Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Tuesday – 7th Day in Christmas Octave Gospel – John 1:1-18 Past, Present and Future Latin / Greek, 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 Greek translations we ever tackled.   Even today I can still rattle off the first couple of verses in Greek from memory.   And...

  Monday – 6th Day in Christmas Octave Gospel – Luke 2:36-40 A Devoted Woman Temple Mount, Jerusalem Today we turn to the prophetess Anna as we conclude the story of the Presentation.   Anna is completely alone in the world.   She is a widow and elderly.   There is no one looking out for her welfare, no one to help out, no support system at all to see to her needs.   She is probably homeless as well since she spends night and day in the Temple area.   You would think she would be miserable and despondent over her circumstances.   And yet the opposite is true.   She has dedicated herself to the Lord; she spends her time in prayer and fasting.   And when she does encounter the Holy Family, she breaks out in praise and thanksgiving for having seen the Savior.   And she announces the news to all she meets.   It seems like the perfect definition of proclaiming the ‘good news’! You have to wonder – where are all the re...

  Sunday – Feast of the Holy Family     Gospel – Luke 2:22-40 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 months 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 c...