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“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.”Matthew 2:9Occasionally unexpected. Always welcome. And never ungenerous. That’s how I think of God’s presence in my life. Epiphany means revealing and over the years I have experienced more than a few personal Epiphanies. I imagine you may have, too. Today’s feast day is another reminder of how God’s grace has permeated—and enriched—our lives. At one time or another, we have all experienced acts of kindness, courage, and personal piety. I think of these gifts as the new gold, frankincense and myrrh—blessings revealed as blessings from God.

Yesterday, the Nativity of Our Lord, was a great family day for many, packed from beginning to end with tradition and celebratory moments. Most of us find purpose and meaning in our families, and Christmas is often when our expectations for “comfort and joy” are highest.

The women in Luke’s Gospel always amaze me.  The two I remember today with affection are Mary and Elizabeth—devoted cousins, faithful servants of God, and expectant mothers.See the complete article at: https://maryknollsociety.org/mission-stories/journey-of-faith-december-19-2021/

O wondrous night, when you,Almighty and Eternal God,came to earth as a baby anddwelt among us as a human!You restored the human raceto the dignity lost in Edenand raised it further stillby Uour glorious Incarnation.O blessed day, dawning on a peoplewho walked in darkness,help us always to see and celebrateYour presence among us,especially in the poor, the sick,the aged and the oppressed.From the humble stable in Bethlehemlet the message go forth thatEmanuel, God-With-Us,remains with us still andno power on earth, in heaven or hellcan ever separate us from the love of God Made manifest in Christ Jesus.Amen.Father Joseph Veneroso, M.M.

Luke the evangelist returns today with what I like to call “Rules of Thumb.” His storytelling centers on the preaching—once again—of our friend John the Baptist who was asked by a restive crowd what people should do to prepare for the Messiah. John answers them, not as a politician but as a missioner. If you have two cloaks, he says, share one with someone who has none. If you have extra food, give some to the person who has little. Even the dreaded tax collectors asked John for advice. These were predators who routinely bilked people with threats, keeping what they stole. John told them what they probably knew in their hearts: don’t exploit people or harm them; be satisfied with your wages. “Rules of Thumb” come about when people recognize an injustice and commit themselves to ending it. What better time than Advent to take an inventory of the soul and decide how our baptismal call to serve can guide us in the New Year. Big reforms are always welcome but ending climate change or extremes of wealth may be beyond our personal reach. John the Baptist is saying small-scale changes are meaningful, too. Let charity, especially for the poor, help you do the hard work of day-to-day living.Friend, when the crowds heard John preach, they were “filled with expectation.” We are filled with expectation, too, because we know the promise of the Christ Child is at hand. May the next two weeks be rich for you in prayer and preparation, and all the small gifts of caring and service that honor your call to mission.

“Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low.Luke 3:5 quoting IsaiahWhen preparing for a big event—like Christmas—a helpful approach is deciding on your goal, fixing it in your mind, then figuring out a plan to get there. How can we fill every valley and make low every mountain and hill? That, my partner in prayer, is the work of Advent.If renewal is our goal, then today’s Gospel provides some useful guidance. At the time of Christ’s birth, Luke recounts the imperial reign of Tiberius Caesar and his underlings, men who ruled with iron fists. So you can imagine yourself as an ordinary person of the day asking, “How much longer can this go on?” Take a step forward and doesn’t that all sound familiar? We worry about violence, racism, poverty, and divisions over a vaccine that seems to be tearing us apart. Like someone living in the age of Tiberius, we might ask the same question: “How much longer can this go on?” Something has to give. But what?Israel had hoped for drastic change as promised by Isaiah and the prophets—most likely a political change. Luke reminds us that John the Baptist took a different approach. He offered the waters of baptism for a personal renewal—renewal of heart and soul. We know this because the original meaning of “baptism” as recorded in Luke’s Gospel actually means, “receiving a new kind of mind, a new way of thinking.” Renewal through forgiveness is John the Baptist’s message to the world. He deftly used the symbolism of water to make his point, something the Jews of his day would have understood. They remembered well the difficult crossing of the Red Sea and the River Jordan into the Promised Land. Interesting that even now, just weeks before Christmas, we hear the language of Exodus. Today’s Gospel is saying that we deal with the “winding roads” of life through repentance and forgiveness—through the healing waters of baptism.Friend, renewal is surely the goal of Advent—our personal exodus from darkness into the light of Christ. So how will you be renewed?...

Advent… a time of expectant and hopeful waiting… the time we prepare ourselves for the birth of Our Lord and Savior. Could there be a more important moment in the life of the soul?Today we begin our journey toward Christmas and the miracle of Bethlehem. We can be secure in our hope because we have the promise of the Christ Child… we have the wisdom of scripture… and we have one another.On the first Sunday of Advent I draw special meaning from today’s readings, and I hope you do, too. Jeremiah says the time is at hand when a descendant from the House of David will bring righteous judgment and justice across all the land. This was reassuring in the prophet’s time, and remains especially so now. We are, at times, confronted with seemingly impossible challenges. But scripture tells us never to despair because one called by God will redeem us. I also find solace in Luke’s Gospel, my favorite evangelist. He says rather than be afraid of change, stand tall and embrace it “because your redemption is at hand.”We have endured a lot of tests this year. So Advent begins with a plea from the psalmist for God’s ways to be made known to us, and for our vigilance and humility to guide us toward justice. We pray during Advent for the strength to overcome whatever obstacles may come our way, knowing that in the Christ Child we have the promise of salvation. And as always, we take comfort in the prayers we offer one another.Friend, we have such wonderful traditions at this time of year. When you light the first of four candles in your Advent wreath, know you are beginning the most hopeful journey of the liturgical year. Embrace the gift of love we are about to receive on Christmas Day. We may not know all that the New Year will bring. But we know that God will be with us for the journey in the presence of the Christ Child. May your Advent be full of expectation and joy. I am walking in hope beside you.

