Recently Pope Benedict XVI, the 265^th pope, passed away at the age of 95. Benedict’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Gänswein said that Benedict himself thought he would die within a year of resigning, and yet, he survived for about 10 years afterwards! Tell God your plans, right…? Nevertheless, he resigned at age 85 because, in his own words, “…in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.” Contrary to what many secular media outlets may say, these are the words of a meek, prayerful, and honest disciple of Our Lord.

I made the mistake a few years ago of watching the film “The Two Popes” on Netflix. It’s clearly fictional and just for entertainment…but nevertheless leaves one with images of a Benedict who is power-hungry and callous. Nothing could be further from the truth (and thus I highly discourage watching the film). If you don’t believe me, watch EWTN’s most recent interview with ‘Msgr. Georg Gänswein’ on YouTube, or the 2003 interview by EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo with Cardinal Ratzinger himself. Both of them cut quickly through any fanciful caricatures. What we discover in meeting and reading the late Pope Benedict is a man who loved the Lord with all his heart.

Jesus, for Benedict, is not an idea or an historical figure in a textbook but a living friend who offers hope and joy in the midst of any storm. In fact, humble joy and love for the Lord are what come through the most in that 2003 interview. If there’s anything we can learn from this theological giant, it’s his unwavering faith and hope in the God who is both Love and Reason.

If you’re looking to get a taste of treasure that this man left the Church in his writings, I would recommend his encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi (free online), and his book Jesus of Nazareth (the gold and red volume). (His book Introduction to Christianity, while exceptional, is not an intro like Theology 101 is an intro!) Alongside St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. John the Evangelist, Pope Benedict is one of my heroes in the faith and I hope that he will inspire you too, not only as to the beauty of the rationality of our faith, but also in the lovability of our great God and Lord Jesus Christ!

May he rest in peace. Amen.

Father James

The Heisman trophy is awarded to an individual college football player for his outstanding performance on the field.  The trophy is a bronze figure of John Heisman with arm extended (a stiff-arm) to ward off any person getting to the football.  Sometimes I think this trophy represents more than just a great football player but also a common image of how we can tend to live the Christian life.

For better or for worse, relationships have the ability to change us.  For that reason, we can often carry the same stance as the Heisman trophy: a stiff-arm that wards off potentially life-changing encounters.  However, the Lord is constantly inviting us to relationship—both with him and his Body, the Church.  Although keeping others at arm’s length can seem more comfortable, it also means that we could be keeping Our Lord at a distance as well.

The Magi offer us a good example. Instead of avoiding new relationships, they sought them out! They went on a long and arduous journey to enter into a new relationship with the King of the Jews. Unsure of what their meeting would mean, they stepped out of their comfortable lives as kings in search of something even greater. What is more, they had the humility to seek wisdom from others on their journey, leading to their eventual discovery of a little child with his mother, and a new King who was worthy of all their gifts.  The last line in this narrative is subtle but profound: “They departed for their country by another way.”  Their lives were changed!

As we begin a new year, I encourage you to be open to new relationships.  To put away our Heisman stance and open ourselves to the Lord and his Body at Our Lady of Mercy. May I even encourage you further by taking part in the many places of encounter especially where you haven’t had a chance to take part in, here at Our Lady of Mercy.  From encountering the Lord through those in need by helping out at PADS, the Mobile Food Pantry, the funeral and homebound ministries, to diving deeper into profound intimacy with the Lord through the upcoming CRHP Men’s and Women’s Retreats, the next Bible Study on the Chosen, or the upcoming powerful gatherings in the Rescue Project. May our encounter of the Lord, in these places of encounter or on our own seeking of Him, have the same result as it did for the Magi, that our lives be changed!

Father Michael

Calling Mary the “Mother of God” is a simple syllogism: Mary is the Mother of Jesus. Jesus is God. Therefore, Mary is the mother of God. Logic!! Now, speaking of logic, this isn’t to say that Mary is somehow temporally before God, nor that she created God. Mary was not the mother of Jesus’ divine nature, but rather His human nature. God is outside of time and space (He created space-time!). Still, she wasn’t just the mother of Jesus’ human nature, she was the mother of Jesus Himself—the divine person! Jesus’ two natures were perfectly and uniquely united in His person.  Hence, whatever we can truthfully say about Jesus, we can truthfully say about God.

