Thoughts on Holy Scripture

 

Behold, I Make all Things New - A New Year’s Reflection

Jewish tradition has a beautiful understanding of sanctity. Its holy ones are known as tzaddikim. A tzaddik is one who faithfully lives the commandments (mitzvot) and acts with compassion and humility. Their life integrates the will of God, the Law, and the world around them. In mystical Judaism, particularly Hasidism, the righteousness of the tzaddik sustains not only their community but the entire world. Their holiness radiates beyond Israel to the nations - to all of creation itself. They accomplish this by uniting their lives to the Torah (the first five books of Scripture), which is understood as the Word of God at the heart of creation. Throughout the Old Testament, each great tzaddik is entrusted with sustaining the world in a particular moment of history. Yet no single tzaddik is wholly perfect. Jacob, for example, resorts to deception in order to advance God’s providential plan - securing the blessing that Isaac was prepared to give to Esau despite Esau’s disregard for the covenant and Rebekah’s prophetic insight. Jacob later struggles to hold together a divided family: two wives and their children, each representing a different spiritual path through their names - Leah embodying fruitfulness and fidelity through joy, and Rachel embodying love marked by longing and suffering. In each wife, there are echoes of the other: Leah experiences sorrow as Rachel experiences joy. Despite Jacob’s efforts, the union remains fractured. Joseph, Jacob’s son, becomes the next great tzaddik. Through profound personal suffering in Egypt, he continues the healing work begun by his father. Joseph succeeds where others failed: through forgiveness, he brings spiritual reconciliation to his family, and through wisdom, he preserves them materially during famine. Through Joseph, Israel survives. Yet the healing is not complete. The descendants of Israel must still atone for their sins; joy and suffering must become one. Joseph’s protection does not endure forever, and the Israelites are eventually enslaved in Egypt - mirroring Joseph’s own suffering and serving both as just consequence for their betrayal of him and as a means of unifying the people through shared suffering. When the time is fulfilled, God raises up Moses to lead them out of bondage, but Moses’ own sin prevents him from entering the Promised Land. These stories reveal a pattern: each righteous one strives toward holiness yet falls short. Each wrestles with personal and collective sin in the work of restoring creation to God’s perfect will. Yet their labor endures. They do not give up. From generation to generation, each successive tzaddik brings healing to the people. God is generous in His gifts, honoring their struggle for holiness in a fallen world. Most importantly, the true lesson is not simply what each tzaddik did, but how they did it: by uniting their lives to the Word of God and becoming living echoes of that Word. The Jewish people continue to await the final tzaddik: one so perfectly united to the will of God that he becomes the living Torah - the Word enfleshed. This one they call Moshiach, the Messiah. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” — John 1:14 One of the great tragedies of human history is that when the Messiah took flesh and walked among us, so many failed to recognize Him. Many still do. And in truth, despite opportunities to encounter Christ all around us, we miss Him too - catching glimpses here and there. The question for all of us is: how can we see more clearly? Unlike every tzaddik before Him, Jesus is not just a holy man. He is the Word of God at the heart of creation. He did not need to unite Himself to the Word. He is the Word. While man alone cannot bring Salvation, Jesus can. Instead of Israel striving to ascend to God, God united Himself to Israel in a descent of love so he could stand in their place. He fulfilled the prophets: He entered and left Egypt as a child, crossed the Jordan, chose twelve apostles corresponding to the twelve sons of Jacob, and reversed the sin of Adam and Eve by sweating blood in a garden and hanging upon a tree - the new Tree of Life. He surrendered His spirit after praying the Psalms. Humanity could not become the Word, so God entered creation as the living Word and became one with His people. From Jerusalem, His saving work went out to the whole world. In a few short centuries he conquered Rome - the enemy of Israel - and made it his Church. Through the Catholic Church, His name is proclaimed among the nations. He is the Messiah. What does this mean for us as Christians? As members of the New Covenant, we are called to love Jesus so deeply that we seek to unite our entire lives to Him first and foremost by allowing him to work in us. We no longer work out our holiness through the Mosaic Law; we work it out through union with our Beloved. Through dying to ourselves in love and becoming one with Christ, we discover joy within suffering. This is why Jesus speaks of Heaven as a wedding feast and calls the Church His Bride. In love, we become one flesh with Christ, so that when others look upon us, they no longer see us - but Him. This is the difference between a tzaddik and a saint. But how do we do this? St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” We unite ourselves to Jesus by immersing ourselves in the Word of God, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds and hearts. We read Scripture as a lover studies the face, heart, movements, and thoughts of the beloved. We lay down our own will in humility and love. We consummate this union sacramentally by receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist as often as possible. And when we fall into selfishness and sin, we return to Him through reconciliation. Unlike Jacob who saw a ladder of ascent to God and wrestled with an Angel, we allow God to descend into us and carry us up the ladder. In this way, something even greater than the work of the ancient tzaddikim unfolds - greater even than the Temple of Solomon. In the ancient temple, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, yet every time you receive Holy Communion, you become a living Holy of Holies. This is a mystery that Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets would have longed to experience. These men who are greater than you or I missed out on a profound gift that so many of us take for granted. The gap between human imperfection and the perfect Word of God is healed by the Word’s desire to become one with us. By receiving God’s love and surrendering to His holy will at work within us, we are united to the Word at the heart of creation as part of His very body - and through us as members of His body, a new creation flows into the world. As we approach the New Year and consider our resolutions, let us recommit ourselves to the essentials: studying our Beloved in Scripture, receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist, and seeking His mercy through frequent confession. Above all, let us do so with love, intentionality, and awe at the God who makes all things new - including time at the turning of each new year, including you, and including me. May God bless each of us with renewed faith in 2026 and a renewed world in Christ, Matt and the Catholic.Store team