Today we celebrate the joyous feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of All—a day on the Church calendar commonly known as Christ the King. We may think of a king as someone with great power. But today’s feast day has a different meaning. The Church is asking us to acknowledge the power of Christ to forgive our sins… deliver us from evil… and to grant us eternal life with the Father and all the saints of heaven.Today’s feast day is another way of saying that God is greater than anything we can imagine. God’s love is immense and eternal, not subject to measurement. God’s grace is infinite, too, a wellspring of divine favor that renews our spirit and refreshes our soul. So in honor of Christ the King, today is a good day to renew our consecration to the living Christ whom we venerate in the Eucharist.One practice that can help us comprehend, in human terms, the enormity of God’s love is developing the habit of being grateful. Our celebration of Christ the King just happens to fall a few days before Thanksgiving, our great national holiday. If you want to glimpse who God is, practice gratitude. Everything we have comes from God. To live that thankfulness is our calling. Friend, even though we can’t completely grasp the concept of eternity or infinity, it’s good to remember this: God is the alpha and the omega in whom we are fulfilled. Be joyful and messengers of gratitude. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving in the company of those you love. May the blessings of our faith be the gift you share without measure. I wish you a rich harvest.

Help us prepare your way, O Lord,exalting every valley and making lowevery hill and mountain to announceYour coming among usour Messiah and God.With hearts longing for your peacewe eagerly await your advent, O Lord,when the glory of God again fills the earth with your peace, and justice rains down from the highest heavens.May your kingdom come andYour will be done, when heaven and earth acknowledge Your presence among us O Lord our God, and love, mercy, forgiveness and truth fill the world With the glory of God.Amen.Father Joseph Veneroso, M.M.

Time to take stock. In just a couple of weeks, we begin a new liturgical year. But before then, we have a little work to do.Rather than think about a literal “end of the world”—the images in today’s readings—let’s think instead about the fulfillment of God’s reign on earth, something each of us can contribute to because we are all missioners. The world we hope to end is one of darkness and disillusion. The world we want to create is built on God’s eternal love and the promise of salvation that we are gifted in the Christ Child.From this perspective, preparing for the arrival of the Son of Man becomes a more hopeful kind of challenge. So I suggest taking the time between now and the beginning of Advent to see where God in your life right now. How do you reflect the joy of our faith at home? At work? In your neighborhood? In your parish? How much time are you making for prayer and self-reflection? Where God is absent, how are you being called to make the Lord’s presence known?Friend, as Advent approaches, now is a good time for an examination of conscience—a checklist for the soul that results in eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that overflows with the love of Christ himself. That’s all we really need to prepare for as one season ends—and a new one begins. May your journey be rich and rewarding.

“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” ~ Mark 12:43-44Everyone has something to give, so the saying goes—whether in wealth, talent, or time. Today’s Gospel, the story of the widow’s mite, is a great lesson in giving—but not so much from abundance as from poverty. The widow who had little to give made her contribution in the temple as the wealthy were making theirs. Her gesture was very modest—just two coins probably worth pennies—and accomplished without calling any attention to herself. But Jesus noticed her modesty and compared it to some of the wealthy who liked to give as a way of impressing others—and giving away only what they really didn’t need in the first place. When Jesus addressed his disciples, he had another kind of giving in mind. He talked about giving from a place of challenge or even deficit… giving out of concern for someone else’s well-being or just because the greater good is more important than our own. That was the widow in Mark’s Gospel. And many other people who have graced my life. With our remembrance of Veterans Day approaching this Thursday, I thank God for the example of our dedicated service men and women. They defended our country with valor and distinction, and in some cases with their lives. Their sacrifice can never be repaid. But we can honor their service to our nation by serving in our communities. Today’s reading also makes me think about the role of people who are challenged by physical impairment or special needs, or are in some way shut off from society. Some may write them off as non-contributors—people with nothing to give—but to me these are valued persons with unique gifts of their own, gifts that can be ours if we are open enough to receive them. The joyful irony is that gifts like these are also opportunities to deepen our faith—with acts of...

Mark’s Gospel today is a journey into the simplicity of a life well lived: Love God with your whole heart, soul, and strength; then love your neighbor as yourself. As Jesus reminds us, there is no other commandment above these. When a scribe confirmed that these two commandments are even greater than burnt offerings and sacrifices, Jesus saw that the man understood the meaning of God’s reign. In response he told the scribe, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”—an observation we would surely want to claim for ourselves. But it’s Mark’s final words that give us pause: “And no one dared to ask him any more questions.” What were the others afraid of? These were undoubtedly learned men schooled in Mosaic Law. Asking and answering questions of one another would have been commonplace. We can’t know for sure why the scribes felt threatened—and then fell silent. But I can say that in any relationship of value, asking questions is not only good but necessary. If one of us had been standing among the scribes that day, these are the questions we might have asked Jesus: • How can I build God’s reign on earth? • What can I do right now to welcome God into my life? • How can I reflect love of God in all of my relationships?I’ll try to answer my own questions this way: We build God’s reign through intimacy with Our Lord and his teachings, by witnessing compassion and love as Jesus did, and by sharing the joy of our faith with all those we know. That sounds a lot like living the two great commandments. With God’s grace, we, too, will not be far from the Kingdom of God.