Our Gospel this Sunday presents a dramatic encounter between Jesus and a paralytic. Jesus was at home in Capernaum, surrounded by disciples listening to his teaching. Four men who were carrying a paralyzed man appeared, hoping to have Jesus cure him. Finding the room where Jesus was teaching too full, they used a rather creative method for getting their friend to Jesus, opening the roof of the room in order to lower the man down.

Two things, other than the ruined roof, are interesting in this encounter. The first is Jesus’ initial response to the paralytic. “Child, your sins are forgiven.” I am sure that was the last thing the four carriers expected or hoped to hear from Jesus. They certainly had not carried the man from wherever they were from, hoisted him up to the roof of the building, tore apart the roof and then lowered him down before Jesus in order for his sins to be forgiven. What kind of sins could a paralytic have committed? The question should not have been “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” but rather who but God alone would know that the man had sins to forgive?

The second surprising thing about this encounter is that the paralytic has no speaking part. We are sure of the faith of the four carriers but do not know anything about the paralytic until he actually does what Jesus tells him to do: pick up his mat and walk. His active expression of faith is every bit as powerful as that of the four men who had helped him. For the paralytic, the power to overcome the doubt and fear that he would not be able to do just as Jesus said was a great witness to the disciples who had gathered to hear Jesus’ words.

In our lives, many of us have experienced times of paralysis, times when we have not known where to turn, times when we had to rely on the faith of those around us to sustain and carry us forward. There are other times when we have been that person who carried a friend in their time of need. In all of these experiences, it is Jesus who stands before us to both accept us as we are and challenge us to move forward in faith and trust; to take up our
mats and walk. Our response is, itself, a blessing of God.

The Gospels tell stories of Jesus healing the blind, paralytics, disfigured, and other sick people. Lepers are the only sick people Jesus encounters who are described by their disease as opposed to the presenting symptom or result of a disease or other event. Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions. Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. A commonly held belief that it causes body parts to fall off is patently untrue. It is, however, a disfiguring disease that affects over a million people to this day and was endemic to the Middle East in the time of Jesus. 

Along with the physical issues of Hansen’s Disease is a psycho-social one. Lepers have been considered “unclean” by society and even today when the disease can be controlled, lepers can be shunned by their community. This was especially true in ancient times when the disease was not understood and people feared those infected. The Leper in today’s Gospel’s plea, “If you wish, you can make me clean,” is the cry of one shunned by his community and family. Being “clean” means not only being free of disease, but able to rejoin society.

Sin affects us in the same way as this disease. It has its physical effects on but the more painful property is the harm it causes our relationships with others and with God. Serious sin affects in a serious way our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. Only Jesus can make us clean. The Eucharist is our primary sacrament of God’s mercy, the Body and the Blood of Christ is the reality of God’s desire to make us whole, God’s blessing for each of us in the person of Christ the Healer and Redeemer. 

In the year 1993, the Archdiocese, recognizing that many of our parishes and parish schools were finding it more and more difficult to pay their ordinary expenses, began the annual appeal Together in Mission. Over the course of almost 20 years, almost 220 million has been raised to pay for operating expenditures such as salaries, electric bills and insurance as well as for emergency expenses such as new roofs, broken water mains, etc. Together in Mission is a restricted appeal and is the only annual appeal in the country which is dedicated solely to the upkeep, maintenance and operation of the poorest of our parishes.

Thirty five of our parishes and fifty two of our parish schools depend on Together in Mission to keep their doors open and 92% of all funds collected go directly to these financially challenged communities to keep the Catholic Faith alive.

Over the past 19 years, St. Margaret Mary has raised a total of almost 2 million dollars for Together in Mission. What a wonderful expression of our sense of unity in the mission of the Local Church. Last year, 593 of you chose to make a contribution to this fund, allowing us to achieve our goal of just over $130,000. This year we are approaching you again to contribute to this very worthy appeal. Our parish goal for 2012 is $128,826. As you know, this appeal is a pledge that can be paid off over the year. I invite each of you to think about sharing with our brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese, regardless of how much you are able to give. Our gift is an expression of our gratitude for what the Lord has given us as we strive to work together in the mission of sharing the Gospel. 

What makes a person, a thing or even God, himself, "holy"? The word "holy" comes to us from Old English and German origins from words pertaining to health or wholeness; things that were not to be violated. The word can be found in various expressions and is the root of many words: "holiday" is literally a "holy day" and originally only referred to religious feast days; "halibut" seems to come from two words, "holy" and "butte" (a word for a flatfish), being a fish eaten on "holy" Fridays. The word "Sacred" comes from Latin origins and is used with the word "holy" to describe things pertaining to God. Its ancient meaning referred to the binding, restricting,  enclosing or protecting of something which is why one‘s 'sacred oath‘ is still considered binding on a level deeper than a promise. The Church has referred to things, people and events as holy or sacred because they are set apart as pertaining to God or for God‘s use alone. Our church buildings are considered sacred space because they are the places where God‘s People gather to celebrate the Sacraments and the Sacraments are holy because God, Himself, becomes present in a special way through the actions of the priests and God‘s holy people.

