BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Blood is life-giving; it is the essential element in sustaining us in life. Babies the womb receive oxygen and nutrients from their mothers’ blood. When natural disasters occur the Red Cross appeals for blood donors. During surgeries it sustains patients in life. In many cultures the bonding of people is sealed in rituals that mingle blood. In all cultures blood has a deeply religious significance. When God brought the Hebrew people out of their slavery in Egypt, the blood of sacrificed lambs marked their homes and they were spared the punishment that fell upon their Egyptian captors. Later, on Mt. Sinai, when God bound Himself to His people, Moses offered animal sacrifices and then took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that th

Top: Christ descends into Hell to bring His salvation to the righteous. Bottom: Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit; and Paradise is lost. "The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through Isaiah the prophet, foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were "prophets"—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himsel

Christ Reproving the Pharisees , James Tissot, c. 1890. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) When we give someone a gift at Christmas, or at a birthday party or anniversary event, we call it a present. Why? Because you are close to that person, that friend, that loved one. Your presence is contained within your gift, your present. When you twitter someone with a tweet, or e-mail that person, you are present to them. When you send someone a hand-written letter you are more personally present than you are when you tweet them. I suppose that’s because sending a letter in your own handwriting requires more effort than reaching you friend or loved one with a few electronic bytes. Isn’t a handwritten letter more personal than an electronic note? Also, there are types of closeness. Think, for instance, of the differences between shaking hands, holding hands, and kissing someone. The qualities of closeness and of presence d

Detail, The Sermon on the Mount , William Brassey Hole, c. 1900. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Today’s scripture readings provoke the question: What kind of God is God? Who among us has not pondered the answer to that question? What do we expect God to do for us? As revealing as the answer may be, a further question arises: What does God expect of us? More often than not we don’t want to even begin to answer that one. Nevertheless in moments when we do take time to reflect on life’s bigger questions we ought to face it. Where do we place our trust — in God or in material comforts and success? To what or to whom do I give my heart? Jesus who well knows the human heart clearly warns us that where our treasure is, there we will know what is in our hearts. The danger to our hearts and to our eternal life with God in heaven lies in our ensnarement in the values of this world –power, wealth, fame, and the glitter of

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) When Jesus told his disciples to observe the Law in even the smallest detail, the scribes and Pharisees must have been pleased. That’s exactly what they had been saying for generations, and they lived by that principle themselves. But then Jesus adds: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In other words, the Law is good, but it is a minimum. He gives four examples, and in the coming weeks we will see more, contrasting the Law’s requirements with Jesus’ expectations. Good enough isn’t good enough! Much later, in Chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus makes the same point: "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach

Detail, The Sermon on the Mount , James Tissot, c. 1886-1896. Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) Jesus conjures up two images in today’s famous Gospel passage that, on the surface, do not make sense. One is obvious: you wouldn’t light a lamp and then hide it. What would be the point? The other is the idea that salt could lose its flavor. That doesn’t make sense, either. Sodium chloride is a chemical compound. It’s either sodium chloride or it isn’t. Various explanations have been offered to explain why Jesus would say such a thing. Here is mine. Both images imply the word “suppose.” For example, suppose that in a storm you lost power and someone lit a hurricane lantern and then put it in a closet and closed the door. That would be foolish. Suppose salt could lose its flavor. For example, if someone puts salt and sugar in the same container, the sal

Sermon on the Mount , Henrik Olrik, c. 1880. Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) To be successful in achieving a goal we must take care at the beginning to determine the correct route, which of course, is obvious. What is not so obvious is to ask the right questions, the questions that will accurately focus us upon the right path. If we do not ask the right questions, we will not obtain the correct answers. When it comes to spirituality, we must ask some first questions. One is “Do we find God, or does God seek us out and then present Himself to us?” Another such question is “Do I construct the way to God, or do I accept the way God has given me?” Surrounding us is a huge array of spiritualties — Tibetan prayer wheels, sacred crystals, Tarot cards, Foursquare Christian Fellowship churches, mainline Protestant churches, Confucianism, and many others, not to mention numberless spiritualties presented in a wide range of Christian ch

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left His hometown of Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In our times, what forms of darkness do we live in? The theme of light and darkness runs through the entirety of the Bible starting with the Book of Genesis all the way to the crucifixion and death of Jesus on His Cross. What is God’s word calling us to see in His light, not only in the history of our salvation that is presented to us in the bible but i

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings )  Homily originally delivered in 2014 “What is the meaning of this?” That is, if I recall correctly, the last line of the strangest play I ever saw: Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung you in the Closet and I’m Feeling so Sad. It was definitely in the category of the Theater of the Absurd, which challenges our sense of the meaning of life. That question is open to at least two answers. 1.) Life has no meaning at all. (There are people who believe this sincerely.) Or 2. Life as most people live it has no meaning. We need to give it meaning. How? by creating something? helping people? leaving a legacy? As Christians we believe that the meaning of life comes not from ourselves alone, but also and especially from Jesus who restored to humanity what was lost by sin. In that sense the meaning of our life comes from the