Thoughts on the Presentation

 

Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord

Luke 2:36–40

Friends, today’s Gospel concludes Luke’s account of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple. The presentation of the Lord goes on now in our churches, in our temples, at the Mass. We say that the Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life, for it effects even now, applies even now, the salvific power of the cross. And at the heart of the Mass, of course, is the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. Listen to what Luke says about the prophetess Anna, who was a temple person through and through. Upon seeing the Christ child, “she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”  That’s our task and our privilege even now. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on the family

 

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23

Friends, on this feast of the Holy Family, our Gospel shows us Joseph and Mary’s flight into Egypt, pursuing their mission to protect the Christ child. This story prompts me to say something about the Christian family’s mission. The family is, above all, the forum in which both parents and children are able to discern their missions. It is perfectly good, of course, if deep bonds and rich emotions are cultivated within the family, but those relationships and passions must cede to something that is more spiritually focused.  A biblical prioritization of values helps us to see what typically goes wrong with families. When something other than mission is dominant—a son’s athletic achievement, a daughter’s success at university, etc.—family relationships actually become strained. The paradox is this: Precisely in the measure that everyone in the family focuses on God’s call for one another, the family becomes more loving and peaceful. John Paul II admirably summed up what I’ve been driving at when he spoke of the family as an ecclesiola (a little Church). At its best, he implies, the family is a place where God is worshiped and where the discernment of God’s mission is of paramount importance. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on God-with-us

 

Living in Solidarity

From: Compassion

As soon as we call God, “God-with-us,” we enter into a new relationship of intimacy with him. By calling him Immanuel, we recognize that he has committed himself to live in solidarity with us, to share our joys and pains, to defend and protect us, and to suffer all of life with us. The God-with-us is a close God, a God whom we call our refuge, our stronghold, our wisdom, and even, more intimately, our helper, our shepherd, our love. We will never really know God as a compassionate God if we do not understand with our heart and mind that “he lived among us” (John 1: 14).

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”   - John 1: 14

Thoughts on Boxing Day

 This is an edited blog post that was originally written in 2008 and highlighted each year:

Boxing Day

Today is the day after Christmas. It is a day when kids play with their Christmas presents and parents sleep in and relax, if they are lucky enough to not have to go to work. It's also a day when lots of people return Christmas presents to the stores and exchange them for something else. For still others it has become a day to shop for super discounted items as stores continue to make deals to get rid of their Christmas supplies and overstocked items. For this reason, it is now being called Black Friday #2. But on my calendar it says Boxing Day (Canada). Boxing Day? What is Boxing Day and why is it on my calendar? It also says Kwanzaa on my calendar today, but that is a topic for another day. I did a little research and found out that Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain (England), Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It has it's roots going back to the Middle Ages in England and spread to the previously named countries over time. The name derives from the fact that in the early days, servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but were given the next day off. Their employers would give them gift "boxes" on that day (hence, Boxing Day), to thank them for their services. As time went on, people expanded the tradition to include other service people, like doormen, porters, mail carriers, and the like. I think this is possibly where the tradition of giving someone a tip comes from. Tipping is a good idea for a future blog also. Anyway, for whatever reason Boxing Day has continued on as a holiday in these other Anglo-Saxon countries besides ours. I'm not sure why this tradition did not make it to America (although tipping sure did). So that begs the question. Why is it on my calendar? Is it because all calendars sold in America are also sold in Canada where they celebrate Boxing Day? Or is it because there are plenty of Canadians who now reside in the United States? I'm not sure. Hey wait a minute...some calendars also say St. Stephen. What's that? Now this is really getting confusing. St. Stephen's Day is also an English holiday, and a Catholic Feast Day, marking the day that Saint Stephen was martyred by being stoned to death in Jerusalem in 34 or 35 A.D. This is where we get the line "on the feast of Stephen" from the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas. If fact, many websites on this topic suggest that St. Stephen's Day was the name of the holiday before it became known as Boxing Day. So there you have it. A history lesson and my thoughts on Boxing Day.

