Vocations Newsletter

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…
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“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…
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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…
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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…
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