BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) We are in Cycle A of the Sunday readings, in which the majority of the Gospel readings are from Matthew. In a few weeks we will be reading his account of Jesus’ Baptism. “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” That was chapter 3 of Matthew. Today’s Gospel is from chapter 11. John needs to know: “Are you the one?” Strange, isn’t it? He knew him then. How can he now have doubts? What has changed is that John is now in prison! It would appear that this was not what he expected. Jesus’ answer is in two parts: 1.) Look around you. Everything prophesied in Isaiah 35 is being fulfilled—and more besides! 2.) Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me. What we have here is a beatitude! (There are many beati

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) “Are you the one who is to come, or do we look for another?” As you live out life as a Christian, trying to make the life of Jesus a reality in your own life, many are going to be observing you. In key moments, some people are going to be looking to you for help, hope maybe you’ll be their salvation, their way out. Very indirectly, perhaps very quietly, or perhaps quite directly, they might ask you: ARE YOU THE ONE WHO CAN HELP ME… WHO CAN BRING ME SALVATION IN THIS MESS… OR DO I LOOK FOR ANOTHER? You are a Christian. You openly and publicly bear the name of Christ… and you do it for all to see. You identify yourself as a Catholic. You attend Mass… receive the Sacraments. As a result people are going to look at you… to examine your actions… to look into your life. And they will ask you questions about why you are a Catholic. You have been baptized. You have been confirmed. As we heard

Detail , St. John the Baptist Preaching , Mattia Preti (Il Cavaliere Calabrese), c. 1665. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Here we are with Christmas just two and a half weeks away. The shops and malls are loaded with goodies. Christmas songs fill the air. Parties are being arranged and delicacies prepared. Thoughts of home, of family, and of a lovely time fill our hopes and imaginations. With all of these lovely sentiments in our hearts and minds we come to church today and hear about a weird guy living in the desert, wearing scratchy and horribly smelling clothes made of camel’s hair, eating locusts, calling people a bunch of snakes while telling them that fire and brimstone will come down on them, all the while threatening them with axes that will cut them down. The gospel picture ends with John the Baptist threatening the Sadducees and Pharisees with hell. Aren’t you glad you came to church today just before Chris

August 29th, the Church celebrates the passion of Saint John the Baptist. He was the cousin of Jesus, the son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, and the nephew of the Blessed Virgin Mary. John heralds Christ in his miraculous birth and his ministry as preacher, and martyr. Apart from Jesus and our Lady, John the Baptist is the only one whose birth and death are commemorated by the Church. Mark's Gospel relates the events of his execution (Mark 6:17-29): "Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when H

Every person born has been stained with original sin, except for Mary, the Mother of God, and John the Baptist, the cousin and Forerunner of Christ. From the first moment of her existence, Our Lady was free from original sin by virtue of her Immaculate Conception. John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, at the Visitation as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The Solemnities of the Immaculate Conception and the birth of John the Baptist are the only occasions in the Church calendar where a saint's feast is his nativity. Usually, the date of a saint's death is observed as his feast since that is the day he is born into eternal life. The justification for today's feast is explained by St. Augustine in the Divine Office: Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Ble

The Sermon of St John the Baptist , Pieter Bruegel the Elder , 1566. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’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, a

This Sunday's gospel story from John, the feeding of the 5,000, is the only miracle (besides the Resurrection) recounted in all four gospels. As such, its significance cannot be overstated. It portrays Jesus as the new Moses who will lead fallen humanity to salvation. When the miracle of the multiplication of loaves is told in the Gospel of John, it is related to the manna in the wilderness. The connection between Moses and Jesus, the manna and the miraculous bread is undeniable. Given the absence of a Last Supper narrative in John’s Gospel, the feeding of the 5,000, is a kind of corporate Eucharist. Upon hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew privately by boat somewhere near Bethsaida. Christ’s healing ministry and preaching had made him renowned. Consequently, large crowds followed him. When Jesus landed and saw them, he was filled with compassion and healed their sick. As evening fell, the disciples came to Jesus saying, "This is a remote place, and

Once when Zechariah was serving as priest he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw and fear came over him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid Zechariah for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. (Luke 1:8-15) The angel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard. We aren't told what Zechariah has been praying for, but now we know. He was praying for Isreal, of course, as a Jewish priest would do. But he was also praying for a son. Sometimes we're afraid to pray for things that seem unrealistic. Three times in the birth story of Jesus we'll hear angels say, &quo

As we discussed here the original Ark of the Covenant was a golden vessel containing the Ten Commandments, the sign of God's covenant with the nation of Israel. In a similar fashion, the Virgin Mary who bore Jesus in her very womb, is the Ark of the New Covenant that is Christ Himself. Both Mary and the Ark of the Covenant were "overshadowed" by a cloud representing the Glory of the Lord. This happened to Mary at the Annunciation. The Ark of the Covenant was overshadowed by the Glory of the Lord on several occasions. During its installation in the Tabernacle and the Temple the Ark was overshadowed just as Mary was. When the gospel writer Luke writes about Mary visiting her cousin Elisabeth (who is pregnant with John the Baptist) he uses suggestive language to point out Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant. Luke reminds us of when King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem. The parallels are unmistakable: "David arose and went" to bring up the Ark (