More thoughts on Christmas

On this most joyous feast, we earnestly pray that you have a very merry Christmas!

For today we celebrate an irrefutable sign of God’s love for us, the greatest act of humility ever recorded, the mystery of our finite human nature being hypostatically united to God’s divine nature in one person; the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

By the power of the Holy Spirit and the faithful cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament as well as the fulfillment of our every hope came to be in one person, Jesus, Emmanuel, “God with us”.

Most of us have heard of the Incarnation our whole lives such that we might be tempted to miss out on just how wonderful this great mystery is.

Consider that God is infinite, beyond our fullest comprehension or reach.

He is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good and holy, and the source of all that is.

We on the other hand are finite, weak, and sinful. 

Therefore, the gap in His nature and ours is infinite.

How then could we ever dare to hope to be with Him?

Yet, while we were still sinners, the Son of God humbly and mercifully took on human flesh, became a fragile baby, was born in a manger to a poor family, and eventually was crucified, raised, and ascended into Heaven all so we might share in His divine life!

This is the miracle of miracles, the wonder of wonder!

And what humility and love on God’s part that He would stoop down and redeem us from the depths of human darkness and misery!

This mystery is truly beyond our full comprehension, yet let us not then excuse ourselves with being swept by worldly things this Christmas instead of pondering this mystery.

Rather, let us be like the Blessed Mother who contemplated all these things in her heart (Lk. 2:19).

Let us listen to Our Lady of Fatima and turn away from sin so we might have more of the purity which She had to receive the Lord properly.

Let us remember Her today and each day that we approach the altar, that by Her intercession we might be better prepared to receive Jesus the way She did.

And lastly, let us give honor and thanksgiving as well, for if it were not for Her “Yes” then we would not have anything to celebrate today at all.

Merry Christmas to you all!

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Christopher P. Wendt
International Director
Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Thoughts on Bethlehem

 