Things that are holy are often set up in contrast to things that are considered profane. The word "profane" is derived from two Latin words that mean "before or outside of the temple" and so profane words, objects or actions are those things that are not worthy of being in God‘s presence.

In today's Gospel, Jesus is referred to as the "Holy One of God". This description presents Jesus as the pattern by which all holy things are measured. As members of the Body of Christ, bound together by Jesus‘ sacrifice, we become the Holy Ones of God, called to be set apart from the world even as we strive to serve the world just as Jesus did. As we reflect this month on Jesus, our Refuge, we call on the Holy One of God to keep us holy and to shelter us from what would take us from the path of holiness.

 


 

We receive messages every day, whether they come by note, voicemail, text message, e-mail, twitter or even snail mail. We are subject to advertising messages on television, radio, the internet, in magazines and newspapers, on buildings, in store windows. We have skywriting proposing insurance coverage, bus seats suggesting attorneys and billboards advertising weight loss procedures. On a drive from home to the store, we probably pass by a few hundred signs that we don't even notice from road signs to advertisements.

To what signs do we pay attention? Obviously, the signs that we notice will be the signs that have particular meaning to us in our given situation. If we are looking for a house number or for a product, we tune ourselves into that type of sign. Other signs that we will notice are those that, even though we might not be looking for them or expecting them, speak to us on a personal level. They touch our hearts in a way that we cannot but respond.

Jesus called the Apostles in this week's Gospel in a way that made them leave behind their whole way of making a living in order to follow. What would it take to answer a call in so radical a way?

Jesus continues to call men and women to a radical new way of life. When we have a relationship with Jesus, our understanding of everything changes. When we listen to his invitation to discipleship, everything we do becomes a response to that call. As we begin this New Year, we are challenged to make our response one of blessing that brings Grace, Peace and Consolation to others in God our Refuge.

These words are also an example of an Epiphany, a word meaning appearance or manifestation from the Greek words meaning "to shine upon". We ascribe the label "Epiphany" on the feast on which we remember the visit of the magi to the baby Jesus but there are actually many "epiphanies" in the Gospels, occasions in which it is being made manifest that Jesus is the Son of God. The Baptism of the Lord, the many miracles of Jesus, the events occurring around the death of Jesus and his resurrection and ascension are all epiphanies.

But what does John mean when he describes Jesus as the "Lamb of God"? Today, we see lambs as cute barnyard animals that we like to see in petting zoos. In Jesus’ agrarian/pastoral society, lambs represented food and shelter and sacrifice; their wool being used for clothing, blankets and tents and their flesh as food. Even their skins were used as parchment and for carrying water or wine. Lambs represented the wealth of a family or community and as such, were proper sacrificial offerings to God. The sacrificial Lamb of God was especially important during the time of Passover when thousands would be sacrificed at the Temple of Jerusalem for the seder meal, the blood sprinkled on the altar and smeared on the lintel of the door as a sign of the Covenant of the Jewish people with God. Jesus is singled out as the Lamb of God whose sacrifice will be a sign of the New Covenant for all who believe in his. In this New Covenant, we are identified as children of God, washed and signed in his blood and for whom he sacrificed himself on the cross. Like John the Baptist, Andrew and Peter, we point to Jesus as Messiah by the way in which we live our lives.

Fascination with the stars has been a recreation of human beings from the time they were first able to raise their heads and see the bright points that spark the night sky. Paleontologists suggest from cave paintings that humans have tried to decipher what was happening on earth by following the movement of heavenly bodies for 25,000 years. Astrology became a powerful instrument by which “wise men” controlled kings and empires as early as 4,000 years ago. Even today, the belief that the relationships of planets and stars to each other is believed by many to affect the lives of individuals born under given signs. 

When ancient people looked at the night sky, free from the light pollution of our modern cities, they did not see stars, planets and galaxies as we understand them. Ancients saw heroes and monsters, bears and brave hunters, dragons, scorpions, animals and humans walking, chasing, flying across the sky. They noticed that planets were different from stars and believed this to be because they were influencing the world of men and women. But in ancient times, unlike today where people think they can find a personal message in a horoscope, it was believed that the “stars” only had influence over or were influenced by the actions of the king. And that is where our story of the Epiphany begins. 

Whatever the magi saw in the heavens, they knew that it could only portend the birth of a king, and not just any king but one whose reign would affect them, even in a distant land. How surprised they must have been to enter the simple dwelling where Mary and Joseph cared for their newborn baby; no royal court, no riches or armies. And yet, to this child they opened their treasures.

