The Baptism of the LordMt 3:13-17Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and JosephMt 2:13-15, 19-23When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

There is a popular Philippine Christmas song I truly love; it has the title: Christmas in Our Hearts. Indeed, that is where Christmas happens! God’s heart overflowed with love, so he sent his very best gift: his own Son. We all pray for each other during this Christmas season, so that Christ will be born anew in each of our hearts and that there will truly be “Peace on earth”!

Thursday of the Fourth Week of AdventLk 1:46-56“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name."

Father Adam Bucko is an Episcopal priest, spiritual director and activist who has been a committed voice in the movement for the renewal of Christian Contemplative Spirituality and the growing New Monastic movement.He has taught engaged contemplative spirituality in Europe and the United States, and has authored Let Your Heartbreak be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation and co-authored Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation, and The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living.Committed to an integration of contemplation and just practice, he cofounded an award-winning non-profit, the Reciprocity Foundation, where he spent 15 years working with homeless youth living on the streets of New York City, providing spiritual care, developing programs to end youth homelessness, and articulating a vision for spiritual mentoring in a post-religious world.He currently serves as a director of The Center for Spiritual Imagination at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in New York, and is a member of “The Community of the Incarnation,” a ‘new monastic’ community dedicated to democratizing the gifts of monastic spirituality and teaching contemplative spirituality, in the context of hearing and responding to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.Adam lives in New York with his wife, Kaira Jewel Lingo, a Buddhist teacher and former nun in the community of Thich Nhat Hanh. Together they lead The Buddhist-Christian Community for Meditation and Action. His website is www.FatherAdamBucko.com.

Today we sit down with missioner, author and Maryknoll priest, Fr. John P Martin.  Fr. Martin shares experiences from his missionary work in Mexico and Bangladesh. He reflects on his struggles with his Vocational calling as a Missionary versus the traditional calling of being a Sacramental Minister.  Father John also talks about his deep culture shock experiences during his time in Bangladesh, then in India where he fulfilled his dream of further understanding the Hindu Bengali culture.  "a transformative journey as a Maryknoll missionary with cross-cultural and inter-religious ramifications, into realms of spiritual growth beyond imagining."It's hard to summarize this incredible episode of Among The People into a short intro, but we know you'll be enriched by the life story of Fr. Martin and the many paths he has travelled.   Episode Notes His website: JohnthePMArtin.comAbout John P Martin John Patrick Martin was born of Irish immigrant parents in New York City in 1939, partaking of their Irish culture, proudly, along with his four sisters, Kitty, Mary, Maggie and Ellen.At age twelve his inspiration to become a foreign missionary carried him through 11 years of seminary to ordination in 1966 and a first assignment to Mexico. He dedicated himself to his priestly ministry including a variety of social and spiritual developmental activities until 1975. He then answered his leadership’s invitation to join the new Bangladesh Unit for insertion, through Christian testimony, into the Muslim environment as brother and friend.Through the influence of Father Bede Griffiths, he became enamored of the many opportunities for living dialogue with believers of other religious traditions in South Asia.​He relished the call to share the fruits of this rich life with folks in Mexico again for fifteen years, for more of the same as above, and at home through mission education programs, inter-religious forums, and his new career as a writer.

Friday of the Third Week in AdventJn 5:33-36Jesus said to the Jews:“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept testimony from a human being,but I say this so that you may be saved."

Thursday of the Third Week in AdventLk 7:24-30This is the one about whom Scripture says:    Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,    he will prepare your way before you.

At this time in the history of the Church, the memory of “Good Pope John” has once again surfaced as the Church commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962-2022). Saint-Pope John Paul II has described John XXIII as “a pastor full of wisdom and Christian hope.” When he was confronting the difficult journey of the Church in a fragmented, unbelieving world, John XXIII bravely showed “optimistic trust,” disagreeing with those “prophets of doom,” who often forecast disaster and act as though the end of the world were at hand.

Join Orbis Books Publisher, Robert Ellsberg, as he discusses "Father Ed : The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor", with Dawn Eden Goldstein, author, in this One On One Interview.Get your copy today: https://maryknoll.link/1n4Check out more Orbis Book Authors and One On One Interviews: https://maryknollsociety.org/podcast/Father Ed is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement.Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson has one of the greatest legacies of any person of modern times. Time magazine placed him at No. 20 on its list of the most important people of the 20th century. But whenever Wilson himself had the opportunity to name the greatest human being he had ever met, he had but one answer: Father Edward Dowling, SJJesuit Father Ed Dowling (1898-1960) rescued Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson from debilitating depression and gave him the spiritual guidance he needed to bring AA to international prominence. Although not an alcoholic himself, he came to devote his ministry to helping people in recovery—not only alcoholics but also people in troubled marriages (as a co-founder of the Cana Conference) and those suffering from nervous disorders (as an early champion of Recovery, Inc., now known as Recovery International). But he was also a champion of civil rights and social justice, and his interests presaged Society’s post-Vatican II priorities.Dawn Eden Goldstein is the author of four books, including The Thrill of the Chaste, My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints, Remembering God's Mercy), and Sunday Will Never Be the Same. At the age of thirty-one, Dawn underwent a dramatic conversion to Christianity that ultimately led her to enter the Catholic Church. She received her doctorate in sacred theology summa cum laude from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 2016, becoming the first woman in the university's history to earn a canonical doctorate. She has taught at universities and Catholic seminaries in the United States, England, and India.#catholic #podcast #orbisbooks #Dawn Eden Goldstein #Christian #Maryknoll #FatherEd #spirituality

On all Sundays of Advent, the first reading is from the Prophet Isaiah; he constantly announces the coming of salvation, often using poetic images. Today we hear that “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” The wolf will be the guest of the lamb; the cow and the bear will become neighbors; the baby will play by the cobra’s den! Yes, there is hope; yet, you might ask: What is genuine, realistic hope?

From his ministry during the apartheid in South Africa, serving in both Nigeria and Namibia, to his mission work in Venezuela, Fr. Richard Albertine shares his incredible reflections on life as a Maryknoll missioner overseas.