So, for instance, we can rightly say that God suffered our death on the cross; God became incarnate; God wept at the death of his friend Lazarus; God Himself saved us; and so on. 

This is important not only because of what it teaches us about God’s tenderness, humility, and closeness, but also because it preserves a correct understanding of the central figure of our faith: Jesus! Jesus was both fully God and fully man, and what we say about Mary helps to make this clear.

We thus have no problem focusing an entire solemnity on a specific title of Mary. Mary always helps us to understand her Son.

In case we are still unconvinced, though, just look at Elizabeth. Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit” exclaimed, “Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-42) Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth didn’t exclaim, “That my Lord should come to me!” but, “That the mother of my Lord!” Clearly the Holy Spirit—aka God—has no qualms about guiding His people to get excited about Mary…and not only to get excited, but also to specifically call Mary the mother of my “Kyriou”, the mother of my divine Lord. It doesn’t get much clearer than that, so enjoy kicking off the new year just as the Holy Spirit would want you to, by celebrating Mary the Mother of our God!

Father James

I’m very competitive.  I may or may not “talk smack” if you try to take me on in card games or sports…especially when I’m good at them—that includes bowling, by the way, so watch out OLM bowling league.  As I reflect, I can see that this competitive spirit began in grade school, carried into high school, and has even continued into college and priestly ministry!

Competition is a good thing (and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased).  It is something that reminds us of the need to put in the necessary effort and discipline if we want to succeed.  St. Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize!” (1 Cor 9:24)  St. Paul desires that people put the same effort they put into sports into growing their faith.

Still, there is one area of our lives where competition should have no place: our relationship with God.  This is because God is not in competition with us.  What we learn as children and adults—namely, “if somebody else wins, I lose”—doesn’t translate in our relationship with God.  When God wins, we win.  He’s on our side, and He’s one heck of a teammate!

When my nephew was a tiny infant, it was a joy just to be able to hold him. I didn’t challenge him to a competition, or question who was winning out the most in our relationship.  I just wanted to be with him—to hold him and to rejoice in him. The Lord desires the same kind of relationship with us.  He wants to be with us! He wants to be held close to our hearts, just as He holds us close to His own heart.

This shows us one of the reasons why God chose to become an infant.  He wants to break through our imagined competition with Him, and show us that fighting against Him is just about as unreasonable as fighting against a helpless infant. When God wins, we win. Let’s be thankful this Christmas for our God who is so powerful and majestic that He’s not afraid to become a helpless tiny infant, showing us just how much He wants to be with us, and just how far He is willing to go for us!

Father Michael

 

Have you ever had a dream for yourself or family and saw it realized; whether it be personal, spiritual, or vocational?  It’s usually an unforgettable moment filled with great joy.  I have been blessed to be able experience this in my own life on various occasions: from running a marathon with my sister two years after my last chemo, to desiring to hear the Lord’s voice in prayer, to responding to the Lord’s calling in my ordination to the priesthood.  All were unforgettable and joyful moments where dreams were fulfilled!

St. Matthew’s Gospel is known as the fulfillment Gospel.  Throughout his Gospel, St. Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet…”  St. Matthew is preparing his readers to receive the dream given to all of humanity—the dream to be once again reunited with our God and creator.

For St. Joseph, this dream was literally his own. An angel of the Lord explained to St. Joseph in his dreams what was soon to come and the role that he was invited to play.  Although it took great courage, St. Joseph answered the call to participate in this dream. He knew that the very same God who freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, who fed His people in the desert, and who promised to once again deliver His people from bondage, was reaching out him in this dream.

That dream can be ours as well—and not only a dream, but the fulfillment of that dream! It takes great courage to follow God’s lead, even if His promises seem hard to believe, but for those who follow it, they will know the greatest dream of all to come true in their own lives. Let us unite ourselves with St. Joseph this week as prepare for Christmas. For on Christmas day, we receive Emmanuel anew—God with us—the greatest dream to ever come true!

Father Michael