The Road to Bethlehem

As Christmas draws near, God places before us a road - a simple road, a difficult road, a hidden road - leading to one small town. “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least”(Micah 5:2). Many walk toward this place in the days surrounding Christmas. Some complete the journey and find Jesus with ease. Some only after a long search. Some miss Him entirely. The reason for this is not due to the differences in our own respective journeys, but the posture of our hearts. The Shepherds have the shortest journey. They are simple people, shaped by long nights beneath the heavens. Their lives unfold outdoors, where prayer comes naturally because wonder does. They know the rhythm of creation - the breath of animals, the words hidden in the wind, the silence of night, the turning of the stars. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). Their prayer is not polished, but it is constant. When the angel appears, they are afraid - but ready. “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place” (Luke 2:15). Their journey is not long - minutes, perhaps hours - because prayer has already prepared them. They do not need to be convinced; they only need to respond. And when they arrive, they find exactly what was promised. God reveals Himself swiftly to those who already live in awe. The Wise Men travel the farthest. Learned men from the East, they seek God through the pursuits of the mind. They study the stars, read the signs, know the prophecies. “A star shall come forth from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17). Their road is long and costly - crossing deserts, enduring uncertainty, and a political trap set by a false king. They encounter Herod, who knows the prophecy but does not love the truth. Still, the Magi persist. They teach us that if you seek God with the intellect, you will find Him - but not quickly, and not without surrender. Knowledge alone can guide you only so far. It is in Bethlehem, kneeling before a child, that the journey is complete. “They prostrated themselves and did Him homage”(Matthew 2:11). The mind leads them to the door; the heart must step inside. Mary shows us another way - the most complete way. She unites prayer and understanding, wonder and wisdom. She exemplifies the simple wisdom of the shepherds and knowledge of the Magi. When Gabriel greets her, she is not ignorant of what is being asked. She knows the Scriptures. She recognizes the prophesy and the promise. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14). And yet she does not argue. “Be it done unto me according to thy word”(Luke 1:38). Mary is learned, but she is also receptive. She ponders. “She kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). She does not merely go to Bethlehem - which means 'house of bread' in Hebrew - she carries the bread of Bethlehem within her. This is the Marian path: to seek God with the mind and to receive Him in prayer, until Christ is no longer only encountered, but embodied. Over time, we become what we behold. “Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning” (Proverbs 14:33). Joseph walks beside Mary in silence, yet his presence is strong and steady. Scripture calls him “a righteous man” (Matthew 1:19) - just not in word alone, but in action. His justice is gentle, rooted in mercy, shaped by obedience. When God speaks, Joseph listens. When the angel comes to him in dreams, he rises without hesitation. “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him”(Matthew 1:24). He asks no questions aloud, offers no recorded words, yet his prayer is constant because his life is surrendered. Joseph teaches us that holiness does not require recognition - only faithfulness. In his simplicity, he becomes protector, provider, and shield, standing between Mary and her Child and every danger. “The Lord is a shield for those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:5). Like Mary, Joseph does not merely go to Bethlehem; he guards the mystery unfolding there. He walks beside Mary and Jesus not as one who understands everything, but as one who trusts completely. And then there are Herod and his soldiers, who I must mention as a warning and example we need to guard against. They seek Bethlehem too. They know the prophecy. They consult the scholars. “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet” (Matthew 2:5). But their will is disordered. They do not pray. They do not adore. They seek Christ not to worship Him, but to use - or destroy - Him. And so they miss Him. God cannot be found by those who refuse humility. “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile” (Psalm 94:11). Bethlehem is invisible to a heart bent inward on itself. As we approach the final hours of Advent and prepare for the coming of Christ, these travelers walk beside us. We must ask ourselves: which road am I on? Do I marvel at creation like the shepherds? Have I sought God with my mind like the wise men? Do I pray, ponder, and receive like Mary? Do I seek justice and mercy, trusting in the Wisdom of God like Joseph? Or am I looking for Jesus for my own purposes, my own control? If we commit to seeking Him rightly - with wonder, with intellect, and with prayer - I promise you this: the child Jesus will not merely come to you. Like Mary, He will begin to dwell within you. And you too will learn to ponder the wonder of the Lord in your heart. Wishing you a blessed and holy Christmas. Matt & the Catholic.Store team

Thoughts on John the Baptist

 

Fourth Week of Advent

Luke 1:57–66

Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. I think it’s fair to say that you cannot really understand Jesus without understanding John, which is precisely why all four evangelists tell the story of the Baptist as a kind of overture to the story of Jesus. John did not draw attention to himself. Rather, he presented himself as a preparation, a forerunner, a prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He was summing up much of Israelite history, but stressing that this history was open-ended, unfinished. And therefore, how powerful it was when, upon spying Jesus coming to be baptized, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning of that: Behold the one who has come to be sacrificed. Behold the sacrifice, which will sum up, complete, and perfect the temple. Moreover, behold the Passover Lamb, who sums up the whole meaning of that event and brings it to fulfillment. And this is why John says, “He must increase; I must decrease.” In other words, the overture is complete, and now the great opera begins. The preparatory work of Israel is over, and now the Messiah will reign. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Emmanuel

 

God Wanted to be One of Us

From: Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Christian faith is that when Jesus appears, he appears as Emmanuel, as God-with-us. In Jesus, we realize how serious God is about his promise to be with us and to stay with us. In Jesus, the faithfulness of God becomes even more visible because in Jesus, God became flesh and dwelled among us. He pitched his tent among us. He lived among us. He did not want to keep any distance from us. He wanted to be one of us.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).   - Matthew 1: 23

Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:18–24

Friends, in today’s Gospel, an angel tells Joseph in a dream to name his son Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” The rightful King has returned to reclaim what is his and to let the prisoners go free. The God announced by all the prophets and patriarchs—by Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, and Isaiah—is a God of justice, and this means that he burns to set things right. God hates the sin and violence and injustice that have rendered gloomy his beautiful world, and therefore he comes into that world as a warrior, ready to fight. But he arrives (and here is the delicious irony of Christmas) stealthily, clandestinely—sneaking, as it were, unnoticed behind enemy lines. The King comes as a helpless infant, born of insignificant parents in a small town of a distant outpost of the Roman Empire. He will conquer through the finally irresistible power of love, the same power with which he made the universe. Bishop Robert Barron “AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM.”   Children, being so small and vulnerable, are very approachable, and we are drawn to love them and to delight in them. God could have come in another way, but He chose to enter human history as a child in a human family so that we might not fear to come close to Him, to love Him, and to delight in Him. Three times in Sunday’s Mass we hear these words of the Prophet Isaiah: “The virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” Pope Benedict commented on the warmth of Christmas by referring to St. Francis and his crib, saying:   Indeed, the night at Greccio restored to Christianity the intensity and beauty of the Feast of Christmas and taught the People of God to perceive its most authentic message, its special warmth, and to love and worship the humanity of Christ.   … Easter had focused attention on the power of God who triumphs over death, inaugurates new life and teaches us to hope in the world to come. St. Francis with his crib highlighted the defenceless love of God, his humanity and his kindness; God manifested himself to humanity in the Incarnation of the Word to teach people a new way of living and loving. (Wednesday Audience, 23 December 2009)   Child Jesus, teach us this “new way of living and loving” as we delight in the “special warmth” of this time when we are drawn to your “defenceless love.”   In the Child Jesus,   Fr. Joseph Mary   P.S. If you are inspired by this message, please forward this email to your loved ones or encourage them to join our Advent journey.

Thoughts on Gabriel's visit with Mary

 

Third Week of Advent

Luke 1:26–38

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the angel Gabriel reveals to Mary that she will bear a son who will reign from David’s throne. As background, note that God had promised that David’s throne would last forever, but his line had apparently been broken in 587 BC. Six hundred years later, Gabriel appeared to Mary, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David. Greeting her as “full of grace,” the angel announces that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son. “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” Then comes the kicker that would have taken the breath away from any first-century Jew listening to the story: “And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” What seemed to have come to an end had in fact just gone underground and was now ready to appear fully in the light. The kingly line of David was in fact unsevered, and now the full meaning of God’s promise would be revealed. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Christmas

Matthew 1:18-24

My mother had what I thought a curious Christmas habit. She would buy a few extra gifts for unexpected Christmas visitors, who might bring gifts for us. She even cleverly coded these gifts according to the wrapping: woman’s, man’s, girl’s, boy’s. This old custom saved her more than once from the embarrassment of not being prepared. Now there are only four days until Christmas. Are you prepared? Have you forgotten a gift for someone?

The Gospel of the 4^th Sunday of Advent always focuses on Our Blessed Mother. Perhaps she is the one that we have forgotten so far this Advent? Sometimes Advent preparation focuses entirely on Jesus, but of course, Mary is essentially important for Christmas, too.           

Today’s Gospel recounts the angel’s assurance to Joseph. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”

When considering the miraculous Annunciation to Mary, I have frequently marveled that her first thought after hearing the angel’s wonderful news is to think of someone else in need. She has learned that Elizabeth, her “kinswoman has conceived a son in her old age” and is now in her sixth month. Mary rushes to Elizabeth (“proceeding in haste”) to help her. Here is the perfect Christian response. Here is the way to say Yes to God.

We, too, are in need. We are sinners who struggle to believe and who struggle to live our Faith as we know God wills. But now, late in Advent, we are part of a Visitation of the BVM. Mary, our mother, “proceeds in haste” to help us at this time of year especially.

Perhaps we can take time in these last few days before Christmas to welcome Mary into our heart. 

We may not be prepared for Christmas. We may not have all the gifts ready, all the shopping completed. 

Perhaps we have not taken much time for spiritual preparation this Advent. Still, Our Blessed Mother rushes to help us as the time draws near. 

She will calm us and tell us that all will be well. She will encourage us and assure us that Our Lord was born into this world because He loves us so much. She will guide us these last few days before Christmas and teach us how to prepare as we should. She will lovingly remind us to follow her example: To say yes to God’s will; to think of others in need.

Perhaps we will never be so organized and prepared for Christmas as to have extra gifts ready, just in case. However, we can still be spiritually prepared if we try to take the time to welcome Mary into our hearts, and if we make the effort to follow her example in the Annunciation and Visitation: Say yes to God’s will; think of others in need.                

-Fr. Don Saunders, SJ