Angels Announcing the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds , Flinck, 1639. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Homily originally delivered in 2010 While Christmas is delightful for children and it is nice that we get caught up in their joy, Christmas is something that we adults vitally need. We celebrate Christmas this difficult year with dark clouds of terrorism looming over our heads. The gloom of the recession darkens our spirits. Our broken governmental establishment in Washington spends our future incomes on earmarks attached to spending bills that stagger our comprehension. Joblessness and hunger are not confined to Third World countries, they stalk our own populace. Amidst all of this darkness let there be light. I give you the message of the angels. There is also another darkness that afflicts many of us – an inner darkness of spirit, of heart, and of soul. Many folks have spoken to me about the pace of life i

First, there’s a sense of something wholly new. “See, I’m doing something new. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it?” So Isaiah 43:19 declares. Isaiah trembles with excitement at the sense of something wholly new and unexpected. The end of Isaiah 52, which was read for Christmas day mass last year, speaks of nations startled, and kings standing speechless. “They shall see what has not been told them, shall behold what they never heard. A whole new world will come into being – one far removed from the trials, strife, and suffering of ours. It will be a world where swords will be beaten into plows, and the lion will lay down with the lamb.” Second, there is a sense that the whole world has been longing for this thing that is coming, for the Messiah. So, while Isaiah foresaw the coming salvation as something wholly new, it was also something for which the world had been longing. This is especially suggested by recurring images of fresh water being poured out upon or bubbling

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) My dear brothers and sisters, all of our ideals, all of our dreams of what we want to be, and of what our world can be… all of our visions and understandings of God, and of God’s ways with us, are focused now on a child… God’s Anointed One, God’s Christ. For a child us born unto us, a son is given us, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying powerless in a manger, there being no room for him elsewhere in our world for his birth. It is a sacred moment into which we now enter, a precious moment, a holy hour observed all over the world in Midnight Masses. Midnight Mass gathers so many different people in a lovely moment of peace and happiness – Blacks and Whites, Asians, Africans, Latinos and Anglos…. Catholics, both active and devout as well as marginal and estranged, Protestants, members of others great faiths, and even doubtful believers with hesitant faith. It is a transcendent moment when

The following is reposted from December of last year. We present it here for your consideration: In Matthew’s Gospel, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [Matthew 1:21]. The verse immediately afterward states, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means 'God is with us'" This begs the question, why isn’t Jesus named Emmanuel? Matthew 23 quotes the prophet Isaiah who some 300 years earlier predicted, "Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." [Isaiah 7:14] In this context, "name

The text of this hymn recited in the Mass and Divine Office during Advent comes from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 45:8) in the Vulgate. It is a plea of the Prophets, the Patriarchs and the entire Church, who together await the Messiah. Speaking to the mystery of Christ’s impending coming, the imagery unites the celestial and the terrestrial as the heavens prepare for the Savior to descend and the earth prepares to welcome him. As rain comes down from the sky and quenches the earth, only to evaporate back, so too will the Messiah save his people and ascend to heavenly glory. We recall our past offenses and sins and seek forgiveness as we await the birth of Christ for our redemption and that of everything in creation. Rorate Coeli Prayer Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One. Be not angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity : behold the city of thy sanctuary is become a desert, Sion is made a desert. Jerusalem is desolate, the house o

The liturgical season of Advent has two parts, both of which look to the coming of the Lord. The first part of Advent, which immediately follows the feast of Christ the King and ends on December 16, looks to his second coming — the return of Jesus at the end of time. The second part of Advent begins on December 17 and is the Novena leading up to the feast of the Nativity of our Lord. In the second half of Advent, the Church places itself once again in the era anticipating the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem — looking forward to his first coming. Our attention shifts from the One who is to come to the One who has already come in the flesh. This second part of Advent is another period of intense training. ... The importance of O Antiphons is twofold: each one highlights a title for the long-awaited Messiah by the Jewish people: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King o

Jesse Trees are a very old Christmas tradition dating from medieval times. They are used to tell the story of the Bible from creation to the Birth of Christ. Depictions of the Tree of Jesse are based upon the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-2: But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, spirit of counsel and of strength,  a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD. In works of art the genealogy of Christ (based on Matthew 1) is frequently shown in the form of a tree which springs from Jesse, the father of David, and bears as its fruit the various ancestors of Christ. The Jesse Tree symbols transform a Christmas tree into a "family tree" of Christ, since each ornament is a symbol of an ancestor or of a prophecy which foretells his coming. Some of the symbols included are the sun, the tablets of the Law, the key of David, Bethlehem, the root of J

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) In today’s first reading we hear the prophet Isaiah calling us to climb to the top of the mountain and look for the Lord’s advent, the Lord’s coming into our lives. At the end of today’s first reading when we hear Isaiah cry out, “ O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! ” We need to understand that Isaiah isn’t simply talking about nature’s daylight nighttime’s darkness, he is talking about what we see with our minds and hearts. He’s calling us to rise above our daily worries, concerns and anxieties in order to take a look over the whole of our lives with all of their peaks and valleys. As Christians we do that in the vision of Christ, the Light of the World, God’s gift to us. The problem you and I face comes not from the fact that we are unconcerned or apathetic or lazy. The problem you and I have is that we’re far too concerned about so many other things. Often the