As we celebrate the Epiphany, we can reflect on how and where we might find God’s active presence in our own lives; the surprising events and experiences that remind us that God is real and that he is with us. How do we respond to that presence in our relationships, our work, and our lives?  Jesus makes himself known so that we might open ourselves up to him.

Where is God in our lives?

It is common practice since the 6th Century when notating a date to label the year with the letters "A.D."  A.D. connotes the Latin words Anno Domini (in the Year of the Lord).  In the Western World, previous dates were defined by the reign of a given consul or emperor or the Olympiad in which the date fell.  The new designation of a date as being "In the Year of the Lord" both underscores the importance of the date of the Incarnation and asserts that the Lord is still present in our time and space.  Mary names her son "Jesus", that means "God Saves", an action that continues through the past ages and will continue in the ages to come.  

Today we celebrate the beginning of a New Year of Grace, the Year of Our Lord 2012.  For many of us, the New Year is a time for reflection on the past and a time of prayers and hopes for the coming year.  It is a time for renewal, for resolutions, for starting clean and moving ahead.  Many people wait up to "see in" the New Year with these hope-filled expectations.  People gather with friends and family members to celebrate our ability to renew ourselves.  It appears to be instinctive for us as human beings to want to start again.

This year we celebrate our Diamond Jubilee as a parish, 75 years of proclaiming the Gospel and living out our faith.  It is a special time of starting again to recognize the presence of our Lord in us and in our work.  In a special way, we begin our year honoring Mary, the Mother of God on this, her feast, acknowledging that it is through her acceptance of God’s Will that the Word "became flesh and dwelt among us."  Mary becomes the model for every subsequent disciple of her son, Jesus as we strive to place ourselves at the disposal of the will of God.  

May the Grace and Consolation of God bless this New Year with peace.

The term "traditional Christmas" can have different meanings, depending on culture and history of any given family. When we think a Christmas celebration, many of us imagine Midnight Mass, Christmas carolers, presents underneath decorated trees, stockings hung on the fireplace, a turkey in the oven. Others think of tamales or plum pudding, posadas and trips to relative‘s houses. We have special songs, special foods and stories; a special language that is unique to Christmas.

It is interesting to note that most of the things that we think of as indispensable Christmas traditions are actually modern additions to the festivity. Up until the early 1800‘s, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in many of our states who believed the traditions to be too pagan or (even worse) too Catholic. Christmas trees immigrated with German settlers in the 19th Century, the Christmas Card originated in London in the same era. Most of our beloved Christmas Carols were written in the last 200 years. Santa Claus, himself, developed from Danish and English Father Christmas, also in the 19th Century.

The history of the celebration of Christmas in the United States is unusual. The earliest Christmas celebrations in the American southern colonies centered around hunts and socials or balls. They were adult affairs and children were not invited. What a far cry from our modern Santa Claus driven Christmas economic machine! 

There is no doubt that traditions change with a change in culture. What we consider a "traditional Christmas" tomorrow might not bear much resemblance to our celebrations today. But what will always be essential to Christmas will remain the same; God‘s generosity to us, his children. In the cold and fearful darkness that we experience around us in the world, God‘s presence breaks through with the message of the angels. "Fear not!" The Light of Jesus Christ is born among us, a light that brings peace, consolation and joy.

A quote often ascribed to Blessed John Paul II is the statement made by the angel Gabriel to Mary in today’s Gospel, “Do not be afraid.” When one studies the life of our late pope, one can see that the prelate lived this quotation, standing up to Nazism and Socialism in his native land of Poland as student, priest and bishop and battling Communism and the myriad modern issues and problems of the Church in the late 20th Century as pope. John Paul’s life and death can be defined by the gift of the Holy Spirit, Courage.

The biblical image of an angel is quite different from the “Hallmark” version that is so popular today. Ancient people saw angels as fearsome messengers of God. Angels were not pictured as the beautiful, flowing gowned, feathery-winged human-like beings we place on the tops of Christmas Trees. They were powerful, frightening, half animal/half human creatures. They spoke for God and so they portrayed the power and majesty of God. In the Gospel of Luke, the two times that angels speak, their message begins with the statement, “Do not be afraid!” Mary, in this story and the Shepherds in the Christmas story respond with courage. They believe that what the angels say is true and they act upon it so that the Word might be made flesh.

We live in no less fearsome times than that of Mary. Economic hardships, challenges to health, threats of violence, instability of families, changing cultural standards all test our ability to respond to the Word of God so that it might be enfleshed in us. In the face of these challenges, the words of Gabriel are as appropriate to us as they were to Mary and the Shepherds. Do not be afraid! The promise of God’s messenger is that the Lord is truly with us and we can depend on His Providence. As we look forward to the celebration of Christmas and the beginning New Year, let this be our hope and consolation.

“...let this be our hope and consolation.”