Learning to be Quick to Listen

Did you celebrate yesterday? Isn't it wonderful to be able to proclaim that our Lord is alive. He is risen! We are freed from the bondage of death by His sacrifice. But before we declare a complete victory, we must turn our eyes to China. Did you also see the incredibly sad story of Christians being arrested just for praying. I am adding the news report here so that you can share it with others. We must not allow China or any secular entity to deny us the right to worship our Lord and Savior. It does remind us that our mission is far from complete. Until we bring the message of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, Jesus will not return. The site of a planned outdoor Easter service at one of China's largest independent "house" churches was eerily silent Sunday as police blocked more than 500 worshipers from leaving their homes and detained more than 36 for attempting to attend religious services in Beijing, church officials said. The gathering place for worshipers wa...

The Vigil Mass of Holy Thursday deepens our understanding of the mystery of the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the gift of the ministerial priesthood which continues to make present the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. When our Priest stands at that altar, it is Jesus Christ in whom He stands, Christ is the victim, and Christ is the Holy Oblation. Jesus gave Himself to us in the great meal in which we participate in on this Holy Night. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Holy Oblation of Incarnate Love and we are the beneficiaries, receiving the very life of God. At the Last Supper, Jesus sacramentally anticipated the altar of the Cross at which He would willingly pour out the very last drop of His Blood so that we could be set free to live free. St. Paul told the Galatians, "For freedom Christ set us free." (Gal. 5:1) We are set free to live our real human lives in Him, for Him and with Him, for the sake of the world. When the Lord rose from that table, He showed u...

Palm Sunday always sets such a beautiful beginning to the holiest of weeks. As we draw our Lenten season to a close and begin the Triduum on Thursday, I am reminded of the sacrifice of our Lord. Yesterday's Gospel reading always reveals something new to me or perhaps I notice something new as a focus area. In the end, it is God who is placing new insights before me. Yesterday it was the Lord asking that His Father allow the chore of the crucifixion to pass Him by. Reading the words triggered the image of our Lord suffering on the cross. The imagery took me to the foot of the cross looking up at Jesus. The sacrifice is enormous but realizing that He is God and could have just as easily chosen another way truly defines the magnitude of the event. It is the ultimate display of obedience. It is what God asks of all of us. God sacrificed His son for us. The immeasurable depths of the love it takes to do something like that is almost unimaginable. But of course, trying to measure it woul...

In honor of the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II, the U.S. bishops' conference launched a new website featuring a 17-minute video with footage from the late pontiff's life. “Pope John Paul II touched the lives of many people across the globe, in particular Americans during his seven visits to the United States,” said conference spokeswoman Helen Osman on April 12. “The bishops’ conference created the web site to assist people in realizing the magnitude of his work, and the video to illustrate his remarkable relationship with the American people.” The “John Paul II Memorial Video” shows clips of his most touching moments captured on camera as well as key messages during his visits to the United States. Other site content includes a biography and a timeline of Pope John Paul as well as many of his major writings. The site also holds several essays by U.S. bishops' conference experts also explore the Polish pontiff’s influence and legacy in areas from East-West rela...

Please pray for Bryan Stow, the 42-year old paramedic from Santa Cruz who was brutally attacked at Dodger Stadium just because he had the audacity to wear San Francisco Giant apparel. Two cowards attacked him from behind and now the father of two is in a coma. Apparently close to 100 people witnessed this tragedy but the cowards have not been arrested yet. I love sports and I dislike the rivals of my teams but I would never think of violently attacking someone over the issue. Has our world really come to this? I understand that the psychological mood of the country continues to be greatly affected by the inability of our leadership to remedy our economic problems but nothing excuses this action. It is shameful and unacceptable. Then there is the story of Brianna Montecalvo who gives us hope in the future. She recently was confirmed and received gifts of cash from friends and relatives. Instead of spending it on herself, she decided to donate the cash to a worthy cause. Brianna recently...

Do you have faith in God but never do any of His work? Do you serve as the hands and feet of God on earth? There are a number of great examples in the Bible of why merely declaring that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior is not enough. That is the first step but you must do the work as well. Look at the story of Noah in the Old Testament. God told Noah, "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, put various compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put an entrance in the side of the ark, which you shall make with bottom, second and third decks." At that point Noah had a choice. He had declared his allegiance to God. He was, in fact, leading the life that God asked of all of the people in the Old Testament. Noah was a good person, a Godly man. He had...

Why do we as creations of God continue to try to place the spotlight on ourselves? Why do we succumb to our basest desires of being praised and recognized? We do love to be noticed and stroked. It is a desire that we must work to control. St. James talks about this desire over and over in his Epistle. He tells us that when our unfulfilled desires lead us to frustration, we usually create problems for others. We want to tear others down so that they feel as bad as we do. It is the devil busy at work. The thoughts we have create a battlefield in our minds. We focus so much on them that we let our relationship with the Father diminish. God is waiting for us to turn to Him in our every need. He loves us and wants to comfort us. St. James tells us that the desires create an emptiness that can only be filled by God. So often we think the food, created things, whatever will satisfy us but they do not. The everlasting fulfillment provided by God is so good. As Jesus tells us, the water He pro...

No one can fully understand the personality and courage of Pope John Paul II without examining the "flying press conferences" he held on airplanes during 104 trips outside of Italy, said retired Cardinal Roberto Tucci, who organized most of those trips. "He was not evasive. He wasn't afraid to answer, even if sometimes he was irritated by the question," Cardinal Tucci said at the presentation of a book containing the transcripts in Italian of most of Pope John Paul's high-altitude encounters with the press. The transcripts were made from recordings in the archives of Vatican Radio and reflect the often-informal and sometimes chaotic atmosphere in the journalists' section of the papal plane, particularly during the early years of Pope John Paul's 1978-2005 pontificate. Cardinal Tucci said the speeches, books and poetry of Pope John Paul give people what he thought when he had time to reflect in a methodical way, but his responses to reporters -- whic...