!   Mary pondering the words of Gabriel from the Annunciation and Joseph of his dream!   Their reaction to the visit

  Wednesday – Feast of the Holy Innocents Gospel – Matthew 2:13-18 Come Into The Light Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life!   “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.   “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. The white black wolf is evil and darkness–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The white wolf is good and light – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”   The old Cherokee simply replied, “ The one you feed !” It feels as if, just in the last few days, we have encountered both of the wolves.   Only three day