BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Oscar Wilde was a much-celebrated Anglo-Irish literary figure, very witty… and very worldly. He once wrote: “I can resist everything but temptation.” He lived in total self-indulgence, ridiculed Victorian moral norms, and died in Paris of meningitis in the year 1900. His view of life aptly ushered in the 20th century, particularly the cultural rebellions of the 1960’s and 1970’s. There are many today who live as Oscar Wilde lived. They regard temptations as irrelevant, things representing what they regard as hypocritical middle class moral norms, norms that constrict us and deny us our freedom. We are to live, many claim, with only one self-indulgent moral norm: “If it feels good, do it. Anything is all right so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.” We could spend hours talking about questions dealing with the nature of evil. What is evil? What is the essence of evil? Why is there evil, anyway? My summary view

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) From time to time, I hear parents telling me about their attempts to guide their teenage sons and daughters. They are concerned about what their kids are doing after school with their friends. They are concerned, and rightly so, about what their kids are doing or not doing. But many times, these parents are scolded by their kids and told, “Stop judging me!” Too many times these retorts stop parents dead in their tracks, especially when they are reminded that Jesus told us not to judge others. What is really curious is to note how judgmental many people are, not just kids, especially when they tell others to stop judging! There’s something terribly ironic in that. The ones who complain about judging others are themselves judging! In today’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus telling us to, “Stop judging.” But at the same time, we must all remember that Jesus did, in fact, judge the behavior of others. Take what He

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) We all know of people who, whenever they can, debunk religion, particularly Christianity. They tell us that the bible stories are fables, laugh at the story of the Wise Men, the star over Bethlehem, and ridicule belief about a virgin having a baby. These sophisticated despisers of religion take themselves very seriously and think it is their duty to liberate the ignorant masses from the influence of religion and faith. Let’s be honest. If Jesus were to live among us today, He would be considered to be more than strange. I mean, after all, here He is declaring how happy the poor are, how happy the hungry are, and how happy are those who are weeping. He goes on to say we are happy when we are spurned and rejected, even when we are abused. Then Jesus tells us that those who are rich are going to go hungry, those who are laughing now are going to really hurt, and those who are popular are going to be knocked off

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) All of us are quite familiar with inaugural addresses, especially when presidents of our country take office and begin their elected terms. Some of these addresses are, of course, more memorable than others. Unfortunately, much of the content of these inaugural addresses bear little relationship to the actions of these presidents subsequent to their addresses. John F. Kennedy’s memorable inaugural address might be an exception. I have a framed copy of it because it’s such a classic. Jesus Christ gave an inaugural address shortly after He returned from spending forty days and forty nights in the desert preparing for His public ministry. He returned to His own hometown of Nazareth to begin His public ministry. His inaugural address is what you just heard reported in today’s Gospel account: "He came to Nazareth where he had grown up and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) When did Jesus know who He really was? We can reasonably assume that as a little boy He grew into knowledge of who He was. Somewhere (and I am speaking here of Jesus in his human nature) He moved from being a little boy to being a young man and along the way He became aware of the fact that He had a unique relationship with our Father in heaven. In His maturation he came to know who He really was and that would determine His destiny in life. We cannot possibly pinpoint when that realization came to full flower. But certainly at His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer He had in full measure that realization. Certainly at that moment, the one we just heard about in today’s Gospel account, He was committing Himself to the destiny that lay in front of Him. A booming voice from heaven proclaimed: “You are my beloved Son. On you my favor rests.” Jesus knew that our heavenly Father had special plans fo

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) What it means to be a family is undergoing a redefinition in our culture. No longer is the term “family” applied strictly to a household with mom, dad and the children all living together in the same home at the same time. As a matter of fact, what is known as the nuclear family is now in the minority. We have now various arrangements found in single parent families, in families in which the parents are of the same gender, and in families in which one parent is simply living with a boyfriend or a girlfriend. One major consequence is that children now must relate to multiple sets of parents, multiple sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, or other adults who are not related to them by birth or blood. The Fourth Commandment, “Honor thy father and honor thy mother” is now strained, to say the least. How is that divine commandment, handed down on Mt. Sinai to Moses and the Israelites, to be applied in such dive

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Saturday’s readings ) All of the shopping, all of the rushing about, all of the busy-ness of Christmas is now over. Today the streets are deserted. A quiet and peaceful stillness lays over all. Now the religious meaning of Christmas is allowed to emerge from beneath all of the mall music, the shopping, and the frantic preparations for this day. But to what do we turn our attention? To peace on earth toward men of good will? Yes, and something more.  To the sharing of love with family? Yes, and something more. To joining together with the ones we love? Yes, but more. Christmas is more than having a lovely time, more than family sharing, more than the so-called “happy holidays.” We celebrate today what so many are looking for. We focus our attention today on that which will give peace to many who are lonely, uneasy with themselves, and who are searching for meaning in their lives. The centerpiece of the Mass, the essence of C

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) The Gospel account for this 4th Sunday of Advent is about two pregnant women, one of whom, Elizabeth, was already in the sixth month of her pregnancy. Mary had only recently received the news that she was pregnant. It was a life-changing announcement, and she probably needed some time to herself, time to prepare, time to reflect, time to get herself together. But she didn’t think of her own needs. Instead, she set out on an arduous journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was six months pregnant and to care for her. That’s not something most women would do. But these were two remarkable women, remarkable in the sense that under ordinary circumstances they would not be pregnant. One was a virgin; the other was beyond, way beyond, childbearing age. Both were not supposed to be pregnant. But God was at work within them. To add to the unexplainable mystery, they both bore within their wombs mysterious babies. One

The Sermon of St John the Baptist , Pieter Bruegel the Elder , 1566. Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) As we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord the issues that surround us this Advent season are enormous. Once more this year we struggle to find peace – peace among the nations and among ethnic groups, peace in our own homeland, and peace between two civilizations, Muslim and Western. The now forty-year-old drug problem still plagues us here in our country. On the one side there are those who grow drugs along with those who market them for vast sums of money, and on the other hand there are those who buy and use drugs. How can we put an end to the mutual addiction, this gigantic co-dependency, involving both greed for money and need for drugs? There are other problems too – the decline of the nuclear family, lack of housing for many, abuse of children, dysfunctional families, the control of gun sales, and on, and on, and on. These prob

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) There is a hidden theme in today’s Liturgy that reverberates deep within us, a quality to the readings in this Mass that speaks to things at work deep within our hearts and souls. It is, I think, the vision that in a world filled with chaotic and terrible things there still exists the possibility of a good life, a life filled with justice, peace, goodness, wholesomeness, beauty and the things of God. Godliness is possible in a world where it seems to be almost impossible. At a time when the Jews were being held in captivity far distant from their homeland and Jerusalem we hear in today’s first reading the Prophet Baruch proclaim: "Up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and West at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be leveled. The windings shall

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) We spend enormous amounts of our resources, time, and energy on things that give us a sense of security. We buy expensive insurance policies to protect ourselves from any and every sort of disaster. We have high-tech alarm systems in our businesses, homes, and automobiles. Some of us work and even live in buildings surrounded with security fences. Closed circuit television eyes balefully stare at every living thing from the nooks and crannies of our habitats continually recording every movement. And still we are not secure. Moreover, no amount of money, protection systems, medical effort, or bodyguards can protect us from the ultimate confrontation we each will individually face. For each one of us, you along with me, will one day stand face to face before Christ at the end of our earthly existence. Yet we live our lives awash in distractions, busily engaged in a whole lot that’s seemingly very important to

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut Click here for today’s readings Isn’t this the Easter season? Isn’t Lent over? Why, then, is there so much talk of sin and repentance in today’s readings? In Acts we are told, “Repent, and be converted.” St. John says in his Letter: “I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin.” And Jesus mentions “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The point of mentioning these things at Easter time is to show that forgiveness is possible thanks precisely to the Risen Christ. St. John calls Jesus our “Advocate” and adds, “He is expiation for our sins.” St. Peter promises that the sins even of those who crucified Jesus could be wiped away. Jesus himself speaks of forgiveness of sins being preached in his name. In other words, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is the source of our salvation. That is what we believe. Personal belief is a good thing. Is it enough? Not always. Jesus tells the

The Third Sunday of Advent [Year B] By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks,  for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thes 5:16-18) Rejoice ... pray ... give thanks. A great trifecta for the season of Advent! If there is any liturgical season that is countercultural, it is Advent! While the world is scrambling and shopping for perfect Christmas gifts, the faithful are asked to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. While gift giving and family feasts and traditions are all good in and of themselves, they pale in comparison to that greatest gift of them all, Jesus Christ, the Word of the Father who was made flesh and now dwells among His people (John 1:14). Yes, the very Word of God the Father has been united to human flesh, and now the human person can know and touch God! This is the mystery of Christmas